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!

Black Friday 2010

Name of Model: Unholy Trio of Christmas Presents

Created by: Peter Aoun

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/graznador2/5200195519/in/pool-44124304756@N01/

Details: Today's model of the day is an example of what happens when you don't pick presents carefully. We've all been there, poor minifig kid. This is something of a lean Black Friday - in previous years, we've recommended running off to various stores for discounts of as much as 50% off of LEGO kits, but this year there are no deals that good to be had. The best deals seem to be from our friends at LEGO Shop at Home. They've added a variety of newly discounted sets to their Sales and Deals page, and will be adding a fresh selection of newly discounted sets on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday as well. Also for these four days, they are offering free shipping on all orders over $49 and 10% off on all orders over $149.

Caveman's Night Out

Name of Model: Meet the Parents mini story

Created by: Jared Chan

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jaredchan/sets/72157625174572368/with/5086282600/

Details: Cavemen collectible minifigures are as exciting as ever. We've previously seen a caveman in the woods, and now we see one taking his date's mother out for a drive in a Flintstones-esque car. The Hong Kong LEGO Users Group is having a 16x16 Vignette Competition, so we'll probably see a few more great little creations like this one. EDIT 10/20/2010: There are photos of other entries in this contest on Facebook.

This is Friday's model of the day

Terrified Human Head on a Stick

Name of Model: Mr. Sharkman's Famous Street Food

Created by: tomi&tree

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/search/?&w=97319163@N00&q=Mr.%20Sharkman's%20Famous%20Street%20Food

Details: We've all had days where we've wanted to shish-kabob people, sell them to a shark, run them through a LEGO rotisserie cooker, and feed them to rock monsters, right? Right? Here's a model to cheer you up on those days. A light, minifig-scale spoof of a street-side food vendor, this is actually geared so that the heads spin (and cook evenly) when a hand crank is used (there's video!) Of course, what really sells it is the terrified minifig facial expressions. Well, that, the fire in front of the line of excited rock monsters, and the spectacular use of color. Magenta slopes look great on the frame, transparent pink flowers perfectly fill the spaces between heads, and translucent red bricks on the sides of the cooker give this the look of a proper grill. In a phrase: it's a delicacy.

...And Now, Your Moment of Zen: Minesweeper

Name of Model: LEGO Army Men Minesweeper

Created by: au_riverhorse

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/au_riverhorse/4775769895/

Details: There's a good chance that the addictive game "Minesweeper" is on your computer somewhere. It's alright - most of us will admit to having lost an afternoon to it at one point. This poor guy, though, may actually be playing as though his life depends on it. There's also a second photo: Congratulations on finding the best use yet for both little green army men and the limited selection of yellow printed number tiles.

Displays for Collectible Minifigures

Name of Model: Make some more Minifigure madness!

Created by the LEGO company

Found at: https://club.lego.com/en-gb/news/NewsDetails.aspx?id=189535

Details: Plenty of exciting new items have shown up at LEGO Shop-at-Home recently. Among them are the new collectible minifigures. They're selling quickly (and with a limit of 5 per order), so if you want them you better hurry. If you're looking for an interesting way to display them, check out the links above - LEGO's "club" is offering complete instructions and parts lists to build a display podium (pictured here), a Ninja gate, a Skateboarder ramp, a saloon door for the Cowboy, and a stage for the Magician. Perfect vignettes for the minifigures!

Size Matters

Name of Model: Size matters

Created by: crises_crs

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/33774513@N08/4538367269/in/pool-44124304756@N01

Details: After featuring several models in a row with a fairly large footprint, it's time to feature a small vignette. A small, short, tiny, very self-conscious vignette, because you shouldn't feel bad about building something clever that isn't large and dramatic. We all build something small once in a while - it happens to everyone. Particularly everyone who isn't trying to show off how many parts they've bought (while we try to avoid showcasing models that seem to exist purely to show that their builder can afford to make them, there are quite a few of them out there). Sometimes, someone builds something small that is just as clever and worth sharing due to building techniques, or it's something small that could be part of something bigger. Then there are cases like this, when someone manages to capture something perfectly without breaking 10 inches (or ~25 cm) across. It's not easy to put together an accurate bit of constructive criticism in LEGO form, but here it is - proof that we need to keep looking at smaller creations, which are often just as great as (or better than) larger models.

Classroom Vignette

Name of Model: Lego classroom

Created by: benlego

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/benlego/4280888493/

Details: This one photo is the only one of this model. At first glance, this model looks like a simple but effective use of the still fairly scarce "kid legs" element. After all, it's just a teacher and two schoolchildren, right? Then you might notice some of the clever scale games - 2x2 tiles turn into books on a shelf, and a few microscale "toys" can be found in the room. Maybe the toy kitchen (perfectly scaled, of course) sticks out. Then you start to notice that nothing is really attached to the tiled floor. The desk and shelves are cleverly built sideways (upside-down in one case, but I can't tell you how clever it is until I figure out just how that was done), and even the toy kitchen is just sitting there. A close look at the boy in the chair reveals the chair's surprising construction and a trick where the kid actually has legs sitting separately in front of his body to make it look like he is sitting down. Perhaps more of a masterpiece of photography than a truly masterful LEGO model (for all its details, can you imagine this thing not falling apart at the slightest bump because of all the loose parts in it?), this is truly an excellent example of what you can do by carefully posing characters and appropriately scaled objects in a LEGO model. Just don't invite kids, pets, or anyone curious about that shelf into the room.

