Congrats Nathan... nice to see some Lego Sculpture being recognised by the general public in a more "artistic way".
The part that is cracking me up, is this piece... "Grey"
It's actually one of my favs, and I think it is executed very well. Nathan is quoted saying "This sculpture depicts an individual breaking out of a gray box, much like one may break out of a depression or a challenging situation."
While the "hard-core" Lego fans may find this piece controversial because of the use of so much "grey" (a colour that has caused a bit of angst with in the community) some parts of the general "hard-core" non-Lego fans, are finding just a tad bit more controversy which just makes me giggle.
It doesn't take a degree in "naughty" to figure out what some ppl maybe be thinking, and the web is a wonderful place of depravity. So its no surprise that there has been a subculture of ppl that feel Nathan might have been going for something just a tad bit more sexual. I will let you find those references all on your own.
I am in the process of rebuilding my Lego Fair from over two years ago. Thankfully my brick building knowledge, selection of parts and technical skills have improved a fair (no pun intended) bit since then. The whole goal of this project is to have fairly reliable display of typical working rides, in a very small (relative) footprint at a realistic fig scale (or as close as possible) that wouldnt overwhelm a train display in its size.
So far, work has been slow, but many of the rides are being over hauled, the Carousel has been rebuilt and was displayed last weekend (although is still being tweaked).
Here is a short clip of it at our last layout. As you maybe can see, the new version has 12 horses riding up and down and 4 stationary rides, for the little figs to young or old to manage a big scary horse.
Here is the historical overview of the original...
The "Lego 5 cent Fair" originally was built in a few weeks rush, for the childrens area for a Railfair layout in Ottawa with my Parluggers.
Here is my Brickshelf folder that has some stills of it. Here is the Lugnet post that describes the fun I had with that layout.
Yesterday I mentioned to a friend, "Hey I should do that Honda - I PINCH - commercial in Lego." His reply, "Yes you should, it would be funny"... So last night, instead of working... I wanted to have a bit of fun, so I decided to go ahead and make the Element commercial out of Lego.
Mr. Crab and (not so loopy) palm tree would be too easy, quick search of the parts, and 2 out of the 3 needed props were done. The Element itself would need to be built. I do not enjoy building cars.... especially in minifig"ish" scale... so I decided not to worry about it in the least. Grabbed some orange, and black... 4 wheels... two car roof pieces... some trans black for the windscreen and the windows, and decided to call it "done". I guess it turned out looking somewhat like an Element, at least enough to pull off the commercial.
Now, I could have spent all night carefully taking pics and putting it seemlessly together into a smooth production.... but that is really not the point. So I banged off 20-30 pics, threw out a few of them, and using Windows Movie Maker... I finished the "joke". The soundtrack is "tinny" because I couldnt find a version of the sound track that WMM would take, so I played it, and just slammed my speakers up to the mic to make a second rate recording.
Again... the whole point being... this was supposed to be a fun, fast, easy build for a laugh, and not a real serious moc, or production.
Anyhow, here it is... enjoy it ... errr or not... Oh yeah... "I pinch!!"
Train Layout... My row houses "run" from the above pic, has been "retired" to my own layout (Bricton) and I have started a new layout, and of course, after that has been displayed a few times, it also will be "retired" to my own layout.
(Note - this will be displayed sometime in Nov.)
- The Drive In Theatre - This idea, was totally pinched from Paul Jansen - aka Brickbuy. Built to hide my laptop to play BrickFilms and AFOL clips. (status - close to completion, still needs the sound system boxes, some tiles on the road way in, and the rest of the surrounding tile fence so it is completely enclosed.)
- The Silver Brick Diner - small fifties looking diner with tons of chrome. (close to completion)
- Version Two of the Carousel - This time, not only does it revolve, (complete) but the horses will move up and down as well, that is, if I dont screw it up. (concept) No pic, although you can catch part of it in a lake pic.
- Wind Gennys - 3 running off of micro motors (complete)
- The Kissing (Covered) Bridge - (complete, unless I tile the ramp, which I probably wont, since I dont have stud hatred)
- Lake with Walking Bridge (needs figs and more landscaping to be complete)
- Public Park - Tree, sandbox, jungle jim, slide, monkey bars, swings, etc. (started) No pic - location... to the left of this lake.
- Grave-yard - Small, fenced in. (status - complete, unless I manage a back wall fence)
Still to come... a few plates of buildings and other restaurants. (various planning and building stages)
Currently I am in the progress of a number of Lego projects... (status)
Dollhouse refurbishing - (this project leaves my possession in 2 days - will have a post with pics to recount the history of this project from start to finish in the near future)
The Log Cabin - (which is the same scale as my "dollhouse" 1/4 complete)
The Pink Planet Moonbase - (first floor and corridors complete)
Space - another ship based on the cover of Wonder Stories - (1/3 complete)
Yet another Mosaic - (concept stage)
3 new Lug Bricks - (half complete)
GBC - Well, this project has been much longer than I had intended, and in the process, balls have been launched, rolled and kicked into every room of the main floor. After a few not too serious ball flying injuries, strange grinding noises, a frying motor mishap and annoying ball jamming resulting in very profane responses from me. (I finally have, thanks to Chris' help, not just one, but two ball pumps working with some fairly reliable results, which means I can finally get to the fun part of my GBC.)
