Fregoli Alley

Named after the Fregoli delusion, this creation by Alex Eylar holds a certain dark charm evoked by the mature hues and the exaggerated slopes of the streets. Since there is no story presented by the builder, you can probably imagine your own tale.

A dazzling infestation

Chris Edwards presents a horror diorama unlike any I’ve seen. It depicts a space module invaded by a growing worm that the crew are desperatly fighting to contain.

The most stunning part of the creation comes from the visually striking colors of the creature, brought out by the neutral tones of the background, thus intensifying a sense of chaos. It is also worthwhile to appreciate the many angles on the worm, which gives the creature a posture that conveys motion.

The Coke building by Spencer R.

I set up an account on MOCpages.com for the first time a couple days ago, and I’m already encountering great builders I hadn’t been aware of before, starting with Spencer R. His “Coke Building” has tons of great architectural details, from the diner windows on the first floor to the top of the roof:

The back of the building gives it its name, with an excellent brick-built Coca-Cola logo (and cool ATM):

Ken Takeuchi’s microscale Europa battleship has its own gravitational pull

As far as I can tell, Ken Takeuchi (blog) single-handedly invented the microscale space genre nearly 10 years ago. His latest proves that he’s still got it:

The battleship Europa is nearly a meter (3 feet) long, and the interior is braced with LEGO Technic beams.

For lots more photos, check out Ken’s Europa page on KEN-TUCKY.com.

Happy 2009, the Year of the Cow!

Like Nannan, I’d hoped my first post of 2009 would be a nice wrap-up of 2008, but life has conspired against me (*cough* *cough*). Fortunately, others have welcomed 2009 in their own way.

Jesus Diaz rounds up his favorite LEGO stories on Gizmodo, from Mark Kelso’s Invisible Hand and the Death Star to Jesus’ trip to Billund, Denmark.

Moko kicks off the Year of the Cow with an adorable Holstein in soft focus:

Mumu likewise goes black and white with his great brick-built cow:

My favorite cow is this one by Suu:

Of course, who can forget that 2009 is also the year in which LEGO releases the first official sets with cows? Hurray for 10193 Medieval Market Village!icon

Registration now open for BrickFest 2009, Mar 27-29 in Portland, OR [News]

Registration is now open for BrickFest 2009, to be held March 27 through 29 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, OR.

You can register now at BrickFest.com/Registration/.

For a sampling of what you can expect at this year’s BrickFest, check out the BrickFest pool on Flickr.

Pacific rescue

Check out this diorama by Ciamoslaw Ciamek that depicts the rescue of the pilot of a crashed Corsair in the Pacific WWII inspired by this painting.

LAML Radio wraps up 2008

I’ve been wanting to make a wrap up post about the year 2008, but it looks like LAML Radio has already done a fabulous job with their latest episode of 2008 in Review. Check it out as James and Aaron talk through the best creations of the year and other notable highlights. I should also mention that this is LAML Radio’s 100th show, congratulations!

Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas

Tyler (Legohaulic) made a wonderfully realistic figure of the iconic Jack Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas. This seemingly simple combination of pieces ends up with brilliant results.

Steampunk contest on Flickr

Flickr’s LEGO Steampunk group is hosting a contest to build steampunk variations of the LEGO Agents theme. You can create a steampunked version of any Agents vehicle or set and even free build your own. The contest runs from January 1st to February 28th. Check out the details and prizes here.

Gobbledegook from the Ocean

Shannon Ocean has inflicted us with a freakish new take on the old space theme, Spyrius. This thing is going to give me nightmares…

“What? Did I forget to wipe my mud flaps?”

Nathan Proudlove brings us good ol’ Mack from Pixar’s Cars.

Nathan built Mack to the same scale as fellow Flickrite Allister McLaren’s Lightning McQueen and Mater:

This thug’s for you

We haven’t showcased as much Mecha lately, but they’re out there. Check out this one by Nnenn.

The blue bulkiness of it screams out for attention. After getting your attention, it’ll probably drag you into a dark alley and beat the crap out of you. But, hey, I’m sure its nothing personal.

Now this is one hefty Locomotive

Tony Sava has finished his latest Locomotive and its a biggie. Known as the Erie #2602 L-1, this locomotive was the biggest of its kind, back in the day. It also has a very distinct look, which is captured quite well in this creation. Well done, Tony!

Honing your technique

Pentagonal Star

The models featured on The Brothers Brick are here because we think they’re cool, but most of them share one thing in common, they make use of advanced building techniques. These techniques range from Studs Not On Top (SNOT) building to strange parts use and connections, or as the star above demonstrates, making use of part geometry to achieve something interesting.

While nothing can beat practise and experiment for learning about these techniques there are a few useful guides and the likes out there to help you along the way. I’ve collated a list of some links for those who want to improve their building technique or who are just curious.

Perusing any of these should prove illuminating and help hone your building techniques.

Of course there are plenty more out there so if you know of any then please post a link and description in the comments section.

Dieselton, USA

Swoofty AC6000

Jaster GP40

Matt Hamann (jaster) and Peter Norman (Swoofty) have been busy making excellent US diesel trains lately. As with any good LEGO diesel design the devil is in the details and none of these disappoint. The rear grilles on Peter’s AC6000 (top) and the middle flare on Matt’s GP40 (second-top) are particularly worthy of note. They’ve both also posted their own takes on an EMD GP15.


One-Wheeled Goodness

Its not often that I come across something truly unique. This wheelbarrow by Nolnet is definitely that. I can honestly say that I’ve never seen anything quite like it.

Now I want one full-size. Hey Nolnet, can you get on that?

Knight Tapestry by Bluesecrets

Bluesecrets built an incredible mosaic tapestry for the Colossal Castle Contest. The knight and his horse are incredible!