Details: It is time, once again, for us to look at how the professionals do it. These photos (some of which are great detail shots) cover some highlights from LEGOLAND Windsor.
Short post today while I'm not feeling well. We should be ramping things back up to regular speed over the next few days.
Details: There's not much that can be done with the fairly chunky ball-socket parts in the Ben 10 LEGO sets. Nonetheless, people are trying to create interesting models using those parts, and sometimes even succeeding. This microscale spaceship uses the arm parts from a Swampfire Ben 10 kit as most of it's body. The ball portion of the ball-socket connection is accounted for by this piece, which can connect into anything with a Technic axle.
Details: The clock tower of Samford Hall was created by LEGO sculptor Eric Harshbarger for an arts auction in 2003. There's not too much to say about this one - it's a standard studs-out (when you look at it, the LEGO logo on top of the pieces is facing you, and the bottom of each piece is touching a baseplate) mosaic made out of plates (the elements one-third the height of LEGO bricks). More at the links above.
Details: Believe it or not, cubesolvers are not the only thing you can build out of LEGO for use with Rubik's cubes. You can also build the cube itself. This (admittedly oversized) cube is built in an entirely purist manner - no modified pieces, although some rather unusual Technic trickery was required. This classic model was built several years ago, but we had to share it today - the 30th anniversary of the Rubik's cube being sold in America. Of course, you'll probably want to celebrate by solving smaller cubes - this one's a little hefty for casual use.
Details: This beautiful minifig-scale castle makes good use of studs-not-on-top techniques to make it stand out (well, that, and a healthy amount of distinctive landscaping built with his daughter). A common complaint about large castle is the "big grey wall problem" - sometimes you end up with a rather large, plain surface that is impressive in scope but not terribly interesting in appearance. Here, we see both studs and tiles (inside of arches) facing outwards to add more texture to the walls and break up the big bluish grey ("bley") walls.
Details: The first thing I noticed here was the excellent techniques used. Lots of fun parts, lots of clever studs-not-on-top stuff going on. It turns out that this actually wasn't an intentional thing - the parts selection was set by building out of exactly too sets - kits 7991 and 7990. OK, so the minifig comes from elsewhere, but is that really a problem? This is just an excellent spaceship. I, for one, would love to see building instructions to figure out just how some of the angles were done.
Details:
I'm afraid that this one video is all the documentation there is for this model (the short description on YouTube only says "A project of the robotics group of VHG Bogen / 25 RCX / 73 motors / costs: 8000€ / 2000 man hours"). While not as fast as the duck factory or car factory (masterminded by the YouTuber) we've previously featured here, it is another ambitious entry into this decidedly difficult and expensive genre. There are even multiple color variations that you can direct these factories to build! The possibilities for LEGO robots that can build their own LEGO models are virtually endless.
Of course, it's not time to worry about the robots taking over until someone builds a LEGO Mindstorms factory that builds other LEGO Mindstorms factories...
Details:
Note that I skipped the "Found At" links in the section I usually fill in above. That's because this model is so huge, it requires its own round-up style post. This very large layout is only ever seen at LEGO fan conventions - it cannot be assembled in its creators own home. As it grew over the years, it became a legend on it's own. Known as the Blacktron Intelligence Agency (BIA for short), it's the ultimate in fully assembled cities for official LEGO themes (this is based on the original 1987 Blacktron line).
Here are some Brickshelf galleries by the builder showing how it grew over time:
Details: The latest Transformers movie, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, has inspired a fresh round of builders attempting to create LEGO versions of the Transformers characters that actually transform. This one is modeled after Bumblebee, a yellow Camaro that befriends the main character in the first movie. Additional photos and video at the site above.
Details: Yes, I know we've already talked Pac-Manonce this month, but we must do it again today for the 30th anniversary of the game. This time, the build is a bit more ambitious: a Pac-Man themed cabinet for a tabletop arcade machine. The structure is solid enough to hold the electronics and features a few neat Pac-Man mosaics and classy angles.
If you're looking to play a bit of the game yourself, have a look at Google's frontpage today - they're commemorating Pac-Man with a playable version of their logo.
It is time, once again, for us to look at how the professionals do it. These photos (some of which are great detail shots) cover some highlights from LEGOLAND Windsor. 
and 
, has inspired a fresh round of builders attempting to create LEGO versions of the Transformers characters that actually transform. This one is modeled after Bumblebee, a yellow Camaro that befriends the main character in the first movie. Additional photos and video at the site above. 
