Prepare to be floored. CGI artist, and Star Wars fan, Francisco Prieto pieced together this amazing stop-motion CGI short. The video shows the brick by brick construction of Lego’s Star Wars Ultimate Collector’s Millennium Falcon set. Each piece was rendered using 3ds max and V-ray software, taking him over three years to complete. I don’t think anyone could expect him to make the perfect video, but the results are impressive and the video really speaks for itself. The set can still be found through online retailers, although it can be pretty expensive — the set is considered a collectors item after all. I hope Francisco decides to do more of these videos, and hopefully we won’t have to wait another three years for the next one.
Remember those Minecraft LEGO sets we kept hearing about? Well here it is: the third LEGO CUUSOO crowd-voted project! It’s modular in design, so while it fits together as a single model (as seen above) it also separates into 4 sections that function as their own set. It doesn’t look too bad (and for the LEGO collectors out there, it has lots of handy flat 1×1 tiles in it). You can pre-order it through J!NX’s online store for $34.99 and it’ll release in the summer! Read more…
The other week we showed off a little teaser for Lego’s upcoming Lord of the Rings product line, but it’s not the only film license they have in the works. With Marvel’s The Avengers coming to theaters this summer, Lego will be dropping a few sets to tie-in with the film. I’m not posting photos of all of them as they might actually spoil a few scenes from the film, but if you just have to see them, click here. Otherwise, just click on the break for more.
ForrestFireFilms is back with a new stop-motion LEGO short film, and this time it features Captain America beating the crap out of some Nazis – and then some. The violence here is just ridiculously over-the-top and gory, with LEGO minifigs being shot point-blank in the face, sliced in half, and… well, I’ll let you see what else happens yourself. Let’s just leave it at this: this is not your usual LEGO film. Great work Forrest! Read more…
This Lego Cuusoo project has been around for awhile, but has remained a bit of a hidden gem. Cuusoo user MaxVF1 threw together these amazing VF-1 Valkyries — or Veritechs depending on your preference — in hopes of convincing Lego to license them for retail. As you can see from the video above, they’re pretty easy to snap together and make pretty good display models. They even let you shift between gear-walk, battloid, and fighter modes with ease. The problem, at least from Lego’s standpoint, is that they appear a bit fragile. Of course, that issue alone is just one of many hurdles to overcome.
Here’s a quick teaser for Lego’s Lord of the Rings product line. Why does Lego taunt me with such awesomeness? They knew I outgrew my building phase years ago, yet they’ve waited until now to land this epic license. While I’m sure I won’t have nearly as much fun as I would have if I were still eight years old, I’ll definitely consider picking one up when they hit stores, and judging by how great the characters look, I’m sure they won’t disappoint. I do wonder if this also means we’ll be seeing some Hobbit-themed sets this holiday season. Be sure to visit the official site for more info on the upcoming sets. Read more…
What have you been doing for the past 6 months? Working? Saving? Well Sven Junga has been building an enormous replica of the Hyperion battle cruiser from Starcraft II. In my opinion? Totally worth it. It’s incredibly detailed, all the way down to the small windows on the front. Tons of “greebles” (the LEGO builder term for the small technical details all over the surface of the ship) cover the body of the vessel to help make it look authentic. Amazing job, Sven. Read more…
Photographer Dale May is currently having an excellent exhibition at the Samuel Owen Gallery in Connecticut (it runs until Jan 19th), called LEGO WARS. Tons of fantastic pieces are on display and for sale, but the one that caught my eye was the X-Ray Trooper. It’s a really neat setup, it’s even displayed on a lightbox for full authenticity! It makes me strangely happy to know that there is a LEGO Star Wars gallery on display in this world. Read more…
LEGO has their hands in everything these days. From the immensely popular LEGO Star Wars and Harry Potter lines to Pirates of the Caribbean and Toy Story, they’ve tried their hardest to embed themselves in current pop culture. It’s served them well, especially with the success of the LEGO video games series, which have done a pretty good job of appealing to pretty much everyone. So what’s next? Lord of the Rings, of course! Read more…
Tired of waiting for Lego to officially license your favorite films like Star Trek or Back to the Future? Me too. I had my hopes up when Lego started releasing those awesome Star Wars kits a few years back, but nothing ever came of it. Fortunately for us, the guys at Ichiban Toys have decided to release few custom kits to fill the void. There’s just a catch or two — the sets are incredibly small and extremely expensive for what you get. Don’t get me wrong, they look awesome, but judging by the size of some of these kits, $15 for a Klingon Bird of Prey that only usesaround fifty small pieces can seem a bit steep. That said, they’re all official Lego pieces, so anyone with access to the right ones could probably build it themselves after giving it a close enough look.
Not even the Doctor’s too old for Legos. Thanks to the guys at Entertainment Earth, even you can your favorite Timelord to the set of your choice. While its not an official Lego product, these Doctor Who minifigures are fully compatible and come ready to join any set right out of the box. In addition to bearing the likeness of all eleven doctors, each comes with their own unique sonic screwdriver to match. Pretty sweet, right? On top of that, the box itself comes shaped like a Tardis, making it that much harder to throw away. I have a bad habit of keeping a boxes, but I imagine if every toy I came across were like that, I’d practically horde them. The Doctor Who Eleven Doctors mini-figure box set retails for $39.99 and is currently in stock, so go ahead and pick yours up today.
