Swan

It's amazing how the addition of some simple lighting can elevate a model. This beautiful clear swan from alanboar is already an eye catcher, and very well done. But building it hollow and including an LED light strip was inspired and as you can see the results take this from eye catcher to show stopper.

Working Dogs

They don't call dogs "man's best friend" for nothing, we've had a special relationship with canines for thousands of years. Some of these dogs take it to the next level, helping humans in their daily life doing important work like law enforcement and safety and guiding the blind. Builder LEGO 7 celebrates some of these hard working good doggies in this charming set of builds.

The Face Of Bionicle Rage

Meet Brutaxys, he would like to smash you. It's nothing personal you see, it's just sorta, you know,  his "thing". Builder Technean7 brings us this little bundle of rancor, artfully crafted with 90% bionicle and 10% pure, unadulterated fury. 

Gypsies

I don't know much about gypsies, but you certainly have to admire their colorful spirit. These wagons by vitreolum are as quirky as they are colorful, and I really like them. I don't think I could live in one, but it would be a nice place to spend an evening and enjoy a campfire and some music.

Caterpillar Rope Shovel

The ability of humans to build really big things never ceases to amaze me. I think if I saw this colossal Caterpillar digger in person I'd be intimidated by it, maybe even afraid. No less impressive is this equally colossal brick-built version by Konajra. And not only is it a faithful scale reproduction, you can work at night since it's fully lit!

Insane LEGO Roller Coaster

This absolutely jaw dropping roller coaster is on display at Hamley's in Prague, Czech Republic starting next month. I don't have many details on it, and no time to gather them but according to the video it's 90k pieces with 26 meters of track. And yes, that's LEGO track, but it's been modified with a heat gun and a ton of patience by builder Chairudo.

AuraSpace

"Aura to mission control:  This is Captain ZCerberus.  Orders received, and coordinates plotted and laid in.  Time to roll the hard six..." 

"Good hunting, Captain. Control out." 

Or something to that effect.  That's what I figure builder ZCerberus might say aloud when getting ready to swoosh this baby around his living room.  And a few blaster noises, naturally.  Anyway, zoom in to see all of the details; from color blocking to greebles.  Lots to enjoy!

Mary And The Witch's Flower

Legendary animation company Studio Ghibli is no more, but from the ashes arose Studio Ponoc, and their first feature is Mary and the Witch's Flower, based on the book The Little Broomstick. Builder Ochre Jelly was so enamored he built this tribute, and if the movie is half as charming as this MOC, I must seek it out.

Barber Shop

My first reaction upon seeing this lovely barber shop interior by builder Heksu was "I need a haircut", I view that as a positive since it wasn't "hey, look at the LEGO". I saw it as a real place that could take care of the disaster area on top of my head. Fun fact: I used to be the make-up artist for the local chapter of the S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A. (it's a real thing, look it up).

Nutcracker Ensemble

Well, Christmas is over, but it still lingers a bit. My truck insists on playing Christmas carols and I found a santa hat that didn't make it back into the attic. And now builder LEGO 7 has posted these amazing nutcrackers. I'll take it as a reminder that there's only 333 shopping days left, better start planning.

Fire Vs Fire

Avatar, The Last Airbender was amazing (the series, not that M. Night Shyamalan abomination). It was rich with character, history and back story. Of course, something so infused with creativity naturally sparks other creativity. Like this excellent scene depicting the epic struggle of Agni Kai by builder Tim Schwalfenberg. Somebody's getting burnt today.

City Of Bandari

This impressive and detail loaded diorama is by builder Henjin Quilones, and it's a treat to the eyes as well as the imagination. We've all seen plenty of fantasy and medieval villages and cities, but I've never heard of a dragon hatchery. What a wonderful notion, of a building dedicated to the hatching and nurturing of dragons.

Vitali Car

I've never heard of Vitali, but then again I've never been to Taiwan. But I certainly appreciate a bit of clever marketing, and the company has or at least had a whole fleet of these charming drinkmobiles cruising the streets. This version by DOGOD Brick Design has custom stickers and clever design, making it just as appealing as the real deal. How does the drink taste? I have no idea.

Hot Diggity Dog

I love hot dogs, I love food trucks and I love LEGO, so of course I'm going to blog this wonderful hotdog food truck by builder LEGO 7. I can tell you with positively no doubt that if I saw this thing in real live I would be absolutely powerless against it, and stuffed with hot dogs and happiness shortly after.

Buzzzz

One of the things I look forward to when a new part starts getting a buzz (totally meant to do that) is seeing how builders will take advantage of it. This is the first time I've seen the new bee hive part in clever use, as the abdomen of this bee by builder Grantmasters, but I'm sure it's not the last.

Volsung Hall

I can't decide what's more mind blowing about this epic award winning MOC by long time collaborators Eli Brinsmead and Ben Cossy. The sheer awesomeness of the build, with it's multiple levels, chambers and storytelling, or the fact that it's a collaboration by two guys that live on opposite sides of Australia and it wasn't joined until they went to Brickvention. I've collaborated with other builders in the same room and it's challenging, I can't fathom the amount of planning and dedication that went into this.

Be Cool Honey Bunny...

I realize some of our younger readers might not understand this, and to that I say "someday you will, when you're old enough to watch Pulp Fiction". This was built by Mark van der Maarel for the Kill Brick Contest at Rogue Bricks, which is challenging fans to built MOCs inspired by Quentin Tarantino. I can't wait to see what the builders come up with.

Han Shot First

Now that I've gotten that out of my system I can make this post about something different than the incredibly lame decision to make Han shoot first...I digress. I was fortunate enough to get to see this latest big fig duo by Miro78 at BricksLA, and they're a perfect addition to his growing collection. And to discourage my impulse to rail on that decision I referred to earlier I'll offer this fun fact: When the production wrapped in London, they did not bring the live firing hero prop of Han's blaster back to America with them . So when it came time to shoot this scene a new prop needed to be cobbled together. This prop blaster, unique to this scene, is fondly referred to by the prop reproduction community as the "Greedo Killer". And Han used it first.

Stag

Is there any animal of the forest more majestic than the stag? Sure there are bigger animals, and the stag is certainly no apex predator, but larger and hungrier don't equal majesty. Builder JoePerez_Lego_Artist captures this regal beast perfectly in this captivating sculpture. And the use of smooth vs studded surfaces is perfectly done here.

Lord of the Rings Pinball

There have been some nifty LEGO pinball games over the years, but this has got to be one of the best.  Vladimir van Hoek has covered just about everything I can think of in both pinball and LotR; all of those bumpers and flipper things, plus the major scenes and characters from the trilogy.  And oh yeah, it works!