Bricton Projects - Rebuild of the Fire Station (complete), Hospital (progress) and Police Station (concept) Airport (nearly complete) Arena building (concept), interior... will have exchangeable "playing fields", hockey, soccer, and basketball (complete)
Wizard of Oz - original display has been dismantled to build Version Two (hopefully will be complete to display at the Hobby Show in Nov.)
OLBA(?) - moved to todays posting to include updates.
So this entry takes a weird web turn... Im going blog about be blogged, because I just find it so fricking weird!
First of all, a few days ago a friend says "Hey, did you see that Steve Witt posted a link to your space moc in his blog"... well knowing that Steve has been AWOL the last few weeks (due to being under the weather, and in Denmark) I had not check his blog... so I check it out, and see the link, and think to myself... hey thats pretty cool. http://www.ilenn.com/blogs/stevewitt/archives/2006/05/steves_friday_f_2.html
Anyhow, few days later (tonight), I googled myself, because one, yes - Im a loser, and two, I wanted to see if this blog was hitting the list yet.
I started to think about how weird the web is. I mean, all these forums and wikicrap, and this blogging and linking and hits etc, OH MY!!! Its a bit mind blowing... considering just how this seems to makes my part of the world just so small. In a good way of course.
Anyhow, I thought it was cool enough to give it 5 mins of thought... so yes, Virgina... I just blogged about being blogged. Weird eh?
I fired up Windows Movie Maker today for the first time, just to see what I was getting myself into... and threw together this little narcissistic Lego promo clip for Janey "Red Brick". Warning 12 MB ... http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/bccook/Misc/jrbpromo.wmv
Few fun pics from the past year...
The Red Brick Scandel....
So my friend Chris is working on some project... and posts to Lugnet... and right in the middle of the post, I see this... and I quote
"DO NOT show Janey this picture. Its important. DONT!!!"
So like any good red bricked Canadian, I went on protest... and responded with .... OMG, How could you???? The carnage, the horror, the sick and twisted reality of it.... oh it burns, it burns!!!! Chris, I am ashamed to know you willingly did that to a sacred RED brick!!!! I mean, yeah, you can tease, stir the pot and be a total (censored), but come one, what did I ever do to you??? I have no shame, I need to tell you, that hurts, that really hurts bad! I’m cut to the core. I think you should hang your head in shame... brick modification is one thing, I am willing to over look that for the cause (after all, now that I understand it, DCC is pretty darn cool) BUT!!!!!!! Red Brick modification is just WRONG!!!! Shaking my fists and picketing/boycotting/protesting all things Magno. Chris retorts with...
"OK, you have forced my hand. I had no intention of showing these pictures to help protect the innocent. this is what YOU saw..... http://www.thepyroguys.com/000_0001.JPG this is the BIGGER picture. http://www.thepyroguys.com/Image002.jpg THERE!!! Happy. NOW you see why you could not ever see these. Distention in the ranks? YOUR OWN figs were part of the horror.
Well I couldn't let the fun stop there... so I recreated his "work shop" and posted this...
No, not happy at all! At first, I was in total shock... I couldn’t believe my eye, my OWN figs, total SCABS!!!! I was crushed when I looked at your second photo... In fact, for a minute or two, I was even happy that you hid the real truth from me.
You know, I was about to give up the hobby, I thought, if I can’t even trust a Janey Fig, then who could I trust??? Then as pure luck would have it, I went to check my email... and wow, the shock continued! Now normally I wouldn’t open mail from an anonymous sender, but this time, the subject line was too much to resist “Red Brick Mod, the Real Truth”. The letter states that these pictures were taken just moments before the second pic you posted. Apparently, you cleared the scene of any evidence that could incriminate the real guilty party.
Yes, I saw the Janey figs... in the middle of a mod... but I noticed a few other things, such as the fact that they were CHAINED to the brick... and in the very corner, I could see something that looked like a WHIP!!!
Well honesty, my faith was restored, there was no dissension in the ranks, just some cleaver deception! Obviously my figs only modded under pure duress! This left only one question in my mind. Who could be so evil to make my Figs do something so totally against their character??? Sadly I was not left to wonder very long, because a few moments later, low and behold, another pic, in my inbox... this one, sadly shows just who was SO evil.
Chris, I’m saddened to say, I recognised that Fig immediately... dark hair, thick moustache, blue jeans and serious 5 o’clock shadow. Yes, I have no doubts, it can be no other, but YOU!!!
