Friday, August 28, 2015

One Word...well, two words as one word...SPYHUNTER!

DUDE!  I loved Spyhunter when I was growing up...constantly would be putting quarters in that machine. I love the original and the remakes...just something about being in the interceptor...taking out bad guys with a souped up ultracar...

Also...I can't wait for LEGO Dimensions...

and I have been wondering what the LEGO Dimensions Midway Arcade Level pack would be about....

AND DUDE!

CHECK...IT...OUT!

That is the Spyhunter CAR!

YES I AM TOTALLY GEEKING OUT!

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Life Size Wasp, Deflecting Wonder Woman, and Deadpool being Deadpool: Brick Built Supers!

https://www.flickr.com/photos/72036844@N04/20721009258/
Found this Awesome "life size" build of Wasp byTim Lydy.

The use of the flying ant wings from the Antman set is not only brilliant but totally appropriate!

The use of bananas and minifig arms for the "yellow stripes on black, while keeping a very organic curvature is inspired.

Tim has another notable brick built super hero, Wonder Woman, depicted in their piece: Pi-ting! Pit-ing! Pi-tayyng! Wooon-Daaa Wooo-Mannn!!!


https://www.flickr.com/photos/72036844@N04/19739181709/in/photostream/

Wonder Woman is able to block and reflect attacks with her bracelets which is quite awesomely depicted with trans red antenna elements.
 
And this article could not be complete without adding this little gem.  Deadpool being the best at what he does...being Deadpool in the piece: Hello Ladies...


https://www.flickr.com/photos/72036844@N04/19047163729/in/photostream/

Love the use of a tooth/claw for a winking eye.  The use of a LEGO minifig Deadpool head for the iconic Deadpool belt buckle is very on the nose!

This is an excellent recreation of the photo the Ryan Reynolds (the actor to play Deadpool) tweeted out.


Which in and of itself is a reference to a"classic" Burt Reynolds photo...How much more Meta can you get...a LEGO reference to a photo which is a reference to an other photo and then throwing Deadpool into the whole thing...

Thursday, August 20, 2015

Raise the Nautilus!

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/59212


Celebrated AFOL Orion Pax has 9 Days to get the Nautilus to 5000 supporters.
If they can reach that milestone the project will get another 6 months to reach 10,000. Otherwise it will be sunk.

Stay Puft Marshmallow Man Reaches 10,000 Supporters

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/62418


Brent Waller, the fan designer behind the Official Ghostbusters LEGO set has gotten their third project to the review stage with Stay Puft.

I have always thought this was a really impressive MOC to go with the wide array of Ghostbuster fire stations I often see on display. I particularly like how the red bow is done with a sausage element.
Stay Puft will join the following projects in the next review:

Saturday, August 8, 2015

Love getting my news in LEGO format

I always get a big kick out of seeing a MOC that informs about current events...like how Antman crushed Fantastic Four at the Box Office demonstrated in "The people have spoken!" by LEGO Will.


Iain Heath is one of the more reliable AFOLs for presenting current news and pop culture events in brick form, such as with this depiction of the NASA's New Horizons doing its Pluto flyby. 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/lego-will/16508709214/in/photolist-rPea2s-r9Pyiu-r9PrRS-sZafVM-r9Ps6u-r9PtR3-rPeeLs-rPnomi-ucAede-txcrwa-uufzbF-urHGXG-ucsuRW-txcqLc-s6PDhD-uFLxjF-rPefky-s6Fxrd-ra28hT-tqBm3U-s6FDkh-rMuD2X-uDWNv2-ty1rB6-udg7td-ucAenx-uswHe9-uu3FXK-ucAe34-u2AKnc-u2v1Kj-u2teAJ
Sometimes seeing a MOC re-imagined my a variety of creators is what tells you something is going on.

You see one crazy looking vehicle with a ton of speakers and crazy band members and you think "Wow, that is a creative MOC."  But then when you see it again, and again, and again....you realize you must be missing something that is trending.  

Friday, August 7, 2015

Breaking the First Wall: Explosive Effects


Every now and then you see one of these shockingly visual builds that seem to capture a instant in transition, like an explosion or a launch.  From time to time you will also encounter really great looking "shattered" effects created to go with it.  This creates amazing, dynamic energy and gives a sureal "Bullet Time" effect when executed well.  

Paddy Bricksplitter has done a beautiful job showcasing this effects for their piece "Suddenly..."

Bricksplitter adds some extra punch ;) to this effects with clever poses for the minifigs.  Superman really looks like he was thrown through this wall...in the middle of the flying debris.  The "upswirling" cape is an extremely clever accent to complete the effect.

To top it all off, the appartment, prior to being wrecked,  already displayed an enviable level of building skill and in post production, adding the comic book effects adds a great touch.

