<![CDATA[Gizmodo: LEGO]]> http://tags.gizmodo.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/gizmodo.com.png <![CDATA[Gizmodo: LEGO]]> http://gizmodo.com/tag/lego http://gizmodo.com/tag/lego <![CDATA[25-Minute Lego Halo Fan Movie: Watch the Trailer!]]> I got a kick out of watching the Matrix's bullet-dodging scene recreated using Lego over the weekend, but this? Wow. Alex Kobbs has spent six years shooting Lego frame-by-frame to create this 25-minute short based on Halo's Zanzibar map.

Called The Battle of the Brick, the movie features Red and Blue battling it out (but of course!), and is an extension of Kobbs' shorter Lego Halo efforts. It's expected to hit the Web early 2010, and you can keep up with the latest over at: [Kooberz Studio Blog via Kotaku]

]]>
http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5416057&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[I Wish I Had the Box4Blox Lego Sorter as a Kid]]> When I first heard the phrase "Lego sorter," I expected some crazy production line robot with moving arms and a glowing red eye. Thankfully, the Box4Blox sorter works as simply as the Lego bricks it stores.

Update: Okay, after seeing how many of you know about this already, I guess I could have had one of these as a kid. But I didn't. Maybe it's a relaunch of a long-lost tool. Or maybe it's been around forever. Either way, I still think it's neato.

This thing got announced video popped up way back in March, and I'm amazed we missed it up until now. The device has four trays with square holes along the bottom. These openings get progressively smaller to sort out the bricks by size. And that's really all there is to it. Genius.

Sounds good, and according to the Brothers Brick, it works well too. They found it does a great job sorting a kid's collection, and even works well as pre-sorter for more complex adult collections.

Seems like cool beans, but we'll have to let Jesus take a crack at it. Then, and only then, will we have the ultimate judgement. [Brothers Brick, Youtube via @chr1sa]

]]>
http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5414345&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Gifts for Design Lovers and Jon Ive Wannabees]]> I go through the world marveling at the objects around us—from lamp posts to toothbrushes to buildings to sailboats—looking for details, craftsmanship, function, beauty, and purpose. If you know someone nutters like that, here are some gift ideas:

Click here to see all the gifts in a single page.

Objectified: This documentary has its ups and downs, but it's good. If you are new to industrial design, it is going to give you a good view on how they make all these objects around us. More importantly, it will explain to you why they are the way they are, and what good design is all about. If you are not new to industrial design, it's worthy just to see Dieter Rams talking about design, and listen to Jon Ive getting all lyrical with his British accent. A perfect stocking filler for just $10. [iTunes Store]

New York Coffee Cup: It seems ordinary, and it is. It's not beautiful either. But with time and use, certain objects become popular icons that resonate through millions of photos, illustrations, movies and daily scenes. The New York "We Are Happy To Serve You" paper coffee cup, introduced in 1963, is one of them. Designer Exceptionlab collaborated with the Sweetheart Cup Company to turn the latter's paper cup into beautiful ceramics that actually feel like paper. The ordinary and disposable—180 million are used in NYC every year—turned into permanent design. $14. [Moma Store]

Lego Architecture buildings: There are many to choose from, including landmarks like New York's Empire State Building and Chicago's John Hancock Center, but my favorite is Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater house, perhaps because I always wanted to live in a house like that in the middle of the woods. That or in a sailboat across the world. Or both. From $20 for the landmark buildings to $100 of the Falling Water House. [Lego]

Paul Smith wallet: I know, wallets are boring. But not these. Why? They have neekeed ladies. The pretty pin-ups wallets designed by Paul Smith come in different sizes and configurations. The leather is beautiful, and so is the printing. How do I know it? Because I have the one in the photo. Start at $195. [Paul Smith]

BeoVision 10: Hookai, so generally I don't like B&O's overpriced AV equipment. I don't like most of their designs either. They just don't seem honest enough to me, except for the BeoVision 10. If I wanted to have a TV, this would be the one. I'm partial to projectors and silver screens, though. $8700 [B&O]