Fireworks Vignette

Name of Model: Fourth of July

Created by: sam(us)

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8554813@N04/3688898182/

Details: This model pretty much speaks for itself, but in the interest of making this post searchable, a few reasons why it's awesome: Clever night sky technique (plates held up by headlight bricks), a fun firework technique (clever use of 1x1 round plates and various sizes of radar dish), and finally, an excellent (and economical) foreground of minifigures and simple landscaping. Usually I try to stay a bit more on top of holidays than I have been lately, but this goes out to everyone who wanted fireworks to commemorate Canada Day (July 1st) or American Independence Day (July 4th).

Francis Drake

Name of Model: Francis Drake

Created by: Michael Jasper

Found at: MOCPages

Details: Michael Jasper has done a series of vignettes of historical figures, making use of very low piece counts, but incorporating pieces that most of us tend to overlook in very imaginative ways. His version of Francis Drake, pictured here, is a perfect example. In the stand for the globe I'm counting three pieces: an Islander minifig hair, a faucet tap, and a life preserver. And those legs/shoes are pretty obvious how to build when you look at them, but the average Zack doesn't come up with that. Very well done Michael! I also encourage you to take a look at some of the other historical figures he's done, like Alfred Nobel, Marilyn Monroe, and Vincent Van Gogh.

Sulfurix Jones

Name of Model: Sulfurix Jones

Created by: pitrek02

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/31972744@N02/3319222382/in/pool-44124304756@N01

Details: This awesome vignette combines Indiana Jones and the Power Miners monster named Sulfurix. That about sums it up. This is brilliant and hilarious, and I'm afraid that trying to explain it further would just subtract from how great this is.

This is Wednesday's model of the day

Jungle Scene

Name of Model: MocOlympics Round 2 Edvin Einarsson vs. Andrew Colunga

Created by: Andrew Colunga

Found at: http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/76447

Details: Here's one for those of you in warmer climates at this time of year (with all the great wintery and holiday models around lately, it's very hard to keep from just going all-festive all the time on the blog). The trees here look great, and are full of fun uses for various curve and slope parts. I hadn't seen this bird design before either - they use diver fins very well (not to mention a pair of 1x1 "cheese" slopes) and look quite effective. Of course, all those details are enough to almost make you miss the main character's troubles here - there's a brilliant pilot crash scene, complete with a used parachute draped over the tree branches.

"Life's Little Annoyances"

Name of Model: Life's Little Annoyances

Created by: Bladewood

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bladewood/sets/72157608483724079/

Details: Here's an interesting find: a series of vignettes about annoying things that happen when people plan thoughtlessly. It's a very effective set of vignettes. I'm having a hard time putting words to them well - there are only a few photos here, but they do a surprisingly good job of speaking for themselves.

Futuron Labs - A Town / Space Model

Name of Model: Futuron Labs

Created by: ME

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dp3/sets/72157607275256729/

Details: I'm a bit surprised that the other LEGO® fans blogging out there haven't pointed out the bizarre lack of properly shown models online coming from me. Well, at long last, you now get to meet me as a builder and not just a critic (although I, for one, think I am fascinating and reasonably clever). I started building the Futuron Labs building a little while ago, but I decided to properly put it into the Cafe Corner style and add some more vignettes to prepare it for the Reasonably Clever Brick Science Contest. The contest ends Monday morning at 3:14 AM EST. If you haven't been following LEGO for the last 22 years or so, you'll probably miss a few of the in-jokes I've put in the descriptions of the photos. I'll leave it up to you to decide if that's a good thing or a bad thing. I did include a few set links to explain some late-80's Futuron references, but it's kind of hard to find just one link to explain some of the other things. Feel free to send me questions. There were a few neat techniques here, and I tried to give enough inside and partially-assembled shots to make them all obvious. Most of the studs-not-on-top stuff was pretty simple, but I don't think I've seen the large panels used this way before. I'm really happy with my microscale monorail, and I liked the street vendor with the "spaceships" that are really binoculars. I don't know if I'll use flickr to publish my models in the future, but I think that the "note" feature on there - which allows anyone with a flickr account to mark a section of the photo and leave a comment - will be useful for these photos. I really tried to pack tons of detail into this model - I highly recommend looking at all the photos, although I do have less of a impartial view on these photos than I usually do (I know my photography skills need work, at least...) By the way - I've decided to try to relaunch this site on October first. The break will give me a chance to catch up (primarily) on more high-priority things on my schedule. Also, I'm hoping to build up a buffer of models by using Scheduled Post Publishing more often. I don't know if/when we'll see another one of my models properly written up (or featured), but hey, at least I'm trying to get a little time in for LEGO fun. My internet connection remains a bit erratic, but getting off of a day-to-day schedule for this site should offset that (and of course, thanks to my friend Matthew, who caught me up on a few newer MOCs during a break on this past Monday).

