Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Nintendo Entertainment System

Name of Model: MOCOlympics Round #6: Dave Sterling vs. Crimso Giger in Atari
Created by: Dave Sterling
Found at: http://new.mocpages.com/moc.php/162930
Details:
I'm well aware that there are newer "gaming consoles" out there, but to me, the original NES (Nintendo Entertainment System) will always be the best. Tetris remains a favorite of mine (on those rare occasions when I do partake in gaming, I usually grab Tetris for Gameboy - in black and white, of course). While the mosaic of a game of Tetris in progress isn't quite perfect, the rest of this LEGO-based rendition of the classic game set-up is very accurate, including the controllers and game cartridge. Did I mention that the buttons on the console are actually spring-loaded or that you can really load the cartridge into the console? Forget game console cases, this is how video-game themed LEGO sculptures should be done.

Monday, November 9, 2009

An Explanation (and two models)

A brief word to explain my absence this past week - I got sick and was unable to finish a LEGO project with a deadline on time. In the interest of getting that project finished and installed, I decided to let the blog slide. My new creation, which I suppose we should treat as this Tuesday's model of the day, can now be found on my personal projects blog. It will be on display at the LEGO store in Raleigh, NC through the end of the month.

I had not intended to let things get so far behind - in fact, there was a phenomenal YouTube video by superbird28 that I've been meaning to share in a "Robotics Monday" post for a few weeks now - but TechnicBricks covered it Sunday and exhausted everything left to be said about it (to be fair, we both found out about the video from the same source - Tinkernology - which is quickly becoming a must-read blog for Technic fans. It was just a matter of time before somebody pointed out how fantastic this was). Please check out those sites and consider it Monday's model of the day.

Monday, November 2, 2009

All Souls' Day

Name of Model: grave
Created by: Piglet
Found at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=407894
Details:
All Souls' Day is today, November 2nd. All Souls' Day is not to be confused with All Saints Day (which is really on November 1st) or Halloween (October 31st).

In line with the Polish tradition of Zaduszki, "candles" have been placed on this gravestone in prayer for the deceased. The candles here are actually very well placed Power Functions lights - a pretty clever technique that scales very well in this model. Although I'm hesitant to distract from the sombre tone of this model, I'm also impressed by how the tree and plants turned out - it's not a particularly difficult technique to stack things in this way, but it's very effective and organic looking.

As a sidenote, we know that we skipped Halloween, but considering that people from all over the world visit this blog, we are intentionally trying to shake up which holidays we commemorate.

Saturday, October 31, 2009

Fire Brigade Modification

Name of Model: Fire Brigade Modification
Created by: a-corb (unconfirmed, this model was part of a group layout)
Found at: Flickr
Details:
It's amazing what a few simple modifications can do to the overall appearance of a building. Here we see two modified Fire Brigade sets.

This modification consists of two second floors of the proper set and a bottom floor that has had the window arrangement tossed up somewhat so that it gets away from the 'firehouse' look. What is achieved in the end is a very classical and elegant looking building, worthy of any city.

So, if you were wondering what to do with those extra copies of 10197 lying around (a problem we all wish we could have); wonder no more!

(As a sidenote, look what someone did with three copies of the Fire Brigade!)

Friday, October 30, 2009

Production Stops for Set 10179-1: Millennium Falcon



The production line has stopped for the largest Star Wars set to date, 10179-1: Millennium Falcon. So if you don't have one, and you were thinking of buying one 'in the near future'; the future has come.

Somewhat sad to see the Falcon go, but that's the cycle of things. Hopefully we'll get something equally nice in its place.

Snooker Table

Name of Model: Snooker table
Created by: lego_mancer
Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/28507435@N07/4036026327/
Details:
Snooker is a game similar to pool. It requires a table like this one, which happens to be perfectly scaled for miniland-sized people. The details come out well here thanks to the wise decision to construct the walls and buffers sideways.

Besides the obvious "needs players!" critique, that's really all there is to say.

Thursday, October 29, 2009

Barcelona's Casa Battló

Name of Model: Casa Battló
Created by: Henrik Hoexbroe
Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hxmiesa/tags/gaudi/
Details:
While the colorful roof and details of the Casa Battló cry out to be recreated in LEGO form, the lack of straight lines on the original building makes things substantially more complicated. Surprisingly, though the curves of the gorgeous inspiration have been rendered adequately. The techniques here are fairly simple, but surprisingly effective.

Additional photos of the inspiration for this creation can be found at the official website (Flash required): http://www.casabatllo.es/

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Flying Saucer

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Name of Model: UFO Invader
Created by: [Dablackcat]
Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/33465810@N06/3736720606/ and on BrickShelf: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=392673
Details:
This six-sided structure makes good use of some fairly difficult to use Bionicle elements. The six-sides appear to be provided by a Technic wheel - which conveniently gives another place to connect things through its axle. Constructing something this clever is a feat in itself, but actually getting a proper cockpit with a windshield and seat makes this instantly recognizable as a flying saucer.

Making this more unusual yet, this model was built for the Flattery Challenge, a contest that asks LEGO hobbyists to attempt a model more in the style of another builder. Part of the game is that when the models are first shared online, the builder of each model isn't revealed - so people have to guess who built what and whose style they are imitating. In this case, the builder was trying to imitate Arpy's creations.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

LEGOWORLD 2009 Round-Up

As previously noted, LEGOWORLD was this past weekend in the Netherlands. Here is our belated attempt at the obligatory photo round-up (and as usual, we'll be adding more links to this page as we find out about them):


The photo used above was taken by Vincent Kessels and depicts an NXT-based recreation of the LEGO company's warehouse - this model is currently partially described at http://thenxtstep.blogspot.com/2009/10/legoworld-2009_22.html

The Early Days of Legoland

Sometimes you come across things that completely take you by surprise. That's how I felt when I saw this collection of photographs of Legoland [Lego in general, for that matter] when it was in its infancy. It's hard to believe how far the brick has come since the 60's.


Maybe you'll like these photos on Flickr as much as I did.