XDragon 8C Speeds Into Action!

The xDragon 8C speeder, christened by its designer Guy Smiley, is a wonderful example of Bionicle elements fitting seamlessly in with regular LEGO building system pieces.  Underneath the two large Bionicle pieces, you can see some of the "internal" detailing and systems of the speeder bike.  This model, an entry into the annual LEGO Speeder Bikes Contest, features a very ingenious base for a display/background.  It appears that the road's surface (or what once was) has broken up severely, or is actually floating in mid-air.  A truly inspiring entry.  Doesn't it make you want to build a futuristic bike?

DL-44

There are a multitude of weapons in the Star Wars universe. Everything from elegant Lightsabers to random, clumsy blasters. And while it may be clumsy and random, I've always liked the DL-44. First used by Han Solo in A New Hope, then by Luke in The Empire Strikes Back (unless you subscribe to the theory they are different models, feel free to comment), it's a compact and awesome weapon. Speaking of awesome, check out this version by builder The Crea1or. 

Remember, Remember...

Guy Fawkes has become a symbol of resistance. You may remember this mask from the excellent film V for Vendetta. Or perhaps you know it from it's many appearances in videos from the vigilante hacker group Anonymous. This version by builder Felix Jaensch was build for a contest over at master-builders.com and consists of only 100 pieces. That's some optimized building right there.

Sega Master System

Here's a little dose of 8-bit nostalgia, the Sega Master System. We never had a Sega system in our house until the Dreamcast came along (man, what a system) but they enjoyed a fair amount of popularity. Builder Old School Brick was clearly a fan, and built this rather convincing replica.

Leonid

I will admit I've never heard of Leonid Yakubovich, but that's not unusual. Here in the states we get no exposure to Russian entertainment. Not to say you can't find it, I'm sure you could, but you have to go looking. And since I don't speak Russian, there's not much reason for me to. But I do appreciate a good character build, and after a bit of research this guy appears to be a character indeed. A wonderful caricature by builder vir-a-cocha.

Silhouette Of Love

Valentine's Day might be over, but love is still in the air. Builder vitreolum has crafted one of the finest silhouettes I've ever seen with this depiction of a couple in love. The natural poses combined with a semi-stylized caricature makes this charming and endearing. A whole story is shared in a single image, using nothing but their stark outlines, that's impressive. 

Where Be My Teeth, Sonny?

This Iron Builder competition build by Chris Maddison is certainly not teeth grinding.  While people are going out on their Valentine's Day dates, some are leaving their teeth behind.  That's slightly embarrassing.  Chris used those new shield-shaped tiles in white in order to create a very chatty group of teeth.  This holiday, don't leave your dentures behind - use these instead! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Love it or hate it, it's that time of year. When men are suddenly seen in clueless droves at the candy store, women struggle to figure out what to get their man (may I suggest LEGO?) and everyone agrees that those little heart candies are overrated. It's Valentine's day! If you're taken, grab your significant other and let them know you love them. If you're single, here's hoping cupid's arrow finds you. Builder MinifigNick celebrates the day with this charming little scene.

FDNY Engine 54

Builder sponki25 is back with another excellent emergency vehicle. This time it's a 2014 Seagrave Attacker HD 2000/500 High Pressure Pumper, and it's gorgeous. The care and attention to detail is stunning, especially for the scale. It's hard to believe at first glance, but this is only six studs wide, six studs! Think about that, visualize how big that is with your hands, then look at the picture again, absolutely brilliant. A superb build heartwarmingly dedicated to the fallen of 9/11.

Afternoon Tea

I love tea, but you knew that already (but did you know that probably 75% of my posts on BrickNerd happened with a cup of tea steaming nearby?) One of the highlights of our summer vacation at Disneyland last year was afternoon tea at Steakhouse 55. The presentation was actually strikingly similar to this delicious looking MOC by Jared Chan. My wife and I loved it, and if you're still wondering what to do with your significant other this Valentines day, may I recommend tea for two?

Type 75 LG Ryūun

I don't recognize this mech by legoricola, so if it's from something I don't know what, but I like it. It's got a familiarity to it, yet unique, like the lovechild of a Valkyrie and ED-209. And while it's clearly build for combat, with that huge cannon for aright arm, I think I'd just like to take it for a spin, just run around and frolic, and maybe gently crush a few cars and topple a water tower or two. Then sit back and wait for the lawsuits I guess (why can't I have any fun?)

Nautilus

Two years in the making, Alexander Safarik has finally completed his 1.75m SHIP!  It's made entirely out of LEGO, too, no metal or wooden framing needed.  His next task is to create some other ships in addition to a ground scene beneath.  The second shot really highlights the variety of understated color blocks along the length of the ship.  Not sure what they indicate, but it all looks pretty cool to me.  And if you want to see this beast in person, Alexander says he's going to be taking it to Brickcon this year.  Awesome! 

The LEGO Batman Movie: Spoiler-Free Review

Last night I went to see The LEGO Batman Movie. Yes, it was the day after the opening day (what can I say, I'm a busy guy), and yes it was in a theater full of children, but it's a family movie, and I wanted to experience it with it's target audience. Besides, I'm effectively a 12 year old, just ask my wife. I went in with pretty high expectations, The LEGO Movie was pretty awesome, and Batman was my favorite character from that, so the bar was high. I'm happy to say it did not disappoint, I loved it.

