Coraline's Pink Palace

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One of the highlights of San Diego Comic Con for me was the Laika Experience. The stop motion movie studio Laika took over a space a couple blocks from the convention center in the historic Gaslamp District and converted it into a miniature version of their studio in Portland. In addition to tons of excellent displays of props, sets and figures from many of their films, they had a functioning model shop and shooting stage, with artists on hand to demonstrate and answer questions. They even had free themed ice cream when you exited. But I'm here to tell you about something at the beginning of the tour, visitors waiting in the queue got a great view of this fabulous LEGO Ideas hopeful from Laika's very own Holly Webster, Coraline's Pink Palace.

Yes, it is generally the policy of BrickNerd not to feature LEGO Ideas campaigns unless it's very special circumstances. For instance a major stop motion movie studio displaying a set built by one of it's employees at a special venue at the craziest comic con on the planet. Holly's version of the apartments has all the charm of the original, which is easy to verify because the real set was just a few steps away.

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There's even a full set of custom minifigures made with the assistance of the talented Jared Burks, featuring Coraline, Other Mother, Other Father, Bobinsky, Wybie, Coraline Doll, and the cat. The back of the house splits open to reveal a detailed interior of rooms any fan of the film will recognize instantly.

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The LEGO Ideas campaign is going now, and thankfully is still early enough that it has a strong chance of making it, especially with the exposure from this past week. Head on over to LEGO Ideas to cast your vote and make this wonderful set a reality. I'd like to give a huge shout out to Holly for granting us access to not only her set, but the fascinating and awesome Laika Experience, it was unforgettable. 

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The Year of the Pig

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Builder Kingmarshy is getting a little ahead of himself since it's still Year of the Dog, but this entry for the Bio-Cup contest looks like a winner to me!  I'm normally not a Bionicle fan, but this gluttonous creature, Zhu Bajie the Pig, and the fancy spread he's enjoying has a great blend of system parts, really bringing him to life.  And even though Kingmarshy spent quite a bit of time on this awesome creation, he was actually ready to build something else in a half an hour.

How do you spell SNOT

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The Oxford English Dictionary is looking to add Hobby words to their quest to be "The definitive record of the English language."  Through a crowd sourcing effort at https://public.oed.com/appeals/hobby-words/  hobby words, acronyms, and phrases can be entered, with definitions and other information about the word.  The more that is enterred the better lets get LEGO Terms in the OED!

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New Century City Block Continued

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I don't know the full extent of the plans for this whimsical city by builder Pate-keetongu, we featured another section three months ago. But if he keeps building, we'll keep blogging because it's absolutely jaw-dropping. It's like a combination of past and future design aesthetics, with a little Terry Gilliam mixed in. I want to watch the stories that unfold here.

New Century City Block I part II

Buddha Robot

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I don't know what inspired it, I don't know the story behind it, and some quick google searches didn't help, so I'll just present it. Meet Buddha Robot by Moko, a surprisingly posable humanoid robot. Just based on the construction I wouldn't have guessed the range of motion of this mech (yeah, he's a mech, there's actually a figure inside!), but check out Moko's website for even more pics, this is only a glimpse.

Buddha robot
Buddha robot
Buddha robot

"The Approach Will Not Be Easy..."

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The battle of Yavin, the climactic ending of Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope. It made my heart race as a child, it makes my heart go pitter patter as an adult (well, man child). So this MOC by Grantmasters was automatically gonna catch my eye, but throw in some kinetic action inspired by JK Brickworks and it's the total package, and I'm totally smitten.

Rebel Assault
Rebel Assault

Alien Construct

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As if being on a strange world lightyears from home wasn't disconcerting enough, now your team has come across this structure in the middle of the jungle. I'd give that about a 8/10 on the pucker scale. It might be easy to glance right over this MOC by Blufiji. From the thumbnail it is deceptively simple, but really look at that structure, it's futuristic and ancient at the same time. Look at the trees, familiar and totally alien all at once. There's a lot of subtlety going on here.

Alien Construct
Alien Construct

Lofty Ambitions

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Every once in a while the inspiration for a build just slightly exceeds the bricks on hand. Most of the time this leads to delays and inevitable Bricklink orders. But that drive to get it done can also lead to creative workarounds. In the case of the walls of this lovely loft by Heksu, dark red was in short supply, but with a little out of the box thinking (and the use of jumpers, slopes and everything else that works) it got done. The results are impressive, and it's totally a place I'd like to hang out.

Loft Apartment

War Rig

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Generally we don't feature digital builds here on BrickNerd, but when they're as phenomenal as this one by Nicola Stocchi we'll make an exception. Behold the War Rig, driven by Furiosa in Fury Road and expertly recreated at minifig scale. This beast looks ready to conquer the wasteland, and thanks to exceptional lighting and rendering by Gabriele Zannotti, it's as beautiful as it is badass.

