Here’s the second installment on my current WIP. As you can see by the title its an escalator. I actually based it somewhat off the one in the Grand Emporium. It seemed silly to try and come up with a different design when this one was so well designed by Senior LEGO Set Designer Jamie Berard.
Mine is just a little bit longer, well actually a lot longer. It measures over 2 feet long. 
A few days ago I was asked two questions in an email –
1. Do I make bi-racial couples
2. Can I do theme cake toppers.
Naturally my response was yes to both. 
I love the requests I get from people because sometimes I end up making things I wouldn’t make otherwise. So, I created this:
Now I have to admit, I did not make the Stormtrooper helmet. My brother actually designed that and then challenged me to make a full Miniland scale Stormtrooper. He also designed a very cool Darth Vader helmet, but that I’ll leave for another post. 
I also drilled into the 1×1 green plates to make the flowers. But as I mentioned in a previous post, sometimes its necessary. The main reason this time was not so the Princess Leia would have a funky bouquet of flowers, but because the bride specifically asked for lime green and purple. And, as LEGO only makes official flowers in a handful of colors, drilling 1×1 round plates was a good solution. Especially as I have a huge bag of them that I got from Pick A Brick.
With the new Star Wars Miniland area at LEGOLAND now open, I’m thinking about creating a whole bunch of the iconic characters. Oh, and here’s a fun fact — when we had Miniland Florida at LEGOLAND California we actually had Han Solo and Princess Leia hidden in the cluster by the Rocket Garden. We also had Agent J and K of the Men in Black with very shiny weapons looking for alien threats.
The trophy figurines are certainly one of my favorite new elements and this micro boat is one of the reasons why.
Its a simple build, but elegant in its simplicity.
I went to LEGOLAND Calfornia yesterday to pick up bricks for my WIP that I mentioned in the last post. When I was up at the Club House one of the retail associates was stocking the shelves with new product and knowing my love of all things LEGO she showed me the fresh out of the box LEGO Brick Calendar.
This is one of those rare sets that isn’t leaked onto the internet 6 months before its released. In fact, if you type in brick calendar you get the off brand that came out last year.
And your eyes are not deceiving you, I didn’t just put the Collectible Minifigure Series 1 cheerleader there to taunt you. Both the cheerleader and the skateboarder are part of the set!
What really sold me on this set was all the lovely printed bricks! Think of all the applications for the numbered 1-31 bricks.
The set cost $16.99 and I don’t know where this will be available other than LEGOLAND. My guess is that all the LEGO stores will have it, at least here in the US. But as this is the first time I’ve seen it, who knows. I know I’m already thinking about purchasing multiples of this set, just because it can be so much more than a calendar.
I’ve done a full review on Eurobricks.com if your interested in reading even more about this very cool set.
It may be just lines drawn on paper, but isn’t that how many great things are created? This is my current work in progress (WIP).
Well the bottom floor plan to be more accurate. And before you ask — Yes, its quite large and rather complex. The building is going to be 3 standard baseplates square (or 2 1/2 feet by 2 1/2 feet) and 2 1/2 feet tall. I can’t tell you what it is right now, but I’ll be giving hints of the building as I work on it.
As you can see from the picture there are angles involved, lots of them. I’m having to use all of my Master Model Building skills to get this one to come together. Its a fun challenge though and I’m enjoying it.
Lino Martins is known as “THE car guy” for two very good reasons:
1. He’s the founder of LUGNuts on Flickr
2. He builds models like this:
This chopped and lowered custom ’61 Dodge Polara is called Aztec Gold and features a fiery hot lowrider paint job, ruby jeweled grille, classic white interior and shimmering pearl gold accents throughout. The strange engine under the hood is a Long Ram and the spare tire cover on the trunk lid blazes in yellow and gold like the Aztec sun.
This was built for the Plus Or Minus Ten challenge over at LUGNuts where we had to build any vehicle from the year we were born…plus or minus ten years. In this case I went minus ten with this flashy ’61.
Now even Lino will tell you that I’m not into cars, but when something this snazzy and this plaid comes along, I just have to stop and take note of it. The coolness meter just blew up after seeing this one!
The name says it all with this one. Just like the actual bear stuffed with fluff, Joshua Christenson’s LEGO version is simply adorable!
Joshua was able to to capture Pooh’s expression perfectly and the tiny honey bees buzzing over the honey pot just make me smile.
I know we were all disappointed when we saw that the “chrome” parts on the box weren’t actually chrome. It certainly put me off from buying that set. 
The lean towards the pearl gold elements always bothered me, its like the quality of their golden parts has gone down. The plastic may still be high-quality, but that lack of the electro-plated golden chrome sheen just doesn’t get me excited to own any of the pieces.
So, when I saw the box art for the new Pirates of the Caribbean sets I thought “Finally! They brought back the chrome!”
Then I saw the sets actually built and I was truly sad. The box shows chrome and you get pearl gold? Very, very disappointing!
But as posted by both FBTB.net and a fellow LUG member, we can do something about this.
If you call and complain to LEGO they will replace your parts with actual chrome elements! I know what you’re probably thinking — “Yeah right, I’ll believe it when I see it”
Well, here you go –
I don’t know how I missed this model by Tyler Clites. Being a big Dr. Seuss I certainly would have blogged it sooner if I had. I certainly wish I had one of these to help me in my LEGO room.
A.B.S. Snorter and his Lego brick sorter,
Will suck up your bricks and do other neat tricks.
He’ll place them in bins with nothing but grins,
And sort them by color for only a dollar.
But be careful my friend with the money you spend,
For if it is A.B.S. Snorter you decide to employ,
He may run away with your most precious toy.
This model totally captures the feel of a Dr. Seuss device and yet is still all LEGO. I can almost see the arms moving and the vacuum sucking up the unsorted parts.
Normally there’s a little bit more than a two week warning on these things, especially for those of us helping to run the event, but this Memorial Day weekend there is a Building Event going on at the Downtown Disney LEGO Store in Anaheim, CA.
LEGO Store Master Builder Event!
May 27 – 29Help a real LEGO Master Builder construct an 8-foot tall LEGO R2-D2!
Friday, May 27: 11am – 7pm
Saturday, May 28: 10am – 6pm
Sunday, May 29: 10am – 6pmYou’ll get a free LEGO Star Wars Certificate of Achievement for helping, while supplies last! Plus, visit the LEGO Store during the event to enter for a chance to win a $50 LEGO Store Gift Card! No purchase necessary to enter.
If you live in the area, you should definitely come and check it out. I’m planning on going, at least for one of the days. I’ve never done one at Downtown Disney, but LEGO Building Events are always fun.