Braun wall audio equipment by Dieter Rams: I don't care if they work or not. I just want two L 450 flat loudspeakers, one TG 60 reel-to-reel tape recorder, one TS 45 control unit, and a PCS5 turntable. That's how beautiful audio looked in the sixties, and nothing has ever come close. And you know, actually I'm sure that the units you can find up for auction—mainly in Europe—still work fine, unlike their modern counterparts. You can find them on eBay starting at around $400. [EBay]

IMPOSSIBLE Replica of the America schooner: Yes, it is a sailboat. It's also one of the most beautifully designed objects I've ever cross paths with: The replica of a 1851 schooner called America. The original went to England to challenge the Brits at their own sailing game and won, becoming the origin of the America's Cup race. It's an example of beautiful honest design, in which every detail answered a need, nothing was extra, and every element was beautifully handcrafted, in harmony with everything else on board. The 140-foot schooner can carry 49 people, although I would like one just to carry two grown-ups and supplementary little people all around the world, with friends coming and going all the time. Just too expensive for most of us.

DON'T BUY Gadget cases: I have a hard time thinking about Jon Ive getting pissed off, like they would say in Inn-Gland. So calm, so civilized and zen and British... until he sees someone using an iPhone with a horrible case around it. I imagine he goes bonkers every time he sees his beautiful iPhone—one of the most minimalistic and beautiful electronic objects in existence—wrapped in a bag of naffness. Putting a case around a beautiful object is just not a possibility for anyone who really loves good design. I don't care if it's to protect it. I shattered my phone against the asphalt the other day to the tune of a $200 replacement, and I'm not putting it in a case. Why? Because beautiful objects are made to be enjoyed as they are, as the designer imagined them.

Sure, you can personalize them with a gelaskin or something that you make on your own. That's part of the life of the object too. But stuffing it into a fugly mass-produced plastic case? That's like someone putting golf pants in Michelangelo's David. Or your grandmother covering her sofa with a plastic cover. Or your going through life not loving or taking risks just because you are afraid you are going to break or get scratched. What's the point if you can't enjoy something fully? Exactly, there's no point. Don't buy. [Don't buy]

Don't forget to recommend your own favorite gifts for design lovers in the comments-include pics and pricing if possible.
All Giz Wants is our annual round-up of favorite gift ideas, including amazing attainable objects and a few far-out fantasies. We'll be popping guides catered to different interests several times per day for the next week, so keep checking back.

]]>
http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5412408&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Gifts For Space Explorers Who Swing Among the Stars]]> Hey you, Ground Controls and Major Toms orbiting out there! If you're a space aficionado or know someone who'd like to blast into the cosmos, it's time to take your protein pills. Here's the definitive go/no-go holiday gift list.

Click here to see all the gifts in a single page.

From the Earth to the Moon - The Signature Edition: This is one of my favorite TV series of all time. It's well scripted, acted, filmed, and directed, to the point in which you will get glassy eyes at some of the most dramatic and epic moments. My favorite is still the episode in which Apollo 12 arrives at the Moon, perhaps the most anticlimactic moment in the history of space travel. Even if you watched this on TV, each of the 12 episodes are a must to fully understand the titanic scope, knowledge, and courage that took humans into their trip from the Earth to the Moon. $15 [Amazon]

Lego Saturn V: This one is a given: Saturn V + command module + lunar module + lunar rover + Lego = Insane win. I wish it was as big as the gigantic Millennium Falcon, but it's good enough as it is. Everyone will like the set, and it's a perfect way to celebrate the 40 Anniversary of humankind's first trip to the Moon. $139 [Amazon]

