I was planning on doing something clever to ring in the new year, but Philip Stark already did it. 
This is a bright, cheery, and LEGO-y way to celebrate the new year. What I think is particularly clever is the fact that it is all LEGO food.
I am looking forward to a brighter and wonderful future. Happy New Year! 
As you’ve probably guessed from several of my previous posts I really like to build LEGO mosaics which is why Chris Doyle’s Stained Glass Octopus caught my eye.
It is simply elegant. The flowing lines, the sense of movement frozen in time, and the color choices are perfect. I really like it when people think out side the proverbial box. Great job Chris!
Now that I’ve finally started to shake off the lethargy of too much good Christmas food and treats I can finally get back to writing about new and exciting sets.
One of the things I think is most exciting is that we are finally going to get a Wampa!
On Sky News you can watch the video where this image was taken from.
A list of rumored sets are as follows:
Set list January 2010:
8083 – Rebel Trooper Battle Pack
8084 – Snowtrooper Battle Pack
8085 – Freeco Speeder
8086 – Droid Tri-Fighter
8087 – Tie Defender
8088 – ARC-170 Starfighter
8092 – Star Wars Luke’s LandspeederSet list August 2010:
8089 – Wampa Attack
8093 – Plo Koon’s Jedi Starfighter
8095 – General Grievous’ Starfighter
8096 – Palpatine’s Shuttle
8097 – Slave I
8098 – Clone Turbo TankOther rumored sets:
8129 AT-AT Walker August 2010
XXXX Midi-Scaled Star Destroyer
You can see more early images and join the forum discussion at Eurobricks.com
This is the main gift I gave my wife this Christmas, and it’s the reason I haven’t been building much lately.
I started designing this thing back in September. It’s got three free-standing statues and instruction books for each one.
The “I” statute has 5 mini-vignettes (4×4) that are scenes from our time together – starting at our first “real” date, through the wedding, and concluding with the purchase of our first house.
The “heart” statue is just a big heart with me in the middle. It includes a balcony with flowers and a cat watching a bird.
The “U” has her name on it, with her minifig in the middle. The front has banners representing her magnificance; and the top of the “U” is crowned with the two main characters from her favorite book / musical (Wicked) – Elphaba and Glinda.
Marta loved it, and she spent all Christmas eve putting it together, and even woke up real early on Christmas morning to finish it up.
I built the model in MLCAD, ordered all the parts (7 orders from different vendors) on Bricklink, did a test assembly to check instructions, modified the instructions based on how it worked in-the-brick, then printed out the instructions on a nice printer in a book format.
Nathan aka “The Gandpappy” created this sweet custom model with instructions for his wife for Christmas.
Eurobricks is holding a Star Wars Christmasifiication challenge till the end of the month. We’ve all seen Christmasified Star Wars MOCs (my own creations) over the years. Larry Lars Nativity, Tim Goddard’s Xmas Speeder, and Louise Dade’s Season’s Greetings from Hoth are just a few examples.
Starwarsboy5 (aka Mos Eisley on Eurobricks) has come up with a rather ingenious Christmas Star Wars model that I’ve only seen something similar once before.
Before their secret location was discovered by the Empire, the Rebels always enjoyed Christmas on Hoth. Not only did they always have a white Christmas, but Luke and Leia could often be found singing carols near the giant Christmas Tree in the Echo Base Galleria…
The details on this are simply stunning! The micro ship ornaments are one of my favorite touches and the caroling Luke and Leia are a fun bonus.
You can see the full set of pictures on Brickshelf.com and you can also post comments on the Eurobricks forum.
Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you enjoyed reading this year’s Pirate Advent Calendar review as much as I enjoyed doing it.
I had a lot of fun writing the daily story and playing with Photoshop to find just the right background for all the models as they came out each day. I’m already looking forward to next year’s.
Have a Happy Holidays, whatever your beliefs may be. 
I can just hear the terrifying two note melody as I see this. Alex Schranz made this impressive model based off of McFarlane Toys’ version.
It took me a moment to figure out what the large white teeth were at first, but then I realized it was multiples of Patrick’s head. Apparently the shark had a light snack of starfish before going after the main course.
At the very back of the cave, glowing in a beam of sunlight lies an overflowing treasure chest. Diamonds, sapphires, and rubies the size of a man’s fist along with piles of gold are spilling onto the ground. This is what Captain Brickbeard was seeking. His very own hidden treasure. The only problem is the raft they brought with them will never carry this many jewels and gold.
Deciding that the treasure is fairly safe where it is, Brickbeard and Janey Blackheart decide to bury most of it so that even if others come to this island all they will find is the ancient temple and nothing else. The gems and gold they kept out is more than the average king’s ransom.
The three make their way to the beach and take the raft back out to sea. Reaching the ship in the dark of night. Captain Brickbeard and Janey Blackheart climb up the hidden ladder into the Captian’s cabin window while Simon rows the raft to the side of the ship calling for aide.
Brickbeard emerges from the cabin. Seeing the castaway, he orders his men to bring the man aboard. “Introducing” himself Simon explains that he was abandoned on an island many years ago and only now has escaped. Much to the surprise of his men, Brickbeard invites Simon aboard and offers to return him to his home.
The Brick Pearl sails away, leaving the island and its secrets far behind.
Just as the new LEGO Toy Story 2010 sets have started to show up in stores, Eurobricks has posted pictures of the new LEGO Prince of Persia sets.
Although we got a very early preview look at the LEGO Prince of Persia minifigures at the San Diego Comic Con in July now we finally get a chance to see what the sets look like.
I’m very excited about these sets. They seem to be a more grown-up version of the Adventurers Orient Expedition sets from a few years ago. And of course, the new ostrich and camel are a bonus.
The movie isn’t set to come out until late May, so it is likely that we won’t be seeing these sets in real life until then.
Update: Images have been removed at the request of the LEGO company.
After stepping carefully around the skeleton, they go further into the cavern temple. At the end of the next corridor they find a shrine with a skull as its main feature. Curiously, the sconces are lighted. Are the descendants of the ancient ones still maintaining the shrine? Simon says he has seen no one on the island except himself in all the years he has been here. It is yet another mystery they may never find the answers to.