So while I appreciate you trying to “protect the innocent”, truly my Figs were innocent, and sadly, I can clearly see, your Fig, not so much!!! Oh sure, you can try to debate this back and forth... but pictures speak louder than words.
Janey “The truth will set you free, Red Brick”
From Nov 2005
Toronto Hobby Show - November 4th, 5th, 6th - International Centre
Well another extended weekend (I was gone from the 3rd to the 7th) spent in Toronto has kept me away from my family, blog, and other online activities... It was a pleasure seeing some friends I haven't seen for months, and a pleasure meeting new friends.
Recap of the weekend, as best as I can recall...
Early Thursday afternoon, while bombing into Toronto with my tunes blaring, Constable "Strongbad" clocked me going 31 km over the speed limit. I didn't try to fight it, I was clearly rushing and wasn't paying attention to my speed at all. Frankly I deserved the ticket, and he was kind enough to knock it down by 10 km. I wouldn't have minded at all, aside from the extended delay, if I had not have had already spent quality time with Constable "Strongbad" in the past. I'm not a fan of suits, that's not a surprise to anyone that knows at all, but I do have a healthy respect for our police force, even the OPP. I have no issue with doing the time, for the crime... candidly that was not the issue the first time Constable A-S pulled his BS with me, so years later apparently I am holding on to a little deep seated resentment. Anyhow, getting pulled over is always a bit of an adrenaline rush for me... so to chill out, I pulled over and took some pics of the wind farm building built. It's a beauty to behold. After snapping a few shots... I got back on the road and headed, once again for Hog Town.
I eventually arrived, booked a room and bombed over to the Centre. I would love to say that all things went without a hitch, but basically after a bit of a song and dance the tickets were acquired, clearly this would not be the first song and dance routine of the weekend. Frankly, I am not willing to dwell on those pointless issues because in the long run many of those bits of superfluous minutia really didn't end up making much of a difference. Besides its easy to be psyched when you are about to share a weekend with ppl that not only embrace your shared hobby, but understand it as well.
After that, the rest of the weekend is a blur... Tables arrive, people milled about, smack and laugher was shared, builders came and went... text messages and phone calls fly... BTW YOU SUCK!!! Lego by the totes, boxes and car loads arrive.... and by Friday evening most of the group had arrived displayed this awesome collection of creativity. By the end of the weekend our display covered the gamut, including but not limited to; an awesome moonbase with working monorail, detailed architectural homes on a beach front, impressive space ships from scifi movies, perpetually moving great ball contraptions, outstanding art pieces including sculptures of macrofigs, animals, globe and cartoon characters, fantastic vehicles and heavy equipment/firetruck, an outstanding amusement park ride, precise train layout buildings, beautiful mosaics and even a few very interesting MOCs made on the fly from the free-build box. Yes the creations were remarkable, but by far, for me... it is all about the people.
A group of people from very distinctively different lifestyles thrown together over one shared interest... It is not just about building with Lego, (and yes, I know how hokey this sounds) but building lasting friendships. Long after I forget just what exactly what was displayed or how tired I am from hauling, or spending time on site, I will remember the truly touching and silly moments that make these events fun and worth the effort. - people I have never met saying "Janey Red Brick??? We spoke via email...." - the "Snowgasm" (best 2.50 I ever spent) - the convos about questionably shaped aeroplane engines (wow, TMI) - falling to the ground off a table without style (man I have a huge bruise to show for that effort) - watching builders you respect gazing at your own work (huge smile) - paying no attention to the man behind the gold curtain (wow, what a WoO moment) - dancing like a very untalented ballerina and aeroplane rides (what amazing kids!) - bowling for dollars.... errr I mean bowling for Sponge Bob (wow, who knew the sphere would die?) - heading to the moon, but ending up on mars (can you say "wigged out?") - the discovery that not everyone finds him sexy (who knew?) - the banter, the fun bullshit and the well laid smack (I'm loud?) - the breaking and/or rebuilding of others mocs (oops, sorry!) - connecting with someone that see the world pretty similar to your own views (inconceivable) - having people you can truly count on (thank you) - the genuine smiles and the unbridled laughter (this is what makes me return) Yeah.... Whatever... Meh!
I love this pic of Chris contemplating the worm to 24... and all the plastic dust created.
Deb and her niece checking out my contribution to the Hobby Show.
Dave and Allan having a moment... god, sometimes these pics scare me.
While being a horrible pic of myself, the moment is worth sharing.
Thanks to all the Ontario builders that came out, (the lugless, the rtlers, the parlugmenters, the splitluggers and the jluggers) They spent their time, money and effort to make it just what it was.... an amazing collaboration of time well wasted.
(Note - To see the rest of my pictures from the week, go to my Brickshelf Gallery here Click on a thumbnail to see a larger version of the pic.)
Thanks guys, 100% appreciation.... Until next time.