Moonfire: At $1500, this is one very expensive book. But it is a limited edition of 1969 units. The last 12 of them—numbered from 1958 to 1968—have a moon rock inside, but those go for a creditbreaking $90,500. And the moon rock is not from the Apollo mission, but from a certified meteor. Alternatively, you can always buy the beautiful—and a lot cheaper at $31—Full Moon. $1500 [Taschen]

Trip to the Kennedy Space Center to watch a shuttle launch: Going to the Kennedy Space Center is always fun. Going to see a launch and feel the ground tremble below your feet while the sky fires up in Halloween orange and chimney red? Simply amazing. Going to watch one of the last shuttle launches next year? An absolute must. If you give this trip to any space aficionado out there, he or she will love you forever. $38 adult/$28 child for the admission ticket, add $21 adult/$15 child for guided tour, plus cost of flight and hotel. [Kennedy Space Center]

NASA Flight Jacket: The other day I got a real USAF fighter pilot jacket at a second hand shop. I wish I had that for a perfectly dorky Tom Cruise impression at the Dubai Air Show. This NASA Flight Jacket is the next best thing. Kind of. And it comes with all the patches. You only have to provide the Right Stuff. $79.99 [The Space Shop]

American Optics Pilot Eyeglasses: OK, so you got the jacket. Now you need the sunglasses. Forget about Ray-Bans. These American Optics' Original Pilot Sunglasses are the real thing, used by astronauts since the beginning of the human space program. You can choose different colors, lenses, and temples at their web site. Unfortunately, they no longer make the yellow bayonet model used by Michael Collins during the Apollo 11. Those are my favorites (pictured here). $70. [American Optics]

IMPOSSIBLE Ride in the Space Shuttle: Even if you had all the money in the world, NASA would never let you ride the shuttle. A Soyuz spacecraft, sure, but no space shuttle. Nosir, no big bang for you on top of this Reagan era wonder. You will have to enjoy this video and get over it, because sadly it wouldn't happen even if you were Steve Jobs, Bill Gates, and JesusChrist all rolled into one. No price tag. But you can go on Virgin Galactic for a cool $200k. [NASA]

DON'T BUY Astronaut ice cream: This thing is disgusting. I want to like it every time I try it, but it has the most horrible taste. Maybe they should clean those astronauts more throughly before making ice cream with them. Die space ice cream, die! Give me Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie any day. $4 [The Space Shop]

Don't forget to recommend your own favorite space gifts in the comments-include pics and pricing if possible.
All Giz Wants is our annual round-up of favorite gift ideas, including amazing attainable objects and a few far-out fantasies. We'll be popping guides catered to different interests several times per day for the next week, so keep checking back.

]]>
http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5411986&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Lego Papercraft Crossover Possible with Clever Muji Hole Puncher]]> The Muji hole punch, with its strategically placed punchers, takes Lego blocks, combines them with paper, and makes a whole mess of adorableness. Import from Japan for literally minutes of fun. [Muji via Highs Nobiety via MAKE via Boing Boing]

]]>
http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5410302&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Knocking Down 117 Toys Balanced on Single Lego Brick]]> How could you make 117 toys stand balanced over one single 4 x 2 Lego brick? I don't know how, but artist Walter Wick has the answer, and has make this really cute video about it. [Boing Boing]

]]>
http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5405904&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Do Lego Constructions Have a Soul?]]> "When you take apart a Lego house and mix the pieces into the bin, where does the house go?" Thank you for another sleepless night. [XKCD]

]]>
http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5404839&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[This Week's Gaming Stories You Cannot Miss]]> Look, it's the box art from Star Trek Online (along with new screens and impressions)! Also read on for the latest infotainment regarding Diablo III, a Diablo clone, the Avatar game and, of course, Modern Warfare 2.

Even More Star Trek Online Screens
Confession: I downloaded these off Atari's press site, just for my own personal "use."

Star Trek Online Preview: Ignoring Regulation
Btw, Jason Chen and I are also very actively begging our way into a press beta. Wish us luck.

LEGO Rock Band Review: Redefining The Rock Block
Spoiler: It's like every other Rock Band title, but with LEGO.

