A Tribute To Queen

The timing of this wonderful pair of builds from Nick Brick is absolutely perfect for me, since I finally got a chance to watch Bohemian Rhapsody just last week. It’s Brian May’s legendary Red Special and Freddie Mercury’s iconic “Bottomless Microphone”. The guitar was built by Brian and his dad, and was subsequently used on every Queen album. The legend of the mic is in the band’s early days during a performance Freddie’s mic stand came apart, and he just went with it. He discovered he liked it that way and the rest is history.

Back In Black

You know him, you love him. He’s darkest of knights, the moodiest of brutes, the richest of bit… alright, maybe I shouldn’t finish that sentence. Anyways it’s the one and only Batman! With just some black and a bit of very very dark grey, timofey_tkachev was able to bust out a great rendition of this iconic super hero to celebrate his 80th anniversary! Now all that’s left to do is to pull out some old comic books or perhaps some episodes of the 1960’s Batman tv series to reminisce on just how far the Dark Knight has come.

Hades

I love a good moody piece, and they don’t get much moodier than this excellent scene from the Underworld by builder Simon NH. Depicted is Hades, Brother of Zeus and Poseidon, who in my opinion really got the raw end of the deal when the three defeated the Titans. I mean, I don’t know the details, but did it go like this?

“Hey, congrats guys, we totally kicked butt. I’ll take the oceans”

“ok, cool, I’ll be the king of all the gods and move up to Olympus”

“Um, ok, I guess I’ll go hang out in the basement”

Who Are You Calling Dummy?

Builder Adam Dodge has entered the uncanny valley. I don’t know if it was a need for companionship, a yearning to entertain or to court the ladies, but he’s made a ventriloquist's dummy of himself. And as you can see, it’s excellent (Adam is the one on the right). All kidding aside this is actually a very cool MOC with a surprising amount of articulation. Check out the video to see this little guy in action.

Nissa Revane

We had a brief but enthusiastic fascination with Magic the Gathering at our house. My son was really into it for a few months, then suddenly lost interest. I never played, but he tried to explain it to me a couple times on the way to the comic book shop where he played, it was a bit baffling. I don’t recall seeing this card, and I don’t know this character, but I certainly dig Eero Okkonen’s building skills and this figure looks amazing.

Ducky

You know what you need? A duck mech. I’ll be truthful, I didn’t know I needed one too until I saw this MOC by Moko. Ok, maybe I don’t need one, but I WANT one! I have no idea what I’ll do with it, where on earth I’d take it, just around my sleepy little town of Lompoc, CA probably. Maybe I’ll fabricate a costume, and fight crime in it, please submit your ideas for my new super hero persona.

Galloping The Plains Of Hyrule

I think it’s safe to call The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild one of my favorite games ever. I’ve been playing it since it came out in March 2017. I completed it on Wii U, but just kept playing even after restoring peace to Hyrule, and for Fathers Day last month I received a Switch, with a new copy of BotW, and promptly started playing all over again. So this sculpture of Link and a trusty steed by vincentkiew immediately had my attention, and now that I’m done writing all this I think I’ll hop on the game a few minutes before it’s time to hop in the shower.

Black Onyx

Just last weekend my wife and I went to breakfast with some friends. As we pulled up to the corner to turn to park we discovered we couldn’t because there were dozens of show cars in the street. Unbeknownst to us there was a car show, so after we had a nice breakfast we walked through it. While I would never drive anything like this hot rod from ianying616, I certainly appreciate looking at them. There wasn’t anything quite as radical as this thing at the show, but a couple were close. If this thing has been there, it would have stolen the show.

Flight Of The Luck Dragon

As if the modification builder JK Brickworks made to LEGO 80102 Dragon Dance for smoother motion wasn’t cool enough, now he’s gone and added some 80’s nostalgia to it. Yes, it’s Falcor from The NeverEnding Story, flying smooth as silk thanks to some further modifications to the mechanism for even smoother sine wave motion. Check out the video to really appreciate the hard work and ingenuity that went into this.

How To Not Get Lost On The Way To The Moon

One of my earliest childhood memories is sitting on my dad’s lap watching news coverage of an Apollo mission. It may very well have been Apollo 11, but I just remember excitement and grainy black and white video of astronauts. While we celebrate the 50th anniversary of landing on the moon, a lot of artists are expressing their appreciation for the event in awesome ways. Builder Akula Bricks has recreated the Apollo Guidance Computer and the DSKY, a display and keyboard interface. I recognized this incredible feat of 1960’s engineering immediately, with it’s large keys and iconic multi segmented display. This version, with custom printed inserts, could be mistaken for the real thing it’s so accurate.

