Details: Some people, believe it or not, have a hard time using DUPLO parts in their creations. Even though LEGO intentionally makes DUPLO parts to work with the smaller standard size parts, many people are either unaware of this or uninterested in taking advantage of it. On the other hand, though, there are people who are willing to take the most outrageous DUPLO pieces and find ways to use them. In one particularly dark time for the DUPLO line, LEGO tried to rebrand it as "LEGO Explore". When parents and grandparents who aren't familiar with LEGO got confused and stopped buying LEGO as a result, LEGO quickly changed back to calling it DUPLO on the box art (the writing on top of the studs still says "LEGO" instead of "DUPLO" though - that part of the change stuck). The Explore theme had some particularly unusual subthemes: Explore Logic brought us simple programmable toys, Explore Together brought us playsets designed for multiple people, Explore Being Me brought us (apparently) educational kits and a reissue of Primo, and Explore Imagination brought us both more "normal" DUPLO sets and a series of music-making kits. Needless to say, this last subtheme is where most of the fun was. The music-making kits seem to be one of those rare items that won't really connect to "normal" parts (you build onto the music-making kits by using plugs and cartridges specially designed for them). The controls for the music-makers could be a bit annoying - the Music Twister (used in this model) in particular only allow you to "twist" a tone while a pre-programmed song plays. Some people complain that this makes the Music Twister parts "useless" (or obnoxious, especially in the hands of a real toddler), but they are wrong - see, you can use it to build an awesome space colony! Just add silos, radar dishes, a spaceman, and greebling.
Details: At one point, there was a rumor that the next Cafe Corner style set would be sand blue. It's a shame that we didn't get a new kit in that color, but this model would be hard to top even if Jamie Berard (the designer of Cafe Corner, Green Grocer, and Grand Emporium) did pursue that color in an official set. While this whole model is fantastic, some highlights include the horse statue, the clothing racks, and the stunning architecture. The corner in particular is an interesting trick - instead of putting a full edge on the building with an angled doorway and windows, we get a column that just rounds things off. I'm pretty sure the texture there is achieved by use of click hinge bricks facing opposite directions. Corrected by a reader Wednesday morning: This effect is built sideways in two different directions - those tiles are actually attached to 1x2 slopes, and we're seeing the sloped surface face outward. A clever and very easy solution!
Details: Remember a few weeks back when I featured OK GO's Rube Goldberg Contraption? How about a few months before that when I mentioned Tora no Maki? Imagine combining the weight-powered mechanisms from Tora no Maki with a grand Rube Goldberg Machine in the style of OK GO's but less dramatic and entirely made out of LEGO. That's what this machine is like. In this video, though, you really get a chance to see what's what - after you see the machine run through once, you get to see outtakes edited in order of where they failed. The repeated close-ups on each section make it nice and clear what's going on in each part. Personally, I'm really impressed that no electricity was used - everything is triggered by weight. Another victory for the non-motorized mechanical world!
Details: Every once in a while, a fantastic model from somewhere else in the world reminds you of just how many great things you don't see because of language barriers. Sure, we all post photos to some of the same websites, but language barriers still prevent us from participating in certain contests or clearly communicating in words about various techniques. This particular contest (as explained by the builder in an English-language forum - the original contest was held on a Russian website, and as such info about this model is written in Russian) requires participants to design and build an original creation using only basic bricks and plates. At some level, it's pleasantly classic, going back to what people tend to think of as "pure" LEGO. On the other hand, it forces you to give up on many beloved building techniques. Or does it? - in this triumphal arch, we see bricks laid sideways (held in place only by friction and exact geometry), plates wedged between studs (with other small plates in between, only loosely attached), and plates partially connected on a curve to get that distinctive arch shape. This is extremely impressive for a model using only the most basic of LEGO elements!
Details: For many people the great taboo is trying to build a piece of furniture. Even fairly experienced builders who wouldn't think twice about building a giant sculpture often shy away from building furniture. That didn't stop today's builder, though, who paid top-dollar for thousands of shiny new bricks in black and white and glued them together to build a sturdy replica of a George Nelson Platform Bench. In context, it looks just like the "real" thing. There's also a stop-motion video of the table's assembly at the site listed above.
Details: Bill Ward brings us photos of the latest BayLTC layout. BayLUG is now gearing up for their area's first big LEGO convention, Bricks By the Bay, which will be held Friday-Sunday, April 9-11, 2010, at the Fremont Marriott Silicon Valley.
We know there are a bunch of recent posts missing - don't worry, they're coming (although a few may end up as short and rushed as this one). This one's for Sunday - expect to see last Friday, this past Saturday, and Monday come up later today.
Details: With all of the adults posting their own creations on the internet, it's inevitable that some of them are parents with kids who are also into LEGO building. What you don't expect, though, is that the kids' creations that a parent uploads will actually be better than many of the things adults are building. Case in point: this brilliant underwater scene. Several of the "manta warrior" characters from the new LEGO Atlantis theme are trying to catch a shark. The way they do it? By using bait that's a "human" minifig head attached to a stick of dynamite. Brilliant. Not to be outdone, there's also flawless landscaping, plenty of seaweed made from Bionicle spines (these were used as jungle greenery in some Indiana Jones kits) and even an evocative watery blue background.