 

LEGO® War Rig
LEGO® War Rig

Microfighters Battle of Crait

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An interesting model by Boba-1980, but one that is rather fun and creative. The builder recreated the Battle of Crait, something we have probably seen plenty of times by now (and it hasn't even been a year yet!), but Boba-1980 make it in microfighter form. A condensed command shuttle, a smaller version of the base's turrets, and even a tiny First Order battering ram. What does that all create when combined? A fun model that I'm sure many kids could enjoy playing with. 

Battle of Crait
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Nathaniel Stoner

     My name is Nathaniel Stoner, and I am an very active LEGO builder.  I mostly build in the themes of castle and science-fiction, but I also dabble in other genres and create occasional random MOC's (My Own Creations). 

     When I was younger, I would get and build small LEGO sets for my birthday, but I was never really into them.  When they fell apart, I would become frustrated attempting to put them back together and would throw them in a box in my closet.  I couldn't stand them!

     Then, miraculously, I became addicted to the LEGO brick later in my teen years.  Ever since, I have continued to build up (pun intended) my collection of bricks and to expand my knowledge of techniques and building skills.  LEGO is truly more than a toy, its an art form and a way to express yourself.

     For the most part, I collect LEGO Star Wars (mainly the minifigs), which is probably my favorite LEGO theme.  I have a fairly decent collection, including some of the original 1999 sets, such as the Snowspeeder, X-Wing, and Naboo starfighter.  I also collected LEGO the Lord of the Rings when those sets first came out.  The minifigs are great, and the story remains one of my favorites ever. 

     My hope is to inspire other young (and perhaps even older) LEGO builders to unleash their inner creativity!  You can find me on my Flikr here. 

Agony, to a Point

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Jan T. shares this incredible scene that takes place in a dystopian time. I feel like large, full scenes like this are not as common these days, and it appears that Jan agrees with that perspective. I'm really glad that he was able to create this awesome model that spares no detailing. Check out his other great builds on his Flickr! 

The point of Agony
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Nathaniel Stoner

     My name is Nathaniel Stoner, and I am an very active LEGO builder.  I mostly build in the themes of castle and science-fiction, but I also dabble in other genres and create occasional random MOC's (My Own Creations). 

     When I was younger, I would get and build small LEGO sets for my birthday, but I was never really into them.  When they fell apart, I would become frustrated attempting to put them back together and would throw them in a box in my closet.  I couldn't stand them!

     Then, miraculously, I became addicted to the LEGO brick later in my teen years.  Ever since, I have continued to build up (pun intended) my collection of bricks and to expand my knowledge of techniques and building skills.  LEGO is truly more than a toy, its an art form and a way to express yourself.

     For the most part, I collect LEGO Star Wars (mainly the minifigs), which is probably my favorite LEGO theme.  I have a fairly decent collection, including some of the original 1999 sets, such as the Snowspeeder, X-Wing, and Naboo starfighter.  I also collected LEGO the Lord of the Rings when those sets first came out.  The minifigs are great, and the story remains one of my favorites ever. 

     My hope is to inspire other young (and perhaps even older) LEGO builders to unleash their inner creativity!  You can find me on my Flikr here. 

The Sci-fi City of Oz

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Built for Brickworld Chicago 2018, Hacim Bricks made this awesome sci-fi city that is purely the definition of greebles, but greebling used to great and powerful effect. I was fortunate enough to see the very start of this build last year, but I never fully imagined how big or cool this would turn out once it was brought to completion by its builder! As to be expected with any creation like this, there are many small parts used in creative ways. What's your favorite use?!

Sci-Fi City
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Nathaniel Stoner

     My name is Nathaniel Stoner, and I am an very active LEGO builder.  I mostly build in the themes of castle and science-fiction, but I also dabble in other genres and create occasional random MOC's (My Own Creations). 

     When I was younger, I would get and build small LEGO sets for my birthday, but I was never really into them.  When they fell apart, I would become frustrated attempting to put them back together and would throw them in a box in my closet.  I couldn't stand them!

     Then, miraculously, I became addicted to the LEGO brick later in my teen years.  Ever since, I have continued to build up (pun intended) my collection of bricks and to expand my knowledge of techniques and building skills.  LEGO is truly more than a toy, its an art form and a way to express yourself.

     For the most part, I collect LEGO Star Wars (mainly the minifigs), which is probably my favorite LEGO theme.  I have a fairly decent collection, including some of the original 1999 sets, such as the Snowspeeder, X-Wing, and Naboo starfighter.  I also collected LEGO the Lord of the Rings when those sets first came out.  The minifigs are great, and the story remains one of my favorites ever. 

