Golden Shpleem

The Argo sails for the last time.

2006-09-13T15:55:00.000-04:00

Golden Shpleem is down for the count, in case the lack of new posts didn't clue you in.

One half of the illustrious team, namely Jonesy, has joined up with his fellow Colorado resident, Soren, in a new blog called "Tourist Bot's Diary".

Alternatively, I find Lukas's "Builder's Block v2" and the 4-person "The Brothers Brick" to be fun reads at times.

You can, as always, get your fix of exciting Kevins news at neutronbot.com.

Just one more play time, please?

2006-06-15T20:14:00.000-04:00

We have a theme for tonight's post. It is "mecha". We also have a subtheme, which is "mecha that involve things that I like".

Mecha+Steampunk Brickshelf user and suspected frenchard Legohaulic has combined technic goodness and an odd assortment of barrels, cannons, and this part oddity to create a wonderful 4-legged steam mech. Note the hose placement, nice detail there. The cannon doesn't seem to be connected to anything very well. I'd expect it to rip right off the mech whenever it's fired, and considering it's current angle, that would be bad news indeed for the driver. Let's hear it for gratuitous hook-hands!

Mecha+Panda People who know me know I like pandas. I have two shirts to prove it. Mike Crowley has taken the incredibly cute concept or a panda piloting a panda mech from "Panda-Z" and made it BrickFA style. While Crowley's is nice, I'd really like to see this made in a larger scale. Perhaps I'll have to do it.

Mecha+Bunny Real nice use of Bionicle in this mech by " Toa-Ju". He (or she) really has a knack from combining the Bionicle parts with the regular system parts. Surprising to see a bunch of technical bits form an organic whole.

Mecha+Community Yes that is right! There is a new site out there, following on the heels of such sites as FBTB, Classic-Castle, and Classic-Space, there is Mecha Hub. Formed by Bryce McGlone and his crew of big name mecha folk. I look forward to reading new articles there, and for them to eventually include the author of said articles in a logical place.

Laying Low in My Tropical Hideout

2006-05-21T21:47:00.000-04:00

Yeah, I think Niels Bugge just went there. His new Longship, well, kind of blows away everything else in the Space Vikings subtheme. It's a sleek, mean-looking marauder looking to rape and pillage your unsuspecting Moonbase city. Sure it uses clichéd space wheel engines, but they're in an interesting configuration, and they fit the design of the ship. The figurehead is a little weak, but it's made up for by the profile that so strongly evokes the seagoing longships it has replaced. Also, the anime angles always score points with me. What can I say?

Noted MichLTC "trainerati" Jim Garrett recently finished a monster of a real-life Detriot skyscraper. He has pics up of the real building, and from what I can tell, it's pretty spot-on. I suppose that makes sense, as he's had a bit of practice with the Art Deco style. Indeed, he styles himself "Deco Jim", so I would expect nothing less.

"Began adding the remaining 34 stories as the Bricklink orders started to arrive," he says. I would certainly hate to be faced with his credit card bill. Anyways, is it kosher to resent this kind of ostentatious spending? I mean, I'm no anti-capitalist, but it somehow really gets my goat. Okay, okay, i'm jealous of all that dark orange brick. I mean, look at it. Even Eric Sophie doesn't have that much. At least he showed a little restraint by using black instead of buying smoke windows.

I need to blow off some steam now. Lucky for me, Piglet of Brickshelf made the cutest little tank mecha the other day. Selective compression? Check. Prehensile arms? Check. Keg? And check. The pics are sort of washed out on the diorama, which is kind of a shame. I do think that it should have something a little more substantial than a 24-tooth gear posing as a circular saw blade to cut trees, though. What about redwoods? You'll never squish the hippies camping out on low branches if you can't cut through the trunk. What this thing needs is an oversized chainsaw. I'm serious.

Our favorite picaresque Portugese, Luis Baixinho, posted a picturesque pirate citadel. Check out his Lugnet post for a rather amusing Babelfish of his originally Portugese blog post. The MOC has a really good feel to it: The wooden shack at the base of the crag is nice and ramshackle, and the rickety airship pier endears this MOC to me immeasurably. I don't mind the unlikeliness of a pillar of rock sticking out of the sea, (after all, I'm a fan of the more-ridiculous floating rocks) but it could have looked a bit more organic. Also, the building on top seems rushed. I like how it hangs off the edge, but the roof is sort of terrible. Also, boarded-up windows could be done more charmingly with something other than log bricks. I do hope Luis is cooking up an airship for the pirates. The scene seems incomplete without one.

CSF's Jerac uses some homemade sails to good effect on this Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang-tastic steampunk MOC. The sails-cum-wings were originally made for a charming microscale solar sailer, and give this creation an inimitable pre-Wright-Brothers look. Tan is often abused in steampunk MOCs, so he scores extra points for making it look good. It would have been perfect if the wings flapped.

I've Made a List of 375 Reasons Why I Never Ever Ever Ever Ever Want to See You Again

2006-05-15T22:36:00.000-04:00

So continuing with Kevoh's architecture postage, here's a just-surfaced and gorgeously detailed train station by who I assume to be a European, one dagealka who has a fairly empty Brickshelf gallery. This is the sort of half-timbered Tudor look many castleheads only dream of. It uses the crossbeam technique pioneered by Didier Enjary, and loads of clever little techniques I've at least never seen before. If you look closely, you'll see that nearly the whole structure is schleim construction. It's slightly dizzying to behold. This sort of marvelous find in an anonymous Brickshelf gallery makes me realize more and more that I should really start following the train scene more closely.

Continuing with the architecture trawl, here's a sweet little nugget of old news by Keith Goldman. It's vintage of last March, but as Moonbase Mastermind Jon Palmer is considering adding some badly-needed design tips to Zemi, it's newly relevant. It's nice to see some coherent architectural style in a moonbase module, and this MOC has a sci-fi style so 70's that you wonder where all the hexagons went. This MOC has all the Goldman signature moves: repetition of parts and motifs to good effect, and also making the awful Star Wars cannons not look like ass. It's totally 'core.

Another mysterious Brickshelf surfacing, this enormous Hindenburg model is the work of (European) Carsten Wagner. It clocks in at nearly six feet, (175 cm for you non-Americans) uses about a half-dozen motors, and has enough light bricks to illuminate a train display. The swastikas were tastefully left out, but it seems like every other detail was included. Look through his amusingly-translated site for a detailed description (and animated .gifs!) of all functions. Check out the terribly lazy propellors and the dirty rainbow-warrior secret of its inner frame.

Wrapping up today's post is a little mech Fradel Gonzales posted in February. I just can't get over that half-plate gap for the eyes, which adds an incredible amount of character. Some of the black detail on the legs could stand to be color-blocked out of existence, but otherwise it's a very solid mecha MOC. I'd love to see this and some of his other mechs in an urban battle scene. Maybe he could run the idea past WamaLTC. Now if only we could dissuade Fradel of the crotch-mounted guns...

Architecture!

2006-05-14T19:11:00.000-04:00

Just some quick stuff...

Check out this site, Building Utopolis, for some kick-ass microfig buildings. Site navigation is tricky sometimes, but there is cool stuff inside. Makes me want to build a microscale city of my own.

Thanks go to Soren for bringing this to my attention, this is a totally hot Shinto Shrine. Note the bent-wedge plate roofs and the inset sidewalks.

Oh those Happy Days

2006-04-22T02:17:00.000-04:00

Whenever I am at a place that sells icecream and other such things (not like a grocery store, but an ice cream parlor) I get a chocolate malt. It reminds me of my younger years, going to the corner malt shop and sharing a malt with my sweetheart. Yay for 2 straws!

Unregardless, the best car for driving to Drive-In Movies and in participating in other "retro / nostalgic / halcyon / neveractuallyoccuredhowevermuchthereligiousrightwishesitdid" activities was the 57 Chevrolet Bel Air (allegedly unrelated to the Prince).

I suppose I'll mention something LEGO-related now. Check out how cool MisterZumbi made it look. Now I challenge him: doors that open, and a driver fitting inside! And a less tacky jukebox!

Prolific!

2006-04-05T21:13:00.000-04:00

Arthur Gugick, a builder who has been featured in at least 2 newspapers (The Washington Post and the Cleveland Plain Dealer) has added at least 8 new enormous models to his Brickshelf gallery today.

There is way too much to comment about, but lets get started.

Actually, first, a helpful message to the populace: Resize your pictures! Some of Arthur's are more than 4000x4000 wide! If you don't know how, I wrote an article about it awhile back. Read it! GIMP is free, Photoshop is great, iPhoto comes with all Macs... I'm sure everyone can find some way to resize their pictures. Keep them less than 800x600 people, and don't use BMPs!!

OK, now on to the good part

Tower of London ::: Dig the detailed windows on the side walls. I'm not too keen on the the excessive huge-part usage on the rounded tower, but I'll admit it's hard to make that round a curve while including a bunch of windows otherwise.