Avatar: The Navi Side Of The Story
Which will lose more money, the movie or the game?

StarCraft II Expansions, Diablo III Coming in "Next Few Years"
Just like I predicted, Diablo III won't be here until 2011...at the earliest. Being right can suck.

Diabloriffic Torchlight Coming To Retail
So since Diablo III will take so long, feel free to sleep around a bit.

Modern Warfare 2 Sells Nearly Five Million Copies In A Day
That's a launch of over $300 million in revenue.

Borderlands Sequel A "No-Brainer"
My siren is level 28. Frucci's hunter is like level bajillion.

They Made The Wii Bowling Ball, And They're Not Done Yet
There's plenty more plastic crap where that came from!

Oh...and as a little bonus, the worst lines in the history of video games:

[Today's Big Thing]

]]>
http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5404334&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Carl Sagan Deep Space Ship to Go to the Living Room and Beyond]]> When I was 12, Cosmos was one of my favorite TV shows. The other was Benny Hill. Clearly, planetary exploration and semi-neekeed girls go together like William Shatner and Elton John songs, whiskey and glass, or Lego and awesome spaceships.

This is the Carl Sagan deep exploration vessel, created by Ed Diment and Ralph Savelsberg—an expert in all things aircrafty and Lego. And while it's not big enough to hold a team of astronauts in search of alien civilizations, it's larger than its creators. And it just plain kick ass, even without auto-tuning. [Flickr via Brothers Brick]

]]>
http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5401363&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Magic Volumes Have Three Different Magic Shadows]]> The uncanny Photosketch tool was not the only magic software tool debuting at Siggraph Asia 2009. These amorphous volumes can magically throw three different object shadows, all thanks to a program called Shadow Art. See it in action here:

According to developers Niloy J. Mitra and Mark Pauly, Shadow Art is a tool to create abstract sculptures that can cast three different shadows, depending on the angle they are oriented against the a light source. These sculptures can be built in the physical world with any material, not only Lego, as well as used in 3D rendering programs to achieve the same effect. [Shadow Art via bldgblog]

]]>
http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5400618&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Here Be Lego Dragons]]> Dragons existed? Well, no, not unless their bones were made of Lego.

Which would have been equally cool, right?! I mean, we discover dragons exist, and then we learn that their magical bones are made from one of the world's most beloved customizable creations? Nerdgasm, not to mention an epic overhaul of the paleontology field as we know it.

But sadly, no, this is just the work of Flickr user Necromancer7, who seems to have a completely unsurprising gift for creating dead things that live again in Lego form. [Flickr via Brothers Brick]

]]>
http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5399753&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[The Perfect Lego NES Only Plays Bricked Tetris]]> This full scale Lego NES reproduction is exactly like the original, complete with video and audio connectors, gamepads with flexible cables made out of solid pieces, pushable buttons, and a working front-loading mechanism to insert the included Tetris cartridge.

Confession: I always thought Mario was pixelated because he was made of Lego bricks himself. [MOCOlympics via Brothers Brick]

]]>
http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5397883&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[The Biggest Lego Mario Ever Built]]> If you have $3700 handy, you can buy this 6-foot tall, 110-pound, 40,000-brick Lego Mario, the biggest ever built. It took one week to plan, and 175 hours over 16 days to build.

You don't have to feel like a dorky geek for buying it, because the money will go to charity. So you can feel like a good-hearted dorky geek.

The auction lasts till November 1st, and the money will go to the Ronald McDonald foundation in Netherlands, "a dutch organization that arranges proper housing for relatives of hospitalized children, in the vicinity of clinics." [eBay via Brothers Brick]

]]>
http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5389282&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Assault the Lego Wedding Castle, Save the Princess, Save the World]]> Showing again that Lego dorks can be loved to the point of marriage, reader Clint Cox has sent his cool Lego wedding cake, in which a heroic Lego minifig assaults the castle to rescue the princess from the eeeveel dragon:

Wanted to share this… I am an avid (daily) Gizmodo reader (commenter GarouDiams).