Back to School Time - A Summer's End Vignette

Name of Model: Summers End

Created by: Commander Calamitous

Found at: http://mocpages.com/moc.php/68843

Details: I know I'm not the only one running short on time these days - I'm pretty sure that most students (from Pre-School to the University level) are just as disappointed about having more of a workload now. So - to everybody starting off another year of school at this time of year, I feel your pain. This minifig seems to as well, and incidentally, my desk is just as well-organized and LEGO®-covered as his is at the moment.

This is Wednesday's model of the day

Gryhnt Piro

Name of Model: Gryhnt Piro

Created by: remyth

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tyrondurknight/sets/72157605010459481/

Details: You know the drill by now - somebody else builds a castle, I point out how awesome it is. I usually have a surprising amount of things to say (especially when you consider how rarely I actually build castles), but today I think I'm just going to point you to the photos. It's bad enough that this is my pick for Thursday and it's going up on Saturday, but this was actually built and added to my "feature this soon!" pile in May. This castle building does, of course, have perfect landscaping and architectural details - the builder even tiled the upper walkway! There's no arguing with that water and wooded walkway either. I really don't give enough credit to Castle builders - I think us non-castle people get used to seeing the same extreme attention to detail in these models that we lose perspective on just how difficult it is to build these. Just look at that gargoyle! It's also way to easy to forget the vignette element to these - did you see the guy chasing after his boat?

Halong Bay

Name of Model: The Mad Scientist is now settled in a new secret base. His lab has been built inside a huge rock of Halong Bay. He continues to snatch tourists in order to transform them in zombies. In case of emergency he can escape with his submarine. Be careful...

Created by: cbolego

Found at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=313681

Details: This unique big vignette (or "bignette") has an enormous sculpted rock coming out of a block which holds the rest of the action. My personal favorite part is the way swimming minifigs are captured - their heads are above the (sand green!) water while their bodies are represented by cleverly-placed plates. The shark and submarine are admittedly pretty awesome too, but it's not easy to compete with that land mass or those swimmers. I probably would have gone with a more common color for the water (blue comes to mind) but the sand-green looks great and is a sure way to catch the envy of other builders.

Indiana Jones' Whip - In Space!

Name of Model: Rebel without a Clue

Created by: "Big Daddy" Nelson

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigdaddynelson/sets/72157604094103365/

Details: Here's a fun bit of whimsy - four spacemen in a small chamber, getting ready for some sort of battle. Three of the have guns, and the fourth has Indiana Jones' whip. The punchline? Aboard the Tantive IV, Happy McNova misheard the command as, "Bring a whippin'." The whimsy factor is fun enough, but the well-placed slopes and tiles round this out very well - it's a good application of those techniques. Those are probably 1x2 1/2 offset "jumper" plates keeping the minifigs in place, by the way.

This is Wednesday's model of the day

Prince's Death Vignette

Name of Model: Death of Prince Felmet

Created by: Liwnik

Found at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=295866

Details: This stunning vignette mixes various shades of grey to make a very convincing castle wall on a cliff. That's not enough for this vignette, though - there's also a brilliant riverbed with pebbles and surf. It's a great use of all of those translucent 1x1 plates. There are some frogs and leaves added in for extra detail as well.

This is Tuesday's model of the day

"Paint it Black" vignette

Name of Model: Paint it Black

Created by: mijasper

Found at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=2080219

Details: This absolutely incredible vignette tells a complete story and acts as a virtual tutorial of interesting building techniques. There's only one photo for this one, but take a good look at the non-thumbnail version so you can have a good look at what's going on. Some things worth noting: The woman's purse is made with a clip-plate and a flower. The fence is built upside-down at the bottom, and a bunch of tops from 1x2 hinges are used to make a unique design that includes some studs-not-on-top effects. Plates that show the older paint color and the new paint color can then be placed on top of that fence design (I'd have to try this myself to see if it connects sturdily, but it sure looks great). Note the use of a "two-face" torso on the minifig who was accidentally painted! Also, the loose bit of dripping paint on the ground is a feather (I believe from a Pirates set). The dog (trying to steal the woman's purse) is made with two clip-plates, a modern click-hinge (I'm afraid that you won't recognize that unless you've followed LEGO® in the past few years...), and two round 1x1 plates. The woman in this scene has one foot under a "dress", which is made with a special piece instead of the standard minifig legs. Her "crutch" is a wrench accessory upside-down! The painter's pallette is two 1x2 tiles (one plain, one with a grooved top) on top of the top of a 2x2 turntable. I'm having a hard time seeing the paint brush, but does that look like another standard minifig tool with a 1x1 round black brick attached to it to you?