Ah the memories . . .:D

Just looking at this brings me back to my childhood. I can here the pitchy music, feel the controller in my hand, and all those games we thought were so awesome.

Alex Eylar aka Profound Whatever created this:

It began as a graffiti-style project illustrating my first name (there is still a vague A-L-E-X pattern to it), and turned into a smorgasbord of 80s references.

I think my favorite part is how the digital figures seem to be breaking through a wall. Perhaps there’s some deep message . . . or maybe its just cool looking.

I mentioned earlier that I have started selling LEGO jewelery on Etsy.com

Well now I am starting (or is it going back too?) making Miniland figures that will also be available. Miniland scale is one of my favorite styles of building. I did it for 4 years at LEGOLAND California and even had the nickname of Miniland Mom (and no, I didn’t give it to myself ). So creating new Miniland figures is “going back to my roots” as it were.

My first Esty Miniland creation is the traditional Bride and Groom wedding cake topper. Although this is the model that is shown, I will actually make the Miniland Bride and Groom look as close to the real people as possible by changing the hair color, style, dress, and skin tone.

That’s the great thing about Miniland verses Minifig scale. You can literally make everything custom without altering any bricks.

The Southern California LEGO Train Club (SCLTC) is currently displaying their 8th annual model layout at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum in Balboa Park.

My favorite part of the layout is the Carnival

Okay, I know that I’m late on posting this too. Its been on display at the San Diego Model Railroad Museum since November 24th and will be on display till Jan 15th. Tickets to the museum are Adults – $7.00, Seniors (65+) – $6.00, Students (with ID) – $3.00, Active Military (with ID) – $2.50, and Children under 15 – FREE when accompanied by an adult

I meant to post this way sooner, but than forgot.

Somehow I forgot to post this last month and even though it’s a tad late I couldn’t pass up on Lino Martins’ Christmas Galaxie

You may remember a bike featuring Santa Claus and Natasha, his sexy Russian mail order bride, from last Christmas. Well this year they’ve acquired a new custom ride; a 1966 Ford Galaxie 500 convertible. Close the hood and red lights will illuminate the engine compartment and can be seen through the unique hood window. A spacious trunk and back seat can be loaded with holiday gifts (or mischievous elves) and gold grille and rims, plus a dark red and dark green color configuration makes this Galaxie Christmasy, yet more sophisticated than your usual bright holiday colors. A classic white interior ties the whole Christmas theme together. The top can be used when transporting holiday cheer in the dead of winter…or it can come off when bringing toys to all the good boys and girls living in warmer climates. Either way, this is one classy cool custom ride! This was built for the Galaxie of Possibilities challenge over at LUGNuts.

Both the car and the Galaxie of Possibilities challenge were really clever. The car for its simply elegant color scheme and pure awesomeness, the challenge because LUGNuters were restricted to only one type of car — a ’66 Ford Galaxie.

My favorite other entry was Peter Blackert’s Ford Galaxie 1966 Convertible (Modified)

I love the use of the Bionicle blue flame element.

And, if you are interested in it, the 27th Build Challenge…Blockbuster Mission! is currently going on at LUGNuts on Flickr right now. Trust me, its worth a read even if you don’t build cars.

Well, actually Erik Eti Smit has made a game for his kids.

Although I still have yet to see the new LEGO Board Games here in the States, over in Europe they’ve now been out for months. Apparently the actual games are “a little too tricky for three year-olds,” so Erik created his own that was much easier for the little ones to understand. This second attempt is a little more elaborate, but with the same concept — get your guy to the goal.

I love how the game starts with the figures all tucked up in bed at the hotel

Then they have a picnic

They have to travel through the woods

Traverse the bathtub that is filled with actual water

Then travel on the boat to the island and try to be the first to reach the mountain summit

The way you get through all these obstacles is by rolling the dice and whatever color you land on you move to the next space of that color.

Frankly, I think this looks like a much more fun game than the official ones, but of course I haven’t played any — at least not yet — so I can’t make a fair assessment until I do. But that will have to wait until I get a few of the LEGO Board Games for myself.

Great job Erik for coming up with such a clever game!

I just found out from Joe Meno about a brand new LEGO convention that will be held on Mother’s Day weekend (May 6-9, 2010) in Raleigh, North Carolina. Presented by TwoMorrows Inc. and BrickJournal Magazine there isn’t too much info on this new LEGO Festival yet, but I’ll be keeping tabs on it.

Registration costs $50, and entitles you to display space at the convention, which will be allocated by the event organizers based on the size, complexity, and audience appeal of your MOC(s) and the requirements of our floor plan. Other Exhibitor benefits include:

* Access to Exhibitor-only presentations and workshops
* Eligibility for door prizes donated by LEGO and other sponsors
* A goodie bag filled with special LEGO-related surprises
* Admission to a private sale event at the local LEGO retail store

Pre-registered Exhibitors take part in a private convention on Thursday and Friday. In addition to providing time for Exhibitors to assemble their creations for the Public to see on Saturday and Sunday, there are classes, presentations and roundtable discussions by AFOLs (Adult Fans of LEGO) and plenty of opportunities to basically have a great time celebrating the hobby we all love with other like-minded builders. There will be LEGO representatives on hand as well, so you can tell them what the company is doing well (and not so well), and help them guide the direction of LEGO’s output. A complete Convention schedule will be posted here prior to the event.

Exhibitor registration deadline for BrickMagic 2010 is April 15, and your registration fee must be paid in full by that date or space will be forfeited. There will be no refunds for any cancellations after that date.

Still no word on what presentations or vendors will be there, but it is still early. On the home page it does have the scheduled highlights:

* Meet professional LEGO builder NATHAN SAWAYA, and help him assemble an incredible LEGO structure!
* See a huge hall filled with custom Lego creations by top AFOLs (“Adult Fans of Lego”) from around the country!
* Participate in workshops on building techniques and making custom minifigures!
* View animated Lego films running continuously both days!
* Watch a robotics competition by First® Lego® League teams from area schools!
* Build a special Lego Mother’s Day rose for your mom!
* Cheer for the Great Lego Boat Race, and see presentations on Mindstorms, creating LEGO Mosaics, and more!

So if you are looking for something LEGO oriented to do in May, take a trip to Raleigh, North Carolina and join in on the fun of BrickMagic.

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 Landspeeder

Set 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 Tank

Other 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