Welcome To The Circus

I recall going to circus when I was young. I also recall it being rather unnerving and I’ve never been back. I really got the impression those animals wanted nothing to do with what was going on, and the trapeze artists had a seriously undeveloped sense of self preservation. But I’m totally digging this circus by builder DOGOD Brick Design, from it’s pop up backdrop to the meticulously crafted and bursting with character animals, it’s all delightful.

Munchkin Bricks 2 Is Now On Kickstarter!

Those purveyors of the preposterous Crazy Bricks are back with another Munchkin themed Kickstarter, and it starts TODAY! Fans of of the game Munchkin might recognize some of the wacky artifacts in the image below, but to be specific the new lineup includes: the Helm of Super Speed, Spyke's Hammer, a Hammer Handle, a Foam Rubber Hand, Gear Beer, Shakespeare's Pike, Dragon Flagon, Hello Chibithulhu and E.L.T.H. the Excessively Large Top Hat. Not only do you get these custom injection molded parts in a selection of colors, you also some free gifts and there’s loads of stretch goals to unlock. Head over and support this campaign and get your hands on this spiffy stuff!

MF-10 Diamond Empress

I’ll be the first to admit that there isn’t much LEGO mech coverage on this blog. This isn’t because I have anything against them, it’s simply because I’ve run out of words for them. I see them all the time and think “hey, that’s pretty awesome” but beyond saying “hey, this is pretty awesome” I have no idea what to write. So when I scrolled past this mostly transparent mech by builder Moko that was the usual response, but it’s just so unusual and nifty I had to share. By the way, if you’re a LEGO mech fan with more to say and would like to blog about it, come join the Nerd Herd.

Y-Wing

Check out this lovely beast by builder Jarac. The Y-Wing has always been a favorite of mine, just because it’s so “scrappy”. It was designed to look like a ship that had seen some action. It's outside cladding had been removed so many times that it was eventually decided it wasn’t worth the hassle. It also looked like it could take some punishment, and had dished out a fair amount too.

Caretaker

According to the description by builder dviddy, the Caretaker here is “waiting for those who are lost, alone, and broken, this Old Spirit cares for their souls, heals their wounds, and then shows them the way Home”. Which I’m totally all for, but if was me alone in the woods he’d be doing that for me with some seriously soiled shorts.

Mimic

“You enter a dark, dank room. Lining the walls are shelves that once contained a myriad of potions and elixirs, now it’s just broken, dusty vials and strange stains. The floor is a mess of old parchment, broken glass and debris, clearly the room has been sacked or a great struggle took place many years ago. against the far wall is an undisturbed chest, dusty but intact. Above is a candle chandelier that has not been lit in ages, wax stalactites hang from it. You can smell a mix of sulfur and lavender, it’s pleasing and unpleasant at the same time”

“I open the chest”

“Roll for initiative”

Just a reminder that every room must be treated like a place a dungeon master has concocted to murder you, because it likely has been. A wonderful D&D creation by Corvus Auriac MOCs.

Titoy's Magical Chair

I had never heard of Titoy’s Magical Chair before I saw this MOC by builder Messymaru, but I love it. It’s about a boy with no legs who’s not going to let such a silly thing, or the confinement to a wheelchair, dampen his spirits or limit his sense of adventure. I think we can all find a little inspiration in this.

Yabba Dabba Doo!

It’s been well established just how old I am, so it should come as no surprise that we watched The Flintstones as kids. Not that it’s that big of a deal, but I mean we managed to watch it back in the days when there was no home video, no internet and only three friggin’ channels. With that kind of narrow distribution it’s amazing any cartoons were available at all, and that’s what made Saturday morning so great, it was ALL about cartoons and kids programming. And The Flintstones was great because it was written for an adult audience, modeled after The Honeymooners, and kids aren’t dumb, so we ate it up. So it’s with great fondness I present to you builder SuckMyBrick’s latest creation, the star of the Flintstones, Fred.

Who Are You Calling Chicken?

The AT-ST (All Terrain Scout Transport) or “chicken walker” started it’s life in the Star Wars universe as a thing of legend. It was in a single shot in The Empire Strikes Back, blink and you missed it, and in the days before home video there were plenty of people who did. I remember heated debates of its existence among my nerdy friends shortly after the movie came out. Of course not long after it became a fan favorite, and when Jedi came out it featured prominently. This is version three by builder GolPlaysWithLego, and it gets better with each iteration.

USS Jefferies

“To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before!” (Except nebulae, because they really mess with the equipment). With four, yes, four, warp nacelles, Ben Smith’s USS Jefferies can navigate the nastiest nebula. Since transporters can be a bit dicey in there, too, he’s got the Mary-Ann landing ship which slips snugly onto the dorsal hull just above the shuttle bay. Well, Ben, that’s some serious three-dimensional thinking!