Please Dress Appropriately for Tonight’s Invasion

This is one of those pieces that got me with the shear whimsy of it.  I’m sure Umbra-Manis is not the first person to pun on “TIE” in this manor, but did so in a way that brought a big smile to my face on a day when I needed it. The use of the wavy castle flags (4495) for intakes is clever, as they are uncommon in sci-fi builds and adds a bit of a cloth like texture to the bowtie. Next time you need your star fighters to be dressed to impress, Umbra-Manis’ Osiris Fleet Systems are the folks to call.

Movie Stunt

I don’t know how I missed this incredible action shot from Pixeljunkie months ago, but it’s never too late. I know I work on movies and should be all jaded by now, but my love of all things film runs deep, and shots like this make my heart go pitter patter. I will say that crew is in significant danger and the stunt coordinator is going to get a little visit by the studio and the union though.

Where'd All The Ice Go?

If there’s a more poignant image of the pending global predicament we’ve managed to heap upon ourselves I don’t know what it is (besides most of the Jersey Shore under water maybe, stay tuned). I live about 100 feet above sea level, and when I bought this home 20 years ago I didn’t think it may become beach front property some day (ok, it won’t, but I’m lucky I live 11 miles from the beach). A moving image from vincentkiew.

Käfer Racer

The king of cars is back! After a nearly two year hiatus, builder Lino M is back, and back with a vengeance. Check out this badass version of the Volkswagen Käfer Racer, a Hotwheels classic. It’s part beetle, part dragster and all speed.

Start Your Hyrule Morning Off Right!

With a delicious bowl of KakarikO’s thanks to the endless creativity of Julius von Brunk. A warning though, it may be a bit unsettling for the hardcore Zelda fans to see Link so…loquacious, but it’s funny and charming and it was a ton of work. Watch the video below.

P-65 Tomahawk

The king of sky-fi and air superiority Jon Hall is back with another aviation treat. This is the P-65 Tomahawk, part Corsair, part Bussard and all badass. I can just imagine the sound of one of these, it’s single prop slicing through the air as it’s engine roared. I can also imagine a whole sortie of these, it would be awe inspiring.

JFK 1 Mechanoid

Check out this bad boy from builder Marco Marozzi. I don’t know if mechanized combat like this is in our future, but it seems pretty inevitable. After all, if you look around today, it’s all the technology we dreamed of in the mid century (and way beyond in some aspects). I know one thing though, the battlefields of the future will be pretty terrifying.

The Wanderer

Builder Eero Okkonen is back with a ravishingly lovely figure from Magic the Gathering. This is the Wanderer, who according to Eero is “a mysterious individual with a habit of planeswalking from world to world slaying monsters and enemies with her decently-sized sword.”

Tennis, Anyone?

The world of sports is filled with legendary venues: Fenway Park, Lambeau Field, The Brickyard, The Palestra, and this place; Centre Court at Wimbledon. My old pal Dave Kaleta was commissioned to build this venerable arena and ship it to the UK. Somehow it survived intact, considering all the nifty, irregular connections. Nicely done, Dave- it’s a real home run! Oh, wait…

This MOC Measures Up (See What I Did There?)

This was another one of those “almost scrolled right past it because of the thumbnail” moments. Builder Attacki Works crafted this incremented wonder to exact specs, making it so realistic I barely gave it a glance. Then I thought “why would anyone take a picture of a ruler?” Unfortunately it’s not much good for measuring small stuff, because it’s over six feet long!

How We Used To Compute

Back when I was a young child, this is what computers looked like. I was in high school before they started showing up at everyone’s house. The incredible thing is, that phone in your pocket probably has more computing power and storage than this entire room (or one that this room represents, let’s face it this one is full of plastic toys). A totally retro build by Jalex.

A Tribute To Ingmar

The AFOL community lost one of its own last month, scale modeler and truck aficionado Ingmar Spijkhoven. Ingmar lost his brave battle with ALS on July 30th. I never had the pleasure to meet him, but we were friends on Facebook, and his passion was infectious. Builder Bricksonwheels built this wonderful tribute to him, sadly he passed before it was completed, but he did get to see some work in progress photos. The tanker trailer is Inmar’s design, being towed by a stunning new Peterbilt 389 tractor. While I love all the shiny chrome, eye-catching red color and scale accuracy, my favorite detail is the license plate.

(The End Of) Summer

This little character by builder nobu_tary is clearly ready for some summer time fun, but I do have to question the timing. Summer ended here this week actually, just last Wednesday all the kids had to shlep their way to school again, and they weren’t smiling like this kid. A fun side note, this was the first “first day of school” that we haven’t had to scramble to get at least one child out of the house in 18 years, so I did have a smile on my face just like this kid.

Barb's Disappearance

It was way back in season 1 of Stranger Things when we lost Barb, and the fans have wanted justice ever since. I keep secretly wishing they’ll bring her back, I know things didn't turn out so well for her, but it’s fantasy, some clever writing can do wonders. Builder Legopard took some cues from the official set and imagines the setting for Barb’s disappearance, and the results are awesome.

Agent Carter

Sometimes unconventional construction leads to spectacular results. Take this mosaic by builder Ultron32 for instance, a pretty large percentage of the parts used here are held in place by friction only. And while that may not be great for gravity on occasion, I think you’ll agree it’s pretty excellent for capturing a likeness.

Dwalin Forkbeard Goes Viral

The creativity and ingenuity of the AFOL community never ceases to amaze me. Builder Dwalin Forkbeard has been building a series of space MOCs based on of all things viruses. This is his latest, based on tectiviridae, which is a DNA virus, those wonderful things responsible for such ailments as smallpox, herpes and chickenpox. To see a few other ships based on the microscopic contagion world click through to his photostream.

A Decade Of Bumblebee

Builder Orion Pax has a knack for turning LEGO VW Beetles into transforming Autobots, namely Bumblebee. Below we see his latest version, rooted in LEGO 10252, but below that (and dating back ten years!) is his rendition based on LEGO 10187.

Uncle Scrooge

Here we see the species Anas platyrhynchos dives nimis in his natural habitat, the bank vault. While the origins of this species are well known (he’s from Disney) the origins of his fortune are shrouded in mystery. There are many rumors but we won’t speculate here. What we will do is tip our hat to Swan Dutchman for this outstanding rendition of him.

Alien

Me and a friend of mine were talking about this guy at lunch a couple days ago. He’s reading The Making of Alien book (still need to get my copy) and the story of how Ridley Scott came to direct and how HR Giger landed the job of designer is interesting. It’s just one of those series of events in life that seem pretty uneventful in time, but when looking back, it was fate. And the result is one of the most iconic creatures ever to grace the screen, and make us scream. The version by Build Better Bricks will get your heart pumping too, and what’s even better is you can buy instructions for him and build your own!

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The Making of Alien

By J.W. Rinzler

Endless Summer

As this summer comes to a close for some of us more unfortunate people (I’m looking at you students), I think now is a good time to think about all the warm summer days we experienced in preparation for the season to drift by. This scene by Norton74 is perfect for this and it takes me on a journey to a place of fine sand wedged in toes and nice cold beverages chilling at our side. And I know all the purist out there are thinking something along the lines of “EEEEEK SAND!”, but let me tell you you’ve just gotta chill out dudes, hang ten, and all that jazz.