I have played with Legos since I was a little kid. When my wife gave me free reign over my groom's cake, I knew what I wanted… A Lego castle cake. I still have the manuals and the pieces for the Kings Castle (6080) and Knight's Castle (6073). I recently got the new King's Castle Siege (7094), which set the mental gears turning. After a trip to the Lego store in Houston to pick up some individual bricks, I turned over some of my pieces and a sketch of what I wanted: a tiered chocolate cake with chocolate / vanilla icing and an epic battle for the life of an ill-fated bride.

The cake was make from scratch by a friend of the family.

I'm a little disappointed it's not the classic Lego Yellow Castle, but congratulations to both of you, Clint. Photography by Whitney Lee Photography of Austin, TX

]]>
http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5387974&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Lego Pop-Up Building Makes My Head Pop Up Too]]> Andrew—from The Brothers Brick—says that this Lego Kinkaku-ji Buddhist temple leaves him speechless. I have to admit that I just couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the whole building popping up from a closed box. Magic.

Built with 4,500 bricks and weighing almost nine pounds, the Lego Kinkaku-ji Buddhist pop-up temple is truly a marvel of Lego engineering. That's why these bricks will never cease to fill me with absolute wonderment. [Talapz via Brothers Brick]

]]>
http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5386002&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[The Lego House Is Dead. Long Live the Lego Kitchen!]]> I was sad that the Lego house was destroyed, but happy to know that its spirit lives in this Lego kitchen, a Scandinavian clusterfuck made with a Swedish IKEA kitchen island and more than 20,000 pieces of Danish Lego.

It may be that I really miss my Lego Timer, but I wouldn't mind to have this at all. So freaky funky colorful. [Flickr via The Cool Hunter via uuh.. internet]

]]>
http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5382509&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Elecom's Lego Style Earphones Sound Like a Lawsuit Waiting to Happen]]> Available in a range of colors, these knock off Lego-inspired earbuds are perfect for those too lazy to pull out a glue-gun. The PlayBrick EHP-CIN40s include four different earbud sizes, and cost $44 imported from: [GeekStuff4U via Akihabara News]

]]>
http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5378082&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Lego R2-D2 Minifig Mod Adds Sound and Light]]> Sorry Jason. You trumped my LED Lego stormtrooper minifig with your cylon and Iron Man, but this modded R2-D2 Lego minifig kills them all with lighting and actual Star Wars astromech sounds. [Brickmodder via FBTB via Brothers Brick]

]]>
http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5375351&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Knitted Lego Minifig Will Replace My Teddy Bear]]> Oh Lego Minifig, you were perfect in your plastic symmetry and Mona Lisa smile before. But now that you've been knitted, I just want to hug you. Unfortunately, you can't buy this right away. You'll have to do it yourself:

Some Assembly Required is a pattern that will enable you to make an adorable toy that can be taken apart and put together again. The head, torso, and legs are independent pieces, so you could make multiple pieces in different colors and they would be interchangeable.

I've included a tutorial on boxes and edges so you can make nice crisp corners. The tutorial isn't necessary to make the toy, but it may be helpful.

OK, people from Etsy, I'm too lazy. Go knit! [Fight Knitting Club—thanks Kimberly]

]]>
http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5372213&view=rss&microfeed=true
<![CDATA[Lego Star Wars Flash Memory Keyrings]]> The Force is so strong in these Star Wars Lego Minifig flash memory keyrings that it can actually give Lego Yoda a three-stud stiffy. That's a D17 in real world penis sizes. A lot, all these I like:

You can get these reconverted original Lego minifigs in 2GB and 4GB sizes, for $60 and $70 respectively, both running at USB 2.0 speeds. [Etsy via ChipChick]

]]>
http://gizmodo.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5369824&view=rss&microfeed=true