LEGO MOCs Archives | Page 22 of 48

LOOK: European Southern Observatory’s Very Large Telescopes (VLT) Recreated in LEGO

In 1962, 16 European nations banded together to cooperate in making astronomical observations from below the equator through the European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere, known in short as the European Southern Observatory (ESO). At present they have at their disposal a series of powerful Very Large Telescope (VLT) optical arrays to watch the distant sky with. Perhaps the funny thing about the ESO VLT setup is that, due to being necessarily located in the Southern Hemisphere, it’s not in Europe at all but in northern Chile, South America. That poses many complications for casual scientific tourists who want to see it. As if understanding the potential frustration of visitors who want to see the VLT array, the ESO has decided to do the next best thing and had these Very Large Telescopes (VLT) recreated in LEGO. Surely, what better material to use for this project than good old LEGO bricks?

With the help of LEGO expert builder Frans Snik and his team and input from the ESO, these Very Large Telescopes (VLT) recreated in LEGO, ended up being a magnificent reproduction of the four VLT observatories in Chile’s Atacama Desert, each with their 27-feet diameter reflecting telescopes, and reduced them into accurate 1:150 scale versions. The whole setup used 3,104 pieces total, all utilized extremely well.

Those who would like to see the LEGO VLT array can find it on exhibit at the headquarters of the European Southern Observatory in Garching, Germany. Though viewing times is restricted, as access can only be had during the ESO’s open days schedule, or if a visitor is a guest of an ESO astronomer.

Once they’ve gotten a look at the brick-built VLT, LEGO enthusiasts can also request a copy of this MOC’s building instruction and parts list, though the ESO also offers a bit of a warning. Frans Snik spent €500 in LEGO pieces used for the project, so this LEGO building project can really be heavy on the wallet.

LEGO Product Idea Chemical Plant Gets 10K Thumbs Up – Qualifies for the Third 2018 Review Stage

After the success of the Dinosaur Fossils Skeletons as the first LEGO Ideas set to enter the Third 2018 Review Stage, it is soon followed by another STEM-inspired project in the form of the LEGO Product Idea Chemical Plant by LEGO fan builder Ymarilego. Here’s a cool LEGO Ideas fact about Ymarilego: he is a veteran in the LEGO Ideas platform, with a total of 30 project submissions under his belt in almost 2 years. If you recall, Ymarilego was also fortunate enough to have his Quest Builder project join the ranks of the qualifying product ideas under the First 2017 LEGO Ideas Review Stage.

Here’s a brief description of what to expect from the LEGO Product Idea Chemical Plant.

The plant is built on two basic grey 32×32 stud ground plates and is made with approximately of 1,900 pieces.

On the right base plate, there are several treatment sites and chimneys, storage vats and spheres and a laboratory to check the quality of the chemicals produced.

All this complex machinery has to be checked regularly and repaired when needed of so several minifigures are added as well to keep an eye on things. There is a scientist in the lab, an overseer and 4 crew members going about their work (two females, two males).

To ensure their safety there are a lot of railings to prevent them from falling down and warning stripes on the floor. Several kinds of extinguishing materials are at hand in different color tanks, in case of an accident.

On the left baseplate is a loading station for both rail and road vehicles. The connecting “ladders” can be moved up and down. The tankhose poles (no idea what they are called) can be rotated 360 degrees so either rail or road can be accommodated.

There is a small storage area for different kinds of drums and some pump equipment. The structures of both places do not overlap so one can decide if both are to be placed next to each other or apart or even rotated differently to create another layout.

The LEGO Ideas Third 2018 Review Stage now officially has 2 qualifying product ideas, with other projects in close lead such as the Food Stand Diners and Anatomini – you may want to check and support these cool original product ideas as well. LEGO Ideas has also announced the next LEGO Ideas sets based from its First 2018 Review Results: the Treehouse and Flintstones.

