This is the second build based off Paul Lee‘s Mickey Mouse (which was in turn inspired by the Lowell Sphere). It’s been really fun to explore the differences between Disney characters, but also to try to honor a character I’ve only seen peripherally but never paid too much attention to. I hope all you Oswald fans like the result!
I’ve recently ventured into a whole new realm of the multi-faceted LEGO fan universe that I’ve wanted to for quite some time; selling custom designed and printed minifigures. All of these offerings will be available in my store. The first of these will be posted soon, and for more of a personal backstory of this announcement, please read below. 🙂
I love collecting and displaying LEGO minifigures… maybe as much as building with LEGO bricks…
I’ve been collecting minifigs as far as I can remember, but really delving into it when the Star Wars theme began back in 1999. Collecting LEGO Star Wars minifigs took over my desire to collect Kenner/Hasbro Star Wars action figures, and (thankfully) probably prevented me from starting on other collections.
There were a lot of minifigs that I waited for the LEGO group to produce. The longer I waited (20 years now in some cases), the more I realized that there are certain minifigs that the LEGO company will not (or can not) produce, and I’d either have to get used to that, or look at other options. Case in point; we still have yet to receive a Darth Sidious minifigure that’s been promised (at least in artwork, pictured here) dating back to 1999.
There are minifigs from movies, TV shows, video games, etc. that I’d like to own. LEGO Ideas has helped to bring a lot of those to official LEGO minifig form. There are so many custom minifigure outlets that produce amazing work, that it helps to fill in the gaps of what the LEGO group hasn’t made/won’t make.
There are even more figures that I’d like to own that are so unique, or just undesirable to anyone but me, that there’s no way that I could expect to ever see them offered by the LEGO group or a custom outlet.
I also like consistency. So having a collection of, for example, Luke Skywalker minifigs, in every different outfit he wore in the original Star Wars trilogy, is great. But having different styles (naturally styles have changed in the 20 years of designing minifigure prints), from my perspective, serves to highlight the past negatively by showing how much better the current style and quality are. In this picture, Jabba’s Palace Luke has simple printing on his torso only, and has brown eyebrows, while Bespin Luke is highly detailed on his torso and legs, and has dark tan eyebrows. So, consistency fail, in by book. I realized that the only way I could get the consistency I wanted was to design minifigs myself.
I played around with designing a few years back, and really enjoyed it. After delving into collecting custom minifigures and working with several custom outlets to print some bricks/minifigures for myself and for commissions, I’ve decided to venture out into offering some minifigs that I think other people might want to own as well.
The first of these figures will be revealed very soon. I hope you like the selection that I’ll be offering, and consider picking some up for yourself! 🙂
“There’s always money in the Banana Stand!“
Since I posted my original Banana Stand in 2015, I’ve received many requests for instructions, sets, stickers, etc. Since then I’ve been able to refine the design and, more importantly, have some professionally printed and die-cut stickers made up for the MOC. I heard the calls for making this available loud and clear. I wanted this to be a special kit; my first publicly available kit that incorporated full color PDF instructions, custom figures, high quality stickers, all in a fun build and a nice package!
CLICK HERE or on one of the pictures to pre-order your Banana Stand today over at my Web Store!
Here’s part of a still life sculpture I made a few years back but never posted. I wanted to finally get it out, and as a teaser for a big announcement coming up next week! 🙂
This was a collaborative build with David Costa. It was a lot of fun working with him, and the best thing about it is that instructions are available. Click the link below:
Following up on the trophies I made for BricksLA 2018, I also built three of these “MOC of Note” trophies for BricksLA 2019, which was held in Pasadena, CA earlier this month. It was a perfect followup to my LEGO “sports” trophy, and maintained the theme from 2018.
The funny thing is, I actually won one of these trophies for my Los Angeles City Hall MOC that I (re)debuted at the show!
I built three of these “MOC of Note” trophies for BricksLA 2018, which is held annually in Pasadena, CA in the month of January. It was a perfect opportunity to build a LEGO “sports” trophy; I’ve had some pictures saved in my ideas folder for about 5 years so I’m glad I was able to follow through on it.
I also built MOC of Note trophies for BricksLA 2017 but I don’t think I have any pictures saved unfortunately.
Jordan Schwartz’s book The Art of LEGO Design came out back in June. It is filled with some of the best creations by the leading AFOLs in the community including Mike Nieves, Nannan Zhang, Tyler Clites and, of course, Jordan Schwartz. I also happen to have some content in there. This book is great for any new or seasoned builder looking for inspiration or just to pass the time.
The section on Dynamic Sculpting has a nice four page write-up on the Lowell Sphere (pictured above), with instructions and several examples of its application, including my donut, cactus, and Oscar Mayer Wienermobile!
Buy The Art of LEGO Design on Amazon.
Summer is the perfect time for watermelon, whether eating or building. This was a kit I was commissioned to build. Each kit (a single slice) contains 84 pieces.
