Historic

Yuri Gagarin - 50th anniversary of the first manned space flight.


Space Shuttle Columbia - 30th anniversary of the first Space Shuttle launch.

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/news/pressrel/2011/11-017_yuri_prt.htm

Rest in Piece

I'm sure this blog isn't the first place most people to visit when seeking news regarding the online Fans Of Lego community. That in mind I assume the reader has already been informed of the recent death of popular builder Nate Nielson, known by most as nnenn or by his signature flickr icon:
An inside joke among those who know what it is, a rubber band holder that most would regard as a throw-away piece, something to keep at the bottom of a box of unsorted lego and forget about. Several years ago when I was a lurker, simply looking at builds rather than taking part in the community, I came across his photostream and was intrigued by his zany, contemporary plastic creations.

I believe my first encounter Nate's builds during this lurking phase was with this four-legged mech:


I remember the cartoon-like portrayal of a war machine drawing me in. Upon further inspection the use of knock-off brand "clone" parts as well as the modded pieces struck me as breaking the rules, I thought of it as a kind of cheating, like, "that isn't right". Heh, I can imagine that the mixture of new and old grey would have also caused minor controversy among the community back in the day, and if not that then the usage of those otherwise frowned-upon insectoid prefab legs would definitely turn some heads.

I'm probably too new and uninvolved to appreciate what nnenn brought to the community, and I don't want to ramble on about things I am in no position to knowledgeably discuss. But I believe this small, outdated build still strongly represents nnenn's flair and style, his ideas and his message.

A hugely prolific builder, his frequent posts will be missed as well as his insight.



Interview with nnenn on LAML

Nate's flickr

Read more on the Brothers Brick

Aliens roundup

It all started when Geoff Herndon built this awesome Alien. then Kevin Fedde built a Power Loader to go with it. The two MOCs certainly look awesome together. The only problem with that is, of course, that the Alien isn't a queen. Wait, I spoke too soon.


Last but certainly not least, in an unrelated incident, "2x4" built a pretty slick Sulaco.

8038 The Battle of Endor

Chuck Citrin has uploaded a high-res picture of this future Star Wars set- take a look!

YSAB raps up Neo-Classic Space Month

By nnenn



Peter Reid & Company


Also by Peter



By Tim Gould

Today is the last day of Neo-Classic Space Month. It's been amazing seeing the things builders produced. Almost made me want to put some bricks together again.

Neoclassic Space gets a Website.

PRESS RELEASE

March 2009 sees the 30th anniversary of the original Classic Space sets from LEGO. Now, three decades on, it’s time for a celebration of spacey goodness at neoclassicspace.com.

Neo-Classic Space is a reimagining of the LEGO Classic Space range, using modern building techniques and parts. More than just inspired by the Classic Space sets, Neo-Classic Space is an extrapolation of the line into the 21st century and beyond. We aim to follow a carefully thought standard, which we feel is in keeping with the original designs.

The culmination of a top-secret project planned over many months, neoclassicspace.com will present a new model every day throughout March, many from builders you already know and love, some from new talent you may not have discovered.

This is only the beginning. It is time to retake space. We hope you'll come along for the ride!

Thanks to Andrew Summersgill (Doctor Sinister) for the heads up.

New Mars Mission Sets!

'whung' brickshelf gallery has pictures of the presumably new Mars Missions sets! Lookin' good says I. Check out this tank!
[Via TBB]

EDITOR'S NOTE: Post number 300! Thanks for all you guys who make that possible.

New Brickarms!

Brickarms has released a slew of new weaponry, accessories (medkit, monopod. bipod), and now, apparel! Head over there to check it all out.
[Via TBB]

Star Justice and Space Skulls Reviews!

As most of you spacers out there probably know by now, the Star Justice and Space Skulls sets by Chris Giddens and Mark Sandlin are planned to arrive on our shelves fairly soon. Courtesy of Ryan Wood and Paul Kanter, here are links to the reviews on Eurobricks! Things look positive, but was there ever any doubt?

[Space Skulls]
[Star Justice]

Rnager brings us Newspace, as it really happened....

Christopher McGrath, otherwise known as the Almighty, Townie-Spacer, all around awesome Ranger Snow, shows us exactly what took place when Chris Giddens and Mark Sandlin designed sets for The LEGO Company.

Sinterklaas!

Jain's Guide

Jay-dubya (aka Jason Whittenburg) has a site that links in with Classic-Space, called "Jain's Intelligence Daily."

It's got cool features like Brickverse today, which is a listing of all the newest posts in all the lego blogs out there (in fact this post will probably appear there in a matter of minutes)

And then the CSF MOC report, showing all the newest creations in a colorful, easy way.

Keep up the sweet site! :O

Extras

A few pictures of the new dwarves

And Ley built something

Brickshelf Bio: Jarek

Okay, so it isn't exactly a bio, but more of a portfolio-view of a brickshelf builder; Jerrec (I think his real name is Jarek, but whatever.) He's been around for quite a while, the first real appearance I can remember is his post on CSF of the then work-in-progress Swiss Medical Frigate. Since then, he's established himself as a great microspace builder, but has covered an array of other themes as well. Most prominent is his swiss fleet of ships, most microscale, and currently has a few minifig-scale MOCs. Here's the list of swiss:

• Avicenna Medical Frigate [micro] (first swiss ship, interesting shape and details with a cool little ship fleet)
  
• Tital Heavy Freighter [micro] (nifty cargo standard, and unorthodox shaping)
  
• Briareus Dreadnaught II [micro] (great repetition, great shape, and a very interesting bridge area)
  
• Edouard Guillaume Trader [micro] (excellent shape, hull technique, and tons of cool details. Probably my favorite!)
• Cerberi Escort Frigate [micro] (interesting shape, a great simple build with lots of guns)
• Bazerald Fighter [minifig] (funky nose and great engines, a fairly basic fighter shape)
• Hammer Assault Craft [minifig] (really interesting shape, really good looking engine section)
• Mjolnir Bomber [minifig] (tons of guns and developing the swiss defining features)

Whew. Anyway, his swiss work is excellent, and lots of fun to browse through. Jarek has also developed a certain style of steampunk for himself, using more tan and more smooth shapes than 'traditional' steampunk. Be sure to check out the flyer if nothing else. Again, he builds in a lot of other themes as well, so flip through his brickshelf to see it all. I chose a couple of prominent works to wrap up this link dump:

• Auriga Racer [minifig]
• W40k Dreadnaught [minifig I think...]
• Vicious Destroyer [micro]
• Venom a1 Racer [minifig] (I <3 this)
  
• Solar Cruiser [micro]

Nazis... I hate those guys!

Finally we get a good look at the Indiana Jones sets. These look awesome!