Fancy some more JRC?

Guess who is in town tonight ?, originally uploaded by 74louloute.

This creation by 74louloute is just to cool not to blog. I really love the colors in it as well in addition to some great building techniques. If more entries like this keep coming in JRC will work out to by a fantastic contest. Nice work 74louloute.

Going Country

Country Kitchen, originally uploaded by Heather LEGOgirl.

Heather "Heather LEGOgirl" built a Country Style kitchen. Best of all the fridge, freezer, dishwasher, and microwave all have opening doors. On top of that the microwave lights up. I can dig all that in addition to the great style this has. Nice work Heather!

Interview with Pierre E. Fieschi - Space Sensation

I got an interview with popular space builder Pierre E. Fieschi. I asked questions and he responded. Here's the interview...

To start off describe yourself to the readers...
I’m a 22 year-old French student in architecture, doing a master’s degree in Project Theory in Paris France, where I live. Lego’s have been a passion since I was 4 and I didn’t really bother with other toys at all (except Micro Machine which were really quality toys at some point).
I did have a rather long dark age mostly when Lego started making all these super easy 4-piece sets at the end of the 90s. My dark age ended with the Titan XP set and the discovery of Soren Robert’s work and the MOCpages community. I then started building again, discovering techniques (snot, friction…) that were new to me at the time. MOCpages had great builders back then, they’re probably still there but the average quality of builds has deteriorated (along with the picture quality and server speed) beyond repair. I recently stopped using MOCpages even if my page is still up. I can also be found on brickshelf (Kero40) but that page has also been inactive for a while. So I now use Flickr which has some great features and amazing builders.

Also as a follow-up to the first question, what communities or sites can you be found on? Where are you LEGO hangouts? Are you inspired by any other builders in the community? Maybe works of other that aren't LEGO even?
Switching to Flickr early this year really re-boosted my Lego enthusiasm; I discovered many great builders ( Shannon Ocean, Dasnewten, Karf Oolhu… just to name a few) that build so many inspiring things, so much NPU and sharing of ideas. The fact that Flickr isn’t only about Lego also helps a lot to get inspiration from other universes, concept artists, photographers etc…

Your mostly known for you works in the Sci-fi genre, but have you ever veered off and tried other themes?
Very early as a kid I was attracted by both the Space and City themes and microscale… it’s pretty much unchanged today although I have recently been tempted by sky-fi and super-bikes, many things remain to explore: post-apoc, steampunk, atlantis-ish stuff… The only line I dislike building in is Castle… perhaps that will change?

You build creations at an astounding speed, how do you manage to build so quickly? Also where does your inspiration for these creations come from?
I build at extremely varying speeds. But I usually have a precise idea of what I want including most of the assembly details. If I am bored in class I sometimes draw some of the details or perhaps the entire mechanism like I did for The Panzerspinne (you can see the draings in the back of the video) . Building it only took a few hours. I also have a sorting system that suits me well – perhaps that helps? Inspiration comes from wherever really, other builders are of course very inspiring, but video games, movies, things from everyday life can trigger an idea for a build. Homeworld games have particularly inspired me both for Lego and Drawing with their original sci-fi aesthetics.

In addition to having fantastic creations you all have excellent presentation. How do you manage to come up with some of the video presentation ideas that you use?
Until very recently my pictures were taken with a phone. As I came on Flickr I invested in a cheap, but efficient camera and a small tripod. Presentation is very important and it took me a while to realise that.
To be honest I’m still not 100% satisfied with my pictures but as I look at what I’ve photographed since February, they seem to be improving. I take my pictures in day light, on a white Plexiglas sheet to have a reflexion on the floor. I then tweak the contrast and lighting under photoshop which luckily is an every day tool for my studies too.
As for the videos I use a very cheap editing program trial (Muvee). I use a preset meant for sport videos that works well for giant cranes and mechanical spiders. I’m in the process of learning to use Adobe After-Effect to get a bit more out of moving Lego models! But the way I do them now, I have no particular idea of what the video will look like, I just load everything into the program and try my best to make it fit to the music.

