LSB Final entries

A while ago I posted some of the LSB Entries that had been entered, and now I thought I'd come back and finish off, because the competition is ending today. The judging may take a while, but to keep you interested, here's some of my faves between the first post and now:

First up is Uspez Morbo's Happy Critter speeder, with a great little windscreen and some novel part usages.

I really like the look of Vinn's Lotus , with a curved shape and a rough, mechanical feel to it. Though it may look weird and not be very functional, there's something about that rollcage that looks awesome.

Of course, no competition is truly a competition without Tadashistate , and he entered this one with his Raifaival , a scary looking Grim Reaper-style speeder bike, with great use of the Vladek helmet piece and Ninja swords.

One of my favourite entries is that of Lord Star-Blazer . His GH-3.4 'bike has a great clanky feel to it, with a small windscreen and a great shape all round, especially the engine at the back.

The competition has a size limit for a reason, and that reason is because Speeder Bikes need to be small and intricate. That's why I love Arpy 's speeder bike so much: the greebling in the body of the 'bike is great, and I love the pink ring at the end.

Of course there was no ignore T. Oechsner 's third Classic Space entry ...

And, to finish off, let's take a look at Chrispockst's weird entry into the LSB competition: The White Rhino . I simply love the shape of this, and the sides and cables too.

Well, that's it! The final entries are being entered now, as the competition is all ready to close. It's been an amazing show of building skill (and some not-so amazing skill), and it's introduced loads of builders to different sorts of speeder bikes: gone are the classic Star Wars shapes and styles - it's a whole new world of speeder bikes now. All that remains is for the judges to choose the winners...

~John

Brickspace gold notice

As many of you may have noticed, the monthly Brickspace awards, brickspace gold, in which you vote for your favourite creation/video of the month, have not been running for some time now due to technical difficulty *ahem* (in other words general staff laziness). We  are working on a new version of brickspace gold for next month. If you have any ideas, please email us or write them in the comments section.

Sharp and Bright - the Sunblade Starfighter.

This glorious creation by brainbike.rider looks sleek and deadly - I love the positioning of the engines and its general lack of fussiness that would appear to make it an efficient killing machine. The cockpit is great too.

Dr. S.

More Space Police

Now, I've said before that I never really rated David Pagano highly as a minifigure animator: I preferred his work with larger figures, such as in Little Guys or Playback. Luckily, the three new episodes in his series for Lego are brilliant.

It was always going to be tricky following in the footsteps of Spite Your Face (with such films as Doc Ock) as a Brickfilmer making films for TLG, but I must say Pagano has done excellently. The graphics and SFX are near-perfect and gleaming with authenticity. Though the plot may be a little quick (due to a time limit TLG had set, probably), Pagano gets the action done with ease, style and clarity - even throwing in a few witty one-liners here and there. Sure, there are parts of the films where you can see that TLG said to Pagano: 'look, put this bit in to show that our products have flick-fire missiles' or 'have flick-fire missile targets which explode the holding pod', but I really don't mind. All I can say is well done, Pagano.

Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4


~John

Weltraffer

Remember Alles Ist Die Noppe ? Well, I thought I might blog another one of its creator's Brickfilms. This one, which was nominated for best set design in the BiM Awards.

The film, called 'Weltraffer', shows the history of the world on a constantly rotating Lego baseplate. The animation is incredible, with the landscape building up and down, and there was certainly a lot of work put into this. The one thing that marked it down for me was the music - now, I know that everyone likes to make their own music (I do), but sometimes your music is just not good enough. If it was a bad film, I would be OK with it having bad music. But this is certainly not a bad film - so it deserves something better. Some sort of film soundtrack, maybe some John Williams.

Music aside, Weltraffer is a feat of the imagination - and modern-day Brickfilming. Look closely at it and you'll notice some clever little details, such as the priest squashing a globe to show that the Earth was flat.

Weltraffer from nichtgedreht on Vimeo.

Mmm... Dark Green...