Metal Gear Solid Impressively Recreated in LEGO Worlds

Traveller’s Tales and Warner Bros. Interactive, the dynamic duo of the video game industry that has brought to the world a vast library of LEGO video games over the years, knew well of their consumer base’s interest in creating sprawling LEGO-built virtual worlds. They’ve catered to this desire by releasing LEGO Worlds in September 2017 allowing LEGO fans to recreate any world of their fancy in the virtual, brick-building sandbox game. From ancient Egypt to the unexplored vastness of space, we now have another LEGO Worlds fan recreating one of the most iconic video games of all time in the title of Metal Gear Solid by Konami.

One of LEGO Worlds’ most hyped features was a brick-by-brick editor tool that enabled players to custom-design their own game stages and environments if they’re willing to spend the time doing it. YouTuber Craig Kelly certainly did, judging from his digital MOC of the setting for classic Konami videogame on PlayStation.

In a 20-minute video upload, Craig Kelly walks audiences through his painstaking recreation of Shadow Moses Island as seen in Metal Gear Solid, with a minifigure character dressed up to look like video game protagonist Solid Snake. What’s impressive is Kelly’s claim that he made all the environments using LEGO Worlds brick editor all from memory.

It took him about 30 hours total work on the brick editor to make all the familiar locations from the incredible hit video game created by Konami years ago. Everything is there from the underground dock, the helipad, the bunkers and even the snowfield from the Metal Gear Solid 4 iteration.

LEGO Worlds is playable on Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Switch. If you haven’t tried LEGO Worlds yet, you may order your copy via Amazon.

Ryan McNaught Unveils His Custom LEGO Australian Parliament House MOC for Its 30th Anniversary

There’s always a great sense of wonder whenever we get to see a large, sprawling LEGO build of an expansive building complex. The scale may be large, like Miniland displays on LEGOLAND, or small but recognizable, like a recent MOC of the Apple Park campus. Then there are the builds just the right size for minifigures, like stadiums or this one.

Ryan “BrickMan” McNaught, LEGO Certified Professional from Australia, has unveiled his monumental Custom LEGO Australian Parliament House MOC just in time to celebrate the complex’s 30^th anniversary. This is in line with the founding of the country’s current parliament when it moved to Capital Hill in 1988.

Ryan spend 740 work hours to put together 152,690 LEGO bricks to create a remarkably accurate rendition of the Parliament House, built as it is into the Capital Hill, which was then styled into a landscape that looked like grassy steps.

Both houses of the Australian Parliament were ably replicated in the large build, including a minifigure audience, MPs and Senators present; the latter two being recognizable to any Australian observers.

Not only the house chambers but the Parliament offices were shown in the MOC, all done with painstaking details, right down to the toilet paper LEGO piece in the lavatories.

All these interior shots can be seen from the back of the massive display, which is not walled in so visitors can peek inside. BrickMan McNaught’s commemorative custom LEGO Australian Parliament House MOC can be seen on display at the real Australian Parliament House, Canberra as part of its 30^th anniversary celebrations.

Life-Sized LEGO Bugatti Chiron Showing in Paris Motor Show this October

In months past LEGO set out to prove their promise that one can “build for real” with LEGO pieces. They proved that concept beyond the shadow of a doubt by trumping their LEGO Technic Bugatti Chiron (42083) set by recreating an actual, life-sized car using only LEGO Technic components and lots of Power Function motors forming an engine. Ever since the reveal and test drive (slower than the real Chiron, but who cares?), the life-sized LEGO Bugatti Chiron built on 1:1 scale has been going around on a grand European tour. It already had two stopovers in Germany – Dusseldorf and Munich – and for its third stop, it’s going to Paris, France next.

And it’s not just any display; the life-sized LEGO Bugatti Chiron will dropping in on nothing less than the Paris Motor Show, where it will have a place of honor next to all those real cars that clock speeds more in line with the actual Chiron’s 248 mph. It’s bound to be the star anyway.

Probably helping is the fact that several automakers are not showing up in Paris: Ford, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Volkswagen and more. This is more because of a declining interest trend in automobile show participation and not a one-off phenomenon for this.

