Welcome To A New Era Of BrickNerd!

Happy New Year!

Hello dear readers, it’s been a while. While I announced on Facebook that I was taking a bit of a break from BrickNerd many months ago, I never really made an official post. But it only took a few visits over those months to figure that out I suppose. The main reason why is simple, burn out. And it’s not just the blog, I’ve barely touched my bricks at the studio, or visited Flickr, or anything else really. Between getting friend-zoned by TLG, COPPA crippling the YouTube channel, negativity in the Ambassador program and general apathy in the builder community, I needed a break. Then COVID happened, and a whole new level of distraction was heaped on. I’ve been totally absent, for that I apologize. I did get a 2020 advent calendar and thoroughly enjoyed a little playtime every day of December, so there’s hope for me.

But there’s good news to announce, while there hasn’t been much activity here at BrickNerd.com, behind the scenes some crazy cool stuff has been happening. The amazing Dave Schefcik is going to be taking over as Nerd-in-Chief! Not only that, he’s assembled an elite squad of contributors you’ll get to know in the coming weeks and months. And don’t worry, I’ll still be around (you’re not getting rid of me that easy). Hopefully soon I’ll shed this brick-funk and start building and blogging again. I’m staying on as a contributor, and changing my title to Founding Nerd. In the meantime there are spiffy things brewing, so stay tuned!

You all mean a whole lot to me, and since the creation of BrickNerd in 2013 it’s the readers and viewers that have made it worth it. You all rock, I’d give you a hug, but we can’t do that right now, maybe soon.

SHIPtember 2020!

Alright, gang, we’re still alive and kickin’ here at Bricknerd Industries, LLC. Well, alive at least. Anyway, it’s SHIPtember if you haven’t noticed, and today is the 15th. So if you haven’t started, you better get your arse in gear! I just finished mine today, got some pics, and edited them. I even came up with an interesting name form my SHIP, the General George J. Stannard. Never heard of him? Well, that’s the idea, just like the ships of the US Space Force Fleet. Laugh all you want, whatever’s up there must be doing some awesome stuff. At least I’d like to think so.

“Posting your own build??!?!? Totally lame!!” Hey, that guy on the other LEGO blog, I forget what it’s called… Anyway, he’s ALWAYS posting his own stuff. So, talk to the manager if you’ve got a problem.

Brickworld Virtual: A Bricknerd Exclusive Interview

I sat down the other day with Brickworld’s Mark Larson. Actually, it was just a Zoom meeting. Social distancing, you know, safety first!

ElBarto!: So, this is your first year at the helm of Brickworld. What a challenging time to take over this massive operation!  Do you hold a grudge against Bryan?  I know I would.

Mark Larson: Not at all.

EB: Not even a little?  Be honest.

ML: OK, yeah. A huge grudge. How dare he know the future and sell me the company anyway? He TRULY got out at the right time. Luck was on his side, not mine. Bryan has been amazingly supportive during all of this. He has several times expressed how terrible he feels that this is happening in my first year of ownership. The last thing it is is his, or anyone's fault. And it's only the first year. I purchased a strong brand and the shows are already amazing. It was a good investment, even if it's not immediately paying off. Or even if it's immediately making life incredibly difficult. :D Bryan is the structure behind all of the virtual shows. He's spent a ton of time building the website to have the capability to host the virtual shows and learning a lot in order to make them operate smoothly. I couldn't be doing this without him, but I'd be dead without Kathie.

EB: It's called Brickworld Virtual.  As a member of VirtuaLUG, it seems fair that we should get some sort of cut of the proceeds, you know, with the name and all.  What do you think?

ML: What percentage of 0 would you like? These virtual events, while I do plan to incorporate them somehow into future in-person shows and even do some virtual events in the future, once this is all over—whenever the Jack Stone that will be—they're no replacement for the live events. These events are great and I'm happy to be continuing to connect the community but they're not a profit-making model quite yet.

EB: I see that the event is going to feature some of the contestants from the Brick Masters TV show. What's all that about?