Arc de Triumph ::: The details in the top half are amazing. As an architecture student, I should know vaguelly what things are called, but alas, we've covered nothing like that yet. Also, examine closely the inset light gray boxes with white details made from technic bits. Yay for inset panels!

NYC Flat Iron ::: The windows! The roof seems iffy, though... maybe some wedge plates would do the trick better?

UN Building ::: Talk about the Model UN, eh? Har har... Anyway, rather ho-hum, but a ho-hum building breeds a ho-hum model.

Big Ben ::: I think I may have seen this one on BS before, but the 2 newer pictures help show off all the nice details.

Notre Dame ::: I don't really care for this one, but I can't quite place it. It has inconsistent levels of detail from top to bottom. Maybe once "Part 2" is done, it'll look better.

Forbidden City ::: Nice tilework and use of grills on this one. Not my favorite, but an excellent rendition nonetheless.

Tower of Pisa ::: "With real leaning action!" If only Marvel sold action figure-esque architectural models.

Looks like Arthur will be filling up multiple tables this Brickfest.

From Robots to Rants

2006-03-30T20:04:00.000-05:00

Robots is a 3d movie released just over a year ago. Brickshelf user "Legohaulic" seems to think its new news, or something. I think he is french, so maybe it just got released over there.

Anyway, no matter the timing, the robots from Robots are cool, as are "Legohaulic"s renditions of them.

I eagerly awaited the debut of Robots back in the day, and enjoyed the robots and their robot-world immensely, I found the movie lacking.

I didn't like the jokes. They were all cheap jokes at pop culture and other movies. Just look at all the cheap jokes. Such jokes are very easy to make, but can fall flat even easier, as they depend completely on the viewer/listeners knowledge of the referenced item. Shrek, Robots, and their ilk can never be timeless movies!

I fell into this trap once too, and consequently the comic made little sense to a non-AFOL, having already made not too much sense to actual AFOLs.

So to Hollywood and Big Media: Don't endlessly reference pop culture. And bring back Arrested Development! You were crazy for cancelling it!

When acronyms attack!

2006-02-07T18:59:00.000-05:00

Aaron Sneary (also known as "AMS LLCA MB GOP PBS BBQ BYOBB") presents a Gnomish Treehouse. Of course, by "presents" I actually mean "presented" because he posted about it on Lugnet and Classic-Castle almost 3 weeks ago. But we here at Golden Shpleem pride ourselves in operating on a different time scale than you cretins. I've had 10 minute tasks on my "To-Do" list for 5 months, just ask Nathan Wells about his musical instrument article!

But I digress...

Aaron's treehouse is fantastical! As in being filled with fantasy, not as in being fantastic, although I suppose it could be described by that term as well. Let's pretend, just for a moment, that "fantastical" actually means that something is fantastic and full of fantasy. Done pretending? Great!

Oddly enough, I'd say the treehouse and tree are the weakest parts. The tree seems a bit blocky, especially from this angle. The house is ho-hum and featureless. Put an arch on that window! But what shines are the animals, gnomes, and 'shrooms. Aaron deftly adapts Lenny's hafling design and combines it with racoons from LLCA (he does seem to like throwing that acronym around a lot, but I'd do the same thing), turtles, birds, snails, and a cute ladybug to make a wonderfully whimsical scene. And the mushrooms! Dig that magnetically attached big one! Hmm... looking at that last picture I suddenly notice how plain and flat the landscape is, which makes me frown. Well, perhaps Aaron should take a second look at this creation; a wonderful concept marred by a negligence towards detail. Either way, it's a genre that I hope is explored by him and other builders more.

You and Your Orange Sweater

2006-02-03T15:25:00.000-05:00

There's been a good many things posted in the past week or so, and I have been adamantly putting off posting about them. But lugnet.build.mecha's Iron Mecha Contest just ended, which will need some coverage, so I figured I may as well dig in my heels and get through my backlog.

The first MOC I meant to post on the first time around, but what with one thing and another, I never got it done. Luckily FBTB's Darktide did up a second version, so I wouldn't feel lame about posting on old news. He points out the specifics of the revision here, so I won't go into them. What originally struck me about this is, of course, the wings. It's a simple enough solution, but I'm still rather enamoured of it. The beastly TIE canopy is integrated as well as it can be at this scale, so I won't begrudge him that little problem. What was a bit disappointing about the revision, for me at least, was how he got rid of the awesome obtuse angle of the wings and changed it to a safe, structurally sound 45 degree angle. As someone who also does a lot of direct-from-pop-culture MOCs, I understand the importance of accuracy, but we're talking Expanded Universe here, so there should be some aesthetic wiggle room.

Well, you knew it was going to happen: someone posts something steampunk, and it's only a matter of time until us steam fanboys here at Golden Shpleem pubicly salivate over it. This charming little omnibus is the work of Eric Druon, known to most as "that French guy who sells all his MOCs". It's mostly studs-up brick and plate construction, which gets the job done well enough. I think the cab could do with a bit of color, though. Given the many color options for those windows, I would have maybe chose red or dark purple. Or both! The undercarriage gets that spindly turn-of-last-century look down just right. The back wheels look nice with the spoked wheels in the hubs, but I'm ambivalent about the non-lego solution used for the tire. I think it's black masking tape. Be that as it may, I would have liked the front wheels to match. Perhaps it was a parts issue.

The infamous Mladen Pejic has graced us with what looks to be his biggest hexapod mecha tank yet. It is a paragon of understatement: a palette of white, grays, tan and black constitute a creation at once imposing and demure. The streamlined hammerhead is comfortable without ornament. The twin railguns, supermodel-thin, don't speak the language of limitation, but intention. Through some alchemical process, he succeds in making even these stolidly un-pretty bar fences look good. But don't think I don't have my nitpicks. The flags on the back of the main body strike me as a little weak; perhaps he hadn't yet gotten his second wind greeb-wise. This might be a little unfair, but the underside of the body could do with a bit of detail, due to the fact that ground-based enemies (tanks, minifigs, smaller mecha) would be seeing a lot of it. Aside from that, the MMP is a near-perfect culmination of years of working with large spider mechs. The prudent thing to do would be to branch out now, Mladen, before you get stuck in a monumental rut. Hopefully it's not too late.

The "other Admiral" Chris Giddens strikes a blow to spacers' core beliefs with his concept-art-inspired cargo ship, Denarius. It's yellow. It's boxy. And it's not a subtheme. It provoked a lot of soul-searching among the CSF crowd, to say the least. The consensus was, "I like the greebles". It's true, there are some really good bits in there. But I also love the shape and color. It doesn't look like a naval battleship with wings! Anyways, that recessed cockpit is nice, and the hull texture looks neither busy nor sparse. The exception is the topside, which somehow falls short of the mark. It's just a lot of stuff up there, really. It looks like Mr. Giddens was unable to resist the sinister siren song of this rubber stretcher frame thing. I can't comment on below too well, as we never got the right angle. To quote a Decemberists B-side, "All I want is a good look at your underside". But I must admit that even I have my limits when it comes to the amount of yellow. Specifically, the interior. I imagine being on a long cargo run, with all that bright sunny yellow around you... it's no wonder there's only one crew member and the captain left. Perhaps that's why the last one looks to be on a tight leash? This thing should've ideally had an interior wall in some neutral color. Between that and this quick and dirty ambulance mod used as cargo, this ship seems more like a reactionary response to the space aesthetic dialogue than a MOC he would have made in a vacuum.

Niels Bugge guilts us all about not doing our geometry homework with his new "Piranha" fighter. Done in the style of Kyle Vrieze, this slicker-than-snot ship smiles its schleim on us all. Okay, enough alliteration for me. Great form, divine color scheme, and nailed the usage of transparent green. You know, in moderation. I love the round-cornered plates as a heatsink, and I don't even mind the slope wedges on the tail. Truly, when Lego and Pythagoras team up, they hit the Aristotelian mean.

What Happened To Alpha Thru Delta?

2006-01-29T03:15:00.000-05:00

Amethyst, winner of the sometimes-controversial Voidfighter Contest, presents a ship I have been eagerly awaiting since I first saw the WIP.

He makes a black and white color scheme work by solid color grouping, and with great splashes of trans blue. I cannot recall any other creation with such brilliant black greebling.

I'm not sure what else to say, I just really love the shape, the detailing, and the parts use. I do have one nit though, give those troops gloves!

They'll make you chicken out.

2006-01-26T23:58:00.000-05:00

Seems like it's the season for kickass bipedal chicken-leg mechs. Following up on Jonesy's last post featuring the Panzer Ostrich, we find 2 more similarly shaped mechs.

First is Zac Soden's Support Walking Tank. It is clear he has been picking up color-blocking from Mladen. Dig the careful seperation of lightgray, darkgray, and blue. And as a recent convert to the totally-enclosed-cockpit, I love the cockpit module.