If you had to pick a favorite creation of your which do you think it would have to be?
Tough question! There are so many amazing ones. One that recently blew my mind in particular is Dasnewten’s Naganata (the blue one ;) ) It shows off a whole new level of starfighter-building (which I usually find repetitive) and very clean photography.

Do you have any plans for your LEGO building future? Can we also expect any new projects from you in the coming days, weeks, months, etc.?
Oh yes I have more plans than time to build them, because of exams coming *sigh*. Many sketches have been drawn yet and I don’t know what I’ll start with but here is some of the stuff I should get into in 3 weeks:
-A giant shipyard that will hold the Sobani Command Ship under construction and feature pneumatics…
-A Blacktron II tank with a functioning automatic secret weapon
-A (another) microscale Mobile ground docking platform
-A diorama for the Stealth Strategic Bomber with a working elevator…
-Some kind of sky-fi radar dome plane?

That’s all I know so far… The order in which I will give a try at these is still unsure; I’m tempted to start with the shipyard ;)

And on a final note is there any building advice you can give to the readers along with any other tips you have?
Hmmm tips... tips… the only thing I can think about is advising not to sort by colour but rather by type or even groups of types. It encourages funky ;)

Starcraft Terran Battlecruiser

Starcraft Terran Battlecruiser - updated, originally uploaded by Jerac.

Jarek "Jarac" decided to update his Starcraft Terran Battlecruiser. It was cool during the WIP stages, along with the final stage, I think I love it even more now if that is even possible.

Austin 7 Pearl - Mail Delivery

Austin 7 Pearl, originally uploaded by Johŋ.

This new old-style car by our very own, John, is great. I like the configuration of the wheels and mudguards. This is one of John's entries into the LUGnuts 31st challenge. (Expect more entries into that soon)

Cylon by -2x4-

Cylon01, originally uploaded by - 2x4 -.

This fantastic rendition of the Cylon from Flickr user -2x4- is simply to cool to pass up. The sheer size of this is fantastic along with all of the detail. What I really like the the windscreen design. Nice work!

Fredoichi Rocks Out

Shūjuku L99 - Assault Class, originally uploaded by Fredoichi.

Flickr user Fredoichi (rather well known on this blog from what I see) astounds us all again with his new Shūjuku L99 - Assault Class mecha. If the design isn't enough he even uses fantastic and interesting parts throughout. I really like the white med. blue and dark bley together. That tan takes the cake though.

Tower Palace II

Tower Palace II, originally uploaded by José Proença - ztp.

Flickr user José Proença - ztp astounds us all with his new castle. The colors and sheer size of this diorama are fantastic. It makes me want to actually try man hand at a successful castle creation... well that and the new 2010 Kingdoms sets I picked up today. Great work José.

Bladerunner Spinner

Bladerunner Spinner, originally uploaded by Legohaulic.

This wonderful new creation by popular LEGO builder (and interviewee) Legohaulic is simply fantastic and I felt very compelled to blog it especially since he mentioned it in his interview on BrickSpace. Go check out Tyler's spinner in its dark blue glory.

Swooshing through the vastness of trans-green cockpits....

QX-8 Anopheles, originally uploaded by Crimson Wolf.

That's what recent starfighter by popular Flickr user Kevin (Crimson Wolf) is. The use of dark blue is also nice in combination with the organic vibe coming from the wires, tubing, and other whatnot going on in this crazy, tight, little fighter.

Pirates Ahoy! - Interview with Luke Watkins

Ironically the same name as one of BrickSpace's previous admins I am pleased to introduce our second interview in the series with Luke Watkins (Derfel Cadarn). This builder is well known for his rapid creation of majestic and large pirate dioramas. And without further adieu let's get into the interview I had with Luke.
To start off describe yourself to the readers...
Im 26, and ive had Lego since the age of 5 when i inherited my older brothers collection of classic space, town and technic, and from then on i allways got sets every Xmas and birthday till i was old enough to start buying it myself. Ive never had a 'dark ages', as ive allways bought sets every year, just for collection purposes. If i saw a set that i thought looked cool i'd buy it, build it, then put it away. Its was only when i moved last year that i decided to go through my collection and start moccing, so im still pretty new to the scene.

