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.