ML: They will be doing some really fun activities all day. At 11am, 1pm, and 3pm CDT they'll be competing in challenges designed by fans. Stop in and maybe you'll get a chance to design a challenge for them. At noon and 4pm, they will be building #MessagesOfHope for Wish Kids. The Make-A-Wish network is running a social media campaign since #WishesAreWaiting. Stop in and build some messages of hope for them to post on social media for all the Wish Kids who aren't able to have their wishes fulfilled due to social restrictions right now.

EB: Is Amy Corbett going to be there?  I really dig her accent.  Do you have her contact info?

ML: I love her too. I have a platonic crush on her. I could listen to her talk for days.

EB: I hear that Dave Kaleta is going to be showing off his Alphabet Fighters, and Bart Larrow is presenting his worlds famous Battlestar Galactica.  Those guys are so cool, right?

ML: Who? Dave and Bart are doing something else really cool, besides just presenting their amazing MOCs in great detail and sharing their creative secrets with the community, they're doing a build challenge every hour. So, stop in at any hour and participate in a cool challenge and maybe get to show off what you built!

EB: Anything else you want to mention?  Are you presenting? I hear you're a pretty decent builder.

ML: Meh, I'm OK. Because I'm at the help desk, I'm not displaying. I designed the Escape House game which will run at 11am, 1pm, and 3pm CDT. Maybe some day I'll find somebody to cover the help desk for me and I'll do some stuff.

So there you have it, folks! Exclusive behind the scenes content on the upcoming Brickworld Virtual. Click on any of the pics in the slideshow to find out more.

Jurassic Plastic

Those makers of injected molded magnificence Crazy Bricks are back with another marvelous lineup. This one is 65 million years in the making, Dino Dudes! Yes, fans of LEGO and dinosaurs rejoice, these spiffy dudes are ready for some prehistoric mayhem. Like previously successful offerings such as Mouse Guard and Munchkin, these are currently on Kickstarter. You can select from multiple tiers (with stretch goals already being unlocked) and the figures are spectacular, including custom molded parts and full custom printing. Head on over and support this NOW!

A Refreshing Splash Of Color

I don’t know what I find more surprising about this space station by builder CheesyStudios, the vibrant color pallet or the fact that it was built, photographed and edited in under 24 hours, impressive.

Prairie Doggin'

Yes, it’s been a while since I’ve posted, I won’t go into details why (but you can read a bit about it here). And while I’m not promising to be as prolific as I was before, I do intend to blog more. In fact, this MOC by builder JK Brickworks was the first creation I’d seen in a while that made me go “hey, that’s cool”, and I actually wanted to blog it. I’m going to call that progress. Anyway, this thing standing still is adorable, but the fact that’s it’s mechanical, and all the critters have their own personality just makes it irresistible. Check out the video below to see it in action.

#Swag

Long time readers know how much we love swag around here. From the very early days of BrickNerd there’s always been plenty of custom printed badge and Nerdly bricks on hand to give away. And through the years we’ve had t-shirts, glasses, lanyards and all manner of silliness printed specifically to give away. Some say it’s promotion (and for tax purposes it is) but I’ve personally always thought of them as “thank-you’s”. Thanks for reading, thanks for saying hi, thanks for watching our videos, thanks for sharing your stuff, thanks for putting up with me. And it all goes back to a single fateful day when I happened on an ad for a fairly new sticker company called Sticker Mule. They were offering custom die-cut stickers and that sounded pretty nifty to me so I ordered some. I was blown away by the quality, the speed, the order experience and the customer service. I quickly ran out at BrickCon that year and didn’t hesitate to order more. Since then they’ve expanded their services and we have jumped on board with just about everything they offer. We have multiple buttons, magnets, coasters, poly bags and even packing tape, all with our mascot on them and all of it makes this supposedly grown man far too giddy. Since I started my other endeavor Nerds&Makers I’ve been adding to the pile of fun swag in the studio. In fact I just got new circle stickers yesterday and I’m expecting a new offering from them any day now, charms! So if you’re in the market for some cool custom stickers or any one of their other offerings head over to their website. And I look forward to saying “thank you” to you all soon.

Colonial Viper, MK II

Mark Kelso’s back with a modified version of his Viper built for the VirtuaLUG Battlestar Galactica display at Brickworld 2018. He’s got all sorts of nifty custom decals, including some convincing score marks, and of course his call sign; Pookie Muffin. He also admits to modifying several parts- egad! But that’s artistic license, and it’s paid off nicely! So Say We All!

