Everyone loves a good hamburger. I mean how could you not? They are convenient, customizable, and not to mention very tasty! The only thing that can make them better though is when they are served from a snazzy restaurant like this one by Andrea Lattanzio. The beautiful vintage architecture and the millions of details are enough to make me forget my deep craving for a juicy burger for just a moment. Mmmmmm, hamburgers…
For as long as we've been building machines to go reasonably fast, there's been a select few who make them go unreasonably fast. And with the invention of the internal combustion engine, the speed (and the stakes) got even higher, and we've been fascinated since. Like this scene marvelously recreated by builder Pixeljunkie of 1929 Monoco Grand Prix featuring his beautiful Bugatti, the crowd loves it.
Growing up in California, especially on the central coast with frequent trips to Los Angeles, we never saw much public transportation. I'm afraid the car reigns supreme here, and life in Los Angeles is next to impossible without one. This is probably why I'm so enamored with trollies, trains and cool busses, and why I find this tram by Pate-keetongu so irresistible. I also enjoy a good period or vintage build, this one is set at a time three times my age, and that's pretty old.
Since humans got smart enough to build houses, we've been dumb enough to set them on fire. And going way, way back we've had groups of brave individuals willing to risk their lives to combat those fires. Eventually we built vehicles to help with the task, like this fire truck from the oldest fire apparatus manufacturer in America, Bickle Seagrave. Builder Nouvilas does this classic justice in this build.
It takes one look at a classic Coca-Cola machine, a vintage radio or even a gas pump to see how we as humans used to really care about aesthetics. While modern design can be nice, a truly beautiful item is rare these days, and always celebrated, which makes me wonder why there isn't more beautiful stuff? Builder Norton74 gets it, and has crafted this vintage gas pump, which served a simple purpose, and looked good doing it.
Since the first cars hit the road we've been on the eternal hunt for the fuel to make them go. I'm sure in those early days routes needed to be pretty carefully mapped out, because gas stations were a much more random and homegrown affair, much like this quaint MOC by Norton74. But back then I'm sure there was much more feeling of adventuring while out on the open road. "Getting there" truly was half the fun.
I've said it many times, the 70's weren't pretty, but there was an unquestionable earnestness to the era. The Gong Show was a thing, disco was on the radio and let's not talk about fashion, but it was all done with a brash energy and unapologetic gusto. Cars weren't pretty back then either, but they were necessary and everywhere. This scene from 1979 Sweden by builder LegoJalex captures the working class vibe perfectly, and feels so very 70's I wouldn't be surprised to see it's on a Thrifty "Twin Pic".
Every once in a while here at BrickNerd we like to look back, just to see how far we've come. This Classic Commodore VIC 20 might look familiar to some of you old school computer users. There's an entire generation of early home computer adopters that made this their first computer. It was built by the Arvo brothers (yeah, those Arvo brothers) a decade ago.
What a time it must have been in the late 1800's and early 1900's, a fanciful new invention was coming out practically every month, opportunity was everywhere and craftsmen still made the furniture. The occupant of this study must have been fairly well to do, but had excellent taste. Builder Jared Chan shows us how vintage is done.
One of the things I love about micro scale is the imaginative use of parts it tends to have. And sometimes, those parts aren't exactly new. The trees in this little Chateau by simply bricking it date way back to 1966 (whoa, something older than I am!) but of course being LEGO they work perfectly together. Now If i could just figure out what those parts on the front are...
I love old motorcycles. The aesthetic, the utilitarian nature and the simplicity have always had an appeal. The earliest ones are my favorites, but even through the 60's bikes were being produced that had styling cues from their predecessors. This BMW R60 by young builder Maxime Cheng has a suburb level of detail, and captures the style perfectly. Some purists might want to look away though, if I'm not mistaken (and I usually am) there's several custom parts in this thing. But the results are so excellent I'm more than willing to overlook them.
I don't think there could be a more stark contrast than comparing modern race cars to their vintage counterparts. But will all the advancements in safety, aerodynamics, horsepower and materials, something of the spirit of the originals has been lost. Of course the end goal all along as been to go faster than the other guys, but man were the vintage cars beautiful. This recreation of a 1930's era car by builder redfern1950s is absolutely gorgeous, and really captures the feel of what it was to be built for speed in a time when craftsmanship still mattered.
Here's a fun fact, I have family roots in the midwest tied to moonshining. I don't know the specifics of it, I just know that back 2-3 generations on my mom's side there was some nefarious shenanigans. So this excellent shine runner by one of my favorite car builders tiler is not only very nicely built and photographed, but echoes a little bit of family history, excellent.
You kids today, with your fancy iPods and digital recorders. Back in my day we used tape! You wanted to record something you hauled around one of these devices, loaded with D batteries and with a load of cassette tapes. And when you wanted to hear what you just recorded, you had to rewind first! Now stop recording me and get off my lawn!
The 1950's were an exciting time for LEGO. The brand was getting recognition for quality and our favorite "System of Play" was introduced, while the wooden toys that the company was founded on started to be phased out. During the mod 50's, you were likely to see this little guy on the packaging. This version was built by Bill Vollbrecht for the L-Gauge Museum.
What we have here is one sleek-looking, crimson beauty. I mean seriously, look at this thing! It would be amazing in any color, but is even more so in the rare LEGO dark red. The build is chock full of great little details including foot pedals, shifter, and a fully modeled engine under the hood.
They just don't make cars like this anymore.
Ah, the Kubelwagen, grandpappy of the notorious VW Type 181, the Thing. I've always had a soft spot for vintage VW, even this ugly old beast. Legohaulic built this awesome little MOC as a commission, and totally nailed it.
This is a really nice building MOC, but what really makes it is the presentation. Vintage photograph simulation is difficult to master, usually overdone or just misses the mark. But this is very well done indeed. Just enough sepia and desaturation to age, just enough blur and haze to age, just enough texture to sell it. All that and a beautiful building as well, I like it. Check out all the pictures of the larger diorama after the jump.
It is time to take to the skies to see all the LEGO floating islands that populate our imaginations. Check out these gravity-defying rocks and learn why they might be one of the best ever collab ideas.
Old LEGO magic still has its charms. We revisit Borgin and Burkes and Dumbledore’s office to compare how their buildings, curious objects, and magical creatures have changed across generations of Harry Potter sets.
Want to customize a minifig without fancy printers or toxic fumes? Learn how to use the dark art of reductive design to literally erase the line between official and custom LEGO parts.
LEGO meets tabletop combat in the Brassbound universe. We talk with creator Paul Antoine about designing microscale armies, turning builds into game pieces, and developing games with a growing community.
When a legendary archaeologist minifigure meets the spin cycle, adventure calls! Follow along as we reclaim the lost fedora of Indiana Jones and uncover how to repair a LEGO keychain.
LEGO adventurers need somewhere to unwind between quests. We talk with Sleepy Dragon Inn designer Marin Graux about classic Castle, medieval hospitality, and how his design evolved for the BrickLink Designer Program.
From sketches to superglue, see how this custom LEGO motorcycle earned its street cred. We chat with Jean-Yves about the design, prototyping, and even heat resistance of his LEGO customizations, taking them from prototype to the pavement.
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Monet painted his garden many times, exploring changes in color and time of day. Meredith Najewicz follows his lead, rebuilding the LEGO Art Water Lilies set with a darker palette and some creative part substitutions to cast the lilies in a different light.