BR 80 Steam Engine

Just last Sunday I spent most of the day aboard a train. Of course it was a modern Amtrak train, but I did spend a moment thinking about the heyday of locomotive transportation, imagining myself crossing the country in the 1800’s. While I can’t speak with much authority on trains (what can I say, I just don’t know much about them), I can say I like the looks of this one by builder holgermatthes. And if you do too there’s great news, Holger has shared the instructions so you can build your own!

By the way, if you’re into trains, and you want to be a blogger, clearly we have need for an expert in the ranks.

LEGO BR 80 steam engine

Full Steam

This is presentation taken to the next level. Builder Markus "madstopper78" Ronge has not only crafted some amazing builds, he’s imagined an entire mini universe, Full Steam. It’s like LEGO plus fan fiction, but not just a backstory, a whole…thing! Tune into an imaginary network to watch an imaginary series featuring amazing builds, it’s brilliant. And this ship plus the display around it are just stunning. I’m not a huge Ninjago fan, but I think I’d watch this.

"Full Steam" S. 1/ Ep. 4 "The Last Raid of the Sky Pirates"
"Full Steam" S. 1/ Ep. 4 "The Last Raid Of The Sky Pirates"
"Full Steam" S. 1/ Ep. 4 "The Last Raid Of The Sky Pirates"

Three Tiny Brothers

One of the most jaw-dropping works of animation I’ve ever seen is the tale of Three Brothers from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, it’s a masterpiece of production design, lighting and animation. Builder Nuju Metro stunned us all earlier this year with his Three Brothers build, inspired by that animation, and now he’s back with a micro scale version of that MOC. Even small enough to fit in your hand it’s absolutely amazing.

The Tale of the Three (Little) Brothers

Horror At Mangrove Swamp

I love how crazy talented some of my friends are. I don’t know what inspired what, and which came first, but builder Lino M not only built this exceptional diorama with a dark back story, he also painted the cover of a pulp novel of that very story. It seems that the folks of this swamp have been keeping the rest of us safe, but at a terrible price.

Horror at Mangrove Swamp
Horror at Mangrove Swamp

The Giap Towers

Welcome to the Giap Towers, watch that first step. Builder MarcelV was inspired by the whimsical and exceptional art of Chong Fei Giap, for which this wonderful MOC takes it’s name. According to the builder this is the culmination of 10 months of planning, building, rebuilding and photography, and it shows. You can’t rush art, it always dictates it’s own speed, and it’s always worth the wait.

The Giap-Towers

Filia's Bakery Is A Feast For The Eyes

Since those very early days when people figured out mixing crushed wheat with water and getting it hot made for a pretty good snack humans have been baking. And it wasn’t long after that the art was perfected and the baker was born. Fast forward to medieval times and we meet Filia, star baker of the nine kingdoms, built by roΙΙi, and making me crave some pastries.

Filia's Bakery

Starman And His Roadster

This is officially the first SHIPtember 2018 build we’ve featured on BrickNerd. Now I know what you’re thinking, “hey, that’s a car, not a spaceship”. But take another look, this is Elon Musk’s Tesla Roadster and Starman, who is presently cruising through our solar system. Assuming the battery is still good we can assume he’s still listening to Space Oddity too. Nice build brickfrenzy.

roadster 01
roadster 07

I Thought They Were Supposed To Be GOOD For Your Eyesight!

I don’t care much for carrots. When I eat a chicken pot pie, I usually pull them out and set them aside for corgi consumption (you can be assured they are watching me eat said pie, like they are watching me eat biscuits with my tea right now). This MOC by Legohaulic is doing nothing for my aversion to them either, and I’m guessing that bunny is also no longer a fan.

Healthy Snack

Now Departing From Platform 9 3/4

While the notion of boarding a train to be taken off to a far away school is absolutely foreign to me, it sure seems pretty nifty. I don’t know if 11 year old me would have thought so, but then again I’m only a muggle. This micro scale of the famous Hogwarts Express by vitreolum boasts some of the coolest micro mountains I’ve ever seen (and the train is pretty spiffy too).

Hogwarts Express

Trans Europ Express

I don’t know what makes me happier, the retro aesthetic and quality of this build by holgermatthes, or the fact that as soon as I started blogging it one of my favorite all time bands started playing in my head, Kraftwerk. This perfect rendition of TEE stretches over 2.5 meters (over 8 feet) and features three PF motors and LED lighting.

LEGO VT 11.5 Trans Europ Express (TEE)

The City Of Alayon

When it’s time to blog something you need to crank up the creative juices, you know? It’s not enough to put a pretty picture up, you have to have some at least marginally interesting words to go with it. Occasionally they come easy, sometimes they don’t. And sometimes they seem so diametrically opposed to the true creative energy that went not only into the build that’s featured, but the description and back story of that build. This stunning floating city by Brother Steven is a good example of this. Click through a read the description of this amazing creation (and see a bunch more pictures!), and then you’ll understand what I mean, and why these words are so mundane, I never stood a chance.

The City of Alaylon

The Burrow

One of my favorite places in the Wizarding World, and a place I would genuinely like to visit, is the homestead of the Weasley family, the humble but wonderfully whimsical Burrow. While the books did a pretty good job of painting the picture of what this place looked like, the movies really completed it and make it real. This micro scale MOC by vitreolum captures the whimsy that makes this place so appealing.

The Burrow V2

Stay On Target!

Builder Josh DaVid LEGO Creations is back with another brilliant kinetic sculpture, this time it’s Star Wars related. Let’s see, Star Wars related, mechanical and LEGO, sounds like my cup of tea (he said, drinking a cup of tea). Check out the video to see not only this thing in motion, but a reveal of the ingenious mechanism that makes it possible.

LEGO STAR WARS X-Wing Kinetic Sculpture (Mini-Model)

Yabba Dabba Do!

Micro builds like this make me so happy. With just a handful of parts builder Everblack not only built an instantly recognizable scene, he transported me to any given Saturday morning of my childhood. Yes the Flintstones was originally created as a primetime show, with a decidedly adult audience in mind (it’s modeled after the Honeymooners after all) but when it’s good storytelling done with tongue firmly inserted in cheek, kids will watch too. And boy did we.

Yabadabadoo

Chilly Exploration

On a distant, frozen world, intrepid scientists endure sub zero temperatures to research renewable energy and explore. Builder Norton74 revives the sub-theme Ice Planet 2002 with this awesome exploration vehicle. It makes me feel like it’s 1993 all over again. I was busy making the switch from creature effects to digital, and getting married, so wasn’t buying much LEGO, but I remember admiring these in the stores. None of the real sets were nearly this cool though.

Ice Planet 2002 | Mobile Research Laboratory
Ice Planet 2002 | Mobile Research Laboratory