Thorsten Bonsch a.k.a. Xenomurphy, another very talented AFOL, has an excellent piece which also demonstrates this "explosion with shatter" effect with their Spider-man vs. Vulture build.


Thursday, August 6, 2015

Epic Airship designed by Teareado and rendered by Nachapon


I have a passion for Airships.  I really don't know where it started but any time I see some anachornistic floating galeon-esque type vessel I just get a little giddy and daydreamy.  


This "Cloud Ship" by Teareado is one of the most amazing airships I have ever seen in LEGO and it is a pleasure to share it with you.  

Teareado has made the LDD for this airship availble for download and to be sure, this is rendering so the "build" need not actually support its own weight..but I have been toying with a brick built Airbag like the one depicted for a while and hope to one day to actualize something similar. 

Thanks to Nachapon for posting this image.   Nachapon is one of most prolific and skilled LEGO renderers out there.  His portfolio is quite impressive and certainly worth the time to check out.  



  

Monday, August 3, 2015

Official LEGO Video on how LEGO Big Bang Theory came to be

LEGO invited Ellen and me to discuss how we developed our LEGO Big Bang Theory project.  I think it turned out pretty good! 

I hope you enjoy the video. 

Friday, July 31, 2015

Purchased My Set!

I woke up on Monday exhausted.  I had spent the last week preparing for and executing Brick Fiesta.  I had talked non-stop to hundreds of wonderful and amazing people for hours on end and built long into the night when I was not making sure everyone was having a great time.  The night before I stayed up late for one last hurrah with the hard-core LEGO fans attending the Brick Fiesta "after party" and Monday morning I started the long process of moving everything (builds, equipment, random LEGO,etc...) from the DoubleTree Hotel back to my house.

I took a long nap and when I woke up, I realized that LEGO Big Bang Theory was AT my Local LEGO Store that very moment.

Yes, the soft release date for the set was the DAY AFTER the convention I ran.

Well, I had to see it for myself so I got in the car and drove up to the Austin LEGO Store.  The Austin LUG is very active so the staff recognizes us but I managed to slip in without being spotted.  There the set was right in the "Ideas" section.

It was so awesome to see this set that Ellen and I had helped to create on the store shelf!  I had of course built the set already.  LEGO sent me an early model and I had showcased it all weekend.  But to see it on this shelf and know that people were going to be getting their own copies of it was just so epic.

Seconds later the staff greeted me with much fanfare.  They were nice enough to take this photo of me.

Some of the staff are big fans of the show and thanked me personally.  I had experienced this a few times during Brick Fiesta but it is still a little shocking.  I feel in so many ways it is I who should be thanking them.  I posted the project but the public cast the votes that made it possible. The public showcased the interest in a BBT LEGO set that got it produced.  It is a deep honor to be thanked for my small role in this endeavor but it is a greater honor for me to see how happy and excited BBT fans are to get this set and be able to thank them in kind.

Now, I already built the set so I had to get some other sets to celebrate.  I went with the70738 Final Flight of the Destiny's Bounty which had this nice thematic ring to it because building a large sci-fi/fantasy airship was what got me out of my Dark Ages as well as a Mystery Machine.

Ellen would certainly be picking up a set herself but she is current DOING SCIENCE!  

EDIT:  I have gotten a few questions about the shirt I am wearing.  That is a new shirt that premiered at Brick Fiesta: Black on Very Dark Grey.  I really like it because it hits on a lot of fun things: Austin (we have a massive bat colony here), LEGO, and Batman.


Monday, July 20, 2015

Brick Fiesta Swag: LEGO-ized Movie Posters!

Hey everybody!

It has been a while! Well Brick Fiesta is this week!!!

Brick Fiesta has really taken up a lot of my attention.  It has been difficult at times but it has also been incredibly rewarding!  

I think in the long run you will see that it has a very beneficial impact on this site....

Today I want to share one of my proudest achievements as one of Brick Fiesta's Co-Chairs LEGO-ized Movie Posters!!!!




I have been sitting on this for a long time, and man it has been so difficult to keep the lid on it.

This year we have really reached out to the very generous LEGO Fan community and you will certainly see it in the variety of content in this year's raffle and a few select items that every convention goer will get.

I contacted LEGO Graphic Artist Paul Lee with a pretty crazy idea.  Would he be willing to LEGO-ize a classic movie poster for Brick Fiesta?  One that we could print to the same dimensions as the movie posters on the Palace Cinema.

He agreed....He agreed to do SIX!

And then when LEGO Brickumentary become one of our sponsors we started talking about movie swag.  I said to them, you know what LEGO fans would really like for Brickumentary Swag...Another LEGO sized Movie Poster!

