Details: Dexter Industries has been catching some attention lately in the LEGO Mindstorms NXT community for their custom accessories for the NXT. This video is of a demonstration of their solar panels, but they also make a pneumatic pressure sensor, a flexible sensor, a temperature sensor, and even a switch for a wall outlet. If you're looking to expand the capabilities of your NXT, their store isn't a bad place to start. The solar panels look pretty good in action, and apparently these two are enough to power this rover.
This is Monday's model of the day - we're still recuperating post-BrickFair, but will make up the missing days and properly wrap up this past weekend's events.
Details: Here at LMOTD, we've got a soft spot when it comes to cool scenery and collectible minifigures. And when you combine both in the context of an action movie, we just can't resist. Here's to Sparta and the second wave of collectible minifigures from Lego.
Found at: MOCpages Details: It's always a pleasant surprise to find a lovely creation while browsing through MOCpages galleries. This large "English mansion" blows me away. With its imposing yet glass filled facade, numerous windows and chimneys this mansion would be at home in Surrey.
Details: It's time to step into the time machine and have a look at LEGO's first retail outlet in the United States at it's grand opening in August of 1992. That's right - after 18 years, photos of the Grand Opening of the original LEGO Imagination Center at the Mall of America have finally surfaced. A full 75 of them are in this flickr set, covering what looks like most of the store. The displays featured a variety of sculptures representing both sets from (and in the case of the pseudo-futuron spacemen to the left, before) 1992 and completely original characters. The theme seems to be classic LEGO whimsy, with giant LEGO elements all over the place - but there are plenty of dinosaurs and spaceships there for good measure. Some things you see in these photos are still in the LEGO Imagination Center to this day, but others didn't last too long. See if you can spot some of the new for 1992 kits mixed in to the displays.
Build London’s famous Tower Bridge!
Stretching over the River Thames since 1894, the famous Tower Bridge of London, England is one of the most recognizable landmarks in the world. Now you can add this timeless classic to your LEGO world buildings collection! Designed with advanced building techniques and rare colors and elements, the Tower Bridge is complete with its iconic paired towers and a drawbridge that really opens. Fun to build and display, it locks together solidly but can be taken apart in sections for easy transport. Includes 4 miniature vehicles; a black London taxi, a traditional red double-decker bus, a yellow truck and a green automobile. Completed model measures 40″ (102 cm) long, 17″ (45 cm) high and 10″ (26 cm) wide.
• Includes 4 miniature vehicles: a black London taxi, a yellow truck, green automobile and even a traditional red double-decker bus!
• Features the iconic paired towers and a drawbridge that really opens and closes!
• Includes unique printed shield!
• Features hundreds of 1×1 slopes in tan!
• Many useful arches, angular bricks in tan!
• Includes 4 blue base plates and over 80 windows!
• Tower Bridge is ideal for building and display – it can be taken apart in sections for easy transport!
• Add this amazing landmark to your LEGO world buildings collection!
• Completed model measures an impressive 40″ (102 cm) long, 17″ (45 cm) high and 10″ (26 cm) wide.
Also check out this video for behind-the-scenes goodies (video won’t be live until 8PM EST): Tower Bridge Video
Details: Somewhere along the way, the BZPower Bionicle community decided to have a crab crawl-in at BrickFair 2010. While I'm sure they'll look pretty intimidating together as a group, I was planning on not featuring them individually, in spite of the cool techniques that inevitably show up when such small parts are being used. Fortunately, The Un-Sung Brick rounded up a few that are already online. I will be personally making sure we have photos of all of them at the convention - and if they're all as good as what we've seen so far, it's bound to be a great display.
Details: It appears that someone has discovered an awesome new monowheel technique that makes use of those obnoxious tread pieces some of us have too many of. To top it off, he then built this droid/mech inspired by a similar servant droid character in the second Star Wars prequel. The result is surprisingly charming and well-balanced.
Details: Normally I try to pick a robotics-based model to feature on Monday, but today, the best recent Mindstorms item to point you toward is actually an online magazine. Generally, the magazine I plug here is BrickJournal, which is available in print and published in English. However, Hispabrick Magazine (which is published online and aimed at the Spanish-speaking LEGO fan community - and can now be read/downloaded in an English version) is increasingly becoming noteworthy as well. The most recent issue, 008, is focused on Mindstorms NXT. Several members of the Mindstorms Community Partners team are profiled, and there are also interviews with Eric Albrecht (aka Blakbird) of Technicopedia fame and even current heir to the LEGO dynasty Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen himself.
Interestingly, in spite of the Spanish-speaking focus, some of the articles cover people and models from places that don't speak English or Spanish.
In addition to the great Mindstorms coverage, there are also plenty of non-robotics articles in this issue (and previous issues) as well - so if we skip day or two of blogging here (in favor of getting more going at BrickFair), consider this to be the "model" for the missing days as well.
You can view or download the magazine in English and/or Spanish from the link above.
Now, if only we could buy Hispabrick English in BrickJournal-style print compendiums...
Details: I've previously mentioned some of the Star Wars related news from this year's Comic Con, but that's just the beginning of the LEGO news there. As in years past, the event is loosely focused on comics, but other topics have found a home there - LEGO's role is primarily based on licensed kits and video games, but the print side of LEGO fandom has a presence there too.
Feel free to send in your links to additional Comic Con coverage, but keep in mind that we're trying to keep this largely LEGO-related and not just plugging all the tech/game/comic coverage of the event.
Details: Here at LMOTD, we've got a soft spot when it comes to cool scenery and collectible minifigures. And when you combine both in the context of an 
Details: It's always a pleasant surprise to find a lovely creation while browsing through MOCpages galleries. This large "English 
