Shedding Light And Casting Shadows

From the moment I learned about the products from Brickstuff I was intrigued. From the moment I used the products they graciously sent I was a fan. And from the moment I met the founder Rob, I had a friend. Brickstuff lighting products have been our go-to here at the animation studio and have played a critical role in our scale lighting needs. I’ve reviewed several of their kits and have never been less than totally impressed. Just watch either of these videos and you’ll see the care, quality and creativity that went into them.

Today I learned that LEGO was partnering with Light My Bricks, the company that outright pirated Brickstuff’s designs, for their exploration of LEGO branded lighting products. You can read more about it in this article by Brickstuff. I don’t want to don the hat of social justice warrior, but I feel this is just way out of line, and while my reach is admittedly limited, I want this to be known. Please take some time to read the article, and if you are so inclined, let LEGO know this is just not cool.

The Magic Bus In The Wild

What do you do when you’ve trekked hundreds of miles and you stumble upon an abandoned bus in the Alaskan wilderness? Well you move into it of course. This is the way over simplified version of the fascinating tale of Chris McCandless, and his ill fated quest to reject society and live off the land. Builder Norton74 has crafted this awesome recreation of the “Magic Bus” as Chris dubbed it.

Because These Balls Aren't Going To Move Themselves

I’ve always been fascinated by great ball contraptions, or GBCs. They’re wonderfully complex design to do a wonderfully useless action tickles my Rube Goldberg fancy. Builder and mechanical evil genius (ok, not so evil) JK Brickworks has crafted his very first GBC, and of course it’s a wonder to behold. Watch the video to see it in action.

Cigarettes and Coffee, Man, That's a Combination

Even if you don’t know who these two guys are, you can appreciate timofey_tkachev’s level of skill required to reproduce such a scene in LEGO. But if you do recognize these cultural icons, Iggy Pop and Tom Waits, then you realize what an extraordinary piece this is.

Were You Ready For Some Football?

Football season officially ended Sunday with the super-est of bowls, and while I’m not really into sports, I can appreciate how much my friends are. Take for instance my buddy Brandon Griffith, who crafted this beautiful replica of the Vince Lombardy trophy. Brandon’s team the Titans didn’t make it this year (so close) but I’m sure he was still watching the game with enthusiasm.

Outhouse

There have been countless technological advances in the past century, but few are as taken for granted as the modern bathroom/toilet. Within as few as three or four generations, less depending on just how rural you are, an outhouse, like this one by SuckMyBrick, was simply the place to do your business. And it just takes a short visit to a outdoor event or construction site to relive just how terrible it was as you are forced to use a “modern” porta-potty.

Sorcerer's Apprentice

We’re big into Disney at our house, and while we’re not the biggest fans of Fantasia, the iconic image of Mickey as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice has always been a favorite. This sculpture by builder alanboar captures not only the look of Mickey in this classic role, but also the whimsy and attitude.

Assault-Teddy

It’s a well established fact that kids sleep better with a teddybear. What’s less known is the fact that the reason they can sleep well is the diligence and perseverance of the humble teddy. When the lights go off and the eyes close, teddy’s watch begins, and thanks to builder Moko we can get a glimpse into the secret world of kid defense.

Dwelf Tales

I love the imagination and whimsy of this CCC entry by builder LittleJohn. It features a working trap designed to separate travelers on a forest road from their treasure in a wonderful little scene cleverly sandwiched between two books.

Bob's Kabobs

This looks right out of 5th element or maybe Blade Runner, so naturally I’m instantly smitten. Welcome to Bob’s Kabobs, a hover equipped food truck by builder lokiloki29. This solves one of the main problems I’ve seen with food trucks (besides them never being where you are when you’re hungry) is sorting out where to park.