So LEGO will be sharing the exhibition with the likes of Audi, Ferrari, Honda, Hyundai, Mercedes, Porsche, Suzuki, Toyota and many others, up until October 14. That’s a great time for motor-heads and LEGO fans to see the Technic Bugatti up close, a testament to building for real by LEGO.

It’s Time For Minifigure Candies With These Sweet Custom Creations from Build Better Bricks

Who says that candies and tricks or treats are just for kids? Well, I guess our LEGO minifigs will disagree especially with this latest line of custom LEGO bricks and pieces from Build Better Bricks. Just in time for your latest Halloween trick-or-treat MOCs, this latest creation of minifigure candies from B3 will make any minifig’s mouth water.

These incredibly detailed, high-quality custom printed 1X2 tiles include a dash of LEGO humor with such names as Mr. Goodblock, 3MOCateers, and my favorite Pieces Last Brick. They’re so irresistibly good to look at, one might mistake them for the real thing. The printing on these minifigure candies is so accurate that they will make a fine display on any candy store MOC that you’re working on.

If you’re craving these little sweet temptations, then you might want to know that B3 is running a promo for its first series of Candy Pack which you can avail of for a discounted price of $16 – 20% off from its original price. You may want to check B3’s website for more info on each of these little temptations, and for several new releases that they have including the Nintendo-inspired Red Mushroom Pack. Be sure to follow B3’s Facebook page for more upcoming custom LEGO creations.

Keep building!

Are We Soon To Have a LEGO Overwatch Winston Bigfig?

LEGO seems to be pushing forward with more teasers for its upcoming LEGO Overwatch sets. If you recall, LEGO came up with a minisite dedicated to this latest LEGO tie-in sets earlier in August and after more than a month, the minisite has been updated with a splash image that hints on the arrival of one of the video game’s popular characters. The said minisite seems to suggest that we will be getting an official LEGO Overwatch Winston, hopefully in big fig form.

custom lego overwatch winston — Custom LEGO Winston Big Fig by legomasterinfinityProductions. Check out his YouTube channel for more info.

The splash image is giveaway on the particular Overwatch character that it is alluding to. It features several banana elements and what seems to be a jar of peanut butter which is Winston’s favorite chill time comfort food. Coupled with one of his quotable quotes, then this hint is a sure give-away.

It’s not difficult to imagine how LEGO will throw in a LEGO Overwatch Winston big fig, given that LEGO already came up with a set that features a gorilla big fig in LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes Gorilla Grodd Goes Bananas (76026). It is quite easy for LEGO to use Gorilla Grodd as a template and to accessorize him to be similar to the more level-headed Winston.

76026 alt4 — Gorilla Grodd big fig from LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes Gorilla Grodd Goes Bananas (76026).

If this is indeed confirmed later on, then having an official LEGO Overwatch Winston big fig in any of the 6 upcoming LEGO Overwatch sets will be much welcomed by LEGO and Overwatch fans. We previously reported that there are six expected Overwatch characters that may be included as part of the LEGO Overwatch theme, and with the inclusion of an officially revealed Tracer minifigure, then having Winston in big fig form will give us a total of eight LEGO Overwatch characters to expect: Widowmaker, Reinhardt, Genji, Soldier 76, Mercy, McCree, Tracer, and Winston.

Are you excited for these LEGO Overwatch sets? Let us know in the comments below.

Life-sized LEGO Speed Champions Porsche 911 Turbo Featured at WeatherTech Raceway

Ever since LEGO made the impossible possible by recreating the Bugatti Chiron into a life-sized brick construct with working Power Functions engine, the concept of a large LEGO car as an attraction for special events has become popular. That would explain why a life-sized LEGO Speed Champions Porsche 911 Turbo was found at the WeatherTech Raceway recently.

The racecourse, located at Laguna Seca in California, played host to a special event by Porsche on Friday, September 28, called “Champions in Racing”. That was where they unveiled the limited-production new-age Porsche 935. But another car that drew looks wasn’t even a real vehicle.

