MEGATech Showcase: Creative LEGO Creations Beth Snyder March 20, 2014 Features Looks like it’s time for another installment in the weird, nifty, wonderfully creative things people make out of LEGO. None of these are kits you can buy, but a few of them do have DIY instructions. Mostly, though, they’re just neat. And you can certainly recreate some of them for your very own if you think you have the ability. So, I can admit it. I’m not ready to let the LEGO Movie go just yet. Now I’m just impatiently waiting for it to become available so I can buy my copy to love forever. In the meantime, I’m going to keep remembering it fondly and wishing I could still see it in the theatre. DarthNick made this homage to the movie by recreating the official movie poster in LEGO, and I love it. I want it in my house. It originally displayed at a movie theatre, but is now residing in a LEGO store, because it’s only right. Source: Walyou You didn’t know you wanted an RC LEGO car, did you? Now you do. This one was made by Karl Herrick, and it uses Raspberry Pi. Control is provided by a Bluetooth USB adapter along with a Bluetooth game controller which is in turn attached wirelessly to a Nexus 4. It’s got two large motors providing power for the wheels, a servo motor to turn them, and a battery box for power. The Raspberry Pi actually works with the infrared remote control, and everything is attached to a 4×4 base. Source: Damn Geeky The only game at which I am any good at all is pinball. And I love Star Wars. Which means I need this. Jimmy, aka 6kyubi6, made this fabulous Star Wars themed pinball machine and it really works! It’s got moving parts, it’s got lights, it’s got minifigs, it’s got a diorama of Jabba the Hutt’s palace… it’s got pretty much anything you could ask for. He made it for a Brickpirate contest, and while I can’t seem to find if the contest is over or if he won if it is, he should. Source: Technabob Speaking of Star Wars, how about these Motorised Astromechs Droids? They can turn their heads, pick stuff up, move swiftly, and even extend a third leg for stability as needed. These come from the workshop of Vimal Patel, and include a bunch of LEGO bricks as well as some motors, mechanized parts, and an Arduino controller. Source: Damn Geeky I’m not sure how to feel about this one. On the one hand, of course a kid would come up with this. On the other hand…um, what?! However, I think the source article goes a little overboard with the indignation, because a kid definitely would come up with this. Sure, it seems a little odd for LEGO to choose lingerie for their ad, but I’ve seen far weirder things in my browsing. Anyway, that’s all there is to this: It’s a new ad for LEGO featuring a kid tying bras to minifigs and using them as parachutes. Source: Gizmodiva I am nothing if not a child of the 80s. Indiana Jones was an awesome series of movies, and I faithfully saw each one in the theatre as it came out. Micha? Ka?mierczak built this awesome Indiana Jones and the Temple of Kings using some ungodly number of LEGO bricks and other parts. It’s got mummies, rope bridges, spiders, and of course snakes. It’s pretty darn neat. Source: Gadget Review Calving and Hobbes…with evil snowmen! I need this. Tyler Sky, also known as Bricksky on Flickr, built this for a store display, and it’s way too much fun. Calvin and his faithful feline sidekick ride a snowmobile through a pack of evil snowmen, one of which has a pitchfork through its head. I love the creativity here. Source: Technabob This Big Bang Theory playset was put up on LEGO CUUSOO by Alatariel and GlenBricker, and it achieved enough support to be sent for review! It consists of Sheldon’s living room, and a whole host of minifigs (Sheldon, Howard, Leonard, Bernadette, Amy, Penny and Rajesh). No word on what it might cost, or of a potential release date, but it’s more than likely going to be coming. Source: Oh Gizmo Emmet! You knew I wouldn’t stay away from the LEGO Movie for long, didn’t you? He stands at least six feet tall, and is made entirely of LEGO bricks. He was on display at the 2014 Toy Fair in NYC, and I would have to assume he’s going to end up in a LEGO store. Or a private collection. Or somewhere…because he’s awesome! Everything is awesome! Source: Craziest Gadgets LEGO CUUSOO is now taking submissions for Doctor Who ideas. I’m sure you have some, so get going and see if maybe one of your ideas can come to fruition as a playset! They weren’t allowed before due to licensing issues, but with the latest update to project guidelines, it’s now an option. I want to see a playset that includes not just a Tardis and Dalek, but all the Doctors and Companions, as well as a Weeping Angel. However, I have no creativity or ability for such things, so one of you is going to have to help me out. Source: Nerd Approved Another one up on LEGO CUUSOO is the X-Men Mansion, and even though it doesn’t look likely to make it, you should still offer up your support because every vote counts (they need 10,000 and right now they have just over 6,000). It stands over four stories tall, and while the pictures show 45 different minifigs, they wouldn’t all (if any) be included right away. If you want to see this become reality, head on over and vote. Source: Geekologie And now for something completely different! Shubham Banerjee, who is a seventh-grader (which makes him about 13), created this LEGO printer that works. We’ve seen printers before, but this one stands out from the crowd because it prints Braille! It’s based on LEGO Mindstorms, and cost a mere $350 US to make. Traditional Braille printers cost upwards of $2000, which makes them impractical for most folks who would need one. He’s hoping to release it as open source hardware so the community at large can add modifications. Source: Boing Boing By now we’ve all seen Ellen’s Oscar selfie, and odds are good more than one of you has come in on one side or the other of the “scandal” involving her using a Samsung when she uses an iPhone in her regular life. That’s all basically irrelevant other than the part where Iain Heath has recreated the picture in LEGO. That’s really all the information I have, except it looks pretty darn close to the original and it’s kind of fun. Source: Nerd Approved I’ve been with the Simpsons on and off since they were filler on the Tracy Ullman show a hundred years ago. It’s amazing to me that their 25th anniversary is coming up, mostly because it makes me realize how very old I am, but also because I cannot believe they still are coming up with storylines that are both interesting and funny. In honour of the anniversary, their 550th episode will be filmed in LEGO. It airs May 4, and I suspect for that particular time slot a rather large portion of the population will be glued to their sets. I know I will. Source: Gizmodiva To be fair, this keyboard isn’t entirely constructed of LEGO bricks. But it does have them, and it does work. And can you imagine how awesome it would be to have this on your desk at work? Maybe it wouldn’t be the most comfortable for doing a lot of typing, but a little discomfort would be worth it for the fun factor. Jason Allemann created this one, and he’s even shared step-by-step pictures so you can make one of your very own. Source: Geek.com These are fabulous! Make sure you click on the source article for the rest of the pictures, because they’re really cool. Artist Vesa Lehtimäki (aka “Avanaut“) put various minifigs and a bunch of simple baking soda together to create some incredible scenes from movies you know and love. Out of necessity they’re all snow scenes, and I love them. Source: The Awesomer Chris “Powerpig” Mcveigh made these cute little pocket-sized mini NES system using 220 LEGO pieces. It’s got the Nintendo Entertainment System, two controllers, and even a couple of cartridges that can be inserted. Unfortunately, you can’t actually play, but at least you can pretend. As it turns out, this one is actually going to exist. You can order now (shipping began March 3) for $58.50 US. Source: Technabob I’m closing this one out with LEGO food, because I’m hungry. The source article has quite a nice collection of various foods made of our favourite LEGO bricks, and all of them have incredible detail especially considering how limited the medium. There’s the grill full of goodness above, but also breakfast, turkey dinner, salads, pizza…all sorts of stuff. Click on through to see them all. Source: Thrillist Share This With The World!