I like dark green. Well, I like sand green too, and light blue, and dark brown, but most of all I like dark green. Anything made with it just looks so sleek and stylish.

And I like Cole Blaq . He makes awesome stuff, and he builds quite often, which is good because most of us in the community can't go too long without getting a look at another Cole Blaq MOC.

So then Blaq 's latest creation, mysteriously named The Rhim , should be brilliant. And it is. A sleek dark green-and-trans orange spacecraft, The Rhim has some great features and sleek shapes. Though some of the light grey greebling on the engines at the back may be questionable, I still adore this craft.

Speaking of dark green, that's the colour of my first entry into the LSB contest:

Some great SNOT work if I don't say so myself.

~John

And you thought YOU had worm problems...

Now usually I'd never blog a creation with such awful photography, but this Dune Worm by 2x4 just blew my mind away. I must say that a lot of effort has been put into buying all those curved bricks off Bricklink, and the end result is seriously scary. The Dune surface itself is sufficient enough, and the MOC even has a little spaceship which I'm sure is part of the film this creation is based off. If only the Worm's mouth could close up to form a perfect end...

2009 Great Western LEGO Show

Once again, members of the Brickish Association will be holding a weekend event at the STEAM museum in Swindon, England where you will be able to come and see lots of fantastic LEGO creations and meet the builders - including me!

There will be plenty to see and do, making it a fabulous day out for all the family:

• Lots of models of all sizes built by LEGO fans such as railway layouts, buildings, space craft, cars, trucks, aircraft and much more
• Interactive Building - help create an all-new giant LEGO mosaic from 100,000 bricks!
• Building Workshops - enjoy short presentations by LEGO experts on the latest LEGO building software and techniques for you to try at home
• Visit the LEGO Shop and other independent LEGO traders for some great deals on some exclusive LEGO sets not available on the high street
• LEGO play tables for the children (and sofas for the adults!)
• Competitions - win LEGO prizes
• Brick Cafe - to keep you refreshed in first class style

Read the full details here and see an exclusive video of the event below.

Brickspace Dictionary: SPUD

SPUD (abbrev.)
SPUD is a term used for large, pretty-much useless Lego parts. The abbreviation, standing for Special/Single Piece/Purpose Useless/UnLEGOish Design/Decorative, can be applied to a large range of Lego parts that has one specific purpose and which is therefore hard to integrate into a MOC. These tend to be vehicle chassis, like the one on the picture to the right.


A SPUD can sometimes (but not always) be a POOP as well. A POOP is a Piece (that can or should be made) Out of Other Pieces. The chassis above could definately be a POOP, but some SPUDs are so specialised that they cannot be POOPs. Similarly, a POOP could be a regular 1x8 brick: that could be made of two 1x4 bricks, four 1x2 bricks, or eight 1x1 bricks; but it is not a SPUD as it is extremely useful.

Brickspace Dictionary: MISB

MISB (abbrev.)
MISB is an abbreviation used mainly amongst Lego collectors meaning 'Mint In Sealed Box'. It is the desired condition of an old Lego set that you are buying from the internet - still preserved in its original packaging.

Sometimes the abbreviation MIB (Mint In Box) is used instead. Some cynical builders say that, when used for Lego sets on eBay, MISB stands for 'Mangled In Substitute Box'.

Alles ist die Noppe

This film, titled 'Alles ist die Noppe' (All is the Stud) is possibly my favourite Brickfilm ever. Yes, it may have topped Unrenewable!

This film may look brilliant on the outside, but it has a firm base in philosophy as well as having similarities with communism. The film's description reads 'The Lego System is inhumane. Wedged into a fixed structure, always in the same lanes, with a fixed smile on its face. How can an outbreak succeed if [this structure] is omnipresent?'

But, putting the philosophical context to one side, this film is truly amazing. Beautifully lit (I loved the shot with the train and the 'sun' behind it), with great effects and - something we don't often see in a Brickfilm - the sets are wonderfully made. Making use of SNOT in several places, and with real attention to detail (see the tram, especially). This film is certainly unique and one you can watch again and again.