It has everything, action, laughs, heart-felt moments, excellent dialog, top-notch performances, more action, more laughs and so many subtle (and not so subtle) references and easter eggs that it will take another couple viewings just to take it all in. The writing is fantastic, and it has...*gasp* ...a story! And it's not just yet another bad guy threatens Gotham, batman saves the day sort of tired narrative (it is, of course, a subplot) but at it's core it's a film about family, being alone, and being afraid of loss. Real, genuine, emotional content from a bunch of polygons rendered to look like a bunch of toys. That's not a trivial accomplishment. CG features are a dime a dozen these days, but few are really capable of evoking an emotional response beyond a couple chuckles. The film starts out heavy on action, then slows down pretty abruptly. If I have a minor complaint it's with the pacing, when it slows down, it slams on the brakes. Judging by the fidgeting in the theater, the kids felt the same. 

The talent gathered to bring this to the screen is so good it's hard to grasp. I didn't read much before viewing, and I only knew a few key cast members. But during the credits I was thrilled to see so many A-list names. That's the power of the DC and LEGO brands, and the faith in the filmmakers to do this properly. This is a spoiler-free review, and those names were a surprise to me, so I'll let you be surprised too. I am also proud to know several people involved in this production, and I tip my hat to all you crazy talented artists and technicians. And before you ask, no, I didn't work on the movie. I did do some animation for some of the promotional tie-ins, but I had nothing to do with the feature.

One of the things I love most about this film, and The LEGO Movie, and from the preview The Ninjago Movie, is the care the filmmakers take to ground the film in classic brick filming. Subtle things like adding barbs to hands during fast moves to simulate motion blur, swapping out tubing for arms when they need to stretch or squash, staying true to building techniques that we have to use in the real world. Of course, in CG you can break any rule you'd like, but they "keep it real" for the most part. Of course, for better animation they play fast and loose with things like shoulder attachments, hips and general limitations of the Minifig design. And of course, Batman's cowl has a full range of emotions and flexibility that simply would be impossible in actual bricks. But there's a story to tell and I understand why they did it. The simple inability to make a figure shrug has frustrated me in the past, why purposefully hamstring yourself? I feel the filmmakers struck a good balance in what's possible and what's practical.

But like I said, this is a story about family, and it's a welcome departure from the gritty, depressing Batman content of late. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed Nolan's trilogy, but you have to admit, they're a bit...dark. And I don't want to ever see anything as campy and stupid as Shumachers' Batman and Robin ever again, but a little levity and self awareness would be appreciated. And don't get me started on Batman v Superman, I stand by my original 9 word review: "A plodding, uninteresting mopefest intermittently interrupted by catastrophe porn". I found this film not only faithful to the history of Batman, but downright reveling in it. It's self-awareness was evident, and makes for some great laughs and sweet nostalgia. The themes of the film make for some insightful moments, and genuine character arcs, all with a group of characters and an environment we are all so familiar with they feel like relatives and places we have visited. Yet this film feels fresh, earnest and willing to please. And please it does, I give it 5 out of 5 Nerdlys.

Leaving the City

Inspired by a Jack Vettriano painting of the same name, Bricks Noir has created this stunning version in LEGO.  As I've said in previous posts, capturing the human form in any medium is no easy task.  But Bricks has done just that, and brilliantly.  Not only with the flowing curves of the main subject, but also a sense of motion as she admires the shadowy cityscape in the distance. Very effective! 

Inside Out

This one's a bit morbid, but tempered with whimsy. Builder simplybrickingit built this MOC that rides a fine line between anatomical and humor. But it's the part use that really caught my attention. So many creative decisions in this, and so much questionable taste. Like my old friend James Cummins used to say, "inside each one of us is a skeleton dying to get out"

Neo

I remember the first time I saw The Matrix. It was during the original theatrical release, and I went in cold. I don't even recall seeing a commercial for it. I went with a group from work, we had been crunching on a project and needed a little recreation, we got it. We all left the theater charged up for stylized storytelling, cutting edge effects and *gasp* an original idea. I don't care much for the sequels, but the original still holds up, it's an amazing little bit of filmmaking. This likeness of the hero by cmaddison just makes me want to watch it again.

Rotund

I don't know what the purpose of this big dude from m_o_n_k_e_y is. From the small section of base he's on it appears he's designed for industrial use. His large form seems a bit impractical if I'm being honest, but you just want to run up and hug his big ol' asymmetrical body huh? I'm guessing if the factory has a amateur football team this guy's a linebacker too.

Pikachu! I Choose....Oh Crap!

Yup let's face it, everyone's favorite pocket monsters are, for the most part, small animals. And small animals tend to end up small, flat animals when they get near roads. I laughed out loud when I saw this latest Iron Builder MOC by CeciΙie, does that make me a bad person? (Rhetorical question, I'm a bad person)

The LEGO Batman Movie Logo!

Darth Nick is an awesome builder I've had the pleasure of knowing for quite some time (he's actually the reason I became an AFOL). Whenever he gets a chance to build I usually know it will be something cool!  This time Nick has built the logo from The Batman LEGO Movie (launched today in Canada!), and it is spot on.

This creation measures over 4 feet long (about 152 studs) and it was built live on twitch over a span of a few days! He actually gave up his ticket to see the premiere a couple days ago to continue building this, not sure if he knew he was passing up on premiere tickets but I got to see it instead of him so yay! You can check out Nick's live build video below:

Nick also built The LEGO Movie logo for its premiere 3 years ago, you can check it out here on his flickr! (Man, does time fly!)

A Comfortable Space

Sometimes the genius of Iron Builder is subtlety. The seed part of this current challenge is the pentagonal 2x3 tile, but I'm guessing you've only glanced at this image by Cecilie and maybe saw four in use in the curtains, look again. This MOC is loaded with them, and used to great effect. There's several representing books, but my favorite use is the cushions on the couch, brilliant.