Gizmodo: legos

25-Minute Lego Halo Fan Movie: Watch the Trailer!

Danny Allen — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 08:55:00 EST

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]

Almost Identical Fender Amp Replica Constructed Out of Old, Unmodified Lego Pieces

Andi Wang — Mon, 18 May 2009 20:30:00 EDT

Using an old bin of Lego bricks that hadn't been touched in 15 years, Dave Chatterson constructed this Lego amplifier—a replica of a Fender Princeton Reverb amp—in under a week.

The replica amp is not only fitted with realistic looking knobs, a grille, handle, speaker, switches, power cords and foot switches, but also has similar internal wiring to match. But because all of this was constructed using Lego parts, the amplifier doesn't actually work. That's ok though—since it's not being held together using glue or any other sort of adhesives, if someone were to actually rock out on this amp, it'd fall to pieces. [Fender via CrunchGear]

Lego