The missile pod attachment seems a bit out of proportion, the quad gun array seems much more in scale.

And the second biped chicken mech is this one by Mister Zumbi. The dual laser cannons right beside the cockpit are superb.

A color scheme that could easily become jumbled (red, black, yellow, darkgray, lightgray) manages to stay precise and in control.

And what can be better than "Eat This" on the side of a laser gun?

I Was a Kaleidoscope

2006-01-24T00:18:00.000-05:00

Once again we at GS find ourselves a little behind. Alright! Here goes! Toshiaki Nishiyori, a.k.a. "Tony", put this nice biped tank mecha on Brickshelf a few days back. In a word, it's dreamy. In this new era of strong yet versatile click hinge ball joints, the focus is that much more on detail, and this is where the MOC shines. The new 1x1 slopes in clear for the window? Cute. The nose art using roofing bits? Subtle. The Quidditch hoop around the hatch? Be still, my heart! I also like the use of dish parts to round out the mecha, although I can't figure out exactly what's used on the caboose. You know, under that 3x3 dish? The machine gun's okay, but I'd rather he used Dan Rubin's. My biggest gripe with this MOC, though, is the transformation. It looks a bit forced, and it's a strong enough work on its own to not need a gimmick. Perhaps I'll email Tony about this; judging from this filename, he may know more English than he lets on.

Next up is this big bloody SHIP by Brickshelfer Odarih. Who is this masked man, anyway? It's almost criminal to post such a huge MOC and not stop in to any forums and say hello. Anyways, the ship's got a lot of detail, but it's not overpowering. The overall shape of the ship is pleasingly anime. I'm not sure I'm a big fan of this loop section, but I'll stand behind it for variety's sake. The ornately scalloped end of the hull by the engines looks almost fussy somehow. I'm getting visions of a pair of giant space-pinking shears cutting this hull out. A noteworthy feature of this craft is the attention paid to the stand. Many ships of similar size get away with minimal stands or none at all, but this looks like it was almost built off the stand itself. Now that's planning ahead.

The last MOC on our little saunter is an admirable Victorian house by Nathan Proudlove. Curiously enough, he hasn't done a post about it on Lugnet. I do hope I'm not "stealing his thunder". The MOC is distinguished foremost by its unusual part usages, so I suppose I ought to point it out to those jokers at "Unique Brique Techniques". Man, it's hard enough keeping up with one blog, let alone two. But I digress. Take a gander at that droid leg balustrade! He also justifies the existence of those grotty rubber Technic axle things by using them as tasteful architectural detail. I dig the varied roofline, but the sand-blueness of the chimney is a bit of a head-scratcher. What sort of stone is that, exactly? The spindles are a little too spindly--I would have beefed them up with some white technic pins. The lift-arm mouldings above the windows score no originality points, but they're certainly passable. Now if only it had some steampunk...

As an addendum to the previous post, Keith Goldman has posted the completed form of his "Two Pits and a Pad" display, and it's breathtaking. It leaves me full of questions: How is that landing pad staying together? Where did he get all those sand red plates? Will such a setup make it to a convention?

Tropical Iceland!

2006-01-17T23:36:00.000-05:00

Looks like ol' Keith tried to slip one under the radar on us. No MOCPage, no CSF post, no Lugnet post, and he didn't even post to his newbrickorder news page! Well, we certainly can't have that, now can we? Who does he think he is, Soren? Perhaps he's not entirely happy with this one? Perhaps he's an anti-communitarian? Perhaps his keyboard fell into a lake?

The new toy is a huge, lush, detailed diorama, as Monseur Goldman is oft wont to do, inflicting brick-envy upon the masses by using lots of part multiples. He seems to be relatively weak on the foliage, though. The big metal buildings, being ostensibly in a hot, humid area, could do with a bit of rust. I'm also at a loss as to his continuing fascination with the Green Goblin figs. The reason? Well, according to the builder himself, "they look like mean pig-fuckers who would peddle flesh, or eat it." I have no choice but to agree.

I have to say, initially I was not feeling the magic of some of his previous work. But after asking him a few questions, it turns out that this is only an in-progress preview of a larger display. Which is why this one came in with such little fanfare. I'm sure we'll be treated to one of his famous MOCpages when it's completed.

Now wait just a minute! Propriety dictates that I must call "bullshit" on myself. If this was anyone else's it'd have been much more auspiciously received (by myself as well as everyone else), being as it's a very impressive MOC in its own right. Poor Keith is one of the few elite builders cursed with being held to ridiculously high standards, albeit of his own making. At least Takeshi Itou doesn't have to listen to our ungrateful cries of, "I liked your first album better!"

A Zeppelin, Or, How to Write a Ridiculously Long Post

2006-01-11T00:13:00.000-05:00

When I first saw this airship as a little thumbnail on BSrecent I said "whoa! sweet!" My thoughts remained in such a state upon looking at the gallery page full of thumbnails. Then, as I looked at each image, my thoughts changed and shifted, with an end result I have not yet written. Look forward to that at the end.

In the first image I found the gasbag to be rather blocky, especially around the fins. The basket/gondola/body seemed rather blocky as well, the second picture enforced that thought. Even more bad finnage could be seen in pic three.

I moved on to some more pictures of the full thing, allowing me to get a better idea about the shape. It is unfortunate that this picture is all blurry and at such a wonky angle (by the way, "wonky" can only be said or typed while tipping one's head), because it seems to be neato keen.

On the very next picture I said "oh no!" (note, I don't actually say things out loud. Ever. Ask Mark Sandlin) because it was so underdetailed! Such a crucial part too, the very thing that causes the ship to move, moving being the purpose of said ship. Also that little connective pylon would totally break.

But then I was saved from my despair! Behold! How incredibly cool, and amazing use of parts (I shall have to buy one of those Rock-Raiders canopies. No, I don't own a single set). It was getting good again, my hope was restored, even more so upon seeing the nifty tail gunnery and grapling-hookery station.

Then something magical happened. "What's this?" I said. But the next picture didn't answer the question it was just some crates! I was intrigued, I had to find out, and my journey continued, but first, I stopped to see more wonderous detailage. My journey was dangerous, with many blurry pics along the way.

Finally, the question was revealed! The answer had been responded to! Scratch that, reverse it (yay Willy Wonka!). Step by step, that bundle of grey and yellow was revealed to be a little plane! To quote Jonesy, "Yeah!!!"

So, as promised in the beginning, I say that this ship, while perhaps not quite done on the macro-scale, on the micro-scale (no, not microscale building, this is totally different than the last post, I mean detailing now) it succeeds without question.

Trainergarten? Kindrostation?

2006-01-10T18:55:00.000-05:00

Somehow it is easy to write a post once someone else has already broken the ice. Thanks Jonesy.

Take a gander, if you will (which you will), at this creation/comic/I don't know what. Really, I don't know. It is a micro version of set 4554. Well not micro exactly, as it still has minifigs. Chibi-scale? Condensed? Cute-ified?

Anyway, the bizarre part starts when the little micro-chibi-cute train is introduced. It seems to be able to talk (in some asiatic language, by my guess). It talks to a girl, then some other trains, then a train car, which it pals up with (mates?). Then the girl talks and she is mad or something, I can't quite tell what those teardrop shapes mean. I think I read somewhere that in anime it means "exhausted" or something. Maybe there is some anime nerd who reads this who knows (Jonesy?)

So the trains (I assume) speak back to her, also mad-exhausted (unless the lines mean simply noise or yelling or shouting...). A question is raised and the little train engine also can show emotion (hey it can talk, why not) and that is the end.

Some cute building, but still: "Whaaaaa??????"

Old News is the New New News

2006-01-09T22:37:00.000-05:00

Well, what can I say? We here at GoldenShpleem have really let ourselves go. Is it that we Take Our Vacations Seriously? No, we're just lazy good-for-nothings whose mothers should be ashamed of them. Did I get that grammar right?

Moving along then! Our good friend Dan "Inquisitor General" Rubin has been busy. The Enola Gray is a shmoove specimen of spacecraftery that thumbs its nose at spaceship orthodoxy with its acute-angled nose construction, non-transparent cockpit, and copious use of yellow. The flat back leaves me somehow unsatisfied, though. Looks like me and Jon have a lot in common. The Gray sports a new greeblie type on the sides, but it seems like a bit of an afterthought. I do like the layered square tile look, but I think it should be more integral to the design of the thing. Oh, and check out the crew. Best minifigs ever.

Monseur Rubin also built a mecha, and posted it at the same time. Who does that, besides Soren? The very idea! Alright, regarding the MOC: it scares me a little. I think it's the face. Is it Patlabor-y? Turn-A Gundammy? Ultraman-ish? The stuff of nightmares, to be sure. I like the waist hoses, but like the cube greebs, i think he concept could have been taken further. The hip assembly is pretty hip, (did I just say that?) but the shoulder, while it matches, looks weird somehow. Also, it seems like it's missing its kneecaps. I do like the wings, specifically the vernier thruster things. All in all, it's a capable ape of Ugly Retro Japanese Robot style. I'm looking forward to the giant Magical Girl mecha Dan's been kicking around for nearly a year and hasn't told anyone about.

