Spirit of the season

Up here in the Northern Hemisphere, winter is in full swing, and while it may be mild for some people, it's decidedly not for others. You could blame this on the climate being affected by axial tilt and the Earth's distance from the Sun, or you could blame it on this "malevolent mountain spirit with powers over the wind and snow," Uromroz the Cold.

Built by Djokson, this icy, sharp character certainly looks responsible, doesn't it?

Feelin' blue

So much for me being a sci-fi blogger. The MOC in this post is another Castle build in a very similar style to the last one: a rustic, cobble-hewn style befitting of a rural countryside cottage. 

I'm not a huge fan of some of the part choices for rocks (too round) or the transparent elements (for the stream and chimney smoke), but still found this definitely worthy of a blog mention because of the beautifully textured cottage walls and roof, and the use of color. Blue is not too common in the gray/brown/green-dominated Castle theme, but between the roof, stream, and bluebird, there's plenty of it here, contrasting nicely with the sienna trees, gray walls, and cool green earth. 

Oh, and there's NPU: a feather, a minifig hand, and a joystick base for a bird? Ingenious. And John Snyder (jsynder002), if you're reading this, is that a minifig hairpiece used as a bird's nest? (Nice build by the way...) 

Take me to church

I'm no Castle expert, but I instantly felt this MOC by newcomer don leopold brings something new to the table. It has a different feel than a lot of Castle builds I've blogged before, although I couldn't for the life of me tell you what it is. Maybe any Castleheads reading this can elaborate...

We've seen the 1x1-cylinder-for-roofing technique before, but it works really nicely here. The trees and stone wall are well built and fit nicely into the scene. My favorite aspect of the build is the excellent use of SNOT and greebles to achieve the look of crumbling, paint-worn walls; it's some of the most natural-looking I've seen in a Castle build. Also note the NPU for the bell - can you tell what those pieces are?

"Bazaar"ly masterful building skills

Howdy.

Ignoring my face-palm-worthy title, Mark of Falworth's The Grand Bazaar is truly a LEGO magnus opus in the first and finest degree.  It not only invokes a wonderfully refreshing building style that perfectly utilizes a brick-built base to give the MOC structure, but the details that he has added really bring out the structural beauty in this diorama.  I especially am a fan of all the pastel and sand-green/blue elements he has used. Quite inspiring, indeed. 

Ending NoVVember with a throwback

Remember M-Tron? I don't, considering I was born seven years after the theme's last set came out. But the space theme holds a place in the heart of many builders due to its campy aesthetic and red/black/trans-lime color scheme. 

Our last NoVVember post this year is an M-Tron inspired Viper from Genghis Don: 

The dark red is an interesting departure from the bright red of the official sets, but the trans-lime touches leave you with no doubt this is M-Tron. I really like the engine technique and the multiple fins/flaps. 

You... shall not... PASS!

NoVVember continues and the Vic Vipers keep coming. Here's a small and simple, yet very creative, design from Shamisenfred, a builder whom I hadn't heard of before but turns out to have some excellent sci-fi builds in his photostream. It looks so alien and otherwordly, and I love that eye-catching gold stripe down the front. 

Here are the specs, according to the builder:

Equipped with two heavy acid plasma throwers, BALROGs are low flying war machines with limited space capability. They are very efficient against infantry and vehicles depending on their armor as the glowing pink plasma they shoot burn through flesh and metal.

Seriously though, if you're a n00b like me and didn't know about Shamisenfred, go check out his photostream for some awesome alien-spaceship goodness. 

Venice, 1486

Last time Jonas Kramm (Legopard) and Brick Vader collaborated on a MOC, we blogged it. Then again, pretty much anything made by these builders extraordinaire is blog-worthy. Here's their latest, a wonderful scene from medieval Venice:

This is one of those builds where the more you look, the more details you find. This was built for NEW ELEMENTARY's "The New Black" parts festival, so plenty of new molds and recolors (in black, of course!) are featured - check out the lamppost, bench, door knocker, gondola, and balcony! (Some are hard to see from the above image, so be sure to visit Legopard's post to see more images and some building analysis.) 

Some Scala parts have been integrated: the bridge features a specially molded flower, while the large salmon-colored vase is made from a flowerpot and umbrella stand. 

The wonderfully lifelike tree features many flexible elements and is one of the most natural LEGO trees I've seen. 

Maybe my favorite part use is the Chima vulture head for the mask of a plague doctor!

