2012

We still have a few days left of 2012, it is the perfect chance to look at what we got this year.

In 2012 had only 21 new posts, fewer than what I would have liked. But as some of you may have noticed, I try to post a fresh post every week. I hope to keep the momentum going into 2013 as well.

But instead of spending too much time on what has or has not happened here, let me look at another important event from my own perspective: kockagyar.blog.hu used to be the most popular LEGO blog in Hungary but it has closed its doors in May 2012. Since I have co-authored the blog, I have written about 60 blog posts.

I am most proud of the interviews - I managed to get in touch with two well respected LEGO builders. Mad Physicist is one of the most influential car and aircraft builders, you can clearly notice his influence on this blog as well. You can read part one and part two of the interview here.

Legomonster was interviewed by Lehi in person. I think this is interview is probably the peak of my blogger journalist career. Thanks kockagyar and thanks Lehi, we could not have done this without you!

These would probably have never been created without kockagyar.blog.hu and its single-person engine, tutuka.

Without kockagyar I will probably have to keep a lower profile. But bricksngears will continue well into 2013 with the weekly posts. Also, we have new builds ready to be shown, stay tuned!

Happy and LEGO-rich 2013 to all our readers!

Congratulations!

You have survived the Advent calendar season. Three more days and it's over! But now there is time to build something for your Christmas tree. You only need a few bricks, hopefully you have some in your drawer. Instructions here.

If you don't have enough red bricks, that's not a problem either, you can built something else: Santa, a blue sphere, or a snowman. Credits go to mpw for the great instructions:

If you are afraid that the sphere will pull down your tree, you can build a smaller one using instructions from Legohaulic too.

Merry Christmas to everyone and a lot of LEGO under the tree!

Let's build!

Interesting happenings in the builder scene. It is well known that Mainman likes microscale models, especially military aircraft: he has built an entire air force in 1:100 scale like this cool F-15. Now the plane itself has flown into air to let everyone know that there is a contest: everything that flies and is built in 1:60 or smaller scale can be nominated until January 22 2013. I myself am thinking about this and I encourage you to think about it too!

Something else has happened over the week: Mad Physicist posted another building instructions. This is only the fourth time in the history of the galaxy, so let us not underestimate the importance. Unlike the previous models this is a civilian helicopter built of relatively common yellow and red bricks, so it should not be too hard to build one at home.

Although it is more complicated than the sets you can buy in the LEGO shop, in the Mad Physicist universe this is a relatively simple one. If you have all the bricks (or LDD), I highly encourage you to build it. If you do so, don't forget to send me a photo!

The part list can be downloaded from here and the instructions from here (PDF, 7 megs).

The Messerschmitt story, part II.

Let's continue the story of LEGO Messerschmitt fighters. As I promised last week, today we look at models that have something unusual.

The plane of locolson is clearly larger than the others and sports two special features. The dimensions allow for more details here: it has a fully retractable landing gear. Many builders have this on their aircraft, but it is not a standard feature on other Bf-109 models. The list of unique features does not stop here, it also has a rotating propeller without any Photoshop: there is just enough room for the motor in the front of the cockpit and for the battery box right behind it.

ABStract/ did not fiddle with real bricks. The plane comes in three different versions. The first one has a classic "Battle of Britain" scheme. It has a retractable landing gear, but this one is hard to operate with your fingers. Nevertheless it looks quite decent:

The next version has almost exactly the same shape but a different color scheme: a tan-green combination, characteristic of the desert versions:

The third version has been significantly rebuilt. Unlike the first two "Emils", this is a "Friedrich" with a similar desert camouflage:

Lego pilot built his own plane on the computer. The propeller is worth mentioning, it looks quite different from the other planes. The fighter is just "finishing" an A-20:

Last but not least, take a look at this microscale Bf-109 from tbone_tbl:

The paint scheme is quite characteristic, the type can be instantly recognized from the yellow nose and wingtips. I think it would be impossible to build a Messerschmitt smaller than this!

The Messerschmitt story, part I.