Alles ist die Noppe from nichtgedreht on Vimeo.

More Brickspace 4.0 features

Hej, Brickspace viewers!

As you may know, we are currently updating several features of our site. Last time we updated the Brickspace banner to a Flash-animated site map. This time, I'd like to introduce you to our updated Join and About pages!

From when we started, we've always had a staff sign-up page, but after I had loads of ideas for various different types of staff, it was decided that the sign-up page should be taken down and for the past few months we had a [rubbish] placeholder image. Now, though, Join is back! We have an updated sign-up form along with a more understandable explanation. So, if you have ever wanted to join our blogging team, now is the time!

Our welcome page has stayed pretty much the same ever since we rebranded as Brickspace back in October last year. In January it was updated to include more post types, but apart from that it has been dormant. Now, though, with Brickspace 4.0, it's been updated! Gone is the long text section... now there's a neat Flash element with all the information you could want to know about us! There's also a part about the history of Brickspace, which is the first time we've put up info about our past.

We hope you make the most out of our new features. Enjoy, and leg godt!

~John and Luke

Brickspace Dictionary: Illegal Move

Illegal Move (n.) (Ill·e·gal_Move)
An 'illegal move' is when a building techniques unnecessarily stresses the elements it consists of. This can lead to warping or breaking of the bricks if they are held in that position over time.

There are several different types of illegal moves (and legal moves, too), most of which can be found in TLG's very own Powerpoint guide . The reason for an illegal move is mostly due to the receiving brick being smaller than the one being connected to it. Sometimes, though, a connection can be illegal because of the material of the pieces: the plastic polycarbonate (PC) is sometimes used instead of the usual ABS, and a tight PC-on-PC joint can be hard to undo.

Even the much-used 'secret Lego technique' paraplating (see right) is considered as an illegal move by TLG!

The Master Builders at LEGOLAND Windsor have a tradition that, whenever a builder performs an illegal move, they must 'buy the cakes' for all the others. In the general FOL community, however, illegal moves are regularly used.

Pierre & Luigi

This film, by Brickfilming regular Nick Durron, tells the story of two restaurants in New York, battling it out for the customers. I really like the idea behind it, and the special effects are wonderful (it was nominated for Best Visual Effects in the BiM Awards 2008), but some sequences are quite abrupt and unprofessional. The music is perfect, though it can be a bit too much sometimes. It's a good film, but what really let it down for me was the vocal work for Pierre - it seems like the actor was walking away from the microphone, then towards it, creating an unstable sound level. Besides that, his French accent is not the best! Overall, it's got a great screenplay, but Pierre & Luigi has some flaws which could really have been seen and corrected before the film was released.

Brickspace Dictionary: Huey

Huey (n.) (Hu·ey)
The 'huey' is the regular 2x2 Lego System brick, found in almost all Lego sets and MOCs. Though properly known as a 2x2 Brick, the Huey has many other names. The name 'Huey' comes from the cockney rhyming slang of 'two-by-two-ey' (just like a Rory is a 'two-by-four-ey'). It is also known as a Louis, a name taken from The Brick Issue 16, which features a character called Louis who is a 2x2 brick. The Huey is sometimes called a Desmond, from Desmond Tutu (two-two, two-by-two).

There are several variations on Hueys, though they are not used often. For example, a 2x2 plate could be a 'flat Huey', and a 1x2 brick could be a 'thin Huey'.

Hueys offer little in terms of building techniques, but Hueys can be part of a Greco Joint , which is when a short Technic cross-axel is wedged in the tube on the underside of the brick. This, however, is hard to undo, and is an illegal move (it stresses the tube).

Bricks in Motion 2008 awards announced!

Just a few days ago, the winners were announced for the BiM annual film awards (previous the BAMPAs)! Unfortunately I couldn't be there for the BiM Live screening, but I caught up on the nominees later on.