Overall this MOC is fantastic and only heightens the already lofty reputations of its builders. Great work!

Some images and content in this post came from NEW ELEMENTARY. See Legopard's highly interesting post there at this link!

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!

Guard those shins

Yep, those are CCBS shinguards (from the Star Wars buildable figures, I think) on this Vic Viper by F@bz. Don't they look fabulous?

This is a really unusual color scheme and F@bz pulled it off beautifully. I'm in love with that trans-lime windscreen, the design of the front prongs, and all those lovely greebles around the engines and guns. Everywhere you look there are innovative part uses and techniques - for example, I love the way the tailfin uses some SNOT to fit right into the slope of the rear canopy; the choice of dark gray "log bricks" as exhaust ports; the lime-and-blue "racing stripe" on one of the prongs... Some well-chosen stickers from official sets complete the model. A fantastic build and one of my personal favorite NoVVember builds I've seen! 

The desert of forced perspective

Certain comments about building a wall aside, most people consider Mexico a land of beauty: red sand, spicy food, crystal beaches, tequila, mustangs, mariachi bands, El Dorado... Since childhood, vir-a-cocha has wanted to visit this country. Hopefully someday he will, but for now all he can do is build the beautiful desert landscape with LEGO:

This MOC makes expert use of forced perspective - just check out that distant shadowy cactus, created brilliantly with small pieces! That steer skill in the foreground is very well built, and the red-and-pink sunset completes the scene. Fantastic build!

What is this, Ma.K for ants?

October is Ma.Ktober, a theme month based on Maschinen Krieger or Ma.K, a specific strain of sci-fi that focuses mainly on powered suits with smooth shapes. However, Ma.K aircraft and autonomous craft are thankfully all regularly built, as well as more creative takes on the theme like what I've found for our readers today.

Brought to you by D-Town Cracka / Andy is this deceptive toy robot. The presence of Lego's Belville dolls, opposed to standard minifigs, may make it difficult to quickly identify the building scale for those unaccustomed to the dolls. Closer inspection, however, will probably give you a bit of a shock: this killer biped, hilariously advertised as a toy, is not much taller than a minifig itself! Careful use of stickers has helped furnish this bot with a level of detail normally found only on far larger MOCs. As for the pieces it's built from, see if you can spot:

• Pirate hook
• Hero Factory figure arms
• Ski poles
• Nexo Knights arm pieces
• Minifigure arm

I haven't posted in a long time, but this tiny treat was too good to pass up. Bravo, Andy.

Micro monsters

LEGO 7 has put together two expertly built microscale monster trucks, in a race to the finish on a dusty desert track. 

The bush element used as a dust plume is great, but my favorite detail is how the wheels are connected - the hubs aren't specifically molded wheel pieces, but just 1x1 cylinders. This allows them to be attached to a pair of handlebar elements, giving the splayed-out look of heavy-duty suspension as these monsters bounce across the rough terrain. Fantastic microscale building!

Cherry pie

I love pie. Here in New England we eat it for breakfast from time to time, and there's always four or five varieties on the table at my house come Thanksgiving. Homemade is of course best, but there's something to be said about a slice of storebought cherry pie, bursting with gloppy, sweet, red-food-coloring cherry filling. W. Navarre has recreated it perfectly:

Casa Kolonihagen

Not to be confused with BrickNerd head honcho Tommy Williamson, Tommie Wilhelmsen is a Norwegian architect known for the simple, two-room Casa Kolonihagen house. This modern-style home has now been recreated in LEGO by Lego Fjotten, and I think he did a great job - although if you don't believe me, check out the source images of the real-life building.

The Kingdom of ABS

As ABS Round 1.6 rages on (and I keep struggling to come up with more uses for the seed part), we seem to be heading off in the Castle direction - usually not my preferred genre, but when the builds are as cool as my competitor Mark of Siloam's new microscale MOC, I really can't complain! 

The seed part was used six times: four times in the castle, one in the windmill, and one in the cathedral (the builder's favorite). I really like the rockwork and the SNOT techniques in the castle walls and the cathedral. Really nice work, and some more tough competition for me in this round! 

Stay tuned for more ABS coverage, including some personal insights into the contest...

ABS Round 1.6 now in progress...featuring The Brick Bucket Editor Tate Whitesell!

The ABS Builder Challenge is back! This time, the four competitors are...

• Roy of Florenheim 
• ConRoy
• Mark of Siloam
• ...and yours truly, Tate Whitesell!