After covering some trains last week let's take a look at an aircraft: the Messerschmitt Bf-109. This fighter is one of the most recognizable aircraft of WWII, the icon of German air superiority during the early years of war. It saw action during the Spanish Civil War and at the breakout of the "big" war it was already a battle-proven opponent.

It is well known and built many times from bricks as well, you can find quite a few variants on the net. Let's take a look at the best ones, starting with minifig-scale models and leave the more exotic ones for the next part.

For a start, let's look at LegoUli's model. In my opinion this is one of the best: the shape of the aircraft is excellent around the engine but also towards the rear of the airframe. The landing gear is fixed but looks very good. The 9-stud propeller is also an nice fit at this scale:

The plane of eremms was also built at a similar scale and it also has a minifig at the controls. The colors are similar but the details are quite different: the techniques used at the wing, the propeller and the cockpit differ quite a bit from the previous version:

Opëx Røver's plane is somewhat smaller: the wing is 14 studs compared to 16-17 studs on the previous ones above. Nonetheless the the details are finely crafted. My personal favorite is the tail section. I personally don't like the nose cone and the landing gear, but the color choice is slightly more interesting than on the planes above:

Last but not least let's see the creations of a real pro, Legohaulic. His models also illustrate the evolution of a build, how a rookie creation becomes a real masterpiece.

Frankly, the first model would not be part of this blog post without the subsequent ones. The model is recognizable but nothing special: it is large and does not have any particularly interesting details. The colors are not very interesting either and the photo is far from great. However it is a great basis for progress:

It is no wonder that the author tried a second time. The next one is a lot more sophisticated than the previous one: the engine, the cockpit and the plane overall are a lot nicer. Like the other planes above it also has enough room for a minifig piloting the stick. The most serious mistake is the green light on the port side. Looking at it more we can also realize that the plane is quite large: the wings are over 20 studs and the minifig at the stick looks a bit too small:

This is probably how Legohaulic has felt about it too because he decided to give it a third try as well. This is the result, probably one of the most well known LEGO variants of the famous Messerschmitt fighter:

Like the ones above it has a minifig inside, but it is more unusual than the others in several ways. First of all, this is the smallest of all models: the wing is just over 12 studs. The fuselage is only a little bit wider than 3 studs - I think it is quite an achievement to find room for a minifig inside. Another specialty is the choice of colors: unlike the other planes above the paint scheme makes heavy use of dark green, and it looks pretty awesome. The only strange thing is the small nose cone, it looks a bit smaller than it should.

And which one is the best? I will let you choose.

Next week we look at more special Messerschmitt variations.

Hungarian train collection

It was not until recently that I have discovered this blog (in Hungarian). While the trains are most recognizable to locals, the build quality may appeal to everyone. Most of them are built with Lego Digitial Designer, which is understandable - I certainly would not have enough bricks to build all of them. Let's go through the best ones.

We start with the M28 shunter, I think it looks awesome:

There are larger engines as well. The NOHAB has Swedish origins. In Hungary it has been known as the M61. It may be familiar to everyone who travelled around Lake Balaton:

There are electrical engines too. This is the V43:

We can see interesting trains in the capital as well. This is the Cogwheel train that brings you up to the closest hill:

Once you are up, you can take the Children's railway to take a trip amongst the hills:

As the image shows the minifigs are all well. But I am sure they get tired in the fresh air. The way home is quick and comfortable in this Combino:

I am totally flattered. Each one of these has been built in LDD but they are all original: the details are right and they are instantly recognizable, full of happy minifigs. On the blog you can find other engines too: there is a V63, an M41, and M62 "Sergey" as well.

Congratulations to depi for the cool creations!

Porsche love

Lego Porsche was, and I am sure it will be too. But this photo speaks for itself: the expressions of the minifig tell it all, no need to ask who the king of the road is.

This is a Porsche 911 Turbo. I am pretty sure it does not get any smaller or more recognizable than that. A small nit is that the body of the minifig does not fit into the car, but this is a minor detail. On the other hand there are building instructions on mocpages.

Congratulations, ZetoVince!