The winners are as follows:
Best Film ~ Unre newable (Philip Heinrich)
Best Animation ~ Attack of the Second Ammendment (Zach Macias)
Best Screenplay ~ Unrenewable (Philip Heinrich)
Best Cinematography ~ Bill Carney's Body  (Nikolas Jaeger)
Best Visual Effects ~ Unrenewable (Philip Heinrich)
Best Set Design ~ 802.701 The Time Machine (Go! Le Go!)
Best Sound Design ~ The New Neighbour (Maxime Marion)
Best Original Score ~ Unrenewable (Philip Heinrich)
Best Vocal Performance ~ Unrenewable (Philip Heinrich as Jack Darter)
Best Ensemble Cast ~ Unrenewable (Philip Heinrich)

So congratulations to Philip Heinrich for winning just about everything, and also congratulations to Nathan Wells, Nikolas Jaeger, Maxime Marion and Go! Le Go! for being nominated several times. It's always good to see some foreign films in there as well.

A full list of the nominees can be found here .

~John

Brickspace Dictionary: Grüschteling

Grüschteling (n.) (Grü·schtell·ing)
The word 'Grüschteling' is a German word used by German Lego fans. It is used to describe the distinctive sound made when you sift through a large bucket of Lego, trying to find the right piece.

The word has no English equivalent, but it is meant to be onomatopoeia, hence the sound of the word is the sound it describes (the 'rüsh' part sounds the most like it). It is pronounced 'Groo-shtel-ing' (without the umlaut). For the most accurate pronunciation, make a growly sound in the back of your throat for the R, and try to make an small O shape with your mouth for the Ü.

Grüschteling can also be used as a verb. For example, a family member might politely tell you to shut up by saying 'Quit grüschteling around!'.

Note: Does anyone know who made up grüschteling? I have something that says Ralph Hempel... is this correct?

Brickspace Dictionary: The Fades

The Fades (n.) (The_Fades)
Usually used to describe minifigure heads, 'the fades' is a condition where most of the detail on a brick has faded off due to rough play.

The fades can affect any brick with printing on, such as minifigure torsos and old bricks with graphics. The fades usually takes several decades of play to be seen, but scratching or rubbing the pieces can quicken the rate of fading.

Some fading can also be achieved by Free Radicals - the Lego community's name for the big brick-fading device in the sky: the sun. If a brick is left on a windowsill, its colour can fade. White and blue bricks are the worst affected by free radicals.

Brickspace Dictionary: Hands in Pockets

Hands in Pockets (n.) (Hands_In_Pock·ets)
The 'Hands in Pockets' is an old version of the Lego minifigure. It is so named because of its posture and the way its arms 'fade' into its torso, and it has no hands. This old minifigure, which came in many types, is also known as 'the extra', because it has no important features and it is like an extra on a TV programme - no details are seen, just the fact that they are there.

The HiP paved the way for minfigure-scale building. It introduced the minifig head, along with some minifig headpieces (including the 'police officer hat', which is still in use today). Sadly, in 1978, Lego designed the modern-day minifigure and the Extras were discontinued.

New LEGO Atlantis!

Despite his bad jokes, always-kicking-me-off-Espernet and his other unfavourable traits, Dano is great sometimes. This is one of those times: he's managed to get a sneak preview of a new 2010 Lego Atlantis set, with tridents and some great looking new stickers.

The italian website that the picture is from says "The new line will be supported by an intensive TV [and press] campaign [as well as] a dedicated website". When you log in with an account on the site, you get further information. Basically, the theme will be launched in January next year, but in December Lego will launch the theme's website, with movies that can be seen with 3D glasses. The sets will all one of 'five unique keys that allow access to the treasure [of Atlantis]. There will also be new half-fish minifigs, apparently.

Scarily similar to the not-so-old Aqua Raiders sets, this tiny preview has been called everything from 'M-Tron underwater' to 'Power Miners-come-Space Police'. We'll just have to find out when more information is released.

Oh, and happy birthday to Sir Nadroj (Jordan Schwartz)!

Terror in the skies!

Now THIS is what I call a helicopter. Built by HappyWeasel, it features meshed rotor blades and massive air intakes, it clearly rules the skies. What's more, those rotors are motorised.


