53rd & Broadway...And Step On It

I’ve only spent time in Manhattan once, for a working gig so I didn’t get to see as much as I would have liked. Surprisingly enough, I only took a single cab ride the entire time (the subway is pretty much the way to go there) but I can assure you, it wasn’t nearly as nice as this wonderful vehicle by redfern1950s2. And the driver was an anonymous silhouette, not dapper and ready to please like this gentleman.

1950's Taxi Cab & Driver..

Press Any Key To Continue...

…Which one is the Any key? The first computer I used on a regular basis, maintained and even upgraded, was an Hewlett Packard 386 (yup, ancient history). This latest from Powerpig gave me the instant retro feels for that old heap. You can even open the side to take a peek inside, and maybe upgrade the RAM to a whole MEGABYTE! It’s pretty much what all the computers looked like back then, large, beige and bulky, but gorgeous in their own way. And you can build your own soon because Chris is going to release a building guide.

My First Computer: PC Edition
Computer Detail

#12 Grimold Place

I’m going to stop you right here, and tell you to watch the video below before continuing to read, I’ll wait…

I spend pretty much every morning, 365 days a year give or take, blogging LEGO creations. I can tell you that an audible reaction from me is pretty rare, but this brilliant little MOC by builder Inthert made me exclaim out loud “holy sh*t!” I’m a Harry Potter fan, and a LEGO fan of course, and I have a soft spot for micro builds and mechanical ingenuity. This sorta ticks all the boxes for me.

No. 12 Grimmauld Place - Closed
No. 12 Grimmauld Place - Video

Thunderbolt

Behold your doom, Thunderbolt! This latest by Moko pretty much blows my mind. He’s calling it a Bionicle MOC, but this transcends that class as far as I’m concerned. It’s got the prefect mix of System and Technic blended in, as well as some Power Functions for lighting (and exposed wiring that just adds to the aesthetic). It looks like something from a movie, a movie I want to watch.

Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt
Thunderbolt

NASA's Evil Twin

I’ve got to admit, I’m a sucker for NASA’s rockets and I can spend hour gawking at the marvels of human engineering. But NASA ain’t got nothin’ on this ship by halfbeak! With a ton of black, a handful of green, a dash of realism and a pinch of antimatter, what’s not to like? Not to mention a hint of nefarious criminal activity by NASA’s evil twin, NAST (pronounced nasty). Put simply, if NASA were Futuron, NAST would be the Blacktron of space exploration.

Xylethrus AMV-1

Dumbledore's Office

Thinking back to all the schools I attended (we moved around a bit, I went to many) absolutely none of them were anywhere even remotely as cool as Hogwarts. I mean not by a long shot. And while is only though the words of JK Rowling and the production design of the films that we get to imagine what it would have been like, they have been so well done that they feel distant but real. So this recreation by builder Legopard is a historical reproduction in my imagination, and it’s perfect.

Dumbledore's Office

Whistle Of Wind, Wisps Of Cloud

I know I was on vacation last week (Disney cruise, it was awesome) but I came back to a delivery push on a film gig and have worked crazy hours this week, so I find myself in need of another vacation. This place looks so tranquil and inviting, I think I’d like to go there. Just imagine it, arriving by air boat to dwell among the clouds, sounds like a dream. How about it qi_tah, can I visit? I’ll bring my own pillow.

Sky Islands - my contribution

BR 80 Steam Engine

Just last Sunday I spent most of the day aboard a train. Of course it was a modern Amtrak train, but I did spend a moment thinking about the heyday of locomotive transportation, imagining myself crossing the country in the 1800’s. While I can’t speak with much authority on trains (what can I say, I just don’t know much about them), I can say I like the looks of this one by builder holgermatthes. And if you do too there’s great news, Holger has shared the instructions so you can build your own!

By the way, if you’re into trains, and you want to be a blogger, clearly we have need for an expert in the ranks.

LEGO BR 80 steam engine

Full Steam

This is presentation taken to the next level. Builder Markus "madstopper78" Ronge has not only crafted some amazing builds, he’s imagined an entire mini universe, Full Steam. It’s like LEGO plus fan fiction, but not just a backstory, a whole…thing! Tune into an imaginary network to watch an imaginary series featuring amazing builds, it’s brilliant. And this ship plus the display around it are just stunning. I’m not a huge Ninjago fan, but I think I’d watch this.

"Full Steam" S. 1/ Ep. 4 "The Last Raid of the Sky Pirates"
"Full Steam" S. 1/ Ep. 4 "The Last Raid Of The Sky Pirates"
"Full Steam" S. 1/ Ep. 4 "The Last Raid Of The Sky Pirates"

Torpedo Bombers at 5 O'clock High

I love a good airplane model, especially biplanes. In freshman engineering I built a biplane for a project that I was told no one had built a biplane for, and the professor wasn’t sure it would work. It flew wonderfully. Prolific LEGO aircraft builder John Lamarck has posted a beautiful Blackburn B-6 Shark. Like many aircraft developed in the interwar years it did not have a long service life as developments happened rapidly in aviation in that time period. My only quibble is the inter-wing struts should be on an angle in the front view and not vertical, but that is likely driven more by the scale and medium.

Three Tiny Brothers

One of the most jaw-dropping works of animation I’ve ever seen is the tale of Three Brothers from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it’s a masterpiece of production design, lighting and animation. Builder Nuju Metro stunned us all earlier this year with his Three Brothers build, inspired by that animation, and now he’s back with a micro scale version of that MOC. Even small enough to fit in your hand it’s absolutely amazing.

The Tale of the Three (Little) Brothers

That Others May Live

Fun fact, I once nearly died in a Black Hawk. True story. Good times. Equally fun fact, I do volunteer search and rescue (SAR) work. So when I came upon Robsom M's beautiful build of a USCG MH-60T Jayhawk, well, all my boxes were checked.

A variant of the Sikorsky H-60 Black Hawk, the MH-60T is the venerable workhorse of USCG SAR. Many people owe their lives to the brave men and women of USCG aviation that put it all on the line to save others and this MOC is a perfect tribute to all those Coasties.

MH-60T - Jayhawk

Horror At Mangrove Swamp

I love how crazy talented some of my friends are. I don’t know what inspired what, and which came first, but builder Lino M not only built this exceptional diorama with a dark back story, he also painted the cover of a pulp novel of that very story. It seems that the folks of this swamp have been keeping the rest of us safe, but at a terrible price.

Horror at Mangrove Swamp
Horror at Mangrove Swamp

The Giap Towers

Welcome to the Giap Towers, watch that first step. Builder MarcelV was inspired by the whimsical and exceptional art of Chong Fei Giap, for which this wonderful MOC takes it’s name. According to the builder this is the culmination of 10 months of planning, building, rebuilding and photography, and it shows. You can’t rush art, it always dictates it’s own speed, and it’s always worth the wait.

The Giap-Towers

NALSAR

There are very few things that are more American than NASCAR races. Hopping on the couch with a soda in one hand and the remote in the other, watching grown men drive cars in loops, one left turn after another, and secretly hoping to see a highly entertaining car wreck. But replace those cars with speeders and now you’re onto something! PigletCiamek has created NALSAR which is sure to satisfy your desire for speed and danger. Now THIS is podracing!

01 Landspeeder Polie

Filia's Bakery Is A Feast For The Eyes

Since those very early days when people figured out mixing crushed wheat with water and getting it hot made for a pretty good snack humans have been baking. And it wasn’t long after that the art was perfected and the baker was born. Fast forward to medieval times and we meet Filia, star baker of the nine kingdoms, built by roΙΙi, and making me crave some pastries.

Filia's Bakery