On the side note of a masterpiece

No studs anywhere, it is covered by flat surfaces and curved edges. Sydag likes to hide studs on his aircraft. The colors are bright, but the aircraft is real. This one is a Hawker Sea Fury for example:

The shape matches its real world counterpart almost perfectly. The engine looks great with its eight-sided shape, but the rear part of fuselage, the the arc of the wings are all perfect. The color choice is a bit unusual, it seems to be an air racer, but the shape makes it very clear that the basis is a war machine.

Amongst the images there are more war-like creations too. This one is another legendary aircraft with a radial engine: an F4U Corsair fully armed:

To me these models with all their perfection seem almost a little bit "too synthetic": it feels like they want to hide their studs and I start to have doubts if they are made of LEGO bricks. But the finish is perfect: the body, the wing of the Corsair are all a perfect copy of the original. It is no coincidence that a the newest models ended up on Brothers Brick.

As an amateur builder I get very curious too: how? What is under the skin? Ok, I have some ideas about the wing, but how is the engine built? Fortunately there are quite strong hints amongst the photos. Voila:

The brilliant part is the 4-studded bricks in the front that are rotated in 45 degrees to form a skeleton for the 8-sided shape. The rear part is also very interesting as it is basically a skin held together by bricks with studs on the side. Take a look at the canopy too: the front part is held in place by a gray minifig hand.

Feels like no matter how many aircraft I build as an amateur I will never get to this level. No matter how much I tease my brain I will not be able to build so freely in all dimensions, and not stick to plates and bricks. Congratulations, Sydag, keep up the good work!

LEGO for Christmas

Christmas is still two months away, but planning ahead may save you some $$$.

I tell you what to do: if you plan to buy Technic and live in Europe, you should go to Amazon.de. Almost all sets are on sale, delivery is mostly free (2-5 days International).

For example:

• 9394 Jet plane:
  amazon.de: 31.99 EUR ($41.60)
  shop.lego.com (USA): $49.99 + sales tax

• 9395 Pick up tow truck:
  amazon.de: 47.99 EUR ($62.30)
  shop.lego.com (USA): $69.99 + sales tax

Just sayin'. For other sets it may be different, but Amazon.de is mostly competitive.

(If you happen to live in der Schweiz like me: you don't have to pay the 19% Mehrwertsteuer either.)

Legoland Deutschland 2012

Recently I had a chance to visit my one of my favorite places again, the Legoland in Germany. This was not my first visit to the park (see older here) and it was interesting to see what changed in two years.

First of all, there are new themes. Star Wars has been a popular theme for LEGO sets, but two years ago this was not visible in the park at all. By now this has changed completely: next to the Miniland of European cities there is an extensive Star Wars Miniland covering the older and newer movies. Another sign of the increased interest is the extra tent selling Star Wars sets only.

Friends got quite visible too. In the big store there is a separate corner for Friends fans. There is also a specialized store selling accessories and... khm.... sets. At least in theory. The store personnel said that as soon as they have a new shipment it is sold within days. This is of course not official, but every signs points to Friends being very popular.

Ninjago did not exist 2 years ago either and become quite apparent in Legoland. It has its own mini-world now and something quite special, the Flying Ninjago. As I have quite apparent and strong limits when trying extra dimensions, I did not get try it myself. But the concept seems interesting: by controlling two wings one can do a full turn or even rotate continuously.

One of my favorites is the brick store. The selection was excellent as usual: more limited than Bricklink, but better than anything else. The price has increased though: 100g of bricks costs 9 Euros now, compared to 8 Euros two years ago.

Regardless of this, it's still an excellent buy, as the spreadsheet shows:

Part	Weight (Bricklink)	BL best offer Euro/piece	BL 6 month avg Euro/piece	Legoland Euro/piece
1x1 plate (black)	0.20g	0.0264	0.0583	0.0180
1x1 plate (medium blue)	0.20g	0.0269	0.0750	0.0180
1x4 plate (black)	0.71g	0.0126	0.0500	0.0639
1x2 tile (dark tan)	0.26g	0.0240	0.0583	0.0234
1x2 jumper (light bluish gray)	0.30g	0.0320	0.0583	0.0270
Technic gear, 20 tooth (tan)	1.40g	0.1421	0.2417	0.1260