Raising the Bar Bar

Everyone's favorite character in the Star Wars universe has long ears, a big schnozola, and is pretty good with accidentally killing off battle droids in the heat of battle.  And despite helping to fend off Phantom Menaces, he helps evil politicians become Sith lords and basically disappears by the third act of a lousy bunch of prequels.  Sadly, this character will likely never become a part of the forthcoming LEGO Constraction line, here's Flickr user Letranger Absurde's excellent take on Jar Jar Binks, making clever use of 1x2 log bricks as feet, skeleton minifig arms as fingers, and smooth sloping elements all around.  Still trying to figure out, though, if Letranger is trying to tell us something by having this particular Gungan walk on water.

I Have Been Trained In Your Jedi Arts...

Of course everybody remembers General Grievous from Episode III, with each of his four robotic arms wielding a deadly spinning lightsaber.  But Takamichi Irie (aka Legomichiiiiii ) has opted to create another of the General's fine attributes: that piercing stare!  You can almost hear the smoker's hack, too.  

The Dark Lord

Bear with me, I'm still in Star Wars Celebration afterglow, and I blogged this builder just four days ago, but I really wanted to share this. Darth Vader is pretty much the ultimate film villain. I don't know if he's the most recognized, but he's certainly in the top five. This version by Legomichiiiiii has a fantastic blend of basic elements and figure building joints, giving it a cool look. He's missing his cape but I sort of dig that, like he's cast it off to kick some serious light side butt.

BB-8

Star Wars fever is reaching a fever pitch, and we've still got some 8 months before Episode 7 comes out. I was at Star Wars Celebration and the excitement is infectious. The panel with JJ and Kathleen was already pretty awesome, but everyone lost it when this little guy rolled out. It seems everyone's favorite astromech R2-D2 has some competition as far as adorability goes, because BB-8 is crazy popular already. Builder Legomichiiiiii is so smitten he built him in brick, and the results are pretty amazing.

Star Wars On My Mind

Here at BrickNerd we like to look back from time to time, sometime a long, long time ago. It's a big week for me as a life-long Star Wars fan. I'm off to LA today to help a friend prepare for Star Wars Celebration and attending the first day on Thursday. I'm involved in a couple projects and events I can't publicly discuss (but they're AWESOME) And the digital versions of the movies just came out. So I thought I'd go a little retro with an old favorite of mine from SPARKART! I've always been a fan of Ralph McQuarrie's inspirational illustrations, and I love when they're brought to life with LEGO. This early R2 concept is excellent.

Stormtrooper

I was just thinking about stormtroopers while I was making my tea, then I go to my Flickr feed and see this awesome MOC by umamen. This is fantastic! I love that it is posable, and has different configurations, like a Han Solo head. But the stand out feature to me is that helmet, wow!

Batman Vs Superman On The Cover Of BrickJournal!

I can hardly contain my excitement for this. My little brick film Batman vs Superman is the cover story of issue #34 of BrickJournal! And as if that wasn't exciting enough my Star Wars #1 cover is featured in the article about Brandon Griffith's Comic Bricks. I'm a happy nerd.

Rancor Appetizer

It's so good to see a fantastic builder find that spark again. I just blogged Bill Vollbrecht yesterday, but this is so cool I just have to share (plus it's from Star Wars, what kind of nerd would I be if I overlooked it?) This Gamorrean Pig Guard is classic, studs up figure construction at it's finest, and I totally dig it.

BrickNerd LiveBuild - T-16 Skyhopper (And Studio Tour)

Join me as I build LEGO Star Wars T-16 Skyhopper live! Then stick around for the exclusive first peek at the new BrickNerd Studios.

UPDATE: As feared the broadband went down during the broadcast (Grrr Comcast) about 4:30 in, but it does come back on at 7:20. Sorry about that!