It’s not too often that I’ll come across a Lego sculpture so jaw-droppingly detailed that I absolutely have to write about it. Mark Rodrigues’ stunning rendition of the space battleship Yamato is no exception. While I’m more of a Robotech fanatic, I do have fond memories of Starblazers. I think it could safely be argued that perhaps the biggest star of the show was the ship itself. Whether you knew it as the Argo, or the Yamato, we all have to admit the design is particularly memorable and quite beautiful at that. Mark did a fantastic job of capturing its beauty with his 1/250th scale model that features rotating turrets and posable wings. Check out Mark’s official MOC blog entry for more photos and details on how he went about constructing the ship.
Feast your eyes on these awesome Miyazaki-inspired Lego models. They’re not quite as epic as the Minecraft maps we showed you last month, but designer Iain Heath did a fantastic job recreating a bit of Ghibli’s magic. They were originally displayed at last year’s BrickCon Exhibition in Seattle. Personally, I love his Totoro, and I really dig the little Japanese garden he built for the exhibit. For more images, check out his full gallery on Flickr.
I don’t know why I thought Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga would be the last in the series of Star Wars and Lego crossovers. Maybe I just thought Lego was planning on sticking with film franchises they knew they’d be able to cash in on — Indiana Jones, and Harry Potter for example. Turns out I was wrong. Today marked the release of the official demo for the latest title in the series, Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars. As you’ve probably guessed, the plot of the game will follow the Cartoon Network animated series with a number of cameos from both the show and original films.
Oscar season is upon us, and you know what that means: a dozen or so self-serious award-bait films competing with each other for Best Picture. So what can you do to bring a little levity to these proceedings? The answer, of course, is “render scenes from the Best Picture nominees in Lego brick form.” And that, incidentally, is just what Alex Eylar has done. From 127 Hours’ Lego James Franco anguishing over the loss of his arm to Lego Joseph Gordon-Levitt fighting in a zero-G rotating Lego hotel hallway, it’s all here. Just Lego-fied. Read more…
This spectacular Terminator T-800 bust sculpture was constructed out of Lego bricks by the talented Martin Latta. It’s a remake of a previous project that martin did, although this version features LED eyes: Read more…
I just love the level of detail on this recreation of Andy’s room from Toy Story which was made using lego bricks! The talented artist behind this effort is Matt De Lanoy who will be showing it off at the 9th Annual Lego Train Show at Cantigny Park, Wheaton, Illinois. Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Oct 14, 2010 in Videogames
BDA Gamer recently teamed up with Lego to produce a line of customizable Wiimotes for the ever-so popular Nintendo Wii. It’s a shame that these controllers are being released now as I imagine they probably would have sold far more during the launch craze a few years back. If it weren’t for the fact that my Wii collects more dust than a swiffer, I might have even considered picking up a pair of them myself. Of course, I’m sure there are still plenty of gamers out there who will want one, even if the only thing they’ll ever be playing on that console are titles developed by Nintendo themselves. If you’re in the market for one, you can order them through Toys’R’Us and you’ll receive a free Lego Halloween bucket as well.
Like so many of you, I spent a good portion of my youth collecting Lego sets. While the little blocks once allowed me fancy myself an amateur architect — though, I realize now that I was far from one — it wasn’t until recently that I discovered my love for photography. Of course, it wasn’t simply that I came across a lovely photo, I had to introduced to field it by a friend who shoots professionally. It was very much a case of “Where has this been my whole life?” and “Why couldn’t something bring it to my attention sooner?” Well, it would seem Pentax has a unique idea that might help solve that problem.
While this is awesome, it’s also kind of terrifying. What you see before you is Lego enthusiast Angus MacLane’s entry into the FBTB MOC Madness 2010 Building Tournament. Each year, Lego Star Wars fan site From Bricks to Bothans hosts the tournament, and in a nod to Empire Strikes Back, this year’s tournament requires you to create your own intergalactic bounty hunter, and their ship. Angus took this opporunity to create his very own McDonalds-inspired Corellian freighter, piloted by what appears to be Ronald McFett and an R2-Grimace. Why he decided to mix the two is completely beyond me. Besides, I’ve always thought the Millennium Falcon looked more like a York Peppermint Pattie.
Too often I see fanboys build amazing tributes to the imagination of others — but this rejects the original thing that made science fiction fandom so cool: It’s the idea that the fanboys who grow up reading something become the authors of the next generation of new things. So I was very happy to come across an original Lego creation called Containment which is the handy work of Tyler Clites (Legohaulic) and Nannan Zhang (Nannan Z.). Read more…
Every once in awhile someone does something awesome with legos that makes me wish I still had my box of spare parts. I always end up regretting the fact that I sold the majority on eBay so many years ago, with the exception of a few sets that I’ve managed to keep sealed away in their original box. Still, it really amazes me when someone creates something that’s actually somewhat useful. Sure, it’s neat to see someone construct a robot or a Valkyrie, but creating something a bit more original always manages to impress, and that’s exactly what B3ta user, Squirrelfantasy, did with his felt-tip lego printer. It might be a bit crude, but it looks pretty neat and gets the job done. Read more…