Posted by
Dan
at
4:53 PM
| Name of Model: Sign of the Times: Failure of the Fourth Estate |
| Created by: Mike Doyle |
| Found at: http://mikedoylesnap.blogspot.com/2014/10/sign-of-times-failure-of-fourth-estate.html |
Details:  Mike Doyle has created another one of his signature artistic photos of an incredibly textured brick-built scene. This time, it's a poignant political statement about the state of mass media. Normally I'd be a bit hesitant to blog a political model here, but sadly, if you have even a passing knowledge of the LEGO world, you know that many media outlets find it extremely difficult to get even simple details right, like proper use of the name "LEGO" or terms like "LEGO bricks". It's a wonder that we trust the same outlets that very clearly can't cover simple matters fairly or accurately to give us the information we need about local, national, and world events.
That's before we get into the techniques used here - although Mike Doyle's models are only designed to be viewed from one angle, the craftsmanship involved is always top-notch. The backlit fire and smoke features some fascinating angles, most of which seem to be supported with plates with clip lights - which is not the sturdiest connection, so presumably something clever is used in the background to keep the smoke from falling over. Round plates (both 1x1 and 2x2) seem to handle most of the billowing smoke. The included part of the Times logo is a spot-on mix of various slope elements that works without any of the standard mosaic techniques. A visible piece of netting and some bar-and-clip elements hints at additional support for the smoke. The building itself looks a bit simple, but is very effective, making use of the undersides of plates, repetitive parts, and the 2:5 ratio (2 studs wide is the same distance as 5 plates tall - seen here in the window frames) to capture architectural details.
The use of color for the fire and windows may actually be the most noteworthy feature here - Mike Doyle has cultivated a very unique aesthetic based on heavy use of black and white, which makes the color here pop more than it usually would - and makes it all the more impressive that he already seems to have mastered mixing different translucent colors to get the fiery effect seen here.
In addition to reading about this model here and on Mike Doyle's blog, you can also see it on MOCpages and Flickr.
LMOTD previously covered Mike Doyle's Three Story Victorian with Tree, blog (update) and Two Story with Basement. We seem to have skipped his two books and other MOCs.
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Posted by
Dan
at
4:00 AM
| Name of Model: War machine |
| Created by: Pjurkovi |
| Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/47343879@N08/5880270395/in/set-72157626941434660/ |
Details:  This "war machine" is something of a giant crossbow on wheels. Somehow, though, it feels almost too realistic. Even though it comes in near miniland scale and features immediately recognizable LEGO elements, it feels more like a die-cast replica used in tabletop gaming. Maybe that was the point. In a way, I actually don't want to know how this was constructed - tying the difficult to work with LEGO string around the very sloped dinosaur tails could not have been easy. Getting either side's string-tied-to-a-tail to stay put instead of sliding off must have been a difficult feat, and getting the string to appear taut as well is enough to make this seemingly simple model suddenly become an impossibly difficult "don't try this at home" model. |
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Posted by
Dan
at
12:47 AM
| Name of Model: Three Story Victorian with Tree |
| Created by: Mike Doyle |
| Found at: http://mikedoylesnap.blogspot.com/2011/01/three-story-victorian-with-tree.html |
Details:  There are actually a few other links relevant to this stunning model. Since Mike Doyle is something of a rising star in the LEGO community, he's attracting plenty of attention and having much written about his work already. It's great to see a relatively new builder creating such amazing models and getting recognized for it, but it makes it difficult for those of us who focus on writing something original about models we feature. Fortunately, I can also aggregate links fairly well - here's a round-up of sorts:
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| ...and for those of you keeping score at home, this is post #1100. |
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Posted by
Dan
at
11:55 PM
| Name of Model: Two Story with Basement |
| Created by: mike doyle |
| Found at: http://mocpages.com/moc.php/228199 |
Details:  Generally speaking, there aren't that many textures that you can get out of standard LEGO pieces. Sure, you can stretch the limits by turning pieces in every direction - the bottoms and tops of pieces have different textures than what we're used to seeing on the side. Here, a combination of a large (looks like miniland to me) scale, that technique of using every side of the brick, and intentional disassembly make this house look abandoned and worn down. The close-up shots give away some of the magic: cheese slopes and front-facing tiles without bricks behind create the rustic look of the snow-covered walls, some parts (like this door) just aren't attached, and open spaces between plates give the illusion of rotting wood (the use of angled tiles in that photo is surprisingly effective too). The kicker? This is this builder's first creation since getting started as a LEGO hobbyist. Some people just have too much of a talent for this...
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Posted by
Brickapolis
at
3:17 PM
| Name of Model: Micropolis Central Station |
| Created by: Erik Smit |
| Found at: .eti's Photostream |
Details:
Erik Smit just can't seem to stop building amazing creations. Over that past couple of weeks everything that he has churned out has been exceptional. His most recent creation built in the "micropolis standard" is no exception.
I was really taken aback with this model. You look at it the first time, notice a lot of things. Look at it a second time, notice some more minor details. Then you look at it a third time, and you notice things that make you (or me at least) say "oh wow" out loud.
One of the great things about Erik's creations is that they all incorporate a mixture of very new parts and older parts. This is evident with his use of cheese slopes, a part which first appeared in 2004, and trans clear macaroni bricks, which first appeared in the 1950's.
Another aspect of the creation that I really enjoy is the fact that the trains submerge after leaving the station. This is great seeing that with a micropolis layout being collaborative, this "module" can hold its own and does not require other modules to have track to achieve an overall coherent appearance.
Just a wonderful, wonderful piece of work. I've been inspired.
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