Posted by
Lego Obsessionist
at
3:23 PM
|
Posted by
Lego Obsessionist
at
12:21 PM
| Name of Model: Wandering Flame | | Created by: Lork Oblivion | | Found at: http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/328868 | Details: BZPower is currently hosting its 63rd Bionicle-Based Creation Contest. BBCCs generally result in some above-par Bionicle creations, and this one is no different. Over the next few day's I'll highlight a few particularly interesting ones. Although there are always too many humanoid entries, Lord Oblivion makes his interesting, with a smooth look and a fantastic take on the "fire" theme. He makes Hero Facory, Bionicle and Hockey parts flow together into airtight-looking armor. Check it out on MOCpages, BZPower and Flickr.
 |
|
Posted by
Lego Obsessionist
at
9:52 AM
|
Posted by
Lego Obsessionist
at
4:23 PM
| Name of Model: Vaan | | Created by: ArkØv | | Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/arkov/7051831881/in/photostream | Details: My apologies for the lateness of this post, I've been meaning to post this for a while- and it certainly deserves it. This is a simply fantastic combination of Bionicle and Hero Factory parts. ArkØv managed to create a brilliant character design with excellent proportions- and a type of character design not usually seen in Bionicle creations, too. Part uses to note include the Gadunka heads for the skirt and the new Hero Factory "cladding" in the forearms. This, my good sirs and madams, is how Bionicle style parts should be used.
 |
|
Posted by
Dan
at
10:46 PM
| I can appreciate the frustration some of our readers have expressed at our lackluster output as of late. The lack of regular posts is the result of multiple difficulties piling up: some time-related, some team-based, some technical. I'll be trying to get this blog back up to par, but the real effort won't be put in until July. I apologize for the inconvenience, and I'd like to assure all of you who have written in that we have seen your e-mails and will be featuring some of your creations soon. |
|
Posted by
Dan
at
3:41 PM
| Name of Model: HAPPY EASTER DAY 2012 |
| Created by: Schfio |
| Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/schfio/6902015022/ |
Details:  The reigning champion of cutesy Easter models is back to one-up last year's impressive model. I do wish we could see a different angle of this bunny's face - the minifig helmets used for eyes look pretty good from this photo, but I'd love to see how it looks from the side. The egg cart is priceless, continuing the studs-out approach and even including wheels built out of plates instead of using regular wheel and tire parts. The best detail may be the necktie, though, making use of two red plates with clips attached sideways to get the double-sided plate effect - it's not a difficult technique, but most people wouldn't think to have made the middle of the bowtie sideways facing outward so that could work.
|
|
Posted by
Dan
at
11:42 PM
| Name of Model: Nerf_01 |
| Created by: Arkøv. |
| Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/arkov/tags/nerf/ |
Details:  Somewhere along the way, I started collecting Nerf Mavericks when I could find them on the cheap - used, I could find them for very little at some of the same places I was buying used LEGO. A coworker had started bringing some into the office, and I felt a need to have at least one of my own so I could shoot the dart back. The Maverick seems like the ideal model in my mind - it's a simple 6-shooter, fast enough for goofing off but not so fast that you're likely to end up with a giant pile of darts on the floor afterwards (admittedly, this is my own idealism, and another coworker has since proven just how quickly a mess can be made with a Maverick and a few hundred darts.
There are apparently quite a few people who have gotten into both LEGO and Nerf. Obviously, we've covered a NXT/Nerf robotic tank before, and there's at least one famous photo of a Nerf gun fight kick-off at a LEGO convention. It seems to go deeper than that - it's very common to see people asking on flickr what they should buy first - a Nerf gun or a particular LEGO set (spoiler: the correct answer is always the LEGO set).
Here, though, we see the logical conclusion of this convergence of crazes, the coupling of these commonly collected cool curios - a photorealistic LEGO version of the Nerf Maverick. The slide and barrel move just like the real thing, although it wasn't possible to have this much realism and make the internal mechanisms work at the same time (not that you'd get the correct effect from an official LEGO spring anyway). A few stickers had to be used, but it's hard to argue with that when this look is this exact. The size, complexity, and accuracy of this model sets a new standard for hyper-realistic life-size replicas of ordinary objects.
|
0
|
Posted by
Dan
at
12:24 AM
| Name of Model: Luncheon at the Royal Pavilion |
| Created by: eilonwy77 (Katie Walker) |
| Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/eilonwy77/7036709105/ |
Details:  For the 2012 MocAthalon's "Will it Blend?" (read: theme mash up) category, this model combines Castle and Friends. That's right, it's a celebration put on by Princess Mia. The gorgeous landscaping and intricately patterned flooring steal the show, but there are a number of great details in the scene as well. Dishes of food appear in front of each of the Friends characters. Even the stairs are built sideways to allow for more detail (note the small medium blue lines). All of the girls' pets have meals. Even between the flooring and the columns, there are more carefully placed plants. |
|
Posted by
Dan
at
12:44 AM
| Created by: Scientists from Cambridge University |
| Found at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=WBEtUJmp05w |
Details: Building artificial bones is a very time-consuming, tedious process. As explained in the video here, it requires dipping a sample into a mix of calcium and protein, rinsing it, and then dipping it into a mix of phosphate and protein. This process has to be done over and over again. Needing a quick way to automate the process, they turned to the education edition of the LEGO Mindstorms NXT kit. In something of a rare occurrence, the comments at the YouTube link above are actually helpful and explain more about how these robots were made. Most surprisingly, they were able to get the correct amount of precision out of the robots using the graphical language (NXT-G) that LEGO ships with the kit. Also explained in the comments: why there are three motors on robots that only have two degrees of motion (arm back/forth and winch up/down). Most impressively, one of the builders mentions that it was their first time using Mindstorms!
|
|
|
|