     My hope is to inspire other young (and perhaps even older) LEGO builders to unleash their inner creativity!  You can find me on my Flikr here. 

The Ancient Sith Temple on Malachor

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Ben Cossy has reconstructed the ancient Sith temple that we see on Malachor from Star Wars Rebels! Arguably one of the best parts of the show, this temple looks incredible when recreated in LEGO form (especially when lit up, as pictured below)! The angling on the main structure, and accompanying columns, just adds so much depth to this structure that could be overlooked by the casual onlooker, but I would encourage you to take a closer to look to see all the added angles that Ben put in to make it a more complex model.  

Rebels: Twilight of The Apprentice
Rebels: Twilight of The Apprentice
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Nathaniel Stoner

     My name is Nathaniel Stoner, and I am an very active LEGO builder.  I mostly build in the themes of castle and science-fiction, but I also dabble in other genres and create occasional random MOC's (My Own Creations). 

     When I was younger, I would get and build small LEGO sets for my birthday, but I was never really into them.  When they fell apart, I would become frustrated attempting to put them back together and would throw them in a box in my closet.  I couldn't stand them!

     Then, miraculously, I became addicted to the LEGO brick later in my teen years.  Ever since, I have continued to build up (pun intended) my collection of bricks and to expand my knowledge of techniques and building skills.  LEGO is truly more than a toy, its an art form and a way to express yourself.

     For the most part, I collect LEGO Star Wars (mainly the minifigs), which is probably my favorite LEGO theme.  I have a fairly decent collection, including some of the original 1999 sets, such as the Snowspeeder, X-Wing, and Naboo starfighter.  I also collected LEGO the Lord of the Rings when those sets first came out.  The minifigs are great, and the story remains one of my favorites ever. 

     My hope is to inspire other young (and perhaps even older) LEGO builders to unleash their inner creativity!  You can find me on my Flikr here. 

The Hidden Mask

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I recently discovered the incredible work that is done by Mitch Phillips. When I was young, Bionicle was one of my top go-to toys. I loved collecting and building them, and even combing them into my own models. Thinking back at it, this was my very first experience with LEGO, though I didn't consider that it was actually made by the company that made the same building sets that I didn't like at the time, because they always fell apart. Because of my early interest in this awesome theme released by LEGO, I will always have an appreciation of equally awesome Bionicle MOCs. This creation is yet another unique one that I have found lately, and I love every bit of it. If you look closely enough, you'll realize that nearly everything seen here is made with Bionicle or other similar building system elements, with only a few exceptions. That building decision certainly added a lot to this scene! 

Adventures - Jungle Secret
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Nathaniel Stoner

     My name is Nathaniel Stoner, and I am an very active LEGO builder.  I mostly build in the themes of castle and science-fiction, but I also dabble in other genres and create occasional random MOC's (My Own Creations). 

     When I was younger, I would get and build small LEGO sets for my birthday, but I was never really into them.  When they fell apart, I would become frustrated attempting to put them back together and would throw them in a box in my closet.  I couldn't stand them!

     Then, miraculously, I became addicted to the LEGO brick later in my teen years.  Ever since, I have continued to build up (pun intended) my collection of bricks and to expand my knowledge of techniques and building skills.  LEGO is truly more than a toy, its an art form and a way to express yourself.

     For the most part, I collect LEGO Star Wars (mainly the minifigs), which is probably my favorite LEGO theme.  I have a fairly decent collection, including some of the original 1999 sets, such as the Snowspeeder, X-Wing, and Naboo starfighter.  I also collected LEGO the Lord of the Rings when those sets first came out.  The minifigs are great, and the story remains one of my favorites ever. 

     My hope is to inspire other young (and perhaps even older) LEGO builders to unleash their inner creativity!  You can find me on my Flikr here. 

Pondering Mortality

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According to builder Corvus Auriac MOCs this is  "a small MOC with a great metaphorical symbolism. While a life vanishes, a rose blooms." It's a reminder that when we're gone, we become the fuel for other life, and the cycle continues. It also points out a serious issue, who's burying the coffins at this cemetery and why are they doing such a terrible job at it? Seriously, fire that guy.

✠ Circle of life ✠

Daydream

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Let's be real, this is how we all feel every Monday morning, am I right? Jokes aside, this build entitled Daydream by timofey_tkachev is one of those builds that fully embraces LEGO as an art form. I've spent too much time staring at this creation, from the base of steering wheels to the intricately built hair, yet I still do not believe I fully grasp the message left by the builder in this beautiful piece. Needlessly to say the author has clearly mastered the art of the brick and this is a build to be remembered.

1 Daydream
4 Daydream