Work Out Girl

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Here’s a little secret: I don’t work out. Yes, yes, I know this formidable frame seems legitimately cut but I assure you, I’m quite doughy. Unlike this hard body by builder vitreolum, who clearly can do reps, whatever those are. The subtle details and clever building on this character are pretty amazing, look at the neck, where two simple angled 1x2’s suddenly become neck muscles, and the hair is wonderful.

Vintage Boombox

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Ok, I know old radios weren’t called boomboxes, but hear me out. It’s a box, and it plays music, is there any real difference? At what point does a radio become a boombox? When you add a tape deck? Now granted I don’t really see one of these on the street next to some cardboard blasting RUN DMC, it’s more likely to in a sitting room with some Glen Miller streaming out. But that doesn’t mean grandma isn’t wearing parachute pants and a Kango though. Builder adde51.

Narnia Awaits

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Sometimes escaping this insane world is as easy as opening a book. There you can find wizards, vampires, goblins, mystical settings and all manner of fantasy. And sometimes in a book you can find others escaping their world, it’s sorta meta. Like the wardrobe that leads to Narnia, brilliantly recreated here as a “book nook” by Kristal Allemann.

Baby Yoda Rules The Internet

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I can’t recall the last time the collective nerd community and the internet in general went so nuts for a new character (baby Groot maybe?). It’s caught Disney and toy companies off guard, it’s a continual headache for Disney’s IP stormtroopers and the maker community has gone into a building frenzy. The AFOL community is also madly clicking bricks inspired by this adorable little guy, including this one by builder hachiroku24, my favorite so far.

Star Destroyer Bridge

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Wouldn’t it be cool if modern cruise ships had a bridge like the one on a Star Destroyer, like this one from builder Jonathan_S? I Cruise on Disney pretty often, and I like to imagine the captain looking out the front of the boat through windows like this, with the crew submerged in pits behind him. Then we see a Carnival ship on the horizon and send out the TIE fighters…

Back Alley

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I’m really digging this back alley piece by builder Everblack. It reminds me of a movie set, and also of the many sets we have piled in the “brick backlot” here at the studio. I can just imagine this with proper movie lighting, watching a scene play out. Maybe a little drifting fog, with eerie or dramatic music playing, a dog barking in the distance…I digress.

Keyboard Rebel

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Are keyboard guitars still a thing? I could google it I suppose, but I want to believe they are so I’ll just assume. Being a kid of the 80’s and the first generation of MTV I remember keytars very well. But since I haven’t seen a music video in ages (they still make them right?) I have no idea if these are still in any way popular. This pretty awesome alien by builder Djokson looks ready to rock out, and I’m ready to watch and listen.

The Mandalorian And The Asset

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I suppose this is technically a spoiler, but if you haven’t seen “baby Yoda” by now, just how comfortable is it under that rock? And yes, I know it’s not Yoda, he died before the events of The Mandalorian, but we’ve never been told his species, so everyone is just calling him or her (yeah, it could he a her) “baby Yoda”. Episode 4 comes out tomorrow, and while I’m excited for some feasting here today on Thanksgiving, I sorta wish it was Friday already. In the mean time I’ll just admire this pair of excellent figures by builder BaronSat.

2020 Bugatti Centodieci

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There are lots of cars posted on the various LEGO sharing sites these days, but nobody builds ‘em like Firas Abu-Jaber. The Centodieci is the latest from Bugatti, an homage to the EB110 from back in the 1990s. The updated version, revealed here, comes with 1600 brake horsepower for a whopping $9million (plus tax). Only ten will be produced, which is just slightly less exclusive than the one-of-a kind shown here. Nicely done, Firas!

Roshambomatic

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Why play Rock Paper Scissors with your hands when you can do it with a machine? That’s the concept behind this game by builder Milan Sekiz, and it’s wonderful. It’s the simplest of games, but when determining who gets the front passenger seat (“shotgun”), who’s gets the last slice of pizza or who gets to change the diaper, there is no better method.

I Brought The Mix Tape, You Bring The Cardboard?

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I’ve written about this before, but I have no shame, I used to break dance. When hiphop hit the scene in my youth my mind was blown, and I was a fan. I had a pile of tapes, from Run DMC to Twilight 22 and everything in between. And I loved to pop and lock with one of these babies blasting the beat. The boombox, like this one from Cha Mi, was as a part of the culture as parachute pants and fingerless gloves. It was all silly as anything but we ate it up.

Tis The Season

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Yeah, I know it’s not Thanksgiving yet, but I’m in a holiday mood, and so is builder modestolus. This one actually messed with my sense of scale at first, a quirk that always surprises and pleases me. Traditionally at our house we put the tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving, but since it’s so late this year we’re going to put it up a little early. I don’t have any droids to hang on it though.

The Perils Of Drinking And Building

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One of the more entertaining aspects of LEGO conventions are “non sanctioned after hours events”, or drunk builds. These are the events where alcohol and building are mixed, and it’s always a train wreck. Recently, the folks at Try channel had these lovely ladies (and a few others) attempt some inebriated construction, it went about as well as you’d expect. But it’s good for a laugh, and inspired builder Chris Doyle to immortalize them in bricks. There’s even a mechanical aspect to it, click through to see it in action.

The Razor Crest

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Everyone knows I’m a big Star Wars fan, and of course I was waiting with anticipation for the debut of The Madalorian ever since the unveiling of the trailer at D23. And of course like all the Star Wars stuff coming our way these days I was cautiously optimistic. Well, I’m here to say it’s absolutely awesome so far, I love everything about it, the characters, the music, the story, the locations, and of course his ship the Razor Crest. Builder jhaelego has done it justice with this very impressive rendition, which includes all kinds of excellent details and features. Click through to see some interior and lighting shots, it’s pretty awesome.

Lalibela Upbeat and Dawn Resurgent

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So much thought and detail goes into original creations by Eero Okkonen that your first instinct is to think “what’s this from?” The notion that it has just burst from his imagination into being seems somehow hard to grasp. But all great ideas start as just that, ideas. I could totally see this and other creations by Eero being developed into a graphic novel or series, and I’ll be able to look back and say “I was there when it began”.

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.