If you’ve inexplicably amassed some 8,000 clear window pieces in your Lego collection, thanks to the design talents of Tobias Tøstesen you can turn them into a stunning see-through, floor-to-ceiling chandelier. What’s particularly great about this approach to decorating is that it’s far cheaper than a similarly sized chandelier made of crystal, but no less stunning. More »
After much anticipation, the all-new Legoland Hotel opened on Friday, April 5, 2013. Located right next to the theme park in Carlsbad, California, the three-story 250-room hotel does not disappoint, especially for those that can’t get enough of those colorful plastic bricks. We visited the hotel just two days after it opened to scope out some of the 3,500 Lego models scattered throughout the hotel. Made from more than three million Lego bricks, these sculptures were like individual artworks in and of themselves, starting with the huge dragon in the tower, guarding the hotel’s entrance. The green, smoke-breathing dragon, alone, was made out of 400,000 Lego bricks and took roughly 4,000 man hours to construct. More »
We’ve seen lots of cool parents making cool stuff for their kids, and here’s another Dad who made something truly special for his daughter to geek out on. While most parents just settle for ordinary sized LEGO minifigs, Instructables contributor ChampX made a ginormous minifig for his household.
This oversize LEGO “maxifig” is exactly 10 times the size of an ordinary minifig, but it’s at least 100 times more awesome. It’s made from PVC pipe and plexiglas. It’s almost as big as his 10-month-old daughter, though she will continue to get bigger and the LEGO maxifig won’t. Sounds like the plot to the sequel to Ted.
Champx made this massive minifig to look like the classic LEGO space figure, and it’s a perfect match. He even made it out of separate pieces, so everything moves just like a regular minifig. The helmet can even be removed and turn like the real deal.
You can check out more pics of the build over on Instructables. Amazing job, Champx!
This Lego recreation of Han Solo’s DL-44 heavy blaster is incredible. Right down to the wood-colored handle and the offset scope, it looks as authentic as a Lego-built blaster can without actually firing lasers. More »
We all know Han Solo shot first, but looking at this awesome LEGO DL-44 blaster, I don’t even care. I just wish I had this sitting on my shelf – or in my waistband. It’s Han’s famous Greedo-killing blaster in LEGO form.
It was made for the 2013 edition of the MocAthalon contest, by LEGO enthusiast Captain Infinity. I wish I had thought to build this blaster myself, but I know mine wouldn’t look nearly as good.
Captain Infinity says that he had meant to build it for a while, and the competition’s “An Elegant MOC for a More Civilized Age” category was the perfect chance to do it. He focused on fitting as many details as he could into this blaster and making the shape as accurate as possible. I think he did an amazing job.
[via Brothers Brick via Laughing Squid]
While the very first Apple computer actually came without a case of its own, the Apple II (and ][+) featured an iconic beige wedge case design that went on to define an era of personal computing. While I don’t really have room in my office to set up an old Apple, I might be able to squeeze in one made out of LEGO.
This miniature Apple II Plus was created by Chiu-Kueng Tsang, and it’s really quite extraordinary. Not only does he nail the look of the classic computer with a minimal number of bricks, he’s even made a pair of tiny disk drives, a monitor and even the internals under the lid.
Very impressive indeed. The funny thing is that using today’s technology, you could probably fit a working system that’s way more powerful than the original Apple II Plus inside of its case. I’ll get on that right away.
[via MAKE via Brothers Brick]
Despite the fact that I’m horribly allergic to shellfish, this LEGO creature that reminds me of some sort of crazy crab has still warmed its way into my heart.
The 12-legged little critter was created by Singapore LEGO fan Lee Ping Ng, based on the mechanisms that Theo Janssen created for his unbelievable walking strandbeests, using LEGO Technic parts. Though I have to say Lee’s walker is cuter – especially with those big bug eyes protruding from it’s head. Here, check it out in action:
See, isn’t it cute how he wanders about the tabletop? At least I don’t have to worry about going into anaphylactic shock by messing with this guy either.
Chairman of the Turkish Cultural Association of Austria, Birol Kilic, thinks the Jabba’s Palace LEGO play set is “culturally insensitive.” Why? He says that it resembles Istanbul’s historic mosque Hagia Sophia. Or any other building with a domed roof, for that matter.
