Details: A while back (we didn't mention it because we don't feel comfortable recommending it due to the extremely high price per part ratio), LEGO released an official Fallingwater kit that is very faithful to the original structure designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The trouble with the official sets in the Architecture theme and other kits that build landmarks (such as the Taj Mahal, which is currently $50 off) is that the limits of currently available parts and acceptable pricing ensure that no matter what the LEGO company can sell in a kit, it'll be possible for a fan to do a better job with the same source material. In this case, we see Fallingwater rendered at a 1:40 scale (roughly minifig scale, although minifig dimensions are blurry enough to not really fit any scale exactly) instead of the microscale of the original kit. Also interesting about this model is that this one is clearly in a wintery season - note the spindly, leafless trees and the dark icy water.
In the interest of being thorough and giving you all of the display and construction details, I'm stealing the description of this model that appears with most of the photos:
Building info:
Fallingwater, also known as the Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr. Residence, is a house designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1934 in rural southwestern Pennsylvania, 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. The house was built partly over a waterfall in Bear Run at Rural Route 1 in the Mill Run section of Stewart Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, in the Laurel Highlands of the Allegheny Mountains. For the rest of the information regarding the house please visit Wikipedia.
Project:
I've had thoughts about this project since I've built Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye. I finally made up my mind in September 2009. when I began planning and working on some early designs. Scale of the building is minifig, or approximate 1:40. One of the issues was how to make the stone walls of the building. The result here is made out of 4 different shades of grey (old grey and bley). Other was the terrain and vegetation. In the end I decided to make it in winter atmosphere. Snow is something I always enjoy, and I was always more of a winter type of person, so here it is - my first snowy MOC. :)
Building process spread over total of almost 7 months, and the structure is made out of more than 15000 bricks (just an approximate guess). It is placed on 6 48*48 baseplates, and measures 115 x 80 x 50 cm. It weights more than 20 kg. This MOC will be displayed in Technical Museum in Zagreb on "Kockice EXPO 2010", in May and June this year.
I would like to thank dear Klementina for her help and support during the rough times - multiple structure collapses. ;)
Check it out at the links above and/or at the museum in Zagreb in the coming months - this is an excellent model.
Details: There are plenty of fairly rare colors that seem to be all-too-common in pieces that aren't terribly useful. Sure, we all find uses for various strange parts once in a while, but it seems like there are always some parts that you can't find uses for. People who don't like buying new kits with lots of difficult parts (like the Bionicle theme is for most of us) just don't try these things out. Then there's thire5, who used some dark green and dark bluish grey Bionicle parts from a Toa Mahri Kongu to build this awesome spaceship. Single-seating fighters are a popular subject of LEGO creations, and many of them strain to properly fit a minifigure ("fits a fig!" is a common cry among "spacers"). This model cleverly uses various wedge plates with cutouts (it's a strange part to describe, here's an example of it) to make the edges of the cockpit and leave enough space for the minifigure's arms. Between the really little Space Police II cockpit (I can't recall an official set that used it for an enclosed cockpit that fit a 'fig) and the well-used Bionicle detailing, this is easily the most innovative original spaceship I've seen in some time. Did I mention it uses the fairly rare and difficult to use color of dark green?
Details: We've previously blogged about Shannonia, TwinLUG Micropolis and LowLug Micropolis. There are, of course, plenty of other microscale cities out there (and there's nothing stopping you from building your own). This one is interesting in how it attempts to show part of the countryside along with the the small city. A landscaped cliff with rocks, a castle, and a small cave stands out, as does the water made entirely out of trans-dark-blue 2x2 bricks. The bridge leading out to where another waterfront city could be build is a clever touch too. Did I mention that there's also a city here with lots of microscale goodness?
This robot plays the game of Snakes and Ladders (or Chute and Ladders, if you prefer). Light-sensors are used to allow the RCX and NXT to communicate (a clever trick that we're seeing more and more frequently as a cheap alternative to third party IR modules for the NXT). The NXT is the brains of the operation, and the RCX handles most of the motion in the game. Pieces are moved by a robotic arm (with well-placed pneumatics) mounted on gear racks, and there are even appropriate sound effects.
Details:
The North Carolina LEGO Users Group (NCLUG) recently put on their annual show at the Morehead Planetarium in Chapel Hill, NC. For the first time since this annual tradition's first year, this show actually featured a few FIRST robotics teams and the Richmond area LEGO Users Group (RichLUG) as well. While there were fewer displays than in previous years, the show was a hit and over 3,000 people attended. Full coverage (including photo round-ups) at the links above.