Some highs and lows later and now we come to today....and the stickers are here...and they are beautiful.



Seven vinyl stickers.
  • Back to the Future
  • Ghostbusters
  • Jaws
  • Amelie
  • Jurassic World
  • Blade Runner
  • Brickumentary
Look for them in your Brick Fiesta convention bag.

I will note that some of these movies have very mature themes, some of those themes even depicted on the sticker itself (these are VERY accurate).  If you don't care for one of the movies, please cut that "poster" out and bring it to the Swap Meet, I am sure you will find someone willing to trade you something for it.

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Why do you go to Brick Conventions?

One of the interesting things about Brick Fiesta is that totally different people run it each year.

Every time a new Co-Chair steps up to take the reigns they have ideas for how they think Brick Fiesta should play out.  This comes down to personal preference, perceived flaws or notable absences in previous Fiestas, and the skills and resources of the Co-Chairs.

For example, I wanted to have a high profile AFOL at Brick Fiesta and I love crowd funding campaigns, steam punk, and munchkin so I asked Guy Himber to attend and he graciously accepted.

My Fellow Co-Chairs and I also moved the date.  Historically Brick Fiesta has always been on 4th of July weekend but we decided to try something different and moved it to the 23rd.  A few cheered and a few complained.

Now, anyone who attends Brick Fiesta has a say in what goes on in that they can create their own events and to some extent we give them the space and resources they need (it should come as no surprise that I have always volunteered to present on LEGO Ideas), but when it really comes down to it, we have three Co-Chairs debating on why FOLs go to cons and trying to make sure everyone is satisfied.

So in the quest to find out more about what FOLs want from a convention, I figured I would just ask you.  Thus this survey was born!

Please check every reason that you actively attend a Brick Convention.  Sure, it is always fun to talk with a LEGO representative, but if it would not impact your decision to attend, please don't check it.

As an added point of curiosity I have also added a question about how often, if ever you attend conventions.  


Do you go to Brick Conventions, and if so, how often


Why do you go to Brick Conventions

Thursday, June 4, 2015

Status update and Big Bang Theory

It has been a while since I have posted to the blog and well, that is in large part due to Brick Fiesta.

Once a year, serious LEGO Enthusiasts converge in one Texas city to display their latest LEGO creations, learn and share techniques and information, and socialize with fellow LEGO Enthusiasts.  This event is 100% volunteer driven and well...For 2015, I volunteered to be one of the Brick Fiesta  Co-chairs so I have been busy trying to get a location, plan the activities, get sponsors, and promote it to both the convention going (serious LEGO fans) and public expo (standard LEGO fans).

This has been a lot of fun, a big challenge, and extremely time consuming, but it all coming together for July 23rd...

But I had to take a break from that to update everyone on Big Bang Theory.  LEGO has revealed the final production set!  It has an August 1st release date and will cost $59.99.

The details are here.







Thursday, May 28, 2015

New LEGO Ideas Review Results are IN

I will let the suspense build by just posting this link

I am extremely happy to say that I think the results are fantastic!

Thursday, April 30, 2015

Ideas Updated, thousands of projects archived

LEGO Ideas has shut down and come back up with all projects over two years old removed. Most projects over one year old have also been archived excepting those with at least 1000 support.
Check it out from a most supported search. It look much cleaner.

Also, going all the way back to the first day of Ideas the Ending Soon search was relatively pointless, but now it actually "works" as intended.

I look forward to seeing everybody's favorite projects getting a face lift and reposted. I will make a special point of posting those here and on Brickset.




Tuesday, April 28, 2015

The LEGO Ideas Deadline Bracket Results

The L. Rivendell Museum of Natural History has beat out the Drake's Head Inn to be the winner of the LEGO Ideas Deadline Bracket.

Interestingly enough...with the new rules, the Museum is young enough that it will get an extra 182 day for having more than 1000 votes. 


I would ask that if you have seen a project here that you think should make it to the review, irregardless of its standing in the bracket, that you support the project, and try to give it a bump by sharing it with others you think might support it on LEGO Ideas.  Even better, share it with websites that you think might post on it bringing in the fans during these final days.

Note: There seems to be a slight glitch with the Survey system.  When you are done voting you may need to refresh the page to see your vote included in the new tally.


The Bracket Winner is:

 


Project Eliminated in Round Twelve.




Project Eliminated in Round Eleven.



Project Eliminated in Round Ten.




Projects Eliminated in Round Nine.




Projects Eliminated in Round Eight.

Projects Eliminated in Round Seven.


Projects Eliminated in Round Six.

Projects Eliminated in Round Five.


Projects Eliminated in Round Four.

Projects Eliminated in Round Three.

Projects Eliminated in Round 2