He says that “This does not belong in children’s bedrooms, and the minaret-like tower features machine guns. Children will become insensitive to violence and other cultures.” Maybe he should worry about real world problems instead of worrying about a LEGO set based on a 30-year-old movie.
It all started when his organization was notified of the issue by an outraged Austrian father, whose sister had given the LEGO set to his son last Christmas. The father returned the toy to the store. It could have ended there, but the Turkish Cultural Association petitioned LEGO to drop the play set from its line-up.
Sadly, like so many things these days, political correctness and overzealous idiots are trying to kill the things that we love. Don’t mess with Star Wars. In response to the accusations, LEGO released the following statement:
All LEGO Star Wars™ products are based on the movies of the Star Wars™ saga created by Lucasfilm. Jabba’s Palace appears in Star Wars™ Episode VI and appears in a famous scene on the planet Tatooine. The building is the palace of Jabba – a fictional movie character.
The picture shown above depicts the building from the movie scene. The LEGO designers try to reproduce all buildings, space ships and characters from the movies as close as possible when creating a new LEGO Star Wars™ product.
This is done to allow both young and old Star WarsTM fans to act out the scenes from the movies at home. The LEGO Star Wars™ product Jabba’s palace does not reflect any non-fictional buildings, people, or the mentioned mosque.
The LEGO minifigures shown on the box and found inside the box (Jabba, Salacious Crumb, Bib Fortuna, Gamorreanic Guard, Oola, Han Solo, Princess Leia disguised as Boushh, Chewbacca and B’omarr Monk) are all modeled after fictional characters from the movie.
The LEGO Group regrets that the product has caused the members of the Turkish cultural community to interprete it wrongly, but point out that the design of the product only refers to the fictional content of the Star Wars™ saga.
A few media have reported that the product is being discontinued due to the mentioned criticism. This is, however, not correct.
As a normal process products in the LEGO Star Wars™ assortment usually have a life-cycle of one to three years after which they leave the assortment and may be renewed after some years. The LEGO Star Wars™ product Jabba’s Palace 9516 was planned from the beginning to be in the assortment only until the end of 2013 as new exiting models from the Star Wars universe will follow.
LEGO has no plans to prematurely discontinue the playset, but you can always buy one for your collection, just in case.
[via Nerd Approved]
We’ve seen beautiful and grand LEGO Star Wars chess sets before, but Avi Solomon’s LEGO Star Wars micro chess set is unique in its simplicity and portability. With your help – and LEGO’s benevolence – it could become a real product.
Avi originally made the set as a birthday gift for his son. The board is made of a 16 x 16 baseplate with 1 stud plates on top. The pieces – Rebels and Empires, of course – all come from LEGO’s Battle of Hoth play set. To finish it off, Avi also made a carrying case as well as a couple of covers for the case.
If you liked Avi’s creation, check out more pictures of the set on Flickr and most importantly vote for it on Cuusoo. Who knows, it might become an official LEGO product. But the good thing about Avi’s idea is that unlike the other Cuusoo concepts we’ve seen, it’s relatively easy to replicate it because Avi was kind enough to share his parts list. So even if LEGO doesn’t approve of it you can just go and build one.
[via IT LEGO via Tiefighters]
Game of Thrones is awesome enough as it is. But it’s about to get awesomer thanks to LEGO hobbyists and builders who also happen to be fans of the show. Now, thanks to fans and hobbyists, some of the show’s memorable moments have been immortalized forever and recreated in LEGO.
Of course, GoT isn’t shy when it comes to the violence which sometimes borders on the absolutely gory. I think it’s safe to say that LEGO definitely tones down the gore factor a bit. Though in this scene where Jaime Lannister slays the Mad King, they still manage to spill blood.
And it wouldn’t be a Game of Thrones tribute if the actual Throne of Swords weren’t recreated in the building blocks that everyone loves so much, right?
And here’s the final scene we have for you. Take note of the high level detail on Tyrion Lannister as he bribes Mord to let him out of his sky cell.
Check out more Game of Thrones LEGO sequences over at legogameofthrones.com.
[via Buzz Patrol]
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