Confession time, I’ve never seen Sleeping Beauty. Yes, as big a Disney nerd as I am, I’ve never seen it, at least in it’s entirety. I know the whole story, mostly I think, but I’ve never watched it. Despite that I have a genuine appreciation for this lovely interpretation of it’s title character Aurora (aka Briar Rose) by builder retinence. By the way, why doesn’t Aurora have a last name?
Who says monsters have to be scary. Have you ever seen an angler fish? Those are scary, and they’re just fish. I prefer my monsters to be blue collar regular joes just doing their part. Meet James P. "Sulley" Sullivan and Mike Wazowski, the top scare team at Monsters Inc by builder Palixa And The Bricks. Oh, and that short one is Boo, she’s not exactly supposed to be here.
Even the most feared bounty hunter in the galaxy gets a little peckish in the middle of the night. Luckily he keeps his Han Solo in carbonite fridge stocked with ice cold bantha milk according to builder storm TK431. Which makes me wonder, do you suppose you could make eggnog with bantha milk? I know it’s not traditional, and sorta clashes with the red and green motif of Christmas, but could be yummy!
Books have an inherit problem of being narrow, heavy and unstable. Unless it’s something like a dictionary it has a tendency to fall over. But humans can be clever, and we’ve come up with something called bookends, as demonstrated by builder SEBASTIAN-Z here. The funny thing is, books are found in classrooms, so you could easily find these classroom bookends in a classroom holding books. It’s too bad there’s not a miniature version of these bookends in the classroom depicted in the bookends, then there would be classroom bookends holding books in the classroom bookends holding books in the classroom…I digress.
I went to high school in the 80’s. So things like the rise of MTV, Micheal Jackson, Madonna and Duran Duran are irretrievably interwoven with those most formative years, and I consider myself lucky. I was never much into pop music, but bands like Madness, Kraftwerk, Beastie Boys and Devo were on constant rotation in my Walkman. Another band was The Clash, brilliantly created here with their breakout hit Rock The Casbah by builder redfern1950s2. Their counterculture and social commentary lyrics resonated with my generation, and I still listen to them today.
Just yesterday the smell of gingerbread was strong in my house as we prepared three dozen gingerbread men for our son’s concert last night. It’s an aroma and taste that is absolutely intertwined with the holidays and one I look forward to every year. This inviting and delectable village by builder Deborah Higdon looks as delicious as it does seasonal, and evokes memories of scents, songs and the holiday spirit.
We’ve been seeing Young Kylo comics since The Force Awakens premiered, and the ones by famed Disney illustrator Brian Kesinger are by far my favorite. There’s a very intentional Bill Watterson Calvin & Hobbes vibe to them, and they’re adorable. Builder NS Brick Designs is clearly also a fan, and was inspired by the comic below to build this snow man in carbonite ornament, brilliant.
I see sci-fi vehicles pretty much every day (and mechs, so many mechs) so it takes something special to stand out. The color combination and unusual shape of this otherworldly vehicle by builder VolumeX caught my eye. And unless this thing is exploring an especially yellow planet, it’s going to stand out wherever it goes.
It’s only the beginning of December, but for those of us in the Midwest and Northeast, it’s felt like winter for a month now. My old pal Dave Kaleta has captured that moment of inertia, where you know you need to go and do something outside, but you really feel like staying inside, warm and cozy. I don’t know much about what it would be like if the weather were the same 75 degrees and sunny all the time, (Tommy) but I can certainly relate to this! Okay, Dave, time to get off your butt and go for a run!
The secret panel of judges have weighed in, the votes have been tallied and we have the winners of Nerdvember 2018. While they’re all amazing creations, and all winners in my book, there can be only three. So here they are, in order…
FIRST PLACE - Nerdliocart by Clever Lego Reference
A brilliant reference to Nintendo classic Mariocart. This eye catching and colorful MOC depicts Nerdly behind the wheel and racing his heart out. No idea what place he came in in the race, but for Nerdvember, he came in first.
SECOND PLACE - Competition Nerd Joystick (VIC-20) by voxel123
This is one for the retro gaming and computing fans. The Commodore VIC-20 was the first computer for many families in the early 80’s, and one of the best things about it was playing games. And what better way to abuse your thumbs than to use an old school joystick? Luckily this one can play itself, sparing your thumbs.
THIRD PLACE - Piranherd Plant by cmaddison
Another Nintendo classic, from the original Super Mario and many other games, the plant that made you think twice about any green tube sticking out of the ground. While they’re all dangerous, this one might be slightly less so, since he needs glasses.
