Details: Eric Harshbarger hasn't been building too much lately (although he was the first to make a living entirely doing LEGO sculptures and mosaics on commission, he decided to leave the field a few years ago) - but he did make these mosaics of popular board games. He's posted four game boards here (the two visible in this post are for Scrabble and Monopoly, the other two on his website are for Clue and Chess or Checkers), and all of them perfectly capture the essence of the original game board's design.
We here at LMOTD would like to apologize for the slightly off-kilter ad-heaviness of this post. Amazon and Blogger unveiled a new feature together recently with the goal of making links much easier for bloggers like ourselves, and we're trying to experiment with it without adding off-topic posts to the blog (I do genuinely love the game board mosaics featured above and mean no offense by discussing them in this manner - I just wish there was more to be said about how perfect they are).
Details: When I wrote about LEGOWORLD 2009 previously, I briefly mentioned the large NXT-based recreation of the machines in the LEGO company's warehouse. After nearly two months of waiting, we finally have found video of this phenomenal Mindstorms NXT set-up. While we still can't see quite everything, we can see a substantial amount of the layout in action, and we even get a decent close-up of a few sections of layout (specifically the carrier robots on the road).
Details: I've previously mentioned my feelings about the changing Space Police saga, and many longtime LEGO fans have similar complaints about the lack of Blacktron in the current line. Longtime-fan-turned-company-set-designer Mark Stafford has been occasionally sharing with the public some of his designs recast to fit better with more traditional (and in some cases, more realistic) designs and themes that are less kid-oriented. Not that there's anything wrong with LEGO making kits that are aimed towards kids, but it always helps a set to look attractive if it has great parts and a clever design in addition to play value. Personally, I was thrilled to see that the set designers behind the current Space Police line incorporated graffiti in a way that brought continuity with other LEGO lines (Look closely at some of the ships for stickers that say "Blacktron!" and "I love Insectoids"). This particular model takes the vehicle driven by the "Skull twins" in the current series and replaces them with a Blacktron operative (and enhances the colors and look of the ship appropriately).
Some of my complaints about Blacktron being swapped out for aliens have been rectified in the 2010 line - one new set that's finding its way into stores now features an alien with a torso that cleverly combines classic Blacktron torso designs in the sort of print quality we've gotten used to seeing in kits in recent years (double-sided torsos and slightly heavier printing than when I was little).
Mark Stafford was interviewed not too long ago on The Brothers Brick.
Details: The Russell House is an unusual house in Suffolk, England. What makes it so unusual is that it is a sliding house - a large exterior roof with walls literally slides along the house, allowing for parts of the house to be "open" or "closed", and for a large chunk of the house to appear to be made almost entirely of windows. I'm not sure how the real house was dreamed up or brought into reality, but the LEGO version makes much more sense - I mean, who hasn't tried to build a transforming house before? Right? Or maybe it's just me...
For those of you unfamiliar with this LEGO builder (I don't believe I've blogged about her before), she's actually fairly well-known in the LEGO fan community for her clever parts use "studies", which have led to very exciting furniture, staircases, and other extremely realistic interior details. As you might expect, that high level of quality is also shown on the interior of the LEGO version of this house.
Details: If you've been reading for a while, then you know I'm a huge fan of large sculptures of minifigs (increasingly, the term "maxifig" is being used to describe these). Here's one that should appeal to the Star Wars fans out there - an Episode 3 "Shock Trooper" (this is in comparison to the last "maxifig" I blogged, which was decidedly for fans of classic Space themes instead). Sure, it was already an impressive feat that the helmet was rendered here in perfect detail - but in order to be truly spectacular, other surprise features had to be added - glowing lights in the eyes, a removable chest panel (unlocked by a clever lock mechanism), and a hatch which dispenses stormtrooper minifigures (starting the dispenser feature requires sticking the "key" into a spot on the side of the maxifig, conveniently hidden by an arm most of the time).
Details: Although there are a few decent tram models in the Brickshelf gallery linked above, I'd like to call your attention to the one that is roughly miniland scale ("miniland scale" is the scale used by LEGOLAND Master Builders for the various "Miniland" displays at LEGOLAND parks). The sculpted curves are brilliant, and the brick-built windows are also spot-on.
Details: The Bay Area LEGO Users Group in San Francisco, California, USA opened their annual LEGO show this past weekend. The exhibit, entitled "Living LEGO-cy", is at the Museum of American Heritage in Palo Alto, California, USA every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday (except holidays) through January 17, 2010. More photos and information about the event can be found at the links above.
Details: 6 Power Functions motors (controlled through IR by an NXT) control 6 of the Linear Actuator element. Properly connected, they can work this "magic" - a sturdy platform that can be easily tilted or rotated from underneath. This is a clever bit of engineering, and visiting the website listed above will bring you to videos of both Shep's LEGO version and a non-LEGO version.
Details: Seeing that we covered a rendition of the Metroliner set in monorail form, we would be remiss if we did not mention a similar rendition of the Emerald Night. There are few real flagships in the Trains series, with the high raw costs of the sets (if you think in terms of price-per-part and factor in comparable other trains, they're usually inexpensive, but that's not immediately apparent) frequently scaring off even most people who are impressed by the designs, but both the Metroliner and the Emerald Night stand out as important classics. The Metroliner was in the first round of 9V system kits, and looked snazzy with its Amtrak color scheme (slightly more European stylings elsewhere made it a tough sell to some serious train fans, but it was decidedly more realistic than other 1990's LEGO train kits). The Emerald Night is the first train kit to feature the new steam locomotive wheels, and the options for motorizing it introduce the new Power Functions system.
Which is why the both warrant microscale tributes, but doesn't say too much about this little version (I'd like to see you try writing this many words about other people's LEGO creations every day and not getting a little off-topic). This is a simple and elegant build that mimics the features of the original set fairly closely.
Details: I like to focus on some pretty clever techniques here, but sometimes you can build a very detailed and pleasing little model without getting too fancy. This one still features some nice tricks ("headlight" bricks to use tiles as a realistic brick texture, pairs of round 1x1 plates stuck with string in the middle to make lights, rows of parts used to get architectural details, wheel well elements as window arches, etc.) but is largely built with standard bricks, standing up straight in a simple and elegant pattern. The scale is perfect, too - the house is the right dimensions to fit with "modular buildings" like Cafe Corner and Green Grocer, but the dark red section only goes up to a more classic town height of 7 bricks tall. The remaining three bricks' height before the roofline is done with various architectural details.
Eric Harshbarger hasn't been building too much lately (although he was the first to make a living entirely doing LEGO sculptures and mosaics on commission, he decided to leave the field a few years ago) - but he did make these mosaics of popular board games. He's posted four game boards here (the two visible in this post are for Scrabble
and Monopoly
, the other two on his website are for Clue
and Chess
or Checkers
), and all of them perfectly capture the essence of the original game board's design. 
