Sunday, August 28, 2011

Another Blog You Should Read: Mike Doyle's reMOCable

Name of Blog: reMOCable
Created by: Mike Doyle
Found at: http://remocable.blogspot.com/
Details: You may remember Mike Doyle from some his shockingly detailed creations. More recently, he's also taken to blogging, with an emphasis on the artsier side of the hobby. Models from a variety of builders (all credited) are presented as part of a coherent theme, and each post shows one theme. The result is an interesting balance between the of-the-moment feel of blogs and the more traditional feel of coffee-table art books.

Friday, August 26, 2011

Cowpoke

Name of Model: Cowpoke
Created by: Paganomation
Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/paganomation/sets/72157627332264629/
Details: This poseable figure, "Cowpoke", was created for LEGO for this music video:

There are also two behind-the-scenes videos:


Tuesday, August 23, 2011

New Set Announced: 10222 Winter Village Post Office

Name of Model: 10222 Winter Village Post Office
Created by the LEGO company
Found at: http://www.fbtb.net/2011/08/05/official-announcement-10222-winter-village-post-office/
Details: The new Winter Village Post Office was unveiled at BrickFair:
10222 Winter Village Post Office

Ages 12+. 820 pieces.
US $59.99 CA $79.99 DE 59.99 € UK 49.99 £

Continuing the winter scene series, the Winter Village Post Office is the perfect snow-covered setting. In the cozy post office, the worker is hard at work sorting all the mail into containers and sacks, while upstairs, there’s just time for the postman to take a break before setting off in the traditional post car with all the letters and gifts. From the pavilion outside, musicians fill the air with music, while children take in the wintry atmosphere by the park bench before throwing snowballs at each other – the musicians had better get ready to duck!

• Includes 7 minifigures: female post office worker, male postman, female, 2 kids and 2 musicians and a dog!

• Post office features dark-green split roof with snow, fireplace, light brick, table, coffee mug, and lamppost and mailboxes outside!

• Also features evergreen tree and assorted minifigure accessories

Available for sale directly through LEGO® beginning

October 2011 via shop.LEGO.com, LEGO® Stores or via phone:

US Contact Center 1-800-453-4652

CA (English) Contact Center 1-800-453-4652

CA (French) Contact Center 1-877-518-5346

European Contact Center 00-800-5346-1111


Sunday, August 21, 2011

New Set Announced: 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van

Name of Model: 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van
Created by the LEGO company
Found at: http://www.brothers-brick.com/2011/08/13/10220-volkswagen-t1-camper-van-rolls-out-oct-2011-news/
Details: We've had a few new sets pop up recently - one of them being the 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van:

10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van

Ages 16+. 1,322 pieces.

US $119.99 CA $129.99 DE 99.99 € UK 79.99 £ DK 799 DKK

This authentic camper van is a replica of the classic Volkswagen Camper Van from 1962. Every iconic feature is here! On the outside, the terrific detailing includes ‘V’ shape three-way color split at the front, rounded roof and window frames, opening ‘splittie’ safari windshield, opening doors, iconic pop-up roof with textile curtain surround, roof rack, rear side air intake vents and lots more! The detailing is equally impressive on the inside, from the authentic VW air-cooled flat four cylinder boxer engine, front cabin bench seat, gear stick, angled dashboard and iconic spherical speedometer, to custom LEGO® features like folding rear bench seat, folding dinette table, closet with mirror and even a painting!

  • Features 11 windows, authentic plaid-print textile curtains and wing mirror!
  • Rear door opens to reveal detailed engine!
  • Interior also features rear bench seat that transforms into a bed, ‘Make LEGO Models, Not War’ T-shirt and rear shelf with plant!
  • Measures 11.8″ (30cm) long and 5.5″ (14cm) high!

