March is nearly at an end, and that means the end of another fun month-long building challenge known as Marchikoma, where LEGO fans build tributes to the semi-autonomous spider bots from the Manga/anime franchise Ghost in the Shell. When I saw this entry by Oscar Cederwall (o0ger) I was blown away. Not only does the model capture the aesthetic of the source material in a unique but instantly recognizable way, there are some great part usages to call out. The ice skates make perfect details on the feet, and the microphones used as the primary eyes are spot-on! Also, check out the hands made from Hero Factory minifig arms. But one of my favorite parts is used as the top of the head: it’s a Bionicle armor element that was used on the legs of the Star Wars constraction figure of the Range trooper from Solo: A Star Wars Story. The...

Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen is stepping down from LEGO’s board of directors, essentially passing on control of the company to the next generation of the Kristiansen family. Like a parent giving their child a LEGO set they grew up with, Kjeld announced that he will step down from LEGO next month, which leaves his son Thomas Kristiansen acting in his stead as the fourth-generation Kristiansen to help lead the company. The change follows a plan to make a generational shift in leadership which has been happening for several years since Thomas joined the board in 2007. He and LEGO Brand Group CEO Jorgen Vig Knudstorp are interviewing candidates to ultimately replace Kjeld on the board with the goal in mind of bringing in someone to help the company through their centennial anniversary. Kjeld has been a reassuring presence to the LEGO fan community throughout the years, visiting several conventions and driving the...

Have very few regrets in life, but one of them is not getting to see a shuttle launch with my dad. Not that it was an easy thing to do, I live about as far away from Cape Kennedy as you can in the continental US, and my dad lived in Kansas. Any given mission could be scrubbed at the last minute, that’s a long way to travel on a bet. I did eventually get to stand in the shadow of this building, and it’s every bit as impressive as you’d expect. It’s on a scale that’s hard to imagine until you’re actually there. This version by Rphilo004, is a little less intimidating, but still very impressive at micro scale. As we approach the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, I’m sure we’ll see more builds like this, and I’m personally really looking forward to it. Original linkOriginal author: Tommy

I have to admit once I got over the temporary paralysis upon first seeing this beauty by ianying616 I thought to myself “Batman would never ride a chrome Batpod”, but upon further thought I’m not so sure. The thing about chrome (and what makes it hard to illustrate, and render for that matter) is it’s not really its own color, but characterized by its environment. It reflects what’s around it, and in Batman’s case, wouldn’t that be the darkened streets of Gotham? Might not be so bad after all. Original linkOriginal author: Tommy

LEGO FORMA is the company’s first foray into crowdfunding. It is described as an “experience designed for adults looking for a fun and engaging way to reconnect with their creative side”. The LEGO FORMA crowdfunding exercise began in late September 2018, and finally shipped in January to UK supporters, with shipments to US supporters following up in mid-February after a brief delay from shipping issues. During the campaign, the base setup cost $85 USD in the US Market and $88 USD in the UK Market, and included the box set 81000 with the default Koi Skin Pack, and 3 additional separately packaged skins. Fans could also take the less costly option of just getting the base pack (single Koi Skin Model) for $45 USD (US) $46 USD (UK) and additional skins at $15 USD (US) / $16 USD (UK) each. Now that the crowdfunding is completed, if you’re looking to pick...