Space Station

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This is definitely a case of better late than never. Builder Proudlove started this awesome space station for SHIPtember but didn’t get it done in time. Thankfully he persevered and we get to appreciate it. And while it wasn’t done in time for that it was finished in time for Brickomanie 2019, and attendees were able to see this lovely creation in person (and I’m a bit jealous).

Thomas Goes Off The Rails

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Thomas is here to shatter your childhood thanks to an upgrade (?) by builder dvdliu. This one resonates with me because a couple years ago we did some Thomas animation at my stop motion studio, and we had dozens of this little guy and his friends around. But they were extra disturbing because I removed their pupils for animation purposes, so they were zombies.

Apollo's Chariot

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I was lucky enough to not only see this wonderful kinetic sculpture by JK Brickworks at BrickCon this year, I was also able to finally meet Jason in person. I won’t go to the trouble of describing what this does, since my words won’t do it justice and there’s a very detailed and excellent video linked below. I strongly encourage you to take time to watch, it’s absolutely fascinating.

Luigi

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One of my favorite Nintendo Gamecube games was Luigi’s Mansion. When Mario mysteriously disappears in a haunted house, Luigi comes to his rescue and does some serious ghost busting. Well, that was nearly 20 years ago, and recently Luigi’s Mansion 3 came out, and you can bet I’m going to get it, but I must be patient. You see, at our house we post Christmas wish lists on the fridge around Halloween if not earlier, and if you put anything on the list you can’t buy it for yourself (those are the rules). I’m pretty sure Santa will bring me a copy, but in the mean time I’ll just admire this awesome sculpture by builder and Twitch streamer BrickinNick.

Corellian Corvette

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I’ve always had a soft spot for the Pirate Ship…I mean Rebel Blockade Runner..I mean CR90 Corellian Corvette. Yes, this ship started as Han Solo’s ship (albeit with a different cockpit) but after someone noticed a more than passing resemblance to the Eagle from Space 1999 it was decided that it would be reworked and the “pork burger” was born (you know, the Millennium Falcon). Builder Ben Cossy crafted this mini version of the first on-screen ship of the Star Wars saga.

Wildland Fire Engine

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Living in California comes with three major caveats: It’s expensive, it shakes occasionally and it’s pretty flammable. For the first two it’s a matter of wanting it enough and being prepared, for the third it’s having some of the bravest, skilled and determined firefighters in the world. It also helps to have the proper equipment, like this HME type 3 4x4 wildland fire engine by builder sponki25.

The Shrieking Shack

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The production design for the Harry Potter films has always been pretty amazing, especially starting with the third movie Prisoner of Azkaban. You’ll see plenty of unconventional structures in that universe, and this is a great example, the Shrieking Shack. I won’t go into details of the story (no spoilers here) but you don’t need them to appreciate how wonky and kattywompus this thing is architecturally, and that kattywompusness is captured perfectly in this version by builder Xenomurphy.

In The Ruins Of The Throne Room

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The final film in the greatest saga of all time is upon us, and the world is on the edge of its seat. George said way back around 1980 that there were nine films to tell this story, and the 9th one will be out in December. And while I really didn’t care for the prequels, and Last Jedi left me conflicted and a little bitter, I am looking forward to this film. There’s a ton of cool imagery in the trailer (for my full reaction watch this) and this shot, brilliantly recreated by KevFett2011, was especially goosebump inducing.

AGH University Of Science And Technology

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This is an impressive bit of building from Toltomeja. While technically micro scale it’s pretty colossal, measuring nearly five feet wide and so packed with detail you can stare at it for days. The construction of this sorta blows my mind, and if you want to get a peek at just how complex it truly is click through for a sneak peek at the bottom of it, it’s staggering.

Mmmmm, Spooky Chocolate

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Halloween is in just two days, and things are getting awful scary. But thanks to the mechanical genius of JK Brickworks they’re also getting awful convenient. To celebrate everyone’s favorite sugar-fueled holiday Jason has designed a chocolate dispensing vending machine. Check out the video to see it in action and to go behind the scenes to see how it works!

Fastest Hunk Of Junk In The Galaxy

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About a year in the making, this incredible rendition of the “pork burger” by Rogue Bantha is at 1/72 scale, and from what I can see looks pretty darn accurate. Yes, there’s two official sets at about this scale (well, quite a bit bigger), and you may have been temporarily confused when you saw this, but this one is hand crafted by a fan, and I’m a fan of that fan.

Koholint Island

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It’s Sunday, which is classically a day of rest, so as normal I’ll be working (I pretty much work seven days a week, but it’s ok, I choose to). But I do intend to set aside a little time today to continue my exploration of Koholint Island in The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awaking on my Nintendo Switch. Partially because I occasionally have to remind myself to take some down time, and partly because I saw this outrageously cool micro scale build from BrickinNick.

The LEGO Steam Company

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Behold L.S.C., The LEGO Steam Company by builders Brick Rebel and Monstrophonic. This incredible collaboration was built for Lego World Utrecht 2019 and I desperately wish I could have been there to see this wondrous creation in person. There’s so much detail and steamy goodness wherever you look, and interactive powered features. A video is forthcoming and I can’t wait to see it.

Old School

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We’ve discussed my exceeding oldnessness on this blog a few times. For instance, I remember when there there as only three channels, and the remote control looked a lot like me, because it was me. I remember lawn darts, pong and Star Wars action figures being “new”. And I remember a time before all these magnetic mediums by builder Cha Mi, and their inevitable demise.

Here's Johnny!

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Being October, and especially being a week away from Halloween, scary images are everywhere. Some are from classic stories, some are from books, some are from tradition but the really cool ones are from movies, like this creation from The Shining by builder timofey_tkachev. It’s an iconic moment, when Jack uses an axe as an alternative door knob (r in this case, a brick separator).

The Ninjago Golden Weapons

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Donovan from Once Upon a Workbench is my kind of nerd. He’s a maker, a good dad and an excellent storyteller. You need to check out his YouTube channel immediately, it’s packed with all kinds of wonderful nerdiness including these life-size LEGO Ninjago golden weapons. While I’ve never been much into Ninjago, I can appreciate it’s appeal, and I can certainly get behind making cool stuff for your kids.