Matchstick

One of our most blogged builders in 2016, Deltassius returns this year with another fantastic little mecha, this one called the F-T System "Matchstick." I love the chunky construction with a blend of round and sharp edges, and that trans-orange brilliantly offsets the black and gray armor. 

Well-rounded

legoalbert takes us simultaneously forwards and backwards with this throwback to 2013, the year this futuristic sci-fi tanker truck was constructed - although it's only now been posted. Well, the shaping on this build is awesome. Part usage is minimal - pretty basic large pieces and a simple construction and color scheme - but it gets the job done beautifully, one of those MOCs that doesn't quite seem like LEGO. A few exposed studs and barely-visible ribbing under the tank add some lovely contrasting texture. 

One question though: what's that gunner doing? What kind of future war is this truck fueling? Only time will tell, although I'd love to see legoalbert revisit this concept in a later build.

Suit up

Happy 2017 everyone! For my first post of the year I've selected a glorious mech-suit MOC from recurring bloggee nobu_tary. Isn't she a beauty?

I love everything about this build, from the purposely exposed studs for greebling purposes, to the 1x2 grilles used to add texture to the thighs, to the vibrant yellow-on-gray color contrast, to that big-ass gun. Note the interesting part usages such as a droid torso and pistol in the hand, and the new Nexo Knights battle suit element in the cockpit. 

What's that? Cockpit? Oh yeah, this thing fits a minifig too:

Fantastic work! And for those of you who missed it at the end of 2016, check out nobu_tary's tribute to the new year with his excellent Year of the Rooster build. 

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.

2016 in the rearview: The Brick Bucket yearly recap, vol. 3

Another year has come and gone, and it's time for me to look back on The Brick Bucket and the LEGO community as a whole in 2016. 

This year - May 16, I believe - will mark the third anniversary of The Brick Bucket. That's a pretty cool achievement and I'm happy to still be here running this little blog with the help of some fantastic fellow contributors. We didn't put out as many posts this year, but we aimed for quality over quantity and I still think the Bucket is a good place to go to find some really awesome MOCs. 

I'd like to start off by discussing the addition of our newest writer, John Klapheke (BrickBuilder7622 on Flickr). John joined us in August 2016 after I blogged his microscale modern architecture build. Since then he's boosted our coverage of Castle-type MOCs (Aaron, Frog and I are more sci-fi-oriented). He's been a welcome presence on the Bucket and I've been happy to work with him. His builds are pretty sweet too, so be sure to check out his Flickr...

And now, allow me to introduce 2016's most popular posts on The Brick Bucket. 

Most popular posts (most pageviews)

1. Please welcome new contributor John Klapheke!
2. Desert Fortress
3. All of these MOCs are sort of related...
4. The good, the evil and the...nocturnal being?
5. Lovely German office building
6. Luggabeast
7. Tokyo skyline
8. "I'm late I'm late I'm late"
9. Dragon warrior
10. Cars and trucks and things that go*

Our top posts featured a variety of MOCs, from sci-fi to Castle to character builds and more. I think this illustrates the variety the Bucket is capable of, and how there's something here for every fan. 

Most-blogged builders

Jonas Kramm (Legopard) was by far our most-blogged builder, with 9 posts credited to him in 2016. Jonas is simply an incredible builder and well deserving of this small honor. I highly recommend you go scroll through his Flickr. 

Deltassius put up a strong second place finish with 5 MOCs of his being blogged. Deltassius is an under-the-radar mecha builder and his little 'bots are also worth a view or two on Flickr. 

In a tie for third place, Djokson, John Snyder (jsnyder002), nobu_tary, Robert Heim (Robiwan_Kenobi), and Tim Schwalfenberg (One More Brick) each had 3 of their MOCs blogged. 

Traffic sources and audience

Here are 2016's top visiting countries to the Bucket:

1. United States
2. Germany
3. Russia
4. United Kingdom
5. France
6. Canada
7. Italy
8. Slovakia
9. Australia
10. Netherlands

The U.S. still makes up the majority of our views, but Germany now accounts for quite a bit too (then again, Dead Frog is a German citizen!) The U.K. drops from 2nd to 4th, while Russia and Italy are up and Australia and the Netherlands are down. Slovakia is new in the top 10 and honestly? I can't account for that :P

Much of our traffic this year came from Google (a good sign - either people are Googling us, or our links/images are showing up higher in search results!), with a significant portion also from Twitter. BrickRSS and The Brothers Brick were also fairly large sources of traffic. 

More info

Average posts per month in 2016: 8.42

Total posts in 2016: 101

Social media

We maintain a presence on Twitter and I try to update our Pinterest board whenever possible. Give us a follow!

In conclusion...

Thanks again to everyone who reads and supports The Brick Bucket. I'm happy to lead such a talented team and to provide the LEGO community with another source of MOCs, reviews, and more brick-related goodness. In 2017 I'd like to post a little more, but of course we'll always be aiming for quality over quantity. If any of you have any comments or questions - or would be interested in joining our staff - feel free to use our contact page or talk to any of our writers on Flickr. Happy New Year and best of luck with your LEGO endeavors in 2017!