You usually have to choose between passing grades and being a mischief maker in grade school. But with this brilliant Lego contraption created by NXTLOG member hknssn13, you can be both. It automatically grabs a sheet of paper from a stack, folds it into a paper airplane, and then launches it towards your target. More »
Italian sound designer and producer Guiseppe Acito wanted to kick off his newly established blog with some fanfare. Naturally, that meant constructing a band from Lego Bionicle toys driven by an Arduino Uno and controlled by an iPad MIDI sequencer app called Nord Beat. Dubbed the Toa Mata Band, the musical group makes its tunes by beating on assorted drum pads, percussion instruments, synthesizers and even a Nintendo DS. Acito has published the ensemble’s very first music video, and it seems like there are more to come as it carries an “episode one” label. Hit the jump for the footage — which really starts cookin’ around the 1:15 mark — or hit the third source link for glamour shots of Toa Mata members and the whole setup.
Via: Make
Source: Opificio Sonico (1, translated), (2, YouTube), (3, Flickr)
Some interests are pretty morbid. For instance, I’ve always wondered just what kind of person would want to become a coroner or an undertaker. It’s just weird to me. The same thing applies to people who collect bugs and display them. Seems pretty gruesome to me. I’m just not that fascinated with dead things. However, dead bugs in LEGO? Yeah, I can see how that could be neat.
Insect fans are about to have their bug-loving nerd minds blown by these “taxidermied” LEGO insects. Each detailed LEGO insect was hand-made by Siercon and Coral and put into shadow box insect display cases.
Now this is insect taxidermy that I wholeheartedly approve of.
Head over to flickr to see the entire collection of LEGO creepy crawlies.
[via IT LEGO via Obvious Winner]
Here’s something you don’t see every day: a tiny LEGO sculpture of the world famous physicist and author Stephen Hawking, complete with his wheelchair and computer. I bet there’s a Higgs boson in there too, we just can’t detect it.
Its creator, The Living Brick, calls the replica The Standard Model, after the particle physics theory of the same name. I may not have understood what I just said, but The Living Brick made sure that even I can assemble Dr. Hawking, because he included a booklet of instructions with each kit. Actually no I’m pretty sure I’ll end up losing half of the pieces.
You can order the kit from Amazon for just $40 (USD). Got LEGO? Head to Eurobricks and there you’ll find the building blocks of Dr. Hawking.
[via Kottke]
This awesome LEGO robot was inspired by 18th Century Swiss watch and automata creators Pierre Jacquet-Droz and Henri Maillardet. It is a LEGO automaton that draws sketches on paper and comes from the mind of Italian robot maker Daniele Benedettelli.
He is made from LEGO bricks and actuated by Lego Mindstorms NXT. Fittingly, he is named LEGOnardo. If you’ve ever seen Hugo, or read The Invention of Hugo Cabret, it’s clear that its builder drew inspiration from that story. The drawings that the robot creates on paper are the product of custom software that Daniele designed himself. He can draw far better than I can.
Check out the video above to see LEGOnardo in action and to see how he was assembled in the brief clip below.
Obviously Daniele has a love of both robots and LEGO. They come together here in a fascinating creation that looks just like it’s creator.
[via Gizmodo via Damn Geeky]
The famous Hogwarts Castle from the Harry Potter series already has an official LEGO playset, but I’m sure that even J.K. Rowling herself would rather play with this sprawling replica made by Alice Finch. It would be notable enough for its sheer size, but what takes it to the next level is its decked out interior.
Whereas the official LEGO Hogwarts set is made of 1,920 pieces, Alice used about 400,000 bricks to build her Hogwarts. I can’t even count to 400,000. I always get lost when I get to the tens. In an interview with The Brothers Brick, Alice said she worked on the replica for a total of one year, spread out over an 18-month period. Aside from the books and movies, Alice also visited the Harry Potter studio in London to get a better idea of the school’s interior.
Alice’s Hogwarts won Best in Show and People’s Choice at last year’s BrickCon. It’s easy to see why. Seriously go check out Alice’s Flickr page for more pictures of her masterpiece. I could spend hours appreciating the details of her work and I’m not even a Harry Potter fan.
[via Geekologie & The Brothers Brick]
Some people build starships with LEGO, others build houses or recreate classic movie moments. Christian Cantrell has his own unique take – borrowing from popular culture and creating humorous scenes using LEGO bricks. Some of these scenes are downright brilliant, cute and funny.
How about a young punk Luke Skywalker smashing mailboxes with his lightsaber? Or Batman and Captain America laughing at Spider-Man, who is afraid of spiders? One of my favorites are the Stormtroopers riding mouse droids like skateboards. I would say that Christian is a LEGO comedian and artist in one.
Head to Christian’s page on 500px to check out more of his hilarious images. Every one of them is worth a look and will leave you wanting more.
[via TAXI via Pleated Jeans]
We all want to be Superman, but sadly can’t be—so maybe the nearest we can get is building his pad out of Lego. At least that’s what Chris Melby thought when he constructed this sensational model of the Fortress of Solitude from scratch. More »
This Ghostbusters headquarters was recreated in LEGO by Orion Pax and it is amazingly detailed. As you can see, it has all of the rooms, including the fireman’s pole for LEGO figures to slide down. And yes, Ecto 1 is inside there as well.
This thing is so intricate, there is even fake food in the kitchen. One room has a Staypuft Marshmallow Man poster on the wall. The rooms even have LEGO radiators for fake heating.
I could talk all day about the amazing details in this HQ, but you should really hit the link and check out some more images. It is the coolest thing you will see all day.
This HQ is alive!
[via Geekologie]
If you have ever wondered how LEGO bricks are made, they are made using injection molds like this one seen here. This one produced one hundred and twenty million bricks before it was retired.
Think about it. This LEGO mold probably made some of the bricks that you played with as a kid(Or an adult), which gave you hours of joy. I think it has earned a nice retirement that has nothing to do with making bricks. I say let it relax in a LEGO hut on an island somewhere. A hut that is made by bricks made by other molds.
I’m sure geeks would pay a lot of money for this piece of LEGO history.
[via Nerd Approved]
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