I'm a little bit of an "outsider," as my three competitors are primarily castle builders, while I focus more on sci-fi...but I'm sure there will be plenty of excellent MOCs of all genres in this contest!

I'm incredibly excited to participate in ABS and I'm grateful to the contest's organizers for including me. I will be posting some updates from this round right here on The Brick Bucket, so stay tuned for some insights into my building and the contest in general. 

Now I'm off to go figure out this seed part... may the best builder win!

You can follow this round of the ABS Builder Challenge here: https://www.flickr.com/groups/abs-builder-challenge/discuss/72157674968251745/

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!

Bento box

If this build from nobu_tary had been posted a few weeks ago I wouldn't have known what it was, but fortunately my girlfriend (a Japanese food enthusiast) took me out to a Japanese restaurant recently, and I ordered Bento Box Option B (on account of me being able to actually pronounce the names of the items in it). There was some delicious beef teriyaki, some shrimp shu mai, various sushi, a mound of rice, and more wasabi than any human could possibly hope to ingest in one sitting. I devoured it, although I can't say the same about the salty grayish soup (with seaweed in it!) that came as a free appetizer. Guess I'm not a fan of all Japanese food. 

But I'm certainly a fan of good MOCs, and now that I've gotten that anecdote out of the way, I'll turn your attention to the subject of this post:

My favorite detail has got to be the giant LEGO-brick box - definitely a creative part use that lends some character to this build!

Lovely German office building

Paul Trach (Disco86) built his workplace, the Stadtwerk Mainz (a services company in Germany) in a LEGO Architecture style for his LUG. The result is very clean and professional, and would fit right in with the real Architecture line.

Check out this close-up to see the innovative construction of the trees and the front entryway.  

An electric angel

Oh hey, Frog is blogging a thing again.

I might've blogged a thing or two by Drazelic before. But in case I didn't, he is a great sci-fi builder who focuses on Tabletop-sized robots, mechs and drones.

This time he brings us a slightly angelic-looking Robot, menacingly floating in the air, wielding a neat, little axe, and an even more menacing rifle.

Lovely lonely cottage

Whenever I try my hand at Castle building I inevitably gravitate towards something of this style. Not only are simple cottages and huts easier for me to build, but I often find them more interesting as well. Unfortunately I've never had nearly as much success in the genre as Graham Gidman, who built this Avalonian Cottage: 

The best part of the built is probably the stone wall of the building, but the little details like the clothesline and perfectly executed fence (and the gentle slope of the plate-built landscape) make it a must-blog. 

What has humanity unleashed upon the world?

Why has Popsicle master created this demonic cyber-beast? 

How did he assemble a fence, some Hailfire droid treads, an Aquazone diver helmet, and countless other greebles and NPUs into a MOC this cool-looking? 

What is going on with that Technic figure's hair? 

All these questions may never be answered. Because by the time you get close enough to the BFC Horndog to ask them...it may be too late. 

I think this builder's been flying under the radar a little bit - I highly recommend you go check out some more of his delicious mecha builds via the Flickr link above.

Cars and trucks and things that go*

*Just trucks this time

We're constantly praising microscale builders here because of the difficulty of creating an appealing, recognizable model from just a handful of pieces. The latest micro masterpieces I've found are these trucks by Robert Heim (Robiwan_Kenobi). Check out some of the part uses and, more interestingly, the ways these builds fit together. There are some great techniques used to achieve the necessary angles:

Desert fortress

I think I can speak for all of us here at the Brick Bucket when I say that life has been extremely busy. However, amidst all the busyness and chaos of our everyday lives, one must always take the time to admire a work of art, something that is beautiful, elegant, and aesthetically pleasing.

Such is the case with Tirrell Brown's Qar Riwa.  The combination of the slightly recessed dark tan walls with a light tan border truly makes this MOC an eye-catcher.  But it's not all just sand-colored bricks; there are some lush green areas that really give the oasis vibe in the MOC.

Star Wars goes micro

Cole Blaq, usually known for his creative abstract builds, has taken his building skills to the Star Wars universe to recreate the StarScavenger and the Eclipse from Star Wars: The Freemaker Adventures. I'm really impressed by how nicely they turned out at this scale - they may be even better than the minifig-scale official sets!

A mighty castle

InnovaLUG has been recently turning out some amazing medieval creations; everything from a fortress to a build that incorporated a bird cage.