Better Than Two Ninjas

2005-12-27T23:29:00.000-05:00

More and more steampunk is coming out of the woodwork lately. I think I speak for everyone when I say that this is the best Christmas ever.

The builder, spotfrog on FBTB and CSF, is a theme-dabbler after my own heart. He started off with Bionicle and Star Wars MOCs, tried Castle and Space, and has just now (okay, last week) had a go at the sublimeness that is steampunk. Not to oversell it or anything.

The MOC is very good, especially for a first try at this tricky-to-do-right theme. The treads are well-played: each gear wheel being a different size maximizes the cute-factor. The greebs are competently done, and the pneumatic tubing is a nice touch. A couple of nitpicks: He forgot the steering wheels for pressure valves (almost essential), there's no discernable smokestack (not as crucial), the nose needs some work, and the cannon is a bit awkwardly positioned. I sure hope there's no recoil on that thing! It's supposed to be steampunk, not splatterpunk!

Happy Everyday

2005-12-27T23:06:00.000-05:00

Kevoh fails at timing. Mere moments after he posted his Chistmas MOC roundup, the incomparable Ry posted his equally incomparable Santa sleigh.

It's about time Santa showed those spoiled kids who's the boss. A gatling gun, candy-striped rail gun, and gun-toting elf riding a mecha-Rudolph should make nice, smoking craters of those kids that steal candy from shops, scream unnecessarily in theaters and restaurants, and relentlessly kick the back of your seat for the entire duration of your transatlantic flight. See if you can find the dark green!

Merry Christmas!

2005-12-25T00:24:00.000-05:00

2 clever builds celebrating this fun and wonderous holiday (holy day?)

Brickshelfer Komi has made this fun Bionicle - Santa mashup. Excellent use of parts (especially that dementor shroud as a beard!) although the tan mask for Santa's face is rather creepy...

And Moko, appearing on Golden Shpleem for the nth time, created a variation of his recent Baikinman. His Santa Claus features rosy cheeks and a cute fluff ball at the end of his hat. Nicely sculpted.

In other news, I would be remise if I didn't mention my pal Adrian Drake's hilarious Christmas parody song, entitled Chrismahanarama-
kwanzafestiholisolstice.

Busy, Busy

2005-12-24T14:19:00.000-05:00

Jamie Neufeld has been quite busy, with 2 new ships and a new base. Check them all out on his CSF post here. I know, I know, I really should write something about them, but he's not the only one who is busy!

Yum, yum, eat 'em up.

2005-12-23T13:30:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I e-mailed Myroder, a CSF user, about the 4 rail pieces seen in his Intrepid. He said they are called "crane harbor derricks" and I fully intended to write a post about the Intrepid, but I got lazy. Do check it out.

Anyway, Myroder's latest is very neato. After his recent change in diet, Myroder has applied his new skills to this crazy contraption. Very interesting intersection of forms delineated by color. Lots of playability throughout, this would be real fun to fiddle with.

Those click-hinge connections to the side engine-dealies (big fans in space?) and to the top radar dish are pretty lame. In fact, I think the ship would be much improved if the fans and dish were just taken off. Yes. It would create a much sleaker profile. Definitely.

We're No Render Bigots

2005-12-21T23:17:00.000-05:00

Brickshelf user KillerMoth26 gives us an early Chanukkah gift in this hip Greek-flavored airship. I'm a pretty avid airship aficionado, and I love the original angle taken on this MOC. To quote Tim: oh, baby! This looks like KillerMoth26's first foray into steampunk-type stuff, I wonder what inspired him? Perhaps after watching Last Exile, he decided to do his own spin on a Greek airship?

There's a few things I don't like about this MOC. The machine gun portals on the side look too much like Moonbase corridor ends, the lift rotor mounts don't look quite robust enough, and the rear propellors look slightly tacked on. Also, the windshield is goofy. The helmsman could easily wear goggles. Otherwise, it's excellent. The bow's air intakes are a stroke of brilliance. The gamma on the side is well done. And the brick-built Greek flag is a nice touch. To tell the truth, I'm thinking of making my own version in real brick.

You Haven't Fastened Your Safety Bat-Belt, Robin.

2005-12-18T20:45:00.000-05:00

You can tell Kevoh's on winter break, because he's cranking out MOCs. Hot on the heels of his Hitodama, Kevoh builds yet another steampunk creation.

This latest effort somehow doesn't grab me. I mean, all the elements are there: spoked wheels, huge boiler, pipes and greebs; but as a whole it isn't my favorite. I hate to say it, but it's kinda "meh".

I think the problem is he set out to make a steampunk-ified version of a modern car, even though Tim did it first. He relied too much on black brick, making a frame that, were it wrought iron, would be too heavy for the steam engine (wherever it is) to reach any useful speed. I will also point out that the shape is boxy, and isn't that exactly what CSF tells its new members to avoid? Also, greeblies are the backbone of steampunk, and this MOC doesn't have nearly enough. Perhaps they're tied up somewhere else? Or is it that he just didn't want to spend the time?

In the end, it's just a clanky old Batmobile. Everyone has their missteps, and I'm sure Kevoh will get back on track.

Mamas Don't Let Your Babies Become Cabbies

2005-12-16T19:32:00.000-05:00

The mysterious Brickshelfer Legohaulic has built again! It was built for a contest on the shadowy "Saber Scorpion Lair Forum". Alas, the forum doesn't allow the unregistered to browse (read: lurk) its threads. I'd consider joining if red text on a black background didn't scare me so much.

As for the MOC, I like it. Now, I have a well-known aversion to automobiles generally, with a few exceptions. Fortunately, that doesn't extend to hovercars. The engines are nice and oversized, (or is it that the cab is undersized?) it has dual subspace antennae, (or are they overhead curb feelers?) and even tailfins! Yeah!!!

The MOC's Achilles Heel seems to be its transparent elements. Transparent red, green, clear, orange, blue, neon green, even purple? Bad news. Also, he switched the red and green lights. Who does he think he is, Dan Rubin? Greeblies would've been a better choice than transparent parts for the engines, although greebs don't seem to be Legohaulic's strong suit. Regardless, it's my favorite to win the contest, although I've only seen one other entry.

I should have saved the "Jesusmas" reference.

2005-12-14T12:21:00.000-05:00

Now that our spat of mutual self-gratification (could I have written anything dirtier?) is over, we return to writing about other people's creations, because, you know, Jonesy and I aren't the only ones building awesome stuff ;-P

New kid on the block "Wizz" has taken over the Brickshelf recent page, just as Jonesy and I took over ILENN.

News and fake news programs have been speaking on the supposed "Attack on Christmas" lately; Wizz takes it to the next level with this hilarious and well-crafted series of vignettes. Kudos to him!

My 2 favorites are linked to above and to the right, but be sure to check out the whole bunch here.

Nepotism is the new Principled

2005-12-13T00:52:00.000-05:00

CSFer and self-proclaimed "Lego Pope" Kevin Blocksidge graced the internet community with a new MOC today.

The "Hitodama" is a svelte, spry little slip of steampunkery. Constructed entirely of greeblies, this one-legged mecha is an unimpeachable example of MOC perfection!

Well, that's a lie, but I said it with a smile. I advised "Kevoh" (as he's known) to tart up the lantern a bit, as that's the thing it's named for, but he didn't. Maybe he's not good with rubber bands? Furthermore, he uses an unholy combination of old and new grays. It gives me the shivers!

He should have waited until Jesusmas Eve

2005-12-13T00:51:00.000-05:00

Oh Jonesy, my fellow blogger. You, the brave reader, may think he posts infrequently, but just look at the chronology of his MOCage! Almost a full year between his newest and his next newest. For shame. I even know that he has other things built, like some nifty airships inspired by Last Exile that must be still sitting around since Brickfest. Not to mention his nifty moonbase module that can only be seen in random people's Post-Brickfest albums.

Jonesy, when will you learn to shamelessly self-promote yourself across multiple fora? What an opportunity Steampunk affords, being both castle and space. Talk about crossposting!

Regarding the vehicle itself, then. I initially admonished Jonesy for including the first picture, before the colorful awning was added, per a suggestion by Dan "HappyWeasel" Rubin (why someone would want to be associated with a weasel is beyond me. I'd much rather be associated with an infallible institution like the Popehood) but I like the history it gives to the creation. Sort of a before and after, but without the added benefit of a change from frown to smile for those that didn't pick up on the radical change in weight.

And hooray for gears on the bottom! Ry has set a new standard.