This is the only photo of this creation, but the same builder also built a second scene (see the link above). Photo credit goes to Bart De Dobbelaer, the builder's father.
Details: In 2008, Duncan Titmarsh decided to build a sculpture of the classic 1978 LEGO set Castle. To LEGO fans, this iconic early design (the first set in the decades-long Castle theme) is simply known as "the yellow castle". This version, which debuted at the 6th Brickish AGM 2008, in Sheffield, 4-6 April 2008, is built to a scale of 6:1. Although enlarged versions of models from kits have been made by the company for promotional purposes before, this was apparently the first time that someone outside the company decided to recreate a vintage set on a larger scale. Not surprisingly, this has become an instant favorite in the AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO) community, appeared at several other Brickish Association events, been featured on a variety of blogs and news outlets, and even made the cover of BrickJournal magazine (there's more coverage of both this castle and the set it was based on in that issue as well). The minifigs for this model were built by fellow Brickish Association member James Sutton (anyone have a link to his other work?).
Details: Here's yet another fantastic car - a spot on likeness of a Buick 1955 Century Riviera 4-door hardtop. This one's a bit drool-worthy just on parts (can you imagine being able to make something snazzy in dark red, chrome, and tan?), but there are also some techniques here that I don't believe we've seen before. Using the small horn element for door handles is ingenious, the working doors blend in perfectly with the mosaic pattern on the sides, the fender greebles came out right on both ends, and the use of clear cheese slopes for windshields came out much better than I'd expect. You can even spot a steering wheel inside the cabin. The working hood unveils an engine. The techniques near the front wheels aren't as obscure, but personally I really like how they capture the right look here.
Details: A bit of background: at LEGO stores (the ones owned by the company - you'll occasionally hear these referred to as "LEGO Brand Retail"), there are a number of semi-permanent displays. One of the more popular bits actually has nothing to do with kits available to be bought, but is displayed at kids' eye level in little round windows designed to look like LEGO studs. Those displays, which go around the entire length of the store (most LEGO stores in the US have standard fixtures and displays) feature a number of fun and goofy models at a number of scales. All of these displays are designed by the company, but since LEGO knows that there are plenty of LEGO fans around who would be happy for the privilege to build a fairly permanent store display, the LEGO company generally doesn't assemble the models. I, personally, have been able to attend two "build parties" where the display models were assembled for LEGO stores that hadn't opened yet. The recent remodeling of brand retail stores in the US (which also meant the end of the Window Into The Community displays where LEGO stores would showcase the work of local builders) brought in additional ribbon models in many stores. While these models are frequently photographed and used for inspiration, few people who have built these models have had the foresight to take photographs of the models before they were returned to the company and put behind the store fixtures. Today, I'm featuring this set of 8 of the models - there's only one photo of each, but you can see why these are such interesting and exciting designs.
Some people, believe it or not, have a hard time using DUPLO parts in their creations. Even though LEGO intentionally makes DUPLO parts to work with the smaller standard size parts, many people are either unaware of this or uninterested in taking advantage of it. On the other hand, though, there are people who are willing to take the most outrageous DUPLO pieces and find ways to use them. In one particularly dark time for the DUPLO line, LEGO tried to rebrand it as "LEGO Explore". When parents and grandparents who aren't familiar with LEGO got confused and stopped buying LEGO as a result, LEGO quickly changed back to calling it DUPLO on the box art (the writing on top of the studs still says "LEGO" instead of "DUPLO" though - that part of the change stuck). The Explore theme had some particularly unusual subthemes: Explore Logic brought us simple programmable toys, Explore Together brought us playsets designed for multiple people, Explore Being Me brought us (apparently) educational kits and a reissue of Primo, and Explore Imagination brought us both more "normal" DUPLO sets and a series of music-making kits. Needless to say, this last subtheme is where most of the fun was. The music-making kits seem to be one of those rare items that won't really connect to "normal" parts (you build onto the music-making kits by using plugs and cartridges specially designed for them). The controls for the music-makers could be a bit annoying - the Music Twister (used in this model) in particular only allow you to "twist" a tone while a pre-programmed song plays. Some people complain that this makes the Music Twister parts "useless" (or obnoxious, especially in the hands of a real toddler), but they are wrong - see, you can use it to build an awesome space colony! Just add silos, radar dishes, a spaceman, and greebling.
. In context, it looks just like the "real" thing. There's also a stop-motion video of the table's assembly at the site listed above.
theme are trying to catch a shark. The way they do it? By using bait that's a "human" minifig head attached to a stick of dynamite. Brilliant. Not to be outdone, there's also flawless landscaping, plenty of seaweed made from Bionicle spines (these were used as jungle greenery in some Indiana Jones kits) and even an evocative watery blue background. 