Star Wars "Midifigs"

This is a project I've been watching for a while, Miro78's "Midifigs". It's a cool new scale for upsizing your favorite minifigs. I really like the scale of these, they're big enough to get some fun detail in, but small enough to not take up too much space. Just about perfect for displaying on a bookshelf or desktop. I'm sure it's a challenge to get the forms and details needed, but that's also part of the fun. 

Crimson Pilgrim

This is gorgeous. I love the aesthetics of Star Wars Old Republic. The subtle influences of Art Deco and Art Nouveau, combined with classic Star Wars sensibilities makes for some wonderful eye candy. And this ship by BobDeQuatre captures the style perfectly. The sleek lines, color contrast and smooth transitions make this beautiful to behold.

Wretched Hive Of Scum And Villainy

The new Mos Eisley set from LEGO is ok, but just ok. I actually doubt I'll pick it up since it's just not very exciting. This diorama from I Scream Clone however, is beyond awesome. This is how it should be done. What child (or man-child) wouldn't want to play with this? You can recreate that entire scene with all the detailed play space in this. And Han WILL shoot first, guaranteed.

Stormtrooper

Dear "Mom"

It's my second day aboard the new space station, I wish I could tell you it's name and where it is, but it's still a secret. My quarters and roommates are good, just like you said they would be. The food is just ok, but I understand there's a better commissary on a deck much further down (you wouldn't believe how big this place is). This morning we captured a freighter and my first official duty is to guard it, I have to be there in 20 minutes. I think it's a pretty cool ship, but my roommate says it looks like a pork burger. Regardless, I need to get to my post. Just thought I'd send a quick note. Having fun in space!

Love,

-TK421

Red Five Standing By...

Did you guys know I was a Star Wars fan? I might have mentioned it before, dunno. Over my lifetime obsessed with this movie I've built quite a few X-Wings, out of a variety of materials, but nothing rivaling the scale and badassness of this beast by crash_cramer. The proportions, color and attention to detail in this thing is staggering. It's over 30 inches long and probably weighs a proverbial ton, but dammit I want to swoosh it!

UCS Landspeeder

When we walked out of the theater as kids after seeing Star Wars, every one of us had a new wish list. Some wanted a lightsaber, some wanted Stormtooper armor, we all wanted Princess Leia as a girlfriend. This was on my new list, Luke's Landspeeder. This version by fresh-out-of-his-dark-ages Aaron Fiskum is a beauty, measuring in at over 22 inches long, it has proper UCS scale and detail. And it can be a reality with your support.

G2 Repair Droid (Goose Droid)

You all know what a Star Wars and Disney geek I am, so where those two met always had my attention (and now they're one and the same, I'm doomed). When Star Tours opened in 1986 I was blown away. The ride was fun, even if it always made me a little queasy, but what I always enjoyed was the queue, especially these little guys. What you may not know is the basic structure of the Goose Droid is actually a repurposed animatronic frame of a goose from America Sings, hence it's nickname. Joe Meno has crafted three of these little guys, the largest being animated with LEGO Mindstorms robotics. Cue Star Tours public announcement tone.

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Merry Christmas From Hoth

This is a delightful holiday surprise. One of the most celebrated alternative LEGO photographers, Avanaut, is back from his hiatus. And what a lovely return it is. This tells the story of TK-24/7 on a lonely, but quite agreeable patrol mission on Hoth. Who would have thought a AT-ST could be so tranquil?

Landspeeder, Yes Please

Some things do not change as you age, and I find that comforting. I still love a good cup of tea every morning. I've been listening to Kraftwerk since high school. Disneyland is still my favorite place on the planet. And when I was nine years old I wanted a landspeeder, still do. This is the coolest LEGO version I've seen, bravo Tiler.

EP7 Stormtrooper FTW

During the Creations for Charity live stream, builder Iain Heath slammed out this awesome space guy from some trailer from some movie, Star Trek maybe? I dunno. But it turned out pretty good.

Rock On!

Did you really think it was all patrolling, hunting down bounties and force choking? No! After hours on the death star there's some serious rocking to do. And you haven't lived until you've heard one of Vader's ripping solos. Nice build Julius von Brunk