Jesus Helps Me Trick People

2005-12-10T15:16:00.000-05:00

Mwahaha, I got Kevoh to compromise his principles. Mark Stafford ended up entering his "Death in the Library" diorama (see previous post) in the CCC3 anyways. Yes, Golden Shpleem is secretly a morass of lies and intrigue like that. Stay tuned for further unscrupulousness! By the by, Mr. Stafford made another death-themed diorama, this one conforming to the rules, and it is pretty hip.

It is always a cause for celebration when a CSFer makes their debut. RocketSeason, also known as Matt (Forcum?) has made his MOC "coming out", and what a MOC it is! Now, I normally don't much like small space fighters, as their same-yness seems to me like permutating the name of G-d, but this one thankfully breaks the mold. Indeed, it looks very Miyazaki-esque.

The ship is excitingly chunky. Its bold 90° edges, normally anathema to a spacer, are ameliorated by the funky angled sectioning. The round Santa Fe windows are the perfect retro non-canopy solution. I'm really curious about the use of the chessboard piece in the controls. 3D holographic navigation? Some sort of baroque battle system? That bull-horn figurehead is kinda goofy, but it has a certain charm, so I'll let it slide. All I can find fault with is that the greebing could be a bit more complex. And I can't get all fired-up about just that, how disappointing!

If this debut MOC is any indication, RocketSeason should be a great builder. I look forward to his next work!

P.S.: The title is a Diesel Sweeties ref.

Interior Decorating

2005-12-06T17:22:00.000-05:00

Mark Stafford attempted to make an entry for the CCC3, but neglected to follow a few rules regarding the number of walls.

Good thing he did, because otherwise I would not have been able to comment on it (as a C-C admin, and thus a judge of the contest, I feel it would be inappropriate to comment until the contest is over). And Jonesy seems to be rather busy at the moment, which school and stuff, while my quarter is essentially over.

Anyway, this scene has so many nice details, in decorating and in architecting (made-up word!). Really nice bookshelves, excellent corner shelving, nice use of tiles throughout, and amazing window treatment.

It pays to edit.

2005-12-06T17:13:00.000-05:00

One of the voidfighter entries I did not link to on Golden Shpleem was this one by Saber-Scorpion. Why didn't I? Because it sucked! Well not really, but I just didn't care for it. The coloring, the details, and the photography all really detracted from the creation as a whole.

But wait! He decided to re-do the craft in a new color scheme, changing the wings significantly, changed the engines, and made a few other minor touch-ups. I must say, Mark II is way cooler.

Perhaps not all the way there yet, but there is always time for a Mark III :)

Trains!

2005-12-06T17:05:00.000-05:00

I was recently thinking "we don't really feature many train creations on Golden Shpleem. Is it because there just haven't been many recently? Or do we not know where to look for them? Or do all the recent ones suck?"

Well, a recent look at Brickshelf has turned up some neat train cars by MIJasper.

I didn't even know those 3 wide curved pieces came in brown, but he has tons!

I <3 Rube Goldberg

2005-12-04T03:34:00.000-05:00

Back in middle school, I was on the "Science Olympiad" team. One of the events was "Mission Possible", which involved the creation of a contraption made up of simple machines that started with a simple action and ended with some task. For example, in 8th grade we had to start it by dropping a quarter and end it by launching a ping pong ball. I think. It may have been popping a balloon. No matter.

In 8th grade me and 2 friends took charge of the event, and we won 3rd at States, I think. Maybe 5th? We got a medal, is all I know. 1st at regionals as well, if I recall correctly. I may be confusing the exact numbers with Experimental Design, which I was also awesome at. Any nerdy kid in middle or high school in the US from 1985 onward should know what I am talking about.

Don't care about adventures of my youth? Blame Shane Larson, the long time supporter of all things TechWest and all things Sci-Facty, who has made a Rube Goldberg mousetrap, featuring the classic swinging axe, rolling ball, and falling anvil. So many fun details in such a small footprint!

Judge and Jury?

2005-12-01T12:42:00.000-05:00

Bizarre happenings. Today I recieved the second or third email that goes something like this:

Hi there, look at this thing I built. I am not sure if it is "Golden Shpleem" quality, but please take a gander. I appreciate your input.

They've all been very polite, and I suppose in some respect it's a bit of an ego-boost to thinkthat people are specifically seeking my opinion, but I feel bad about it.

Jonesy and I aren't some sort of judicial panel. We are simply 2 guys that see neat things and for some reason have a desire to ramble on about them.

Which is not to say that emails asking for advice are unwelcome, if you want someone's thoughts on a creation, or a more global LEGO issue, the mailbox is always open.

Oh, and look at these voidfighters. Totally unrelated to the ramblings above, but so what?

A Belated Appraisal

2005-11-28T15:11:00.000-05:00

I will admit: It's been a full ten days since our favorite monosyllabic builder, Ry, finished his first foray into floating rock-building. Kevoh, in the interests of integrity, was unable to comment on this fine creation. So the only feeble defense I can offer you, gentle readers, is that I was "on vacation". Kevoh's excuse on my behalf was well-intentioned, but false: I never liked Interpol much.

As for the rock! The odd shape is appealing, and the surface is interestingly (if a bit perilously) sloped. I'm not sold on the bamboo shoot bricks on the lawn, but there's so few options for underbrush that I can hardly blame Ry for using them. I like the way they've grown up around the disused orrey, though. The secret space-y basement (spacement?) is a cute thumb-bite at the Castle contingent, but a bit ironic as the Floating Rock meme is more popular with people in the Space crowd. Oh, and the gyrocopter is gold.

The house is charmingly top-heavy. When Ry was building it, he was initially at a loss as to a roof for such odd-shaped walls. The mushroom-inspired roof is striking, distinctive, and sure to achieve notoriety. Perhaps it's better he didn't follow my suggestion of making it a Mansard roof. The door is nice for a brick-built, but looks like it would withstand a full-scale siege. Seems to me Ry doesn't buy many Castle-type sets. Somebody send him a Harry Potter door!

Floating Rocks have a long and storied history. Their humble beginnings reside in a MOC of mine from back in '02, complete with fly-through fast-victuals shack and a teleport pad. How quaint! But Brickfest '04 was when it became firmy lodged in the collective consciousness. I re-imagined the village for Brickfest '04, but it suffered from being rushed: I'd completed it the night before I left. I was in such a hurry, I didn't even have time to make villagers, but scooped up some Final Fantasy-ish mages I had lying around. Imagining I'd quickly build a better one, I never did take pictures of it, so the only evidence of its existence lies in others' Brickfest photo albums. Lenny brought his famous moonbase non-module to that same Fest and coined the term. And so the destiny of the genre-orphan Rocks was forged.

There've been a few uninhabited rocks built: Soren built one, Tim built two, and "Watkins" made one with a (nostalgic!) teleport pad. Our own Kevoh built a rock for BF05, with attendant floating house. Nathan Proudlove raised the stakes with his waterfall-endowed castle in the air, and the indefatigable Lenny made two more excellent rocks, home to those wizard-types I'm secretly ambivalent about.

I meant to bring a new village to BF05, and even filled out a MOC Card for it, but last summer was kinda dark-agey for me and it never had a chance of being finished in time. I've recently begun working on it again, and I'll share with you (as reward for suffering through my pompous and treacly prose) a secret in-progress pic.

The Nightmare Before...

2005-11-28T00:09:00.000-05:00

That's right, Thanksgiving is over by just a few days, it must be time for Christmas already! Yippie Hooray!

BuilderQ has made this neat little creation from Tim Burton's "A Nightmare Before Christmas", featuring Jack Skellington in one of the most recognizable scenes.

I've been wanting to see the film again, all I can remember is a curious mix of Halloween and Christmas, done in signature Tim Burton style.

You might say the nightmare is the covert use of non-kosher elements, but I think the real nightmare is seeing Christmas displays before Halloween.

Beasts and Ketchup

2005-11-26T20:59:00.000-05:00

Brickshelf user Micah Berger has recently created 3 fun creatures.

It's been quite a while since the last post here. Jonesy keeps promising to make a few posts, but as he's a secret agent for Interpol, he often gets tied up. Anyway, there have been many really nice creations in the past week.

Some new Voidfighters decloaked, 2 new Fantasy-Tech creations floated past, a car drove by, with amazing interior details, 2 huge spacefighters came flying through, causing a house to split in half, and a new comic series made its debut, with some sweet ships to tag along.

All the creations mentioned above deserve their own post, featuring ramblings about the wonders of each, but who has that kind of time? Not me, that's who!

Void where prohibited

2005-11-18T00:08:00.000-05:00

FBTB has a really nifty contest going on, which has inspired both FBTBers and non-FBTBers to build.

Check out Adrian Drake's take on the craft. Nifty angles and engines there. I eagerly await being able to see the front section in person, to get a better idea on how it is put together.

Mark Stafford (previously seen on Golden Shpleem as "Nabii") made the same design twice, one cloaked, the other not. Very interesting to see two color variations, not something one sees often in a creation.

