Max's Interceptor

The Road Warrior (Mad Max 2) was one of those films that blew my young mind. So gritty, so brutal, so Australian. About the only thing cooler than Max was his modified police interceptor, recreated brilliantly by builder crash_cramer. You can practically smell the gasoline, hear the whine of the supercharger, taste the dust and feel the heat of the outback.

Mad Max II V8 Interceptor
Mad Max II V8 Interceptor
Mad Max II V8 Interceptor

Jack Jack Has Powers!

One of the great things about cruising on the Disney Wonder is there’s two beautiful theaters on the boat, running current and classic movies all the time. Me and my wife finally got a chance to see Incredibles 2 during our cruise a couple weeks ago and enjoyed it very much. One of the sub plots is the discovery of Jack Jack’s powers, which was fun because it was revealed to the audience at the end of the first film. Since the sequel starts pretty much where the last one left off, we get to see the rest of the family learn he’s a super too. Speaking of super, check out this outstanding caricature of Mr. Incredible. Just trying to be a good stay-at-home dad and, you know, keep the baby from destroying the house.

DOGOD_Incredible_reading_time_07
DOGOD_Incredible_reading_time_05

At Last We Will Have Revenge

Opinions on the Prequels are well known.  I try to take them for what they are and understand you’re constrained in your story telling ability when you have fixed points established that you have to hit.  However Darth Maul was fantastic, just seeing him for the first time was “Oh wow!  This is our new bad guy!”  Then he’s got this weird lightsaber with a really large hilt what’s up with that?  Then in this scene we find out it’s a lightsaber staff.  That’s so cool (and why is the Maul’s Lightstaff so cool but Kylo’s hilt thing gets so much hate I don’t get it)  Ordo in his own words did not create a perfectly faithful rendition of the scene  but no the less captures it well.  The door and wall that makes the backdrop are well and surprisingly simply done.  Mostly just solid, straight forward SNOT technique.  And now I’ll let you enjoy having Duel of the Fates stuck in your head the rest of today.

Duel of the Fates

Metropolis In Space

I’m naturally an optimist. Despite the seemingly downward spiral humanity seems to be in recently I like to think we’ll make it to another enlightened age, one of exploration and beyond the bounds of this planet. Something like the future envisioned by builder ranghaal with this excellent metropolis in space. Imagine day to day living in this cylinder in the stars, looking up to see more “ground” above you, it would be dazzling.

The future is bright - Part 1 Hybris

53rd & Broadway...And Step On It

I’ve only spent time in Manhattan once, for a working gig so I didn’t get to see as much as I would have liked. Surprisingly enough, I only took a single cab ride the entire time (the subway is pretty much the way to go there) but I can assure you, it wasn’t nearly as nice as this wonderful vehicle by redfern1950s2. And the driver was an anonymous silhouette, not dapper and ready to please like this gentleman.

1950's Taxi Cab & Driver..

Press Any Key To Continue...

…Which one is the Any key? The first computer I used on a regular basis, maintained and even upgraded, was an Hewlett Packard 386 (yup, ancient history). This latest from Powerpig gave me the instant retro feels for that old heap. You can even open the side to take a peek inside, and maybe upgrade the RAM to a whole MEGABYTE! It’s pretty much what all the computers looked like back then, large, beige and bulky, but gorgeous in their own way. And you can build your own soon because Chris is going to release a building guide.

My First Computer: PC Edition
Computer Detail

#12 Grimold Place

I’m going to stop you right here, and tell you to watch the video below before continuing to read, I’ll wait…

I spend pretty much every morning, 365 days a year give or take, blogging LEGO creations. I can tell you that an audible reaction from me is pretty rare, but this brilliant little MOC by builder Inthert made me exclaim out loud “holy sh*t!” I’m a Harry Potter fan, and a LEGO fan of course, and I have a soft spot for micro builds and mechanical ingenuity. This sorta ticks all the boxes for me.

No. 12 Grimmauld Place - Closed
No. 12 Grimmauld Place - Video

Thunderbolt

Behold your doom, Thunderbolt! This latest by Moko pretty much blows my mind. He’s calling it a Bionicle MOC, but this transcends that class as far as I’m concerned. It’s got the prefect mix of System and Technic blended in, as well as some Power Functions for lighting (and exposed wiring that just adds to the aesthetic). It looks like something from a movie, a movie I want to watch.

Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt

NASA's Evil Twin

I’ve got to admit, I’m a sucker for NASA’s rockets and I can spend hour gawking at the marvels of human engineering. But NASA ain’t got nothin’ on this ship by halfbeak! With a ton of black, a handful of green, a dash of realism and a pinch of antimatter, what’s not to like? Not to mention a hint of nefarious criminal activity by NASA’s evil twin, NAST (pronounced nasty). Put simply, if NASA were Futuron, NAST would be the Blacktron of space exploration.

Xylethrus AMV-1

Dumbledore's Office

Thinking back to all the schools I attended (we moved around a bit, I went to many) absolutely none of them were anywhere even remotely as cool as Hogwarts. I mean not by a long shot. And while is only though the words of JK Rowling and the production design of the films that we get to imagine what it would have been like, they have been so well done that they feel distant but real. So this recreation by builder Legopard is a historical reproduction in my imagination, and it’s perfect.

Dumbledore's Office

Whistle Of Wind, Wisps Of Cloud

I know I was on vacation last week (Disney cruise, it was awesome) but I came back to a delivery push on a film gig and have worked crazy hours this week, so I find myself in need of another vacation. This place looks so tranquil and inviting, I think I’d like to go there. Just imagine it, arriving by air boat to dwell among the clouds, sounds like a dream. How about it qi_tah, can I visit? I’ll bring my own pillow.

Sky Islands - my contribution

BR 80 Steam Engine

Just last Sunday I spent most of the day aboard a train. Of course it was a modern Amtrak train, but I did spend a moment thinking about the heyday of locomotive transportation, imagining myself crossing the country in the 1800’s. While I can’t speak with much authority on trains (what can I say, I just don’t know much about them), I can say I like the looks of this one by builder holgermatthes. And if you do too there’s great news, Holger has shared the instructions so you can build your own!

By the way, if you’re into trains, and you want to be a blogger, clearly we have need for an expert in the ranks.

LEGO BR 80 steam engine

Full Steam

This is presentation taken to the next level. Builder Markus "madstopper78" Ronge has not only crafted some amazing builds, he’s imagined an entire mini universe, Full Steam. It’s like LEGO plus fan fiction, but not just a backstory, a whole…thing! Tune into an imaginary network to watch an imaginary series featuring amazing builds, it’s brilliant. And this ship plus the display around it are just stunning. I’m not a huge Ninjago fan, but I think I’d watch this.

"Full Steam" S. 1/ Ep. 4 "The Last Raid of the Sky Pirates"
"Full Steam" S. 1/ Ep. 4 "The Last Raid Of The Sky Pirates"
"Full Steam" S. 1/ Ep. 4 "The Last Raid Of The Sky Pirates"

Torpedo Bombers at 5 O'clock High

I love a good airplane model, especially biplanes. In freshman engineering I built a biplane for a project that I was told no one had built a biplane for, and the professor wasn’t sure it would work. It flew wonderfully. Prolific LEGO aircraft builder John Lamarck has posted a beautiful Blackburn B-6 Shark. Like many aircraft developed in the interwar years it did not have a long service life as developments happened rapidly in aviation in that time period. My only quibble is the inter-wing struts should be on an angle in the front view and not vertical, but that is likely driven more by the scale and medium.

Three Tiny Brothers

One of the most jaw-dropping works of animation I’ve ever seen is the tale of Three Brothers from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it’s a masterpiece of production design, lighting and animation. Builder Nuju Metro stunned us all earlier this year with his Three Brothers build, inspired by that animation, and now he’s back with a micro scale version of that MOC. Even small enough to fit in your hand it’s absolutely amazing.

The Tale of the Three (Little) Brothers

That Others May Live

Fun fact, I once nearly died in a Black Hawk. True story. Good times. Equally fun fact, I do volunteer search and rescue (SAR) work. So when I came upon Robsom M's beautiful build of a USCG MH-60T Jayhawk, well, all my boxes were checked.

A variant of the Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk, the MH-60T is the venerable workhorse of USCG SAR. Many people owe their lives to the brave men and women of USCG aviation that put it all on the line to save others and this MOC is a perfect tribute to all those Coasties.

MH-60T - Jayhawk

Horror At Mangrove Swamp

I love how crazy talented some of my friends are. I don’t know what inspired what, and which came first, but builder Lino M not only built this exceptional diorama with a dark back story, he also painted the cover of a pulp novel of that very story. It seems that the folks of this swamp have been keeping the rest of us safe, but at a terrible price.

Horror at Mangrove Swamp
Horror at Mangrove Swamp