MEGATech Showcase: LEGO Madness Returns! Beth Snyder August 14, 2013 Features It really wasn’t that long ago that I did my last LEGO showcase, but summer seems to be the time for creativity to run amok and my file is full again, so here we are. You don’t mind, do you? I mean, it is LEGO after all. There are far worse ways to spend a few minutes of your day than looking at nifty creations made from our favourite plastic bricks. First up is a kit that does not exist yet, but really should. And you can make it so, simply by voting for it. This is, of course, a Wizard of Oz kit in honour of the movie’s 75th anniversary. It would come with three scenes: The corn field/apple orchard where she meets the Scarecrow and Tin Man, the cabin/woods where they meet the Lion, and of course the gates to the Emerald City. Included would also be six minifigs: Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man, Cowardly Lion, Toto, and Wicked Witch of the West. All that’s needed is 10,000 votes, and this set will be on track to becoming a reality. I’m sure it will not shock you to learn I am one of its supporters. Source: LEGO CUUSOO Speaking of iconic movie anniversaries, has it really been 30 years since Ghostbusters came out? Lord, I’m old! But I digress. This one is also a CUUSO project you can support, and would include the Ectomobile as well as minifigs of Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, Egon Spengler and Winston Zeddemore as well as Slimer. And of course the Ectomobile has any number of ghost-catching gadgets, and the boys are carrying their proton packs. Source: Nerd Approved It’s never until I sit down to do one of these showcases that I remember I was going to look into this whole Legends of Chima thing to see what’s up. If you know, this is probably really cool for you, no? This is Gorzan’s Gorilla Striker, and it comes with 505 pieces. Yup, this is a kit you can buy already, if you’re so inclined. It features swinging arms, articulated hands, six chest-mounted flick missiles, and a shoulder-mounted banana shooter. It stands 8? (22cm) tall, and Rizzos raven nest tower measures over 3? (9cm) high, 2? (6cm) wide and 6? (16cm) deep. All this can be yours for $90.00 US. Source: 7 Gadgets I’m comfortable in my ignorance, but I’m going to go ahead and assume some of you know what FTL is, right? If you’re in the dark as much as I am, it’s an indie game called Faster Than Light. This is another CUUSO project, but it recently reached enough votes for LEGO to take a serious look at producing it. Apparently there will be three sets, which will not come with any extras such as minifigs. The Kestrel and Osprey are definitely two of them, but they’re still taking votes on whether the third should be the Torus or Gila Monster. Source: Nerd Approved LEGO Friends introduces its Dolphin Cruiser. As you can see, this is a fairly deluxe oceangoing vessel with scads of accessories, including personal watercraft for the mini-dolls (Mia, Maya and Andrew). It even has dolphins, with dolphin sonar on the boat to track them as you play. If you split the yacht open (not something you would normally want to do), you can play on the waterslide or swim in the pool. This one will cost you about $100.00 US. Source: 7 Gadgets Looks like an NES, doesn’t it? And it is, except for the part where it’s made of LEGO. This one was created by Flickr user weltall1028, and it even opens as a real console would. The dimensions are so spot on a cartridge will actually fit inside, although you won’t be able to play it. Instead, there’s another level that flips up to reveal a minifig, since there was plenty of room inside without the electronics. Obviously this one isn’t a kit you can buy, but it’s still pretty darn neat. Source: Geek.com This is just amazingly well done, and I love it. It’s a Battlestar Galactica Cylon Baseship, and it took Garry King 16,387 Lego bricks to build. It’s a 36-pound monstrosity, and while I don’t see anywhere how long it took him to build, the attention to detail leads me to believe it wasn’t something he quick threw together on a whim one Saturday while having a couple of beers. It’s got three landing bays, and can stand on its own. Again, not a kit (can you even imagine the price?), but incredibly cool. Source: Nerd Approved LEGO and Star Wars seem to go together really well, although I honestly couldn’t tell you why. Here we have a diorama of the Episode V Carbon Freeze Chamber, and I’m pretty sure it wants to be displayed in my living room. Of course, if you’re old like I am, you know that Episode V will forever and always be the second movie, also known as Empire Strikes Back, but that’s something for another post altogether. This was created using thousands of LEGO bricks by Markus 1984 from MocPages, and has amazing detail as well as a whole host of minifigs. Not a purchasable kit, but I really think it should be. Source: Gadget Review This actually made me say, “Aww,” right out loud when I saw it. Pandas are incredibly cute anyway, but this one