Also as a follow-up to the first question, what communities or sites can you be found on? Where are you LEGO hangouts?
The first online Lego forum i joined was Classic-Castle, and i was active there for a few months as the first few mocs i built were castle themed. Then i went onto pirates and thats when i discovered Eurobricks which has an excellent pirate forum as well as other themes. Im a member of most Lego forums which i all use, but Eurobricks is where im most active.

Are you inspired by any other builders in the community? Maybe works of other that aren't LEGO even?
Theres a lot of great builders out there, but im mainly familiar with those who build in the pirate and castle themes. Slyowl always produces great mocs and i love all the new techniques he comes up with, plus hes also from the UK. Captain Green Hair and Bonapart make some of the best Lego ships ive seen, and I Scream Clone and Kris Kelvin have been producing some great mocs as well recently. I also have to mention DNL, as i think his castle mocs are some of the best as he likes to build with a lot of realism and detail which i myself like to do.

Your mostly know for you pirate builds which are quite impressive, but do you like to dabble in any other themes?
Pirates is my favourite theme to build in, but i am a big fan of Castle and i hope to build quite a few Castle orientated mocs this year. Im also quite keen to build some Town and Train mocs, and Western looks fun, so maybe some mocs there too.

What are your plans for the future? Will you continue with your massive pirate dios?
I hope to allways continue with my large Pirate mocs as theres still so many ideas ive got planned out. Allthough i wont be putting out so many this year as i want to fit in some other themes as well.

I know this may be hard to do, but if you were to pick a favorite creation of yours, which would it be?
My two favourite creations are The Legend Of Porthgwarra and St Cadocs Church, but if i was to pick just one, i would have to pick St Cadocs, as i think it showcase my typical style of history realism and detail, not to mention all the 1x1 round plates! Allthough it seems my most well known moc is For Whom The Bell Tolls.

On a final note are there any creations in the works that you'd like to share?
Ive got part 2 of my Myths & Legends series coming up, and i will be keeping that series going, hopefully tackling Sleepy Hollow for part 3! Ive been planning for a long time on bringing the 'Warlord Chronicles' by Bernard Cornwell to life. Which are the books i got my name 'Derfel Cadarn' from, so hopfully be starting that this year. I will still be fitting in my usuall Pirate dios here and there, and MAYBE a giant sailor pulling 9 or 10 pirate ships through the sea by their anchor chains :)

Thanks again to Luke for that great interview. Expect another more close to home interview coming in the next coming weeks or so. I hope you've enjoyed the start of this new series so far.

Kart Racing

Kart Racing (And the winner is...)(2) dbz LEGO, originally uploaded by ZetoVince.

This new racing cart by Flickr builder ZetoVince is fantastic an makes use of parts you wouldn't expect and in ways you wouldn't expect. It is also part of his contribution to LUGNuts 30th build challenge where there are two teams (Team Nathan and Team Lino). The teams are split by the beginning letter of usernames and this entry is a fantastic one for Team Nathan although I may be a little bias since I'm also supporting Team Nathan. A fantastic creation nonetheless and the photography is great here.

LDD and LU?

Recent discovery by EuroBricks user superkalle is a new piece of code that can be placed into the LDD software (no worries because he even provides very detailed instructions) of accessing a special database of LEGO elements that have never been released on LDD and in colors LEGO has never produced. This new theme is the LEGO Universe theme which acts in the same manner as Ldraw and MLCad. I have applied the new theme to my version of LDD and find it much easier to use. I think it is also easier to make instructions and such if builds are mostly straightforward. There are also extra tools in this new version of LDD and as mentioned above exclusive LEGO colors that parts aren't ever available in. Check out the new code here.

A few things to keep in mind are that you can't check the price of anything you build in this mode as the parts aren't actually available only digital.
This goes along with the above statement, but you also can't buy whatever you make.