The Space Bar

You’re a space trucker, looking to unwind after a long week of hauling bio-cells. Where do you go? Why, the place where everybody knows your name: The Space Bar. This MOC by Pixel fox is really fun, with tons of detail. I love the bubble-lamp things, and all crazy characters and stories going on (my favorites are the little spider thing at the bottom, and the guys jumping over the railing to save their friend).

Tiny Loco

I do enjoy when I see a small collection of parts ingeniously combined into something nifty. When you first glance at this little locomotive by builder Cole Blaq it just looks like a train. But when you look closer you’ll start to see things, like the boiler is a chest, and the catcher is minifig hands. It’s all as clever as it is small.

Showdown On Arvala

Like a great many Star Wars fans, I ravenously devoured The Mandalorian, and it’s been so refreshing to have the feels of Star Wars back. There’s a certain intangibility to what makes something feel like Star Wars, but no small part of it is the roots on which it’s built, the inspiration that fueled it. It’s clear in the first minute of episode one that The Mandalorian is heavily inspired by the classic westerns, which were in turn heavily inspired by the classic samurai movies, and A New Hope drew much of inspiration from those as well. By the end of the first scene I was hooked, and so was everyone else. Builder Marcus19840432 is clearly a fan, having skillfully crafted one of the key early moments in season one, the showdown in the outpost on Arvala. For spoilers sake I will say no more and if you haven’t seen the series yet, what the heck are you waiting for?

Starfighter!

John C. Lamarck , aircraft builder extraordinaire has once again found his way into our Nerdy hearts. He has built an excellent rendition of Lockheed’s F-104 . For those uninitiated into the world of aircraft geekery let me give you the quick tour. The F-104 was designed by Kelly Johnson’s design team in the 1950’s (Johnson is most known for working on the P-38 Lightning, U-2, and SR-71 Blackbird). Known as the “Missile with a Man in it” the 104 was design as a supersonic interceptor design to intercept and destroy soviet fighters and bombers. Starfighters were in service in the USAF, allied air forces and NASA from 1958 until late 2004 (USAF retirement was significantly early). The 104 set several aviation records mostly in climb to altitude speed. Seen here is an excellent rendition of the CF-104 built under license by Canadair for the Royal Canadian Air Force. John captures the curves and the sleekness of the Starfighter amazing well. I love the use of the classic tire to capture the exhaust cone, the air inlets are rendered very well at this scale and the custom decals are fantastic. The one limitation of this scale is the biconvex airfoil cannot be captured. The leading edges came to such a knife edge that unware ground personnel often received very bad cuts on their heads when bumping into the wing.

"No Capes!"

I’m still waiting for the comet, radioactive, lightning strike or chemical bath that will grant me super powers, but when it happens I just hope I can find someone like Edna here to help with my costume creation. Builder city son brings one of my favorite Pixar characters to brick form, and I dig her.

Pegasus

Semi-embarrassing Idiosyncrasy time. Whenever I speak the word “Pegasus” I am overwhelmingly compelled to do it in the theatrically heroic voice of Hercules. And not from the inexplicably spirally Disney movie, more like the terrible Trans Lux cartoon from the 60’s. And yes, I did it the first time I saw this magnificent sculpture by Grantmasters (and no, I’m not ashamed).

Merry Christmas!

Monkey bread is in the oven, brunch is in the crock pot, Christmas carols are playing in the background and a cheery fire is burning. We’re going to start opening presents in a few minutes but I thought I’d take a quick moment to wish you all a very Merry Christmas! Santa (brilliantly built here by MinifigNick) came to our house last night, we’re very happy.

That Little Space Movie

I’m still mentally sorting through Rise of Skywalker, I enjoyed it, but it’s a lot to unpack (and I mean a lot). In the mean time I sit on the solid foundation of my fandom, thanks to being the perfect age to have experienced this little movie, Star Wars (maybe you’ve heard of it?) Builder NS Brick Designs has crafted one of the classic posters to my favorite movie of all time, and this edit incorporating aspects of the poster makes it pretty much perfect.

Work Out Girl

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

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.