Today's blog shows a MOC that literally towers over the others made by Brother Steven.  Farwin Castle is the epitome of what we LEGO® builders consider to be the ultimate castle. The build is beautifully constructed with a conservative rock and stone work that is complimented by hints of Tudor architecture.  What a magnum opus.

If you wish to see more of InnovaLUG's BrickFair Virginia collaboration, you can see it on their website here.

Fabulously fantastical medieval

I've seen quite a few medieval MOCs, and being the sucker for the theme that I am, I couldn't resist taking a closer look at this brilliant MOC entitled The Market Gate by Bricktease.  The MOC comprises of many different styles of building, from the classic castle construction feel, to an almost city vibe.  Bricktease has beautifully merged all sorts of colors together, from dark red to sand blue all within a natural setting.  It's just beautiful.  To say that I now have some inspiration for future builds is indeed an understatement.

Please welcome new contributor John Klapheke!

Hello everyone!  My name is John (aka BrickBuilder7622), and I am the newest writer for The Brick Bucket.  I am honored to be able to contribute to this awesome blog alongside some wonderful and very talented LEGO® fans.

My LEGO® experience really has been something of a journey.  Getting my first Duplo set when I was about three or four, I've always been fascinated with assembling and designing things.  I upgraded to the normal LEGO® System bricks a year or so later.  But it was not until I was about fourteen or so that I began to truly appreciate all the possibilities for the wonderful interlocking brick system. 

That was around the time that I started MOCing.  Since then, it's pretty much been a non-stop roller coaster of only good times and meeting a lot of great people.  I was fortunate enough to have won a competition hosted by the LEGO® Group back in July of 2014, and I have been nominated twice at BrickWorld for Best Sea Vessel. I've also been blogged several times, and have even been commissioned to build a MOC.

My personal theory behind the hobby of building, blogging, and working with LEGO® is that the builder can make anything that they want.  The sky truly is the limit.  This ability to take an idea, a concept from the imagination, and transpose it to a 3D medium is amazing.  I don’t restrict myself just to building with LEGO®; I also like to render objects and models using a computer, and I am about to embark on the journey of drawing and improving my artistic skills.

Well, that’s about it for me intro-wise.  If you would like to see my works, please check out my Flickr, as well as my personal website (dedicated to LEGO® builds).

Stay creative!  Cheers and ciao.

- John Klapheke

Architectural interlude

As you have probably noticed, The Brick Bucket has not been particularly active recently. All of us have been quite busy and only have minimal amounts of time in which to write (in fact, I'm typing this post in my girlfriend's car while I'm waiting for her to finish her cello lesson). But fear not, we're still here and the posts will keep coming, as frequently as we can cook them up.

Today's fare is a brilliant microscale build by John Klapheke (BrickBuilder7622). The builder says it's a "pseudo-Frank Lloyd Wright-style" build inspired by an iOS app and a fellow architectural builder. There are also some Japanese additions such as the cherry tree, rock garden, and gazebo. I think the overall effect is quite nice:

Thanks for sticking with us, Bucketheads - hope to see you again soon!

All of these MOCs are sort of related...

- They're all futuristic 
- All of them use fantastic angle techniques and wedge plates
- I found all of them in my co-blogger Frog's Flickr faves
- What more could you ask for, really?
- Ok, just enjoy the builds...

"Box Truck" by [Carter]:

"Erik's APC" by Dryvvall:

"Robodog" by Gamabomb:

Luggabeast

Wow, sorry for the lack of posts this month! I've been surprisingly busy for summer break, but hopefully soon we'll be blogging more regularly. I was talking to Frog and Aaron today about some potential new ideas, and we're also going to be bringing another pretty well-known blogger on board pretty soon...

...but enough about that; you came here for the MOCs. And Robert Lundmark has provided today's fare - an excellent model from a galaxy far far away, specifically from The Force Awakens. Behold Teedo astride his Luggabeast:

This is on a larger scale than the official-model Luggabeast from a recent set, and is therefore much more detailed.

If you love highly detailed and accurate Star Wars builds, there's much more where that came from, so follow the link to Robert's photostream for more amazing builds from across the galaxy...

Khanibre Castle

Here's a sweet build from W. Navarre with a decidedly medieval-Japanese flavor. "Khanibre Castle" features some great techniques in those stone walls and fantastic roof adornments. I'm also a fan of the not-quite-a-minifig samurai...

"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: