BrickBuildr

What 3 LEGO Projects Do You Find Innovative? (Part 2 of 3)

2012-01-05T20:04:00.001-05:00

So to continue on, my 2nd choice for my "3 LEGO Project Do I find Innovative" is a website that's recently come to my attention called Pinterest.com. A few weeks ago, I overheard a few of my co-workers talking about a web-site where they've been collecting idea for a few craft projects for around the house -- one is a mother with small child, the other is an expectant mother. They talk at lunch about collecting inspiration material and sharing ideas piqued my interest. On the web-site, you bookmark images or web-pages that give you source of inspiration; you pin those images to a virtual pinboard to organize and share ideas. You have to be invited to the web-site (it's still in beta), it took me about a week to get an invite via the web-site, but send me an e-mail if you want me to send you a more immediate invite.

I've book marked a few MOCs that inspire me. I have a big castle project floating around in my head, so I've been collecting works that inspire me to keep building. :)

What 3 LEGO Projects Do You Find Innovative? (Part 1 of 3)

2011-12-14T15:19:00.001-05:00

I posted a question to a friend of mine: "What 3 LEGO projects do you find innovative?" And recorded his response. But failed to think on the question myself (work ended up getting in the way) and failed to come up with my own answers. I'm hoping to post his answers as a podcast soon, but in the mean time, I've had a little time to think on the question and will try to post my response here.

To be honest it's a tough question to answer, considering it'a a hobby based on being innovative and there are so many aspects of the LEGO fan community to choose from... Not to mention, we both have been in the LEGO fan community a long time, so being a little jaded, it was hard to come up with some answers. And it's meant to be a tough question to answer, because we both agreed we shouldn't give the 'because it's cool' answer.

So here's the first of my 3 choices:

The NXT Blimp Project

Our LUG has been working on LEGO boat racing for the past few years, with an annual boat race. There's been some fun races & interesting solutions to the proposed problem -- to build a boat from LEGO and using only LEGO power, design something that is fast and maneuverable on water. But in the back of my head, I been thinking about the next evolution in LEGO racing... We could do submarines, but that's too obvious. So I had this thought of, "Wouldn't it be fun to do a LEGO blimp race?"

See at Brickworld (where I first had this thought), there are these long hallway in between ballrooms; the perfect platform for this type of race. I'd like to see a LEGO blimp zip down the hallway. I was envisioning stationed hula-hoops to fly thru and fans that would blow air up, causing "wind hazards" to navigate around. The problem was (a) how much helium would you need to keep something floating about 5-10 feet off the ground, (b) how could you control it, (c) would it be small enough to fit through a hula-hoop, (d) how much of it would have to be non-LEGO.

Then I saw the above NXT Blimp Project, I realized we're one step closer to seeing a LEGO blimp race to be actualized. :) The design is simple. It's NXT controlled. Might be too big to fit through a hoop, but I'm good with that. And it looks like most of the components are LEGO.

Honestly, I'd like to see this project become affordable and maybe slimmed down for a hobbyist... Maybe as a LEGO Cuusoo project.

UPDATE: Oh, and post your 3 choices as well in the comments or send me an e-mail.

GFLUG's "Art from A Toy" Art show

2011-11-28T09:19:00.001-05:00

Here's a short video from GFLUG's "Art from A Toy" art show at Polk State College in Winter Haven. Not exactly our largest display, but it's drawing great attention for the college's art gallery.

Watch this at Tampa Bay Online

"Something not on top" heh.

Festival of the Masters 2011

2011-11-12T16:16:00.001-05:00

Fish in a Bowl,
originally uploaded by jmenomeno.

Festival of the Masters is happening this weekend at Downtown Disney in Orlando, FL. GFLUG has a LEGO display right outside the LEGO Imagination Center -- the side nearest to where McDonalds use to be.

This year our theme is "Water, water everywhere!" This year, my wife built "Fish in a Bowl" as seen in the picture & I built something related to Middle Earth. Because of the way Veterans' Day fell, Friday was abnormally crowded.

Pictures will be posted to Flickr soon. I'll do a follow up post in a few days with links to photo sets from this year's show.

Ford Legoredo built in Minecraft

2011-11-08T22:46:00.000-05:00

[Build] Fort Legoredo (6762) built using LEGO instructions, 1 block is 1x1 brick

By KenneyWings

So this is the 2nd LEGO model I've seen built in Minecraft... It's pretty neat. Looses something in translation, but nevertheless, it looks cool.

The Wizard of Oz Children’s Educational Exhibition

2011-10-21T10:39:00.001-04:00

The Wizard of Oz Children’s Educational Exhibition,
originally uploaded by mhuffman.

I was asked by the Henry Ford Museum if I wanted to display my Wizard of Oz MOC at the The Wizard of Oz Children’s Educational Exhibition going on now, til Jan 9th, 2012-- I was more than happy to loan it to them... assuming it was still intact and I hadn't already used the parts in another creation.

I'd like to thank Steve R. from MichLUG for putting it together for me, since I couldn't be there to do it myself.

How Full is Your PaB?

2011-09-30T15:02:00.002-04:00

One of the suggestions that have come up for iPaB has been some type of indicator of how full a wall container is... I think way back when I started this project, I had a similar idea -- not only would I like to know what parts are on the PaB wall, but how plentiful are they. So I looked for a 'progress bar' example in CSS, found it simple enough to implement on a web page; added a field to the database, updated the form, did a little testing and voilà! By indicating 'near full', you see the a bar like (6,1); 'near empty' will be like (5,1); 'quarter full' will be like '(6,2); 'half full' the bar will be like (6,3); and 'three quarters full' will be like (6,4). I might work on touch up the graphic a little, but let me know what you think. Hopefully you'll find is useful.

In the mean time, I've added two new stores, Brighton, UK and Milton Keynes, UK.

Updates

2011-09-13T12:09:00.001-04:00

So friends aren't too keen on the tsunami idea... I was thinking something tasteful and respectful, but the idea was still shot down. *sigh* So back to the drawing board few a new water related idea...

Got an e-mail about adding the Liverpool, UK LEGO store the other day -- it's been added. In the process off adding it, I noticed that there's to be a 2nd Toronto and Miami store, along with two new stores in California soon -- this is exciting.

Some new parts have been showing up on the wall as well -- I've been updating the database. If I've missed anything, please let me know.

My LEGO Creations

2011-09-05T01:15:00.000-04:00

Festival of the Masters is coming up soon. I've been spending some time thinking about what I'm going t build this year... Our theme is "Water, Water Everywhere." A little silly, but with the tsunami that hit Japan earlier this year, it's a little apropos... Maybe I should do a flooded Japanese fishing village...

So to get inspired, I've been creating some galleries and a new MOC collection on Flickr of my LEGO creations. I've also updated my MOCPages account to reflect my new LEGO creations as well.

Looking for Feedback

2011-08-29T22:26:00.000-04:00

As many of you already know, Legoland Florida will open its doors on Oct. 15th, 2011. Most of GFLUG has talked about going opening day & most of us have annual passes so we'll be there for the preview days as well. I expect it to be crazy, so I'm mentally preparing myself now for it. :)

I'm curious to know how many people are planning to be there for the grand opening and how many of you are planning to hold off a few weeks before coming down?

In the back of our LUG's mind, we've been thinking that we'd like to host an informal get-together -- maybe see if the park will give fans a back-stage tour of the park.. maybe have a build/Q&A session with a Model Builder from the park, focusing on what it took to open the park... maybe asking the park for a small space to display fan LEGO creations... maybe organize a few after-hours activities for fans... something casual, not crowded, or fast paced... something that could happen a few weekends after the grand opening or after the major holidays, after some of the craziness has died down... So we're looking at a few possible dates. Oct. 29 & 30 -- Brick Or Treat Weekend -- or something after the first of the year.

I'm not looking for commitments, just throwing the idea out and seeing what the fan community would like to see/do at such an event, if our LUG was to help plan one. I love to hear what everyone thinks.

Thanks,
--Mike.

xposted: http://news.lugnet.com/general/?n=55710

Brickfete - LEGO Fest - Toronto - July 30th

2011-07-18T15:12:00.003-04:00

Brickfete - LEGO Fest - Toronto - July 30th,
originally uploaded by Janey Red Brick.

If you're in the area, there will be a LEGO convention in Toronto, Canada -- Brickfete -- July 28th to 31st, with public day on the 30th.

Check out the Brickfete group on Facebook.

Brickworld 2011 in Chicago

2011-06-03T10:44:00.001-04:00

This coming father's day weekend in Chicago, Brickworld will happen. If you've never witness a LEGO convention, this is one of the larger ones in the US. Details of the schedule is starting to show up on-line & it's shaping up to be a fun filled event this year.

On a personal note, we've gone to Brickworld 3 times out of the past 4 years & won't be going this year. :( Between changing jobs, other vacation plans, and Legoland FL opening up just around the corner, we decided to stay home this year.

Orlando Attractions Magazine - Episode 21

2011-04-27T11:14:00.000-04:00

brickbuilder711 has shared a video with me:

From about 9:44 to about 17:15 is the segment on the newly remodeled LEGO Imagination Center in Orlando, FL. Some of my pictures don't do the new store justice, but this interview with Justin Tripp, VP of LEGO Retail Stores, does a great job summing up the changes to the newly reopened Orlando store.

Orlando's LEGO Imagination Center

2011-04-12T13:53:00.002-04:00

IMG_2296,
originally uploaded by thumat2002.

Todd Thuma uploaded some pictures of the remodel to the Orlando LEGO Imagination Center to his Flickr account -- taken last weekend. As you can see, progress is coming along.

Star Wars at LEGOLAND, CA

2011-03-31T19:48:00.003-04:00

DSC_0127,
originally uploaded by BestOfTodd.

The new Star Wars miniland opened today at LEGOLAND, CA... There are some pictures up on Flickr... and some here.

MegaCon 2011

2011-03-28T13:27:00.004-04:00

Well, MegaCon 2011 is now over.

Here's links to videos I took of our display, starting at one end and working my way around.

Jurassic Park
Transformers/Star Wars
Star Wars
Hoth
Hoth
Star Wars/Lost
Lost
Castle Village
Castle
Castle/Train/Space
Moonbase Dome
Space

GFLUG at MegaCon in Orlando, FL

2011-03-21T15:57:00.000-04:00

Time to plug our local LUG. :)

The Greater Florida LEGO User Group located in central Florida will have a LEGO display at MegaCon, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL this coming weekend (March 25th-27th). This year, should be a nice mixture of moon-base, space ships, Star Wars dioramas, castle, sculptures, mosaics, and miscellaneous MOCs. If you happen to go to the show, stop by and check out out... and say hello!

BrickBuildr Updates

2011-03-15T13:36:00.001-04:00

I got a message early this morning saying there's will be a new LEGO store in the Miami area, based upon some information from a recent LEGO store flyer -- looks like there will be new stores in Indianapolis, IN & Beachwood, OH as well. Looks like opening weekend for both stores will be April 8-10th; no word on LEGO's web-site about the Sawgrass Mills store opening, at present. There's also been rumors of a LEGO store opening in Toronto, Canada later this year, so I added a store placeholder to the database.

Decided it was also time to add PaB walls for Legoland Discovery Centers & LEGOLAND Parks world-wide. And figure it was time to do some cleanup work on the View iPaB Walls page -- you'll now see the list ordered by country name, added headers over each country section, and started displaying stores that were in the database, but were hidden because there was no PaB information. I'm hoping by displaying the store names, more people will come forward and provide BrickBuildr with more information.

Brickfête - July 28th-31st, 2011

2011-03-10T11:09:00.002-05:00

missing pc,
originally uploaded by d-higdon.

So if you happen to be in Toronto towards the end of July this year, check out Brickfête at the Assembly Hall Cultural Center -- it is a LEGO Fan event, with one public days on Saturday, July 30th.

Brickfête

July 28th-31st, 2011

The Assembly Hall Cultural Center

Toronto, Ontario, Canada

With LEGO looking for a Store Manager LEGO Brand Retail Toronto, it's safe to assume they'll be opening a store in Toronto this spring.

Wax/Wane of Video Game Development?

2011-02-24T15:57:00.003-05:00

In LEGO Universe news comes this post:

LEGO Universe developer NetDevil, based in Colorado, have laid-off "a lot of talented folks" reveals a now former employee. The studio has cut "over 20 people."

Only a "very, VERY small team" is retained for LEGO Universe. Numerous former staff have posted NetDevil tombstones on their Facebook profiles.

Full story here: http://www.strategyinformer.com/news/11156/netdevil-left-with-very-small-team

I'm thinking this is just the wax/wane phase of video game development. Others are thinking this could mean to the end of LEGO Universe. Historically speaking in the video game industry, developers are only held onto for a short time after the game is out the door. In larger companies, talented developers would be moved onto the next project. It's unfortunate in this case.

What this could mean for LEGO Universe is a slowdown in new content development. With the recent changes in LEGO Universe, I've been thinking about renewing my subscription.

UPDATE:
So a follow up article: http://gaming.icrontic.com/news/lego-universe-development-sold-to-the-lego-group/

Sounds like the LEGO Group bought development rights to LU and is cutting the fluff. This could be a good thing where products are introduced into LU at the same time they hit the shelves...

Book on the 25th Anniversary of the LEGO Company

2011-02-03T20:35:00.000-05:00

Gary Istok posted over on Bricklink:

Clark Bakker, a New York LEGO enthusiast recently notified me of a very very rare LEGO book that he had gotten a copy of.

It was the 1957 25 YEARS OF THE LEGO COMPANY book, in Danish... and supposedly made just for the LEGO employees (which numbered about 140 by the end of 1957). So even with extra copies for LEGO suppliers, the total population of this book
is very low, and may be the rarest of all LEGO paper items.

Check it out here on FLICKR. Clark Bakker got some Danish folks to translate the Danish printing, and I added comments to about 1/2 of images of the 40 page book that is spiral bound...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/57225047@N05/sets/72157625632807718/

My favorite pages are 32-33... which show the LEGO products that were soon discontinued (page 32, by 1960), as well as the newer LEGO System of Play products that had recently been introduced (page 33, in 1955) and would be the future direction of the company.

This book is really a treasure trove of old historic facts about the company...

Yes, this is a great historical find, indeed!

A LEGO Book on Love

2011-01-17T17:52:00.001-05:00

So this past weekend, my wife and I went to the LEGO store and saw they had new Valentine's Day sets in stock, #40016 and #40015. I was more excited about the "Love You" set, since it contain a lot of new black macaroni bricks; wasn't so impress with the heart book... or is it a book? From the packaging, it's a little misleading, that you're putting a "picture" of a minifig into the heart book -- my wife kept asking me, "is there suppose to be a minifig in this set?" In the back of my mind, I knew there wasn't going to be one, especially for a $4.99 set with 51 parts.

Anyway, I ended up putting the set together... it's cute, but unlike in western movies, where there's a gun secretly stashed in a Bible, the compartment in this book of love is not deep enough to hold a minifig... Then I rechecked the packaging and saw that it was a "picture" of a minifig that you give to your sweetheart. Oh, and the picture isn't included with the set. *sigh* So is it really a book, or just a fancy photo frame...

How do I print pictures from my iPhone again?

The Ohio State University "horseshoe" Stadium

2011-01-04T22:59:00.000-05:00

Watching the Sugar Bowl with my wife tonight. During half time, decided to catch up on LEGO news and discovered that Paul Janssen finally finished his Ohio State University horseshoe stadium. He had been talking about building since I was apart of COLTC -- we moved to Florida in 2006. This is an amazing build! Good work, Paul. Go Bucks!

LEGO Imagination Center Reopens at the Mall of America

2010-12-07T23:09:00.003-05:00

Herobot 9000 (1),
originally uploaded by nstohlma.

I've been following the TwinLUG's Flickr stream for some time now, watching the behind the walls remodel of the LEGO Imagination Center at the Mall of America. At first, it looked like a few walls, a bunch of open space, and a few cube-like frames. From some of the pictures, I didn't know how it was all going to go together. But now it's a very sleek, simple, modern store, with a large red play area, giant LEGO models standing on top of the cube-like frames, and a (much needed) larger PaB wall.

I manage to catch a video of the models being unveiled... just amazing how big the models are. Each model represents different historical ages... Watching the video, the robot was assembled (at one point) in the Czech Republic and ended up delaying trains to Prague because people were amazed at it.

Pharaoh's Quest Battlepack

2010-11-24T11:21:00.002-05:00

Pharaoh's Quest Battlepack,
originally uploaded by xwingyoda.

Yes! I got my first Pharaoh Quest set last weekend, I must say that I'm really impressed with the new mummies... Thinking I might want a small army of them at some point -- then this showed up on Flickr! Could be expensive (I suspect it'll be the typical $14.99; it could be cheaper, but not holding breath), but never-the-less it's cool.