Snow on the Stoop and a Tree in the House

Name of Model: Hot Cocoa

Created by: NaNeto (Nelson Neto)

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/naneto/sets/72157625523006203/with/5281707574/

Details: I know it's after Christmas (and that this model was posted to flickr on December 22nd), but let's be honest: most of us are still just starting to get back to "real life". Having snow in many places that don't usually get it doesn't help. You might not have a Snow Trooper over for hot cocoa, but otherwise, this probably does look pretty familiar. I just want to know why we don't see more 16 x 16 sized vignettes. The extra space really captures the setting - the mix of a sculpted snow look alongside slopes is perfect, and the fireplace, gifts, and curtain really round this out nicely. Even the floor looks great!

Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater in 1:40 scale

Name of Model: Fallingwater

Created by: Matija Grguric

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/matijagrguric/sets/72157623778661188/

Details: A while back (we didn't mention it because we don't feel comfortable recommending it due to the extremely high price per part ratio), LEGO released an official Fallingwater kit that is very faithful to the original structure designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The trouble with the official sets in the Architecture theme and other kits that build landmarks (such as the Taj Mahal, which is currently $50 off) is that the limits of currently available parts and acceptable pricing ensure that no matter what the LEGO company can sell in a kit, it'll be possible for a fan to do a better job with the same source material. In this case, we see Fallingwater rendered at a 1:40 scale (roughly minifig scale, although minifig dimensions are blurry enough to not really fit any scale exactly) instead of the microscale of the original kit. Also interesting about this model is that this one is clearly in a wintery season - note the spindly, leafless trees and the dark icy water. In the interest of being thorough and giving you all of the display and construction details, I'm stealing the description of this model that appears with most of the photos: Building info: Fallingwater, also known as the Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr. Residence, is a house designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1934 in rural southwestern Pennsylvania, 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. The house was built partly over a waterfall in Bear Run at Rural Route 1 in the Mill Run section of Stewart Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, in the Laurel Highlands of the Allegheny Mountains. For the rest of the information regarding the house please visit Wikipedia. Project: I've had thoughts about this project since I've built Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye. I finally made up my mind in September 2009. when I began planning and working on some early designs. Scale of the building is minifig, or approximate 1:40. One of the issues was how to make the stone walls of the building. The result here is made out of 4 different shades of grey (old grey and bley). Other was the terrain and vegetation. In the end I decided to make it in winter atmosphere. Snow is something I always enjoy, and I was always more of a winter type of person, so here it is - my first snowy MOC. :) Building process spread over total of almost 7 months, and the structure is made out of more than 15000 bricks (just an approximate guess). It is placed on 6 48*48 baseplates, and measures 115 x 80 x 50 cm. It weights more than 20 kg. This MOC will be displayed in Technical Museum in Zagreb on "Kockice EXPO 2010", in May and June this year. I would like to thank dear Klementina for her help and support during the rough times - multiple structure collapses. ;) Check it out at the links above and/or at the museum in Zagreb in the coming months - this is an excellent model.

Olympic Pride

Name of Model: Justyna Kowalczyk

Created by: hippotam

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hippotam/sets/72157623528673878/detail/

Details: Here's one last Olympic model for this year's games. While I had previously blogged the mascot/logo of the games in LEGO form, I haven't even mentioned the athletes. Apparently this whole juncture is some sort of athletic competition. This model, based on Polish skier Justyna Kowalczyk is a simply a fantastic miniland-scale figure. The Technic-scale skis (which also appeared in the 1993 "Ice Planet 2002" line) work beautifully here, as do the antennae as ski poles. The real coup, though, is how well the click hinges allow the figure to be posed. She actually looks like she's skiing downhill! While click-hinges are often dismissed as "juniorization" (something to make LEGO kits easier for very young children to assemble that doesn't add value to the creative building process) by long-time LEGO hobbyists (these hinges were new roughly 10 years ago), their ability to lock in place makes them perfect for creating sturdy angles. In this case, we see the click-hinges used for the legs and the older "finger" hinges used for the feet. The effect works perfectly here. It's a shame that we won't be seeing "finger" hinges manufactured again in the future - Steve Witt confirmed at BrickFair 2009 that they are permanently discontinued, and he cited quality control as the reason for change to the newer hinges. That is completely understandable - most of us who grew up in the 90's (when "finger" hinges were easy to come by) have seen a few break over the years. It's increasingly becoming clear now that adult resentment at their "juniorization" was misplaced - LEGO wasn't trying to make the part easier for children to use, and as we've seen with today's model, there are new things coming out of the adult LEGO fan community that couldn't have been built with the older hinges.

Christmas Present Factory

Name of Model: Father Christmas present factory

Created by: Jaudeau

Found at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=222151

Details: It took me a while to find the perfect model for Christmas day. I found this gem on Brickshelf - it's a fully exterior/interior decorated Christmas present factory. The outside is decked out in snowdrifts - including one cleverly applied to the roof. Inside, we can see Santa in his office getting ready to make his trip around the world. A lower level of the inside shows many "elves" (actually just an army of matching minifigures) assembling toys. The details are worth watching here - there's a kiln for pottery and porcelain, and right in front of that you can see a Star Wars R2 unit helping assemble toys. Perhaps the most festive feature, though, is the lit vines made with green castle leaves and various small translucent parts.