Halloween Window Display Models

Name of Model: October 28, 2001: Halloween 2001: Ghost, Pumpkin, and Witch

Created by: Bill Ward

Found at: http://www.brickpile.com/2007/07/17/october-28-2001-halloween-2001-ghost-pumpkin-and-witch/

Details: Happy Halloween! I know we've had quite a few problems on this blog the past few weeks, but I wanted to make sure that I got these three Halloween themed models in for this year. The ghost and witch appear to be original designs (both are quite good ad feature some clever uses for slopes in more sculpted models), but the pumpkin model is the alternate model you can find instructions for in the "Pumpkin Pack" LEGO set (which I think is available at the official LEGO Shop at Home site) - remember though, you need two of those packs to get enough orange bricks to build the 3D pumpkin. The ghost, at least, looks like a project you could probably try out this year without having to hunt down special parts. Feel free to send in any holiday-themed models you have - we'll be saving them up for next year too, and with any luck, I'll actually manage to spread them out a bit more from here on out.

Hiatus through December First

I'm guessing that the lack of posts recently gave it away, but I figure I ought to make it official - this blog is more-or-less on hiatus through December first. I just don't have the time to keep working on it. I will return to blogging here as soon as I can.

Apologies for the Interruption...

After getting a few blue-screens-of-death the past few days, I'm thinking I need to stop worrying about whether or not there's truly a post here everyday and start making sure I'm completely backed up so I can send in my laptop soon. I'll try to get in as many models as I can this week, but if things seem a bit behind, that's why.

NW BrickCon2007 Roundup

A number of bloggers have been attending NW BrickCon2007 or otherwise blogging about it. Here are their reports (all have either pictures or links to pages with pictures): BrickJournal Scaled-Up LEGO Bricks Vignette Bricks MicroBricks MicroBricks The Brothers Brick Day 1 The Brothers Brick Day 2 The Brothers Brick Day 3

And as a bonus, a report from a blogger who bought a Star Wars LEGO® set with his daughter and won a rare golden C-3PO!

Pirate Captain Sculpture

Name of Model: Pirate Captain

Created by: Scaled-Up LEGO Bricks bloggers

Found at: http://bigbricks.blogspot.com/2007/09/pirate-captain.html

Details: This sculpture of an oversized LEGO® minifig pirate captain was created by a pair of enthusiasts to go with an official pirate sculpture that they purchased recently. Unlike the other sculpture that they wanted this one to match, this one is made entirely out of LEGO® bricks. Their design perfectly captures all of the details of the original minifig (note the details on that torso, and don't ask me how they got enough brown parts for that peg leg - which seems to have no problem supporting the weight!) They are also looking for more info on the "Pirate Lady" sculpture that this Captain was made to go with - if you have any information or photographs to share, please pass them along to them.

Reversable Spaceship (original alternate Exoforce model)

Name of Model: unknown

Created by: Lego Adventures - A Galaxy of Design

Found at: http://legos-legos.blogspot.com/2007/10/review-of-lego-exoforce-shadow-crawler.html

Details: After deciding that he did not like the design of the model featured in the Exoforce Shadow CrawlerLEGO® set, this young builder decided to build his own alternate model with the same parts. The spaceship he built is a really clever design - it's reversable and looks just as great studs-up as it does studs-down. I'm not sure just how this was built (which direction he built out from) but the effect is great. The use of those leg/blade things from the original model as wings is a good idea too.

Compatible Car

Name of Model: compatible car

Created by: Moko

Found at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=278706

Details: This gorgeous minifig-scale car was built almost entirely with studs-not-on-top effects. You have to see it to believe it - and to be honest, I'm still not sure just how some of the parts are attached. The details here are amazing - it's not often that you see a car this size with side-view mirrors. I'm pretty sure that those are held on with black minifig wrenches. An alternate version of the car in the same gallery features a different way of doing car lights and mirrors.

Stargate Sculpture

Name of Model: Stargate

Created by: Kelly McKiernan

Found at: http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/11413 and http://binkmeister.deviantart.com/art/LEGO-Stargate-25661184

Details: Today's model (a reader submission) is a clever sculpture of a stargate from the Stargate sci-fi franchise. For those unfamiliar with the franchise, the basic idea is that various people, aliens, etc can walk through an activated "stargate" and end up in another time and place defined by the settings on the first stargate. It's a sort of intergalactic travel device. This rendition of a stargate in LEGO® parts uses a bit of cheating to get the lighting just right, but otherwise is completely made of LEGO® parts. An RCX is used to even turn the inner circle here the same way that the ones in the franchise work. The details here are great, too - make sure to have a look at how those large circles were constructed.

Microscale Cityscape

Name of Model: Mocs build my me for Trivia Contests

Created by: tbaixinho

Found at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=278799

Details: Here's a fun microscale cityscape. Some newer sloped pieces were used for the water here (and they look great). The use of lighter green parts for trees (and brown round plates for the bottoms of the trees) is a great touch too. Studs-not-on-top parts are used facing backwards for the windows - they have plates (those LEGO® parts one-third the thickness of a LEGO® brick) on the other side - which means that this doesn't look good from the back, but it looks great from the front.

This is Tuesday's model of the day.

