Details: You may remember the spectacular pop-up model of Kinkaku-ji (the Temple of the Golden Pavilion) from a few years back. More recently, the builder has made another excellent pop-up temple - Nara, Japan's Todai-ji. This one also includes the Daibutsu inside the temple. Around the 1:52 mark, the video switches from a demonstration to CAD-based building instructions, complete with part counts for each step. All 8,816 pieces are accounted for, and there's a complete parts list with BrickLink part numbers at the end.
Details: Here's a charming experiment in color and texture - a 6x16 box in yellow and dark red. IThe top makes great use of one of the curved slope elements in quantity to create a more interesting texture. In the front, we see the common jumper-plate-sideways-looks-like-a-drawer-pull technique flanked by a pair of 1x1 plates stuck into 1x2 Technic bricks. The design is somewhat simple but very visually appealing.
Details: Reader Todd Wilder recently sent word about his latest creation (finished in January 2011): a "Mystery Box" table with a variety of secret compartments. Since just having mysterious compartments wouldn't be mysterious enough, the compartments are set up to only open in a certain order. A fun tessellated question mark pattern covers the sides, while the top is a very classy black. Rather than spoil the surprises, I'll point you to the site listed above to read more about this model.
Details: Recently, LEGO set designer and frequentlyfeaturedbuilder Marcos Bessa has made available for free download the LEGO Digital Designer (LDD) files (useful as building instructions) for five of his models. Two of these models have previously been featured here as a model of the day, and all of them were built before he was brought into the LEGO company. Several of these models can be found in the portfolio used when he applied to join the company. Here are the links to the page for information for each model (each page includes information on the model, a link to photos on flickr, and a link to download the LDD file - along with a brief note regarding reuse of these designs):
This is the first great model of the Golden Pavilion that I've seen - and that fact is going to get lost in the shuffle due to just how unique this creation is. This thing is spectacular on several different levels. On the one hand, it's built to look like a LEGO set box - all the sides are assembled as mosaics, and the details (including letters in English and Japanese, as well as a "parts list" and "actual size" minifigs) are all spectacular, even though things are kept strictly at low resolutions to match the side they are on. On the other hand - it's a giant pop-up creation that folds out to construct the perfect minifig-scale model of the Golden Pavilion inside! The close-ups near the end of the clip provide some insight as to how this was done, but it still remains a mysterious marvel.
