Pink poison

The Brick Bucket's fearless reporting takes us once again into the Iron Builder arena, home now to a peculiarly pink battle between Grant Davis and Kosmas Santosa (kosbrick). The seed part at stake is the 4x4x13 curved panel, more commonly known as the "hot air balloon segment," in any and all of its three existing colors. 

The Brick Bucket's intrepid journalism has now discovered the source of the pink variety of these pieces: they must be harvested from the abdomens of a very rare and beautiful spider deep within the jungles of Iron Builder Land. But there's a risk to be taken for beauty, as this spider is not just pink; it's deadly poisonous. Watch your step...

Follow the Iron Builder action at this link!

Arrival at Fornax K7

The good folks at the ABS Builder Challenge have wasted no time cleaning the arena floor from the Season 1 Finale and getting Season 2 all set up. Mark Erickson (Mark of Falworth) is one of the four contestants in Season 2's inaugural round, and he's setting a tough precedent: a lovely, whimsical alien-planet-landing scene that seems straight out of the Pikmin games. 

The minifigures have apparently landed in a human-scaled world, where flowers are tree-sized and pebbles are boulder-sized (but only to the little plastic dudes). The seed part is in fact the red bucket element, put to use very nicely in those flowers. And the whimsically positioned stems, leaves, and tufts of grass? It all looks terrific, as does the spaceship itself, with a Classic Space design and that nice bulbous moon-lander shape. 

Cheep cheep!

It's always nice to see new builders on Flickr, and it's even nicer when they're posting MOCs as good as this one. Josephine Monterosso (jigsawjo) just showed up this month, but she's already posted probably 20 different builds ranging from mosaics to mecha. I'm only highlighting one of her builds in this post, but I highly recommend you go give her a follow and check out some more of her work!

This bird's nest must use just about every flexible brown part that's been produced - flex-tubes, bullwhips (thanks Indy Jones), and vines, as well as a few rigid parts. It has a very nice natural aesthetic and looks just like a real bird nest, complete with a couple of eggs that hopefully will soon reveal a couple of baby birds, mouths agape to receive a fresh worm or two from mama bird. While actual egg pieces technically exist (from the Angry Birds sets), I like the use of the light-blue minifig heads here, presumably as robin eggs. 

Into the jungle

This jungle temple by Jonas Wide is chock full of creative building techniques and part uses. The structure has a really nice decaying feel that blends well with the mayhem of the jungle - vines growing everywhere, monkeys scurrying about, birds chirping loudly... it reminds me of a quote from the author Orson Scott Card: "The natural world is beautiful, and it is beautiful again when it reclaims the ruins of humans who are gone." 

Something that works really well here is the blend of different shades of green - there's the olive-green grass, dark green of the vines, and medium shades used for the trees. It offers a nice contrast and adds that natural touch to the build. Also noteworthy are the microfigure "statues" set a half-stud into the walls of the temple, and the incredible multi-layered, intricate construction of that tree nudged up against the ruins. (I'm also a fan of that spindlier tree on the other side of the build, but I don't know what the pieces used for the leaves are!)

A sight to sea

Several months ago I built a coral reef for the ABS Builder Challenge, and it's still my most-faved Flickr photo to this day. I was intrigued by the opportunities presented by the vast array of corals and other denizens of the reef environment; combined with the opportunity for some Nice Part Use, it seemed like a perfect build. Unfortunately I was never quite happy with the way I incorporated the seed part. 

Now Drazard has built his own reef model for an ABS competition, this time for the Season 1 Finale (which I also competed in). And I've gotta say I think I like it better than my own...

The seed part (dark red elbow brick) features quite nicely, used for both the dark red coral and the shiny treasure chest, but that's not nearly all. The array of different pieces and colors here is spectacular! There's not a coral I don't like - each one features smart part usage and impeccable color combinations. The rockwork and stacked seaweed is a great frame for the photo. Feel free to compare to my own reef model and report back in the comments - and be sure to check out the rest of the fantastic builds from the Season 1 Finale of ABS!

Colossal castle

Each time InnovaLUG builder Mark of Falworth reveals a new MOC, I am simply blown away.  His latest work of art, (CCC14) Clarendon Castle, is one of his biggest projects, weighing in at an impressive 110 lbs (~50 kg).  It is as if Mark pulled this scene right out of a medieval fairy tale book. The details, the techniques, the color schemes all have been exhibited in former MOCs, but if there is something that sets Mark apart from other castle builders, it is that he knows how to make classic techniques innovative and incorporate tried and true methods of building that appear to be timeless.

Bloomin' good build

The Brothers Brick just highlighted Milan CMadge's cactus MOC. I wasn't aware of the builder so I checked out his photostream and found this equally impressive flower build (a lily, I'd say): 

Although there aren't many parts, they're all used perfectly - the hot air balloon segments as petals and some Ninjago ghost blades and what I think are whip elements used for the inside of the flower. A very well-composed build and photograph!

Tokyo skyline

Tokyo is a beautiful city: a blend of sleek modern technology and tranquil nature. Past and future blend together here like nowhere else, and this has been replicated wonderfully by Cecilie Fritzvold (cecilihf) in her MOC of the Japanese capital:

From left to right, the buildings displayed are Meiji Tower, Tokyo Tower, the Imperial Palace, the Tokyo Skytree, and Senso-ji. 

There are some lovely building techniques used in this microscale MOC. The one that I noticed first was the many minifig hands used on the taller buildings, but a zoom-in on Flickr revealed many more exciting intricacies: an interesting pattern on Tokyo Tower achieved with 1x2 grilles and rubber bands; precariously connected clips at the base of that same tower; a laptop and some tiny tank treads on the Imperial Palace; and what I'm pretty sure are some Resistance Trooper helmets used to make the bridge. 

