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Naming Lego elements
There are many, many different Lego elements in existence. Each tends to have a very formal description, though those are rarely used when play takes place. Giles Turnbull has written a great article on the self-evolving language Lego fans use to refer to these various bits and pieces.
Read A Common Nomenclature for Lego Families.
Lego Prawn
District 9 is the first locally-produced science fiction movie that has made it to an international release. Within record time, a Lego fan has been able to model one of the prawns shown in the movie using Lego bricks.
The prawn is by Adrian Florea.
Winter Toy Shop
Not something inhabitants of warmer climes would know of, the new addition to Lego‘s extending collection of town buildings is a winter toy shop.
Set #10199 consists of just over 800 pieces, includes a number of interesting minifigs (jack-in-the-box, snowman, cat) and measures roughly 17cm high.
To make for a really cosy Christmas theme, the interior of the job is highly detailed and lit up by a Lego light FX brick.
Lego on a shirt
ThinkGeek‘s latest T-shirt offering is for those individuals who don’t mind running around with a three-dimensional, potentially bulky accoutrement hanging off their chest. The Brick Construction T-shirt incorporates a Lego baseplate, providing ample room for Lego nuts to add bricks to their heart’s content.
The baseplate is removable and is the platform for all construction projects that will be carried around wherever the wearer may wander. Best suited for flat, mosaics in my opinion. But who am I to argue that carrying around a Speed Racer toy isn’t a bad idea…
Star Wars chess
Brandon Griffith has built a custom Lego Star Wars chess set pitting Vader’s Dark Side against the Rebel Alliance.
More photos of this fantastic build on his Flickr page.
Firehouse 3
This latest set is a great addition to an existing Lego City infrastructure, specifically those already comprising such magnificent items as the Green Grocer, Hotel and Cafe Corner. #10197 is a 1930′s style firehouse with some stunning detail.
Among the 2231 pieces in the box there are a number of interesting pieces. The end result is without question a fine building and includes a vintage fire truck.
The building features a removable roof for interior access. showing off 2 fully-furnished floors with fire-fighting tools, racks for the firemen’s helmets, fire-pole, ping-pong table, kitchen with fully-stocked fridge, couch, bookshelf and a roof with a water tower and bell.
The firehouse is 35 cm high and 25 cm wide.
Dune: the brick planet
As a fan of Frank Herbert‘s Dune saga, I quite enjoyed seeing this Lego recreation of the famous desert planet Arrakis, complete with sandworm.
Methinks the locals are a tad too close…
More pictures here.
Tick Block, Tick Block
This Lego Clock Radio is not produced by Lego, but is another example of a licensed product tugging at wallets of Lego fans. Ten times the size of a Lego block, the clock radio does what clock radios do: it provides an AM/FM radio and an alarm. The two studs provide volume adjustment and tuning.
Unfortunately available only in the US for now, the Lego Clock Radio retails for USD 30.
Bricks and studs. A movie.
Of all companies, Lego has been staunch in resisting licensing deals and Hollywood exposure. Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Sponge Bob are a few examples of how licensing deals saved the company from disaster. With a brighter sales outlook and toys that are becoming more and more popular, Lego is now setting its sights on Hollywood.
According to Variety, the movie will mix live action and computer animation. The action adventure is aimed at families and will be set in an alternative Lego world.
Somehow, I can’t see this working too well…but I’ll probably be one of the first in line to see it if/when it makes it to the local cinema.
Flexible train track
It’s an unfortunate fact that Lego‘s packaged rail pieces don’t contain a single variant of track but rather include two different types in the same box. #7896 contains both straight and curved track pieces. No matter how many of those one buys, there’s simply no way one will ever end up with enough straight sections of rail. Now there’s a solution to the conundrum of having to use many curved segments to extend a Lego railroad: a flexible track.
#8867 contains 64 track elements which are snapped together.
Each element can be used individually, or a number of them can be snapped together as required to created any layout imaginable. Best of all, there is no specific start or end piece: each track element is a piece of track in its own right.
64 pieces strung together can create a railroad segment that is 204cm in length, which is then positioned as required.
A great solution for anyone running the latest Lego RC trains!
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