Robotics Monday: RFID Rover

Name of Model: RFID Rover

Created by: Anders

Found at: http://www.norgesgade14.dk/rfid_rover.php

Details: Among LEGO® robotics enthusiasts, "cheating" isn't frowned upon when it involved using third-party sensors to add additional actuator or sensor capabilities to the standard LEGO® capabilities. The builder of this rover also designed the custom RFID reader for LEGO Mindstorms NXT that was used for this model. A Hitechnic compass sensor was used here as well (For those wondering, Hitechnic is a great company that you can safely buy sensors from for your kids if they want additional sensor options). All of the sensors are being controlled with a standard LEGO® MINDSTORMS NXTkit to make it more-or-less autonomous. To go even a step further, though, this guy set up an online interface with PHP that allows RFID-defined destinations to be added or removed to the robot's itinerary remotely.

Seven Wonders of the World

Details: Some less-than-upstanding blog that doesn't cite anything has posted a compare-and-contrast picture post on the "Seven Wonders of the World" and equivalent LEGO® models. You can see it at http://www.anieto2k.com/2007/10/01/las-siete-maravillas-del-mundo-en-lego/ Normally I wouldn't link to a site like that, but they did do a good job of finding photos and lining them up. I have a feeling I'll be featuring some of these again when I have proper background on these models (and more photos, of course), but hey, this works as a LEGO® fix for the day. UPDATE: A commenter pointed out to me some excellent coverage of the official LEGO event that these models are from. There are a number of other excellent models to be seen at that link as well.

Microscale Building

Name of Model: Microscale building

Created by: jmenomeno

Found at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=107736

Details: Microscale building is always a great way to find new uses for unusual pieces. Check out the translucent bricks as windows and the domes used as awnings on this building. A large smooth tile is used as a sidewalk too. Personally, I think this looks like something I'd build shortly after getting just a few pieces in a new color - those tan elements aren't that easy to find (at least, not in my day...) and something small like this is a good way to unite a handful of those pieces for a consistent color scheme.

Space Ninja Battle

Name of Model: space ninjas battle at the Bridge of the Everlasting Fire

Created by: Sly420

Found at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=240882

Details: I'm not really sure of all the details behind the theme of this one (the title says something about space ninjas?) - but this is clearly an awesome creation. The details are great, and I am very jealous of that supply of orange bricks for the lava below. Look closely at those rocks, too - those aren't the large single-piece hills that LEGO® makes, they are actually built with a large amount of individual bricks.

This is Friday's model of the day.

LEGO® Dinosaur Sculpture

Name of Model: unknown

Created by: Disney's LEGO Imagination Center's professional builders

Found at: http://bigbricks.blogspot.com/2007/09/dinosaur.html

Details: There's nothing quite as fun as a LEGO® sculpture that is designed to look as if it were made of giant LEGO® bricks. Look closely at this dinosaur and I think you'll see that it's one of those. I believe this one is still on display at Disney's LEGO Imagination Center.

This is Wednesday's model of the day.

Frog Senate

Name of Model: Frog Senate Section 5

Created by: gladius

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/gladius/1472507331/

Details: Here's a clever one using small frogs, some unusual parts, and some unusual colors. It's a good example of how a few unusual parts can have a very clever ironic meaning.

This is Thursday's model of the day. (Somehow I got my times messed up this week...)

A Great 9V Train

Name of Model: VT11.5 VT601 VT602 TEE and IC zug

Created by: sekiyama

Found at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=177674

Details: I suspect most of you who follow other LEGO® fansites have already heard the bad news: The LEGO Group is no longer manufacturing 9V trains. This marks the end of an era - while most Adult Fans of LEGO (or AFOLs) were around before the 9V line started in 1991, this is really the only format of LEGO® trains that today's kids know. Additionally, the 9V trains were designed as part of a larger catalog of 9V electronics used in LEGO sets - light packs for spaceships, sound effect boxes for police sirens, the Cybermaster, Mindstorms Robotics Invention System, the motorized Technic sets, etc all used the same connectors and voltages. This meant that it was easy for anyone with a varied collection of LEGO parts to build trains that lit up or were controlled by computer. From what I can gather, the new "Power Functions" sets work similarly to the LEGO® MINDSTORMS NXT kit, and the new train line that will be unveiled by 2010 will be compatible with those components. Of course, if that's the case, then there will always be adapter bricks out there... So naturally, I wanted to spotlight a train today. This beautifully detailed train was made with the 9V parts as a base, but then this hobbyist carefully added other LEGO® parts to get the exact effect he/she was going for. I'm not enough of a train buff to recognize whether or not this one was based on a life-size train or not, but I love the LEGO® detailing here - the curves, the studs-not-on-top effects, the lettering, the way the front lifts up...

Robotics Monday: Rube Goldberg Machine

Name of Model: Rube Goldberg Machine

Created by: students at Leonardo's Basement

Found at: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Hh0etTSI9Dg and http://blog.wired.com/geekdad/2007/09/geeking-out-in-.html

Details: This Rube Goldberg Machine makes use of six LEGO® MINDSTORMS NXT kits! It's a hoot but I can't help but wonder if a less computer-heavy version of this one would be doable. You have to watch the video to appreciate this one, though.