While you are at it, take a look at Chris Giddens's, Horvastne's, and Krush's versions.

Miss Fat Booty

2005-11-16T18:14:00.000-05:00

Here's a striking specimen from the presumably-new-to-the-scene Brickshelfer modelgal. Would you look at the shleim on that thing! I hate to think how many tiles and jumper plates went into it. The only bit I'm not thrilled with is the head, but I know it's pretty damned hard to make a decent dragon head with Lego.

This dragon looks like it's been sitting on its hoard of gold watching "All My Hatchlings" a bit too long. That awkward-looking knight doesn't look like it'll be good for much exercise as much as another high-cal snack. It's high time our not-so-mini dragon friend changed the channel to one of those aerobics shows, and I don't mean Sit and Be Fit.

BimP my Ride?

2005-11-16T17:33:00.000-05:00

Looks like Tom "Dr. Cranium" McDonald has been building again. My first impression was, "It's a hovership gussied up for a night on the town!" You know, because of the orange antenna bits.

The hip thing about it is, like all the cool RC racers, it can drive upside-down. The driver's seat flips over, too. It's super-toytastic, but I imagine I'd get a bit queasy driving the thing.

Construction-wise, I really like the wheels. The car is a tad too wide for my tastes. The addition of white to the colorscheme seems like a token gesture, like he wanted it to be all orange but didn't have the right parts. And I don't like the dragging antennae, unless they're designed to shower the car behind it in sparks. Which would be awesome.

If you're reading this on ILENN, by the way, drop by and leave us a note! Propriety demands it!

Renovate!

2005-11-13T17:08:00.000-05:00

Why build a new building when you can renovate? See, this may be news to us Americans, but over in Europe they have something called "architectural history". This means that they have old buildings. It can be hard to imagine for us in The Land of Opportunity and Big-Box Retail Stores, but some buildings in Europe are older than your moms! Some are even older than your grandma!

Reinhard "Ben" Beneke, a known European, has the benefit of all that "architectural history" they have across the pond, and makes MOCs of these ineffable old buildings. His new gas station is a renovation of an older building, invoking a double dose of nostalgia.

The building flaunts it: lots of gray tiles for the timbering look, light yellow walls on the second floor, a weirdly small 70's door, macaroni bricks, old-school printed bricks, garage door bits, shleimy doors in back, and checkerboard floors. And yet I feel like something's missing. Perhaps he's saving some things, like cars filling their gas tanks, for its train layout debut.

Oh yeah, and if you're not familiar with Ben's work, I command you to peruse his gallery. Even though he's a train guy.

Gasp! A Creative Train!

2005-11-10T19:34:00.000-05:00

Megan Rothrock's first published creation is a doosy. I am not sure if "doosy" is spelled correctly.

Such a fun and whimsical creation. I'd love to see pictures of it riding the rails of a traditional, boring train layout.

Reminds me of the ThomasBot, another recent fun spin on the train theme.

Beating Jonesy to the Punch

2005-11-10T18:52:00.000-05:00

Nabii has made a kick-ass zeppelin. Really creative gas-sac. The back, sides, and front are all prefectly constructed. Nice fins and string things.

The cabin has a cool shape, nice windows, but with such big views of the interior, I would have expected more from it. Cabin seems a bit too big for the sac, too.

I recommend checking out all of Nabii's gallery, as he has been uploading many sweet models, many of which I was planning on featuring here (Gargoyle, Golem, and Zanarchy among them)

Unrelated to this post, I was really looking forward to seeing LEGO pandas in Jonesy's post, but alas. I <3 pandas.

Gingerbread House... for Pandas

2005-11-10T01:53:00.000-05:00

Here we have a modest bamboo cottage by Taiwanese Brickshelfer echao. The first bamboo building I've seen, and sure to be the definitive for quite some time. I wonder if a tan version of this would pass muster?

I like this MOC. It's chic, it's understated, but I would have put in a few more details. Something in the courtyard, perhaps, if I couldn't wheedle a bit of landscape. I like the tree, but the trunk needs to be its own color. And maybe a couple more figs; the Lenny analogue inside just isn't enough. But perhaps I'm too hard on him. Not everyone can have a wealth of parts, yes?

Furthermore, don't be shy about mucking around in the rest of his Shelf gallery. You never know when you'll stumble across some hidden gems.

On a site-related note, it looks like I'm falling behind in this posting thing. I would like to say Kevoh keeps beating me to the punch, but I fear I've been shirking my duties a bit. But do not fret, Gentle Readers, because you have my word that I will approach this blog with a renewed zeal. Or something.

With Your Powers Combined, I Am Captain Planet

2005-11-09T01:29:00.000-05:00

Eric Harshberger has expanded on the expertise of Bruce Lowell and Bram Lambrecht to create a huge SNOT version of the Earth.

Way, way impressive.

Having struggled to make small little patches look good on a much smaller sphere, I can barely imagine the amount of time, experimentation, and thought that Eric had to have put in to make such a flawless rendition of the continents over such a complex surface. Amazing!

3 New From The East

2005-11-09T00:23:00.000-05:00

A fellow spacer linked to these three sweet creations in the CSF IRC channel. I think it was Chris Giddens, but I'm not sure...

This house has robot legs. Reminds me of that Simpson's episode where Professor Frink shows off his new robot house, to protect against cat burglars (who wear sneakers for sneaking). The house runs 3 or 4 steps before falling over and catching on fire. I think the little doll people fall out of a window on fire too.

This robot has fierce claws. I would be afraid of it. Seems almost "3vil", if you are familiar with such terms.

Finally, this mech-robot thing is nifty. Excellent proportions, use of new parts, and details.

If you liked these, check out these others:

Feline Robot (fierce!)

Big Guy (dark blue and black!)

Scarab Worker Craft (utilitarian!)

Free Cookies, Details Inside.

2005-11-08T00:36:00.000-05:00

King Kong smash! Hulk no match!

Justin Ramsden has made a neato King Kong, who cannot be stopped.

Which brings me to RSS. It seems it cannot be stopped, like King Kong. But is it good and kind like the King, or is it terrible, like the Empire State Building? It brings content to people easier, but it seems to strip the unique character of each site away, in favor of a mundane feed of information.

I speak of course of ILENN, the new RSS feed gatherer site for all things LEGO that have RSS feeds. Golden Shpleem is on it, but it strips away all our witty banter and just shows the title and the thumbnail/link combo to the model we are discussing. What to do?

Clearly, the answer is outrageous titles.

CC's Micro Castle Contest produces great results

2005-11-07T20:40:00.000-05:00

A contest sponsored by users at Classic-Castle.com has recently ended, and the entries are great. Great job to the organizers and all who entered.

Nelson Yrizarry won the contest, with his brilliant Drachenburg Castle. The castle itself is amazing, yet Nelson added a whole landscape and village to it. Some amazing details throughout. Don't miss the watermill, bridge, cart with horse, dragon, and the variety of foliage.

I took a browse throught the other entries, and found some other really neat detailwork. Take a look at Bruce N H's boat sails and seige weapons, and Cyin's unique trees.

For a "Mouse", it's quite large

2005-11-07T20:29:00.000-05:00

CSF user BrentlyMills has continued his line of sleek, technic-fig scale spacefighters with the Flying Mouse.

As always, he brilliantly combines new style slopes, tiles, and crazy SNOTwork to create complex curves and angles.

And this time, it's in black, making it extra nifty! One pet peeve though: the engines, made using those lightgray ball joint sockets, aren't filled in. In my opinion, it looks a million times better with the dark gray half dome shoved inside there.

"Trigun" yet only one.

2005-11-07T20:06:00.000-05:00

Brickshelf user TMBGrulz has made a replica gun from some anime show called "Trigun"

I vaguelly recall hearing of such a show long ago, with the main hero clothed in a red coat with striking blond hair. Anyway, his rendition of the gun is very nice. Excellent half-stud offsets and details throughout.

Complete with UCS-style information plaque. The writing makes me want to see the show, sounds interesting.

Duke Cargo Shuttle

2005-11-04T01:38:00.000-05:00

Brickshelf user Stingray has taken the basic stereotypical shuttle design and done some interesting things with it.

Excellent use of basic slopes and wedges to create form. Nice engines too, they really look like they could produce big amounts of thrust.

And check out that cockpit! Brilliant control design there! The exclamation marks are because I just discovered them.

(The cockpit controls, not exclamation marks)

Fits in the palm of your hand.

2005-11-04T01:18:00.000-05:00

At Brickfest 05 I had the pleasure and honour to speak with Paal Smith-Meyer, A LEGO designer. We got in a discussion about creations in general, what makes a good set, and so forth.

During our discusion, I pointed out Nick Kappatos's neat little creation, the "Dangermouse", as a perfect example of brilliant design on a very small scale, great for sets. So check it out!

