Bricks by the Bay 2011 is only a month away!

Calling all West coast Lego enthusiasts... Get your skates on, the 2nd annual Bricks by the Bay convention is now only one month away!

Check the website for the schedule of events, vendor information, and for those who have registered, access to the Attendee Wiki where you can register the MOCs that you'll be bringing. Because you'll be bringing MOCs, right?

Remember: If you don't register your MOCs or have the appauling rudeness to do it at the last minute, you may not get the necessary space allocation, and find yourself setting up in the parking lot - unless we manage to create a special "Laggard's Table of Shame". You have been warned - I will take a personal exception to such offenders!

For my part, Bricks of Character will be represented again, and to entice folks to bring stuff to the BOC table, Tommy and I have dreamed up some supremo "Generation Y compatible" trophies for the very best creations. (...or in Guy's case, the largest bribes or possibly the scariest facial hair)



I have some other little treats lined up too (details to follow).

And if that wasn't excitement enough, by an amazing coincidence the Nova Albion steampunk convention is happening in the same hotel over the same weekend. So there's an opportunity to double your fun! I for one am planning to attend both conventions (in suitable attire for each).


It's gonna be an awesome weekend. Come on down, and buy me a large drink!

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WHEN:
Private convention runs from Friday March 25th through Sunday March 27th.
Public exhibition runs from 10am to 4pm on Sunday the 27th.

WHERE:
Hyatt Regency Santa Clara
5101 Great America Parkway
Santa Clara, California

WHY:
BECAUSE LEGO
 

You know, for fans of this blog...

Not satisfied with having won this blog's 2nd anniversary contest without even breaking a sweat (or drunken haze), Luke Chapman decided to show his total fanaticism by creating a Lego likeness of Norville Barnes, complete with hula-hoop, from the movie The Hudsucker Proxy (...which was the winning answer, if you didn't already figure it out).


"You know, for kids!"
 

To And Fro

Anime and manga seem to inspire a lot of character-based Lego creations, but Logan Thyr has been inspired to a whole new level with his interpretation of Afro Samurai...


Logan's choice of scale here has not only allowed him to capture a lot of wonderful details, but has also enabled him to capture something of the underlying artistic style of the original material. Pretty amazing!
 

Is this gonna be a standup fight sir, or another bug hunt...

Brandon Bannerman (aka Catsy) has come up with a really interesting poseable design for minifig scale Xenomorphs (...it's a bug hunt)



Looking forward to seeing these in some interestingly-lit Aliens-esque dioramas!
 

We all have our crosses to bear

It's fair to say that whenever my pal Micah Berkoff decides to create a bunch of miniland scale characters you just know (a) it's not gonna be a bunch of dreary theme-park style generic citizens standing around doing nothing, (b) manga or videogames will almost certainly be involved, and (c) it will be lively!

And these beautiful renditions of Vash and Wolfwood from the Trigun series are no exception...



Every detail is there, from the open shirts and tattered windblown cloaks, to the giant crucifixes and other little vices. Just brilliant! Notice how the running Vash figure is cleverly suspended in the air through a single click-hinge off a single coat tail...



Micah is rapidly becoming a master of this scale. Between him and Mariann, I think its time I moved to some other standard! Or just switched to cars. No-one out there is building Lego cars, right?
 

Back in the saddle

A thousand apologies for the lack of posts lately. I am settling into a new role at work that is sapping all my energy. Which means my creative juices are at a minimum. So if you are desperate for a shot of what passes for humor on this blog, by all means feel free to check out my recent articles in BrickJournal magazine (available in stores now) or Hispabrick magazine (ooh, we're on the cover!).

In the meantime, I'll try to clear my back log of cool MOCs that must be raved about, starting with this whimsical 3D recreation of the original Star Wars movie poster by Alex Schranz (aka Orion Pax)...



(Insert your own witty commentary here - I'm too tired to provide any!)
 

Dreaming 101

New Lego user group on the block PCHLUG cordially invites you to take part in their first contest, the PCHLUG 101 Challenge! This is a building contest that is limited (for reasons that should be obvious) to 101 bricks per creation. Each contest will have a theme, and for the first one the theme is California Dreamin'.



Which of course is almost too easy! I mean, like, totally take the first three stereotypes about California that come into your head, yuh, and combine them into a MOC? Then add a rainbow. Here, I like, totally had a go myself, or whatever...



Here's a list of suitable 'elements' to inspire you. No extra points for working all of them into one model, although if you can manage that in 101 bricks or less I'll personally give you a medal...

- Surfing
- Hollywood
- Bloods and Crips
- Wine Country
- Tie Dye
- Novelty Governors
- Ringing your agent from your BMW convertible while stuck in traffic on Sunset Blvd and simultanously checking your hair in the rear view mirror and ignoring the hot blonde chick with the fake boobs in the passenger seat; as if either of you could remember her name anyway
- Hippies
- Special brownies
- Murdering
- More hippies
- Liposuction
- Raisins
- Unintelligible gardeners
- The Birdman of Fucking Alcatraz
- Smog

So here we go. Bricks at the ready. On your marks. Get set! "WOAH!"
 

A stitch in mimes, wastes time

Back in December, the my estmeed collegues / arch-nemeses over at The Brothers Brick held a building contest with a mime theme, to celebrate the IMMENSE POPULARITY of the mime from the first series of collectible Lego minifigs. And the contest certainly brought out all the vitriol and hatred for mimes naturally possessed by all sane people on this planet.

On a whim I decided to actually enter. And by a series of mistakes, accidents and careful bribes, was somehow declared the ultimate victor! If you didn't already see it, here are the 'before' and 'after' versions of my creation...

  
Well, I am pleased to announce that my prize arrived in the mail the other day, all the way from TBB central offices in Albuquerque!



Of course, I eagerly tore open the box, expecting Belgian truffles or a Faberge egg, and foolishly never read the warning on the front of the box. Which is why this happened next...



However, thanks to the swift action of my family members, the application of some Mace, and twenty minutes of careful stalking later, the problem was eventually solved, once and for all...



Because the only good mime minifig is a dead mime minifig!