Interview with Tyler Clites

Hey everyone you may have noticed the as of late stagnant posting on the blog. The only six posts in March may have shown that, but no longer! We are back with this new interview when I talked with popular builder Tyler Clites (Legohaulic) for a building interview. All of his creations are rockin' so I hope you enjoy this interview I had with Tyler.



To start off describe yourself to the readers...

Well...I'm essentially a loner. I enjoy spending time by myself. I'm a very positive upbeat person with a corny sense of humor. I thrive on being creative. I love a challenge. If someone says it can't be done, I'm going to try to do it.

Also as a follow-up to the first question, what communities or sites can you be found on? Where are you LEGO hangouts?

My loner tendencies show in my online activity. I'm most active on Flickr and Builders Lounge.

Are you inspired by any other builders in the community? Maybe works of other that aren't LEGO even?

I'm primarily inspired by uniqueness! If a builder builds something that hasn't been done before or uses pieces in a unique way, it is a safe bet that I'll be inspired by it. The same goes for concept art, which also serves as a big source of inspiration.

I think it shows that you don't really conform do any theme and your creations show great amounts of creativity, where do you manage to find these ideas?

Most of my ideas just come out of nowhere. I don't sit down and decide to come up with an idea. Sometimes a technique, a photo, a piece of art, or something I see in my daily life will inspire an idea. I start doodling with pieces and something evolves from that.

Do you have any plans for the future? Even those not including LEGO?

Immediately, I plan on finishing college and finishing my project for Brickworld. Hopefully I can find a job at some point that will allow me to be creating something new and different each day. I despise the mundane.

If you had to pick a favorite creation of your which do you think it would have to be?

The Inquisitor would probably be my favorite.

Are there any creations you have in the works that you would like to share in this interview?

I have several thing in the works some I'll share and others will have to wait. I'm working on a dk blue version of the Bladerunner Spinner, and some TLG style mocs/sets for the Put Your Bricks Where Your Mouth Is challenge.

And on a final note is there any building advice you can give to the readers along with any other tips you have?

Build what you like and how you like. Don't let other people's opinions or perceptions determine how you build. This goes for any type of creative medium.


Thanks again Tyler for that excellent interview. From now on I'm going to try and get a new interview up every two-four weeks so stay tuned for the next one!

Wrath MBT by Pierre

Wrath MBT, originally uploaded by Pierre E Fieschi.

Recent up and coming building Pierre E Fieschi is absolutely fantastic at building and I think all of his talents really come together in this sci-fi tracked vehicle. The usage of parts is fantastic along with all of the angles he has managed to achieve. If you can believe it the turret is 5 years old!

Arios Type Hardsuit

Arios Type Hardsuit, originally uploaded by Freedom01.

This simple yet intricate (I know a little ironic) hardsuit by Flickr user Freedom01 is great and has a nice Gundam vibe going for it. The use of the color orange is also very appealing. Nice work!

Happy Easter!

Peter Cottontail, originally uploaded by Heather LEGOgirl.

From Heather LEGOgirl that is! Her recent Easter creations is great in fitting Easter colors and even a cool backdrop. This little 'working' vignette can get anyone in the mood for a nice relaxing Easter. Since I mentioned working we should show you all Heather's mechanics on the inside of this nice vignette.

There goes the little bunny Peter Cottontail spreading Easter joy.

The Nightmare before Christmas

The Nightmare before Christmas, originally uploaded by brainbikerider.

It doesn't matter what season it is this new vignette by flickr user brainbikerider is great featuring many excellent details from the musical The Nightmare before Chirstmas like tombstones and an excellent Jack minifigure.

Mobile Launcher by legoloverman

Launching, originally uploaded by legoloverman.

This new micro-creation by popular micro-scale Peter Reid (legoloverman) is great and features loads of details for anyone of any skill to take in. The usage of old LEGO elements (the trees are in fact official) is marvelous. Great work Peter.

La Resistance!

The Resistance is discovered!, originally uploaded by _Matn.

This new creation by Matn on Flickr is fantastic. From the often seen floating rock design and very nice rope bridge to the floating balloon contraption. Great work Matn!