Hiatus

We've been accidentally less-than-daily for a while now. I'm sorry about that, but with my schedule lately it just isn't possible to maintain the promised schedule here. If you are interested in helping out here in the future so we can prevent these gaps (LMOTD is back to being essentially a one-man operation, so this happens whenever I'm too busy to tend to it), please let me know by sending an e-mail to legomodeloftheday@gmail.com

National Building Museum Exhibit Damaged by Earthquake

Name of Photoset: LEGO® Architecture Survives the Quake

Photos by: National Building Museum

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nationalbuildingmuseum/sets/72157627398453375/

Details: I've previously mentioned the display at the National Building Museum in Washington, DC. Recently, shortly after an earthquake could be felt in the DC area, the museum reported that two of the LEGO buildings were damaged in the quake. In spite of the few glued parts I noticed while seeing the display in person last year, apparently most of the display is not glued. About one fourth of the Burj Khalifa and the top of the Empire State Building fell apart, but the display is currently open again for visitors. I have not been able to find any information on when Adam Reed Tucker will be returning to repair these two models. On a happier note, this exhibit will now be open an entire year longer than previously announced - you can now see LEGO® Architecture: Towering Ambition through September 3, 2012 (which would make a nice addition to a trip to BrickFair VA 2012). While you're there, don't miss the ongoing Washington: Symbol and City exhibit.

Grand Palace of Thailand

Name of Model: This is the model of the Grand Palace of Thailand. Any suggestions please email vslcheung@gmail.com

Created by: fvin

Found at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=469432

Details: This stunning minifig-scale recreation of the Grand Palace of Thailand makes fantastic use of color and greebly bits as architectural details. Frequently, the colors don't actually come in the correct shapes to do a straight LEGO rendition of the original building, but here combinations of smaller parts are used perfectly to create a striking resemblance. Quite a few parts are used in surprising ways, but some that stood out to me were the gold flags used as trim on the roof, the use of 1x2 bricks bent into a curve over the main entrance, and the wheels used in the pediments over the first-floor windows. Of course, the gorgeous curves of the building's distinctive domes are the easy show stealer - accurately using lots of small, flouted gold elements to sell the look.

"Calamity Jane" Privateer Gunship

Name of Model: "Calamity Jane" Privateer Gunship

Created by: yoder42 (Michael Yoder)

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/yoderism/sets/72157625809993596/with/5349101705/ and http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=430852

Details: There are enormous spaceships, and then there are enormous spaceships that actually fill up all that space with plausible details. This ship is most definitely the latter - complete with an interior, weaponry, detachable pods, a cargo bay, container modules, and an easy-to-open modular design.

Moulding Machines

Name of Model: 4000001 Moulding Machines

Created by the LEGO company for participants on one LEGO Inside Tour.

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/si-mocs/sets/72157626759883253/with/5797067803/

Details: I've previously blogged about the LEGO inside tour and one of the exclusive kits given there, but as additional tours come up, each one gets a new exclusive kit. The most recent inside tour participants received the set I'm featuring today - 4000001 Moulding Machines. The person who took the photos featured here also made a video of the build and wrote a full review for EuroBricks. The set recreates both the current style of moulding machine and the earliest hand-operated moulding machine from 1949. There are even play features - you can press the mould together on the smaller machine, and the larger machine has a slot for a round 1x1 plate to go through as if it were a raw ABS pellet. You know you want it - and sure enough, someone has loaded it up into LDD and made building instructions.

This is Tuesday and Wednesday's models of the day

A Subtractive 3D Printer

Name of Model: LEGO 3D Milling Machine - "3D Printer"

Created by: Arthur Sacek for ZOOM Education for Life

Found at: http://www.youtube.com/user/arthursacek

Details: This "milling machine" is an unusual approach to the 3D Printer concept - instead of using an additive process that slowly stacks up, this machine uses a subtractive process by taking a block of floral foam and trimming it down. That "trimming" is actually even more interesting - a drill (the only non-LEGO component here) digs in over and over again, and the final shape of the printed object is only visible after using a vacuum cleaner to suck away the thick layer of floral foam dust.