Those of you who are in North Carolina can still see NCLUG represented at two other shows in the near future - Maker Faire NC (featuring yours truly bringing the LEGO fun) is coming up April 25th, and convention/festival BrickMagic is coming up Mother's Day weekend. While there won't be Palooza-style group layouts at Maker Faire NC, there may be some at BrickMagic and the sheer size of BrickMagic is drawing in LEGO hobbyists and professionals from around the world (in addition to our friends at NCLUG).
Details: This is an old-fashioned radio styled after one from Gilligan's Island. The front features jumper tiles to get just the right texture, and there's no arguing with the more traditionally sculpted handle either. Don't miss the back: this has properly removable batteries and a properly adjustable antenna.
Details: Another micropolis masterpiece. While using translucent parts isn't exactly a new technique, it's used to great effect here. The trans-black color works really well with the black plates. If you study this design closely, you'll see that there are a few places that don't line up quite the way you'd expect. Those details are achieved by using the flat side of log bricks - since those are a little narrower than normal bricks at the ends, they can be used to add a bit more texture.
Many LEGO fan sites decided to get in on April Fool's day antics this year. I even got in on the act by announcing an official "LMOTD Store". That was just a gag (I make a point to keep this blog separate from that store), but if you placed an order in that store on April first, you will in fact be receiving free LMOTD printed LEGO tiles with your order.
http://www.classic-castle.com/ - a popular website and forum for fans of classic LEGO Castle themes - decided to rename itself Classic Cattle. This is probably the most subtly brilliant April Fool's gag I've seen. The fact that it's completely believable and well-researched is a testament to how much effort went into it. I'm hoping they archive this somewhere so we can mention it as an example of "how it's done" in years to come.
YouTube had added a new feature called TEXTp which rendered videos in the form of ASCII art. At least one of the videos available this was was a BrickFilm. As of this writing, this prank seems to have been completely removed. If you know a way to cause this effect again, let me know.
Since we never did make that much money off of the ads on the site, we're now opening a BrickLink store! You can buy individual LEGO parts on BrickLink, and if you shop at the LMOTD store, you'll receive a free printed LMOTD 2x2 tile with your order.
Details:
Your Belville/Scala/Technic characters don't have enough nice furniture. The sad fact of the matter is that it's impractical for most of us (although it is possible) to build a proper house with walls and furniture at that scale. Even rarer than nice furniture this size is functional furniture this size. This recliner is an interesting start, and it looks like it works fairly well. You can see more of how it works by looking at the photos at the link above.
Take this as a challenge, too: this recliner really reclines, but the foot rest is always in the up position. Can you build a recliner that has a moving foot rest as well as a reclining back?
A while back (we didn't mention it because we don't feel comfortable recommending it due to the extremely high price per part ratio), LEGO released an official Fallingwater kit that is very faithful to the original structure designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The trouble with the official sets in the Architecture theme and other kits that build landmarks (such as the Taj Mahal, which is currently $50 off) is that the limits of currently available parts and acceptable pricing ensure that no matter what the LEGO company can sell in a kit, it'll be possible for a fan to do a better job with the same source material. In this case, we see Fallingwater rendered at a 1:40 scale (roughly minifig scale, although minifig dimensions are blurry enough to not really fit any scale exactly) instead of the microscale of the original kit. Also interesting about this model is that this one is clearly in a wintery season - note the spindly, leafless trees and the dark icy water. 
to build this awesome spaceship. Single-seating fighters are a popular subject of LEGO creations, and many of them strain to properly fit a minifigure ("fits a fig!" is a common cry among "spacers"). This model cleverly uses various wedge plates with cutouts (it's a strange part to describe, 
(or 
, if you prefer). Light-sensors are used to allow the RCX and NXT to communicate (a clever trick that we're seeing more and more frequently as a cheap alternative to third party IR modules for the NXT). The NXT is the brains of the operation, and the RCX handles most of the motion in the game. Pieces are moved by a robotic arm (with well-placed pneumatics) mounted on gear racks, and there are even appropriate sound effects.
. The front features jumper tiles to get just the right texture, and there's no arguing with the more traditionally sculpted handle either. Don't miss