can hang out on your couch without you having to worry about actually making a home for a wild animal. LEGO Certified Professional (there’s a job title I would love to have) Jumpei Mitsui created this one, which is unfortunately not a kit you can buy. I don’t know what it is about this one, but I just love it. I may even try to figure out how make one for my very own at some point, although mine would probably be a lot smaller and not nearly as cool…I’m just not that good with LEGO. Source: Technabob Again with the me being old thing…in my world, The Hulk will always be Bill Bixby no matter how many times they remake it. Anyway, this LEGO kit is the 389-piece Hulk Helicarrier Breakout. It comes with four minifigs: Hulk, Thor, Hawkeye and Loki, and it has not only Helicarrier but a jet fighter. Also included is a cell with exploding function and a fuel canister holder with firing function. The jet fighter has four flick missiles it can fire. If you’d like one for your very own, you’ll have to shell out about $45.00 US. Source: 7 Gadgets This LEGO coin sorter might not be a kit you can buy, but there’s nothing stopping you from building one for yourself. Unlike a lot of projects I feature, this is actually within the capabilities of most people, so that’s nice. Created by sherrycayheyhey, there are actually instructions available on how to make your own. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to do something with that huge jar of change on your dresser while still playing with LEGO? I thought so. Source: Walyou LEGO Batcave! How could you possibly resist? Well, maybe because it’s not a kit you can buy, but other than that… Jonas aka Legopard made this one, and as with all his designs it offers details and alternate takes on things you know for those who pay attention. For instance, this one features a wooden Tumbler. The minifig of Bruce Wayne is pretty darn funny, too. Source: Technabob Speaking of Batman…how about a minifig alarm clock that looks like the Dark Knight himself? He stands eight inches tall, and has posable arms and legs so he can stand or sit at your bedside, watching over you while you sleep. If you’d like to make one yours, you only have to pay $29.99 US. Source: Geek Alerts Looks like a scene from LEGO Batman the Video Game, and it is. But there’s so much more than that going on here: It’s a cake. Yup, a delicious confectionery treat you can completely destroy by eating, but which will make your taste buds and stomach happy while you do it. This was created by Elisa Strauss of Confetti Cakes for the game’s launch party, and it is fabulous. Source: Technabob As you can see, here we have the Galaxy Squad Hive Crawler. I have no idea what that means, but it certainly looks neat. It features an egg launcher, 2 hatching eggs, razor-sharp moving legs (OK, probably not actually razor sharp), rotating laser guns, a pinching mouth and opening cockpit where you can fit a minifig. The kit contains 560 pieces, and also has a Hero speedster with detachable blasters that splits into a sky speeder and a planet speeder. All this can be yours for about $65.00 US. Source: 7 Gadgets These make me giggle like mad, and make sure you check out the photo gallery for the other styles because you’re not going to want to miss any. There really isn’t much to say, other than that this is “The Sophisticated World of LEGO Librarians”, and I love it long time. These were all created by Joe Hardenbrook, a.k.a Mr. Library Dude. Source: Nerd Approved LEGO has come up with kits that cater to your inner architect, which could be used by actual architects without feeling silly. This is, of course, the LEGO Architecture Studio, and it comes with primarily white bricks (some clear, for windows) and a 272-page design guide. The book isn’t a standard construction book, but rather teaches you concepts necessary for building actual structures, but with LEGO bricks to start. Each one goes for $150.00 US. Source: Gizmodo Related to learning how to build with LEGO, here’s a book by Jon Lazar that will get you into some of the motorized creations we’ve looked at over the last couple of years. It includes not just the brick structures, but the coding and wiring necessary to make them work. From this book, you can build projects such as a Tardis or an RFID-activated crystal ball. It’s available now for about $23.00 US. Source: Laughing Squid I’ll close this one out with a fabulous new service that should have been thought of a hundred years ago. Pleygo is a Netflix-like service through which you can rent LEGO sets! You put the sets you want in your queue, and they send them out to you. When you send one back, you get another one. There are three different levels of rental plans available: Fan (up to 250-piece sets), Super Fan (up to 500-piece sets) and Mega Fan (up to 5,400-piece sets). Pricing runs $15.00 US per month, $25.00, and $39.00 respectively. No contracts, this is billed monthly and you can cancel at any time. Brilliant! Source: Geekologie Share This With The World!