I’d like to thank all those who entered, there were some fantastic creations and narrowing it down to just three wasn’t easy. I’d like to thank the secret panel of judges for taking the time for this daunting task. And lastly I’d like to thank our sponsors for donating such amazing prizes, you’re all awesome!
During my time in England I was disappointed that I wasn’t invited to visit Buckingham Palace. Tea with the Queen seemed like it would be a lovely time, but also I’d maybe get to meet the royal corgis, all of who have been wonderfully realized in bricks here by builder vincentkiew.
In season one of Stranger Things you are continually guessing at the nature of El’s gifts, and the power of them. You might have been wondering why the bad guys were so afraid of her, then this scene happened and you were pretty much as shocked and stunned as the kids she was escaping with, and I’m guessing totally hooked for the rest of the season. An iconic moment brilliantly recreated by Norton74.
I’ve never played Magic the Gathering, but it was real popular at my house for a couple weeks a few years ago. I can’t say I recognize this character either, but that doesn’t diminish my appreciation for him (her? it?). Builder Pate-keetongu has crafted a strange but wonderful character here, with the skill and creativity we’ve come to expect.
I’m not at all familiar with the anime Ergo Proxy, but I know a good build when I see one, and this is a VERY good build. Sheo has captured the likenesses of the characters perfectly, and uses slope pieces to great effect.
When you need things hauled you call a trucker, when you need things hauled in space, you call a space trucker. I love the flowing lines and retro-futuristic feel of this intergalactic big rig by builder Robiwan_Kenobi, it would be right at home in a Jetson’s cartoon or the Fifth Element (with a considerable amount of grudge applied of course).
Owls were fascinating to me before I became a Potter fan, so you can imagine how much they are now. I would love to have a pet owl, especially one that could find my friends and deliver mail, how cool would that be? But I’ll have to be content to dream, and admire them in photos, an occasional terrifying flyover in the dark (it’s pretty unsettling), and this excellent brick version by builder Simon NH.
It’s not very often a LEGO creation will make me laugh out loud (or make any audible noise for that matter) so when one does I know I’ll be blogging it. I could tell when I saw this cute dog MOC by tkel86 that it was mechanical, there were some clues: the lever on the side of course, but also the pins on the shoulders and feet, and possibly the jaw. But when I played the video I was delighted at the full effect. Check out the video below, it’s so worth it.
Toby Fox’s surprise new game Deltarune dropped last month. If you enjoyed his previous game Undertale, it’s an absolute must-play. One of the new characters introduced is Ralsei, the adorable Prince from the Dark, which Anthony Wilson has recreated perfectly in bricks.
There’s only one day left of Nerdvember, I can’t believe it. We must be in a time warp, because it seems like we just started, but it’s already the end of the month and if you haven’t already posted your entry, you better get moving. We’ve seen a ton of really cool entries, from the nostalgic 8-bit days to the cutting edge of modern gaming, and everything in between. You have until midnight tomorrow night, get building!
Can you believe I still haven’t seen the Ninjago Movie yet? It’s not that I’m actively avoiding it, it’s just that almost universally Ninjago does nothing for me, so I haven’t sought it out. I will say that the Ninjago City set that came out last year caught my eye, even if I never purchased it, and this imaginative and impressive extension of that set by builder rsmbricks captures the essence and aesthetic of that set perfectly.
It is time to take to the skies to see all the LEGO floating islands that populate our imaginations. Check out these gravity-defying rocks and learn why they might be one of the best ever collab ideas.
Old LEGO magic still has its charms. We revisit Borgin and Burkes and Dumbledore’s office to compare how their buildings, curious objects, and magical creatures have changed across generations of Harry Potter sets.
Want to customize a minifig without fancy printers or toxic fumes? Learn how to use the dark art of reductive design to literally erase the line between official and custom LEGO parts.
LEGO meets tabletop combat in the Brassbound universe. We talk with creator Paul Antoine about designing microscale armies, turning builds into game pieces, and developing games with a growing community.
When a legendary archaeologist minifigure meets the spin cycle, adventure calls! Follow along as we reclaim the lost fedora of Indiana Jones and uncover how to repair a LEGO keychain.
LEGO adventurers need somewhere to unwind between quests. We talk with Sleepy Dragon Inn designer Marin Graux about classic Castle, medieval hospitality, and how his design evolved for the BrickLink Designer Program.
From sketches to superglue, see how this custom LEGO motorcycle earned its street cred. We chat with Jean-Yves about the design, prototyping, and even heat resistance of his LEGO customizations, taking them from prototype to the pavement.
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Monet painted his garden many times, exploring changes in color and time of day. Meredith Najewicz follows his lead, rebuilding the LEGO Art Water Lilies set with a darker palette and some creative part substitutions to cast the lilies in a different light.