The architectural choices are spot-on, showcasing that blend of past and future I mentioned above. The presentation also looks great - just a sleek, solid black background, simple and elegant just like the city. This is just a great build and I can't say enough about it. 

EDIT: by complete coincidence (seriously, I didn't notice until after I posted!), this build features a microscale tree very similar to the one I showed Sheo's tutorial for in the previous post! I wonder if there's a connection...

How to plant a plastic tree

Yesterday Sheo. revealed this tutorial for building an excellent microscale tree. It uses only 19 pieces, yet the end result looks amazing:

It looks unstable, but the builder says it can be tipped upside down without any pieces falling off. The natural, round shaping and fine details are incredible at this scale - microscale nature/architecture MOCs will no doubt be enhanced by the presence of a few of these trees, modified to your needs. Here's Sheo's own example, a stately chapel: 

The builder shows off a knowledge of nice part uses, including the ski pole, spinning-plate base, and - my favorite - the reversed jumper plates for doors. 

Now that you know how to build these trees, your microscale MOCs can be further enhanced...if you use this idea be sure to leave a comment on Sheo's post to let your appreciation be known!

"I'm late I'm late I'm late"

I don't have much time today - but here's a great Alice in Wonderland scene from The /\rchitect, featuring some great landscape building:

A bit of Castle

This month seems to be a good one for Castle-themed MOCs, at least in terms of me seeing things on Flickr that I want to blog. Clearly my blogging time has been limited (although I'm going to attempt to fix that in the next few days), but for now let's all enjoy this excellent vignette by Brother Steven, entitled "Fisher's Luck":

(Built for InnovaLUG's Summer Joust competition)

Reconquest

I said yesterday that we'd be covering more of InnovaLUG's "Summer Joust" contest, which is now open on Flickr through June 30th. Anyone is welcome to enter, so go check out the photo pool if you're interested!

I really liked this entry from builder marcu44. The base is relatively simple and flat, just some plates and foliage elements, but the whole MOC is elevated by that wonderful brick-built tree. The SNOT work in that twisting trunk; the roots crawling over the boulder; the beautifully positioned leaves - everything has the makings of a great nature build. And you can't ignore the creative part usages for the tiny mushrooms or the bird:

The hanging tree

vitreolum has been working on a series of vignettes showcasing popular horror movie scenes. He started with The Exorcist and Scream; his third installment is this scene from Witchfinder General, which I have not seen but seems like a pretty messed up film. 

This is one of the most organic brick-built trees I've seen in a while, I think because of the combination of curved and straight-edged slopes and the textured slope at its base. The other thing that caught my eye was the SNOT construction used on the grass under the tree - the curves of the grass and the stone path fit perfectly together, something not easy to achieve. Overall this is a very well-built vignette, maybe my favorite of the year so far! 

You can follow the continuing horror vignette series here. 

Nautilus

Trash can man says this was "a VERY frustrating build," and I believe him, but I'm glad he stuck with it:

The shell is constructed of BIONICLE/HERO FACTORY armor segments that appear to be rubber-banded together and wrapped around a greebly central structure. Although small, it's intricate, and it's very well done. 

Ring-necked parakeet

AnActionfigure adds to their lovely series of realistic, detailed animal builds with this brightly colored parrot:

The color scheme is nice and this is quite a realistic model. Check out AnActionfigure's photostream for more like it!

Superb large-scale animals by AnActionfigure

Although quite new to Flickr's LEGO Community, AnActionfigure has definitely proved competent as a builder - actually, considerably more than competent. Granted, every MOC in their stream so far is some sort of large-scale forest animal, but that's not a bad category to limit oneself to! Here are some of my favorites so far:

Stay tuned to AnActionfigure's photostream - I presume many more of these fantastic animal builds are on the way!

Buff builders working on their ABS

The ABS building challenge was started just a couple months ago and is now in the second round. My favorite builds so far in this round come from jsnyder002, who's found ways to use the seed part (ice cream cone) in a coral reef, beaver dam, and Pinocchio: 

Follow the round here to find out who wins and to see some great MOCs from four up-and-coming builders. I myself have applied to the contest to see if I can enter a future round - guess I'd better go polish my MOCing skills... 

(So many abbreviations in these tags!)

Bonsai Buddy

The neat, whimsical builds of Chris McVeigh (powerpig) are well-known across the internet, and kits, instructions, and prints of Chris's beautifully built and photographed models are available at his online store. 

The latest additions to Powerpig's Builds 'n Things are these lovely bonsai tree kits. There are three varieties - juniper, cherry blossom, and red maple - and each is available for $24.50. Or you could build your own, if you're into that - I know I'm definitely going to try. 

Props to anyone who understood this post's title... 

Nature, uh, finds a way.

I'm getting pretty excited for Jurassic World (and the accompanying LEGO sets!), so forgive me if I'm a little heavy-handed with the Ian Malcolm quotes in the weeks to come. Tonight's dinosaur mood was triggered by vir-a-cocha's latest MOC popping up in my Flickr feed. Titled "Sunset," it shows a pair of small raptors that have come across a big T-Rex track in the primeval mud. The landscaping here looks really nice and the little dinos have plenty of character despite lacking any facial features. 

Koi Pond

After the hectic events of the past weekend (new blog name!), it was nice to see something calming in my Flickr photostream. Through a perfect blend of smooth and irregular textures, simple shapes and complex ones, Chris Maddison has once again turned plastic bricks into something more. I wish I was sitting beside one of these right now.