Star Destroyer Bridge

Wouldn’t it be cool if modern cruise ships had a bridge like the one on a Star Destroyer, like this one from builder Jonathan_S? I Cruise on Disney pretty often, and I like to imagine the captain looking out the front of the boat through windows like this, with the crew submerged in pits behind him. Then we see a Carnival ship on the horizon and send out the TIE fighters…

The Library From Beauty And The Beast

BrickCon 2019 is over, and I had a blast. Among the many notable events this year were: My wife came with me (her first BrickCon), I walked just about 20 miles over the four days, I was given a Nerdly 10-Doh (thanks Mike!) and I was co-coordinator for the Pop Culture theme (with the great Brandon Griffith). Of course there were a great number of fantastic MOCs in our theme, but this incredible library from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast by builder ssential was a stand out. So much so that me and Brandon awarded it “Best Picture”, and I’m pleased to announce it went on to earn “Best in Show” for BrickCon 2019. Sarah meticulously documented its construction, posting loads of pictures on Flickr, click through to see how this stunning build was accomplished.

How We Used To Compute

Back when I was a young child, this is what computers looked like. I was in high school before they started showing up at everyone’s house. The incredible thing is, that phone in your pocket probably has more computing power and storage than this entire room (or one that this room represents, let’s face it this one is full of plastic toys). A totally retro build by Jalex.

The Heart Of The Home

The kitchen is the heart of the home, I’m sitting in mine at this very moment (most of the blog posts happen right here in my kitchen/breakfast nook). It’s where we prepare meals, and where every party seems to end up, probably because the food is there. Builder MarcelV was challenged by the fine humans at New Elementary to come up with some innovative uses for the Brickheadz glasses part, can you spot them in this excellent interior? OK, that was easy, now look for the other pair.

The Passing Of King Henry VIII

Builder and history buff peggyjdb is back with another stellar build and a fascinating history lesson. There’s a reason Henry VIII is still a household name, he was larger than life. But even the largest of lives must come to an end, and this scene depicts his final hours in Whitehall Palace. Click through to learn something.

Cryo

INT. COLONIST SHIP: DAY

As the seemingly vacant ship rumbles through the emptiness of space we move through it’s corridors. There is no sign of life as we pass through empty rooms. The sounds of the ship are distant, deep and resonant. As we move into the cryo chamber the sound shifts, a hint of life. A hissing is heard as the lights slowly fade up, followed by an electronic chirp. A small display on the front of each pod flickers on, rows of text flash by as a system self-check runs, followed by a status display with vital statistics and three blinking words: CRYO REVERSAL INITIATED…

Yeah, I want to watch that movie too. Nice work Pete.

Christmas At Hogwarts

Christmas may be over, but the surprises and wonderful presents keep coming. I opened my Flickr (sorta like a present) to find this inside this morning. Builder Legopard has built a perfect representation of Christmas at everyone’s favorite school of witchcraft and wizardry, and it’s as charming and wonderful as it is in the movies. Everywhere you look it’s packed with details, check out the bookmark on the mantle, or the melted wax on the candle next to it, just so much to love.

Knight's Hall

Medieval times had their fare share of hardships. Yes, everything was lit with candlelight. Sure, guys in metal suits were always trying to take your castle. Of course large swaths of the population might be killed off by disease. But if you were fortunate enough to actually live in a castle what a wonder it must have been. I mean who wouldn’t want to spend time in a space like this one from builder Lego_fan? I want to eat some food at that table or play a game or read a book by that fire, right now!

Classroom Bookends

Books have an inherit problem of being narrow, heavy and unstable. Unless it’s something like a dictionary it has a tendency to fall over. But humans can be clever, and we’ve come up with something called bookends, as demonstrated by builder SEBASTIAN-Z here. The funny thing is, books are found in classrooms, so you could easily find these classroom bookends in a classroom holding books. It’s too bad there’s not a miniature version of these bookends in the classroom depicted in the bookends, then there would be classroom bookends holding books in the classroom bookends holding books in the classroom…I digress.

Where Do Those Stairs Go?

I had one of those moments while scrolling Flickr this morning, and I love it. I like to call them “wait, what?” moments. When you’re looking at a picture and your brain just can’t reconcile it. It’s LEGO, it says it’s LEGO, it’s in a LEGO group…how…wait… This absolutely gorgeous staircase and the room that it’s in by Heksu just blew my mind, sorry if I got any brains on you.

Dumbledore's Office

Thinking back to all the schools I attended (we moved around a bit, I went to many) absolutely none of them were anywhere even remotely as cool as Hogwarts. I mean not by a long shot. And while is only though the words of JK Rowling and the production design of the films that we get to imagine what it would have been like, they have been so well done that they feel distant but real. So this recreation by builder Legopard is a historical reproduction in my imagination, and it’s perfect.

Dumbledore's Office

The Automotive Makerspace: The Garage

As I've said in the past, we're all makers. And a very large percentage of houses around the world have had a makerspace built in for centuries, the garage. This interior by builder Pixeljunkie looks more like a professional garage though, and it's wonderful. You can practically smell the oil and welding fumes, hear the pinging of metal on metal. The lighting and mood is captured perfectly in this shot, nicely done sir, nicely done.

Vintage Garage

The Quiet Tavern

I grew up in restaurants. My dad was a restauranteur and we had a few, he liked the process of starting them, but would get bored soon after and sell it to start a new one, some are still going today. When I looked at this brilliant interior vignette by builder MarcelV I was reminded of those mornings when the place was quiet, there was a bit of a mess from the night before and it was time to start the day. After a bit of clean up and kitchen prep, it would be time to open the doors once again, but for now it was quiet. It was a peaceful time, with wonderful smells, good stories and camaraderie.

Medieval Tavern

Lofty Ambitions

Every once in a while the inspiration for a build just slightly exceeds the bricks on hand. Most of the time this leads to delays and inevitable Bricklink orders. But that drive to get it done can also lead to creative workarounds. In the case of the walls of this lovely loft by Heksu, dark red was in short supply, but with a little out of the box thinking (and the use of jumpers, slopes and everything else that works) it got done. The results are impressive, and it's totally a place I'd like to hang out.

Loft Apartment

First Steps

There's so many moments in our lives that last just a flash. They can be tragic, transformative or just heart warming, but it's just a fleeting moment and it's gone. Those first clumsy and adorable steps of one's child are precisely one of those moments. Not only is this a brilliantly realized and highly detailed interior, it's a moment frozen in time of builder davekaleta's life.

One Small Step

Wanna Play Some Leisure Suit Larry?

Yes kids, this is how we did the computer thing back in the 90's. Long gone were those lame old 5.75" floppies, we were using the much sleeker 3.5". And we were dealing with MEGABYTES of data. Sierra Games ruled the roost and there was this new thing called the internet (I don't think much came of it). For those that remember back then this MOC by powerpig should be a whole lotta nostalgia (and really slow boot times).

My Old Desktop: Byte II Edition

Elegant Parlor

This lovely interior by builder Heksu looks ready to accept guests for a party, all we need is some hors d'oeuvres and a pianist and we're all set for some juicy gossip on the Rockefellers. The attention to detail is subtle here, and that's what makes it work so well. The chair rail, the paneled door, the crown molding, the chandelier, it's all understated, but adds up to a very elegant room. And of course the piano is just perfect. I want to spend some time here, it's very inviting.  

Manor Hall

Wizard Makerspace

I've often wondered how much of the wizarding world lives in distant fantasy, and how much was real. Not that I believe in magic (maybe), but I know there had to be people trying to turn lead to gold, humans are just like that. Enchantments may not have really done anything, but I like to believe they were attempted in places like this wonderful interior by Cesbrick. And if you don't believe in magic, please explain how those hammers are used for the fireplace.

Enchantments, potions and magic!