Editor’s Note: As Mark was unable to attend Brickworld that year, my son was lucky enough to reassemble it for the display, where it was positioned front and center, the sharp point of the Colonial Fleet. We also got to swoosh it around!

Riddle Me This...

Ryan Howerter has come up with a way to keep us entertained (and occasionally frustrated) during the world-wide pandemic lockdown. Every day he presents us with a new conundrum for us to replicate on his Instagram page. My son and I have been working on them independently, and it’s been interesting to see him use parts I didn’t even know we had, and vice versa. Good luck, and don’t forget to wash your hands!

Welcome To Port Royale, Mr. Smith

Nearly twenty years since the release of the movie, this instantly recognisable scene of the very first introduction to Captain Jack Sparrow is brilliant. I love how the shallow depth of field achieved during the photography. Exquisitely captured in ABS by Mountain Hobbit, Captain Jack’s arrival on a sinking ship has been perfectly recreated. Using a brick-built background and water the builder has captured the essence of the original scene that kicked off a whole franchise.

Jam Session

Lego 7 seems to be a man of few words, and this build certainly needs no explanation. But since most of you, I would surmise, have plenty of time on your hands, there’s lots to learn in this build. Enjoy!

It's Easy As A B C

Well, maybe not so easy…. My old pal Dave Kaleta has finally finished his A-Z starship project. For those of you who weren’t paying attention in school, that’s 26 ships! Check out the individual posts for all the details and playability features. I especially like how the Y ship can transform from a consonant to a vowel. When the fleet is on patrol, I always stays ahead of E, except when C is in the air. And believe it or not, with all of those powerful engines, more than half of the ships can run silent. Excellent work, Dave!

And check out his new contest on Flickr and Instagram. Just click the picture.

Etch A Sketch

So you’re drawing a camel, and you’re about half done when a commercial comes on for the Kenner Star Wars Death Star playset so naturally you look up and watch. Now it’s time to continue, but which way to turn the knob? You know this one does the up and down, but which way? Oh, c’mon, you were just doing it, it’s supposed to be natural by now! Ok, let’s go clockwise…GAH!

Welcome to my childhood, thanks for a dose of nostalgia derjoe.

Just A Robot Dog Pulling Adam Savage In A Rickshaw...You Know, Like Usual

Yeah, it’s just that again, a Boston Dynamics Spot pulling Mythbuster Adam Savage in his custom made rickshaw. If I had a dollar for every time I’ve seen this, I could afford a scratcher. Builder and mechanical genius JK Brickworks is back with a wondrous creation inspired by a recent video from Tested.com. Check the video out and confirm for yourself this is a wonderful time to be alive.

Somebody Stop Me!

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen The Mask, but after seeing this awesome build by Pistash I have to admit I’m thinking of screening it again. This was the role that Jim Carrey was born to play, and I can’t imagine the part with any other actor. Yes, he chews up the scenery, but that was sort of the point wasn’t it? And the over-the-top Tex Avery style cartoony visual effects by ILM were a treat.

Mass Effect Disciple Shotgun

You’ll no doubt be shocked to learn that I haven’t played Mass Effect (I say that about every game, maybe I should game more) but that doesn’t keep me from appreciating a sweet bit of sci-fi weaponry. This state of the art pew pew by Sheo looks like it leapt right off the screen, and is ready to mow down some baddies.

In Memory

Jens Nygaard Knudsen passed away. You may not recognize his name, but if you’re reading this blog you know his work. Jens was initially a designer at LEGO and quickly became Chief Designer from 1968 until 2000.  He designed early town sets and was Mr. Space having his hand in the Space lines from the Classic era up to M-Tron and what started as Sea-Tron which later became Aquanauts. Also he is credited with inventing the Minifigure! Mark Stafford posted his article (Brick Journal #6 2009) we he talks to Jens and Designer Niels Milan Pedersen on his flickr stream in memory (page 1, page 2, & page 3). The article has many pictures of concept models that Jens and Niels created. Mark will be forwarding comments on the flickr pages to Jens family and has started #NygaardMemorialFleet for anyone who wants to build a memorial spaceship.

Image from Mark Stafford’s flickr stream, original published Brick Journal #6