Thursday, August 18, 2011

Club Tropicana on Golden Island

Name of Model: Club Tropicana
Created by: Frederik Normann
Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/60001201@N04/sets/72157626585307326/
Details: This fantastic island resort layout was whipped up for LEGOWORLD 2011. Built in minifig scale with all the expected details - landscaping, docks, boats, interiors, waterfalls - you name it, it's there. You can't help but suspect most people didn't even notice the Jørgen and Kjeld minifigures inside - these rare minifigures are used by some LEGO employees like business cards and are highly collectible. Some of the furniture uses a technique with minifig hands and lever bases to make pieces that ordinarily wouldn't connect (such as coins or window panes) into perfect table tops. The stunning scope of this model distracts from such small details, though, and draws attention to the landscaping and water.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Publisher Needed for Book about LEGOLAND Windsor Miniland

Name of Book: Caught in a Moment
Created by: Craig Williams
Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12678461@N08/tags/caughtinamoment/
Details: If you've been following this blog for a while, you know we love Miniland. The LEGOLAND parks feature not just excellent models at miniland scale, but capture scenes, characters, and locations in ways that are often difficult to do at other scales. The faceless figures are very expressive, and all sorts of great techniques and in-jokes become clear with a close inspection of the models. In the photo shown here, for example, you can see partial minifigs used as puppets for a puppet show. There aren't that many photos in the part of this set we can see, but they're all excellent. The photographer has assembled them into a book and is looking for a publisher - anyone know someone that could make this book happen?

CNC Machine Demonstration

Name of Model: LEGO Mindstorms NXT 2.0 CNC mill
Created by: kabeltomten
Found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re9F6Tp-B_A
Details: Perhaps a demonstration of a concept isn't terribly exciting, but this dry-run of a CNC machine is captivating. The use of a large Power Functions motor to drive the "drill" component is a smart choice, but not as clever as the use of a separate speed computer so that the user can keep close tabs on it. Thanks to that, you can add a manual form of precision to the precision already offered by the NXT motors. The possibilities for combining this with actual power tools (or some capable LEGO equivalent) are endless.

Since I'm sure it'll come up in the comments - yes, we have technically featured a sort of CNC machine before (Pancakes, anyone?), but that one worked by maneuvering the head on multiple axes. This one actually moves the platform for the x and y dimensions.

Saturday, August 13, 2011

BrickFair 2011 Wrap-Up

Name of Event: BrickFair 2011
Found at: http://www.brickfair.com/ (note: link goes to upcoming event, click on "Other Events" on the top right to find information on BrickFair 2011 and other events.
Details: Here we are, nearly a week after surviving our third BrickFair. This was a low-key year, mostly because my own plans were made fairly last-minute. There were no LMOTD tile giveaways this year, and I brought fewer of my own creations that I've blogged - but it was still an intense weekend, thanks to all of the other things that were there to see. I'll be updating this over the next few weeks as I slowly get my feed reader back under control, but here's a partial round up of photos and coverage from the event. You can send your tips and photos in to legomodeloftheday@gmail.com.
my 1,524 flickr photos
ED́WW day_dae (esteemedhelga)™'s flickr photos (set 1)
ED́WW day_dae (esteemedhelga)™'s flickr photos (set 2)
Brickapolis' flickr photos
New Scientist article
unsupervised1's flickr photos
jchanes927's flickr photos
Brian's Bricks's flickr photos
Bosta's flickr photos
Mariann Asanuma pre-event commentary
Mariann Asanuma post-event commentary
Joe Meno's flickr photos (Thursday)
Joe Meno's flickr photos (Friday)
Joe Meno's flickr photos (Saturday)
Joe Meno's flickr photos (Sunday)
taygete05's flickr photos (including the one used above)
AB Quest's flickr photos
BrickFair group pool on flickr
rhombitruncated's flickr photos
pianoforte's flickr photos
tehLEGOman's flickr photos
pjmoyer's Brickshelf Gallery
The Brothers Brick's Wrap Up
-R8-'s flickr photos
Shuppiluliumas' flickr photos
CP5670's Brickshelf gallery
scrope's Brickshelf gallery
Classicsmiley's flickr photos
Rob Bender's flickr photos
idea.org article: NASA partners with community LEGO event for community outreach