Dr. S.

Brickspace Dictionary: Earling

Earling (n.) (Ear·ling)
The Earling brick is a popular SNOT brick, which has two stud-sides and two under-sides. The name 'Earling' comes from its creator, but it is also known as a headlight brick because of its wide use as vehicle headlights in early Lego cars. Another name for it is a 'washing machine'.

The Earling brick is known for being used for SNOT. On its own, it has an annoying bottom rim (or 'bottom lip').  This means the stud is higher up the brick than it is in other SNOT bricks such as Travis (Dalek) and Davros parts. However, when two Earlings are put together along with a 1x1 plate, they make a neat SNOT solution (see below).

The 1x4 SNOT brick (see below) is named the 'laundrette' because it looks like a set of Earling 'washing machine' bricks all in a row. It is, however, more similar to the Travis brick because it has no rim.

You'll marvel at this repair shop...

Well, that 'witty' title is courtesy of the fact that I have finally worked out Mdrn-Mrvl's name to be 'Modern Marvels'. Actually, I found out ages ago, but we haven't blogged his stuff in a while so I never had a chance.

In continuation with his 1920s-gangster style (M-M being one of many builders inspired by the film Public Enemies), Mr. Marvels has built a great repair shop . Though it may look simple from the outside, it's packed with clever features as well as a selection of his 1920s cars. I really like the use of old white bricks (which sadly make up most of my white brick collection) on the building; it adds a wonderful aged effect.

~John

Brickspace Dictionary: Jumper

Jumper (n.) (Jum·per)
The jumper, or jumper plate (sometimes offset plate) is a unique brick in Lego System which enables stud measurements to be calculated in halves.

The brick, measuring 1x2x1/3, has a single stud in the middle. This offsets the stud measurement by one half-stud, an action sometimes called 'jumping'.

Jumper plates only offset in the stud-x or stud-y axes, but not simultaneously. This can be remedied by placing a jumper plate on two other jumper plates (see below).

Though the jumper plate does not have a real opposite, the 2x2 coupling plate can be used to take a 'jumped' brick from below (see below).

Lego Speeder Bike competition entries

Just a few days ago, Dali Zheng over at the LSB (Lego speeder bikes) Flickr group launched the LSB competition , searching for the best Lego speeder bikes out there. Entries must be under 6 bricks tall, 6 bricks wide and 16 bricks long, cannot have an enclosing cockpit and must be able to fit a minifigure.

The competition doesn't close 'til the end of this month, but I thought I might review some of the entries so far...

 I really like this first entry by Pyrefyre , with its racing stripes a small, strong shape. Not all speeder bikes need long struts out the front, you know.

When it comes to light grey, nothing beats T. Oestchner , and he even entered some Classic Space goodness into this competition, with a clanky-looking bulky speeder. Possibly a bit too crowded, if you ask me.

I don't think anything inspired me more than Stenertje's Octan speeder bike. I simply love the made-up oil company which pops up here and there in Lego sets, and this sponsored racing-bike is just awesome.

It was only a matter of time before someone made a Power Miners speeder bike, a Tito0o0o won that race, with this great-looking sleek 'shark-nosed' bike.

And finally there's another lime green 'bike from CurlyFryGuy , with more wonderful shapes, especially that front part. Es ist wünderbar!

That's all the top entries for now. I'll update you all nearer the end of the competition's time!

~John

Hoth kiosk? No, Eth Heosk.

What's that? I'm not blogging Sir Nadroj's latest fantabulous creation? Yeah, I'm not. I thought 'y'know what, I'll let someone else blog it this time. Let's have a bit of variation'. So here is something equally spectacular: the 'Eth Heosk ' diorama by Stenertje , who is a Belgian builder (because of the 'tje' at the end of his name). Though I'm not too sold on the yellow-rock-landscape, I love the little building on the right and the 'embedded' landing pad baseplates. Oh, and that sleek spaceship.

I have to get to Belgium sometime to see this...