Part of Porsche’s display in partnership with LEGO is a nearly life-sized LEGO Speed Champions Porsche 911 Turbo, part of a dual-set with the 911 RSR (with set number 75888). Unlike the aforementioned Bugatti Chiron model, made of the same kind of LEGO Technic pieces as the official set (42083) but more, the 911 Turbo was not only immobile but not even made of actual LEGO bricks.

In addition to the Speed Champions upsized Porsche being made available for photo-ops, LEGO also included a LEGO build zone, where kids could construct to their hearts’ content while the grownups watched the race on the WeatherTech Raceway with the actual new-age Porsche 935 participating.

Just to make things clear, the 935 that raced at WeatherTech Laguna Seca was based more on the Porsche 911 GT2 RS. Only 77 units of this 935 were produced and all will be going to the carmaker’s VIP customers.

WATCH: LEGO Domino Course Made Out of 73,000 LEGO Bricks!

Once upon a time during my younger years, or more specifically during that time where I first encounter the joy of playing with LEGO bricks, I stumbled upon the idea of using my humble stash of 2×8 LEGO pieces as a sort of dominoes to topple around the house. It was a magical moment for a 7-year old (except for my older siblings who used to step on an unassuming LEGO piece) who just discovered the many ways of playing with a LEGO brick other connecting them to create builds. I guess this is also the idea behind this latest collaboration between expert domino builder and YouTuber Lily Hevesh of Hevesh5 and LEGO’s Rebrickulous team in coming up with this impressive LEGO Domino Course, but of course in an entirely grander and much more awesome scale: using 13,000 LEGO dominos in all! Well, that certainly dwarfs my bucket full of bricks. Watch the video below.

That was simply, “Wow!” It took Lily and her team a total of 300 plus hours and a total 73,000 LEGO bricks to create this mesmerizing LEGO Domino Course. In fact, this is not the first time that Lily created a domino course using LEGO bricks. However, this is the very first time that LEGO actually collaborated with her making this feat a one for the books.

The LEGO Domino Course is actually made up of several sub-sections using a variety of techniques and builds. Lily also shared some of the different tools and techniques that she used like using a brick-built template to properly align the columns and the use of safety gaps. For a behind-the-scenes look on how Lily did it, watch her video below.

Now, let me see if I can make one my own LEGO Domino Course without hurting some feet along the way.

Happy building!

Maryland Zoo Makes a Custom LEGO Wheelchair for Post-Surgery Wild Turtle

There have been lots of injured animal recovery stories that involved creating artificial wheeled supports for them so they can have a certain degree of mobility. Usually these are four-legged critters that lost a hind limb but could now walk and run, thanks to a custom LEGO wheelchair.

Staff at the Maryland Zoo have hit upon a LEGO solution to help in the therapy of a wild Eastern Box Turtle that was found in Druid Hill Park, Maryland, and taken to the zoo hospital. The said turtle had several breaks on his plastron – the bottom part of his shell – and following surgery he need a way to get around while keeping his healing plastron suspended. And a custom LEGO wheelchair specifically designed for the turtle is the best solution for that.

Maryland Zoo veterinary extern Garrett Fraess drew sketches of an animal wheelchair just the right size for the turtle, then sent them to a LEGO builder acquaintance for assembly. Weeks after the turtle’s operation, the brick-built wheelchair was fitted to him – plumber’s putty being used to secure the frame to his upper shell – and finally the box turtle has an upper harness elevating his recovering plastron, while keeping his legs free to move himself about.

Dr. Ellen Bronson, Marylan Zoo’s senior director of animal health, conservation, and research, explains the complexities of helping the wounded Eastern box turtle, a common species in the Maryland wilderness. “Turtles heal much slower than mammals and birds, since their metabolism is slower,” she said “So, this turtle will likely use his custom LEGO wheelchair through the winter and into the spring until all of the fragments have fused together and the shell has completely healed.”