As a corollary, be sure to take a look at NewBrickOrder.com, the new sister-site of sorts to Neutronbot.com, which remains the kickingest site ever.

Taking the term "chick" literally.

2005-11-01T18:29:00.000-05:00

That crazy Moko.

I don't really know what to say about this little figure. It certainly is well crafted, but what the hell??

Do a Barrel Roll!

2005-11-01T18:26:00.000-05:00

CSF member Stingray recently showed the community this snub fighter.

Dig the sharp shape, the gray underdetails, and the moving guns and cockpit.

Reminds me of an Arwing from StarFox, in a good way.

Ogre Smash!

2005-11-01T18:20:00.000-05:00

Nelson Yrizarry has made this sweet ogre sculpture. I am always fascinated by figures at odd scales.

Great use of the new Viking teeth! Makes him very fierce looking.

Inspiration

2005-10-27T11:57:00.000-04:00

Inspired by a picture in the CS Concept Collection (maintained by me!), Brickshelf user Legohaulic has made a nifty combat craft.

Excellent use of purple, arches, and darkgray accents. Nifty cockpit too!

Inspired by a botframe by Brickshelf user Nobnob, Lenny Hoffman has made an action-figure scale Link from the Zelda series. Looks like his is based on the Nintendo 64 version of Link, featured in Ocarina of Time.

The question always comes up when talking about Link: where does he keep all his bombs, magic powder, boomerang and huge-ass hammer? I always thought it was in that silly hat, but it appears Lenny thinks it's in the boots!

Ménage à Trois

2005-10-26T23:39:00.000-04:00

First we have this mech / tank mix by Mark Neumann. If you've been following Golden Shpleem, this is the third mech / tank mentioned here. And it's just as cool as the other two!

Take some time to check out the details in the treads and the cockpit and on the turret.

Next is this breathtaking sculpture dedicated to Hans Christian Andersen. A brilliant example of when a toy transcends its toy-ness, to become art.

The framing, the mosiac on the backside, the flowers, the frog, everything! Wow.

Finally, Jojo has been making a series of desks, each one a very nice work in detail and capturing the essence of a piece of furniture in as few pieces as possible. Nifty work there.

Tractor

2005-10-20T22:57:00.000-04:00

Look at this tractor. It is so beautiful. And it seems so complete, in a way that very few other models are. Nothing more can be taken away, nothing more can be added.

Check out the use of the old-style wrench on the smokepipe!

To replace Harry and Ron

2005-10-20T22:22:00.000-04:00

Following up on his Hermione BrickFa, Mike Crowley has made Optimus Prime and Megatron brickfas.

Such an interesting scale, with so many possibilities.

Cutest Mechs Ever <3

2005-10-16T17:04:00.000-04:00

Brickshelf user "Squieu" wins the award for most difficult to pronounce username ever.

Also he made some cute little mechs.

The Lion, The Witch, and the...

2005-10-11T22:08:00.000-04:00

Mijasper is a Brickshelf user who has been features here before, but I can't remember his real name. Look at these pieces of furniture he made, they are nifty. Each one is worth a look.

Crowley wins more.

2005-10-10T23:44:00.000-04:00

Mike Crowley, aka Count Blockula, has come up with this super-articulate stick-fig design he calls BrickFA. Who knew you could do that with lever handles? This makes my chocobos look like shit!

I'll have to play around with this. You ought to try it as well.

Better late than never

2005-10-10T22:32:00.000-04:00

Check out this laudably accurate DeLorean by Brickshelfer "Flicker404". It's so cool. Only some of the building looks a bit sketchy. And the greebs could be better. But it looks spot-on, so I forgive it.

Let me tell you about how many times I tried to build one of these when I was 10 years old...

Moko wins.

2005-10-10T21:55:00.000-04:00

Okay, it's official: Moko is better than you. Ph33r the letter tile ASCII kitties.

I Choo Choo Choose You!

2005-10-06T12:38:00.000-04:00

Jason Allemann has transformed the technic cannon piece into a boiler of a steam train, micro scale. Hooray for Steam! Hooray for Micro! Meh at trains :)

He even included highly understandable instructions. Next time I am in contact with my LEGO collection, I may try to make one of my own.

My cat's breath smells like catfood.

Yay for penguins!

2005-10-05T01:43:00.000-04:00

Look at this cute pengiun and it has ice and blue water and it's just so cute so yay.

Moko is good at making cool things. Hooray!

I wish I knew more 70's lingo.

2005-10-03T23:56:00.000-04:00

Nelson Yrizarry has made a neat doublewide vignette of a swinging 70's pad, with groovy shag carpet and lighting.

My only experience with this decore is from movies such as "Catch Me If You Can" and the "Austion Powers" films, and I suppose the garish paintjob on my old middle school, but I think it is pretty accurate. Even if its not, it is still neato-keen.

The use of that Madame Hooch head on the lady is great, I <3 that head.

Watertower

2005-09-27T16:46:00.000-04:00

Take a look at this WWII German Watertower, by brickshelf user Nyu.

Note the rounded shape created using tiles, plates, and treads. I believe it's a brand-new technique!

Emotion

2005-09-24T19:21:00.000-04:00

Check out the expressions Felix Greco captured in the latest addition to his unique line of Felix-scale caricatures.

The eyes and eyebrows on the man, and the one flicked up eyebrow on the girl. The hand positions are also perfect.

Queen and Robot

2005-09-19T16:21:00.000-04:00

First is this neat scene of the Queen Beatrix from the Netherlands (or so says the brickshelf folder, because I have no idea...)

Very nice use of antennas, technic pins, dragon plumes, tires, and visors.

Now is this robot by Moko. It could be either cute and small or normal sized and useful or monstrous and destroying cities.

Hooray for robots!

Bricks from bricks

2005-09-14T13:02:00.000-04:00

It's oh-so-studless yet ever-so-studly.

Brickshelf user Cre8iveJuan (whose user name is, ironically, not creative at all) has made a wall study of a redbrick building.

Many of us have seen the tiled brick technique before, but the real draw is the brilliant work in dark gray and the windows, door, and gutter.

Chairs!

2005-09-13T15:08:00.000-04:00

I tried to make a clever topic line referencing that new Burger King commercial where that Doctor guy gets people to sit down by using that new Angus burger, but none really made sense, so I went for "Chairs!", the new off-broadway musical.

Michael Jasper has been making some really neat LEGO chairs for awhile now, and he just added some more.

Check out the uses of flags, tap pieces, clips, minifig hands and arms, and pneumatic tubing to create some realistic and fun designs.

Mmm, Salty

2005-09-09T22:58:00.000-04:00

Ry Wood, that one mormon kid with the robotic knees, is a really big fan of the concept art collection I maintain over at Classic-Space.com. The Slugfighter is not the first, not the second, not the third, but the fourth creation he has based off concept art. He's also organized a few Group Build projects at CSF, where a single picture is chosen, and everyone makes their interpretation of that artwork. And yet, Ry has not completed a single project for a Group Build....

Anyway, the Slug Fighter is the cat's meow. It's so smooth yet detailed, and remarkably true to the concept art. I love the inset intakes and the details around the back hatch. Only thing I don't like is the Slugman himself, as I think Mike Crowley's rendition is much more accurate.

Read Ryan's thread on CSF for more info on his creation.

451

2005-09-07T13:35:00.000-04:00

Mike Crowley has made a really nifty turn of the century fire truck. I <3 retro-tech!

With just a little bit of modification, it would make a really cool Fantasy-Tech vehicle, and I for one would love to see a blown-apart view.

So many Details.

2005-09-06T12:05:00.000-04:00

Classic-Castle member Marakoeschtra's latest creation is the Royal Bakers Guild. He's been giving Takeshi Itoh a run for his money in the ridiculously detailed, architecturally accurate, large square footprinted, realistically landscaped medieval slice o' life field.

Things to keep an eye out for: the bridge, the seller's window, the snot crossbeams, the chimney, the tree, the water mill, the boat made out of 2 LEGO boats end-to-end, the wooden deck, and the roof. I almost listed off the whole creation there, which is a sure sign it's freakin' sweet.

Fancy!

2005-09-06T00:12:00.000-04:00

Gingivere on Brickshelf has made a scale model of The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in NYC. The building is a complex mix of shapes, with many odd angles and large curved sections, yet she's managed to capture it all. I am going to stop writing because I want to look at the pictures some more!

Moonbase builders take note!

Gingivere has also added some nifty ideas to her "Ideas" folder. Check out the bistro, with it's awning, sign, window treatment, and flower baskets.

Pillar of the Community

2005-09-05T19:19:00.000-04:00

Fellow Neutronbotter Soren "I'm too good to post" Roberts has tried to sneak a few things under the radar. Perhaps we should pretend he's a Japanese builder, blocked from communication by the great divide of language? Well at any rate, at least he has a good post-to-build ratio...

If you haven't yet noticed, it's all futuristic anime stuff. I've been trying to peer-pressure him into building castle, but that's only warranted a few abortive efforts so far.

2 scoops of Raisin

2005-09-05T19:01:00.000-04:00

That fellow Bob Carney has made another really big castle based on some big castle in some small foriegn country far away. May seem ho-hum, but they really are neat castles. He should build them all at once and create a huge scale model of Europe. I would totally give him a gold star. Maybe two. Three would be pushing it.

This one is called "Bran". I like all the red roofs, that's pretty nifty. Using BURPs and LURPs he has created a really nice rockface, but those dark gray rocks would be in much better service to humanity if placed underneath a floating island, to form say... a floating rock. But I digress.

He cheated on the tudor walls, using stickers, a most grievous sin, made more so because of the readily available options for brickbuilt tudor crossbeams...

Oh, Takeshi!

2005-09-05T16:29:00.000-04:00

Our beloved Japanese castler, the resourceful Takeshi Itoh, has put together something new. Every time he posts something, I always get overly excited.

The Prison Castle sits precariously upon a pillar of rock, discouraging would-be escapees with its dizzying heights. This MOC is much in keeping with Itoh's signature style: It's restricted to a 48 x 48 footprint, takes advantage of vertical space, and of course has immaculate landscaping. The architecture is a bit "vanilla", for Itoh at least, but perhaps it's an exercise in form following function.

If you're not familiar with his work, by all means rummage through his site or his gallery and bask in his brilliance.

"Tiki"?

2005-09-02T20:11:00.000-04:00

Bill Vollbrecht has made a neat Tiki Bar scene.

Check out the wood type thing around the bottom of the walls. Jeez, I am about to start college with a major in architecture and I don't even know what that part of a wall is called...

Anyway, it lights up too! And the tiki statue is cool, looks a lot like a little Tiki guy I got in Disneyworld a long time ago. Is Tiki a culture or a religion or what?

Vapors and Craters

2005-08-31T15:16:00.000-04:00

Moko has made 2 neat vignettes that capture motion very nicely.

Never before have I seen smashed earth and ethereal fumes created so effectively in the brick.

This one also has some neat sculpturing in the underground part. It's a lot cooler than the rock on the other one.

Damn Europeans

2005-08-29T18:24:00.000-04:00

I mean, WTF? Classic Castler Teup, like a big huge jerk, simply excretes architectural detail. In addition to the "just some ideas" pictured, this city project of his seems to be equally on a lark. I can imagine him building a fully minifig-scale Hagia Sophia and saying, "Just a little something I whipped up".

Where does he get off with all these unusual part usages, deft schleim, and eye for composition? Say "natural talent" all you like, but my money's on the European Pick-a-Brick. That's it! I'm moving to Amsterdam!

Art Deco My Brains Out! <3

2005-08-29T18:02:00.000-04:00

Brickshelf's DecoJim makes a bold statement with this retro-tastic Miami beach hotel. It's too bad there doesn't seem to be any inside, but I can't complain as my moonbase module was similarly empty...

Like all good MOCs, this one plays fast and loose with scale- the minifigs are dwarfed by the fire hydrant and the patio furniture, and there's even a 4-wide car to mismatch the 6-wide car. Just the way I like it.

Regardless, I hope this trend towards building interesting architecture continues. Maybe it'll get the spacers' attention, ahem ahem.

Update: The builder is named James Garrett.

Suey! Suey!

2005-08-28T16:45:00.000-04:00

MisaQa of Brickshelf has created a series of pigs, at approximately minifig scale.

Great use of slopes, teeth pieces, and minifig hands.

Bugship

2005-08-28T01:05:00.000-04:00

CSF user Big-X took a rather useless canopy and transformed it into a really nice ship.

Check out the unique color scheme, unique shape, and some bad-ass guns.

Suck-up

2005-08-25T00:02:00.000-04:00

Easiest way to get on Golden Shpleem? Make 2 kick-ass creations in a theme that one Argonaut invented, and the other loves to death!

Lenny Hoffman presents 2 Fantasy-Tech creations, "Astronomer's Rock" and "Lord Lenyu's Floating Rock".

Reminds me of TMNT

2005-08-24T23:42:00.000-04:00

Jon Palmer, international man of mystery, believed to be currently hiding in an elaborate underground cave system underneath northern Guinea-Bissau, hiding from Interpol agents (which explains why he is so rarely seen these days in the LEGO community) has created a pair of life size nunchucks that are quite nifty.

He is selling them on eBay, with the proceeds to go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Good cause, good creation, check it out.

Crown Jewels

2005-08-21T22:19:00.000-04:00

Brickshelf user Mr Zumbi has created a really sweet mech, I believe based on ones from that game "Mechwarrior" but I never know for sure about these videogame things.

Anyway, it has chrome and darkgray and darkred, and neat guns and sleak panels, and it simply looks really super cool.

Also, while browsing Brickshelf, I found Jonesy and I (The Argonauts) in action.

Nifty Hardsuit

2005-08-21T14:21:00.000-04:00

Brickshelf user Eshton has made a neat little minifig hardsuit.

Warning: The pictures are ridiculously large. 2048 x 1536 pixels! I wish people would resize their pictures!

Pinocchio

2005-08-19T14:02:00.000-04:00

Brickshelf user Mijasper has created a really neat Pinocchio in minifig scale. I don't know what part he used for the head and nose, but it's perfect!

Click "Up" to see a few more famous people and characters.

Moto Mosa

2005-08-17T22:30:00.000-04:00

Bill Vollbrecht has taken the genre of mosiacs to a new level, with his recently commissioned Motorcycle Mosiac.

It is really cool how he created chrome reflections using plates in bricks in shades of gray.

Evil Robo

2005-08-17T13:14:00.000-04:00

Brickshelf user cboLEGO has created a neat robot guy with cute little legs and mean guns

Whipped

2005-08-15T22:58:00.000-04:00

"Orlan" Pobursky was asked to photograph every single vignette present at this year's fest (he somehow missed mine though, but I'm not bitter ;)

Some you may have seen before, some have even been featured here on Golden Shpleem, but many are brand new, and all are worth a look.

I took a few photos too, but some didn't turn out great. I mainly photographed details I want to remember, no good overall shots of layouts.

Ry and Felix

2005-08-11T12:07:00.000-04:00

CSFer and FBTBer and all around cool guy Ryan Wood has created a super sweet Matrix vignette. Bullet time, the creative base, and the posing of the figs falling through the air make this so ridiculously cool I almost fainted.

Fellow cool guy Felix Greco returns to his SalonBot, created for the First Bot Contest, with an upgrade, furthering his worrying obsession for hair and hair care products.

Sometimes a strange fascination with hair care products is just a strange fascination with hair care products. But sometimes it's a cigar.

Never Finished

2005-08-10T11:27:00.000-04:00

Brickshelf user Teup has been slowly but surely creating an intricately detailed modern day city. He has built some excellent facades, and decorates many of his buildings with minifig statues.

Also check out the neat tree.

You may remember Teup from his stunning viking village, worth a second (or first) look. Keep an eye out for clever roofs.

Moko Robo

2005-08-09T02:10:00.000-04:00

Moko made a cool robot, you should take a look.

It is neato-keen.

I am pretty sure it has 4 legs, but he somehow managed to make it totally unclear because of the picture angles; there could be a forth leg hidden from view in every picture. It is mind-boggling.

A Man's Home is His Castle

2005-08-07T23:22:00.000-04:00

It seems that the famed dragon-lover Anthony Sava has completed his latest and largest-yet castle, "Ulmaris". It features numerous towers and turrets, pleasantly inexcessive mottling, and an understated courtyard.

He's been stringing along the poor dears at the Classic-Castle.com forums for quite some time now, and appears to have gotten it done just in time for Brickfest. I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that I can't wait to ogle it in person. However, the gallery offers an excellent view of the castle from many angles, as well as a rather revealing look at what I assume to be The Savas's dining room. Nice wallpaper, Anthony!

"Aerodynamically Curvaceous"

2005-08-07T23:11:00.000-04:00

Now here's a spaceship with a good set of child-bearing hips. Kenn Oldham brings us his "Bluebell" which features some thoroughly awful Bionicle lids put to good spacey use.

New from an Oldie

2005-08-07T13:54:00.000-04:00

Zac Soden, a space builder of yore, whose old work can be found here, along with the work of the currently missing John Henry Kruer, is back!

He returns with the "Magellan Deep Space Charting and Exploration Vessel". Inspired by the creations of Mladen Pejic and Soren Roberts, the ship features many studless surfaces and lots of neat techno-bits and greebles.

Bots!

2005-08-06T17:12:00.000-04:00

Check out the 51 Bots entered in the Second Annual Tim and Kevin's Bot Contest.

Although not as many entries as last year, there are some very clever, unusual, and sometimes just plain fun designs this year.

Full Disclosure: I am the "Kevin" in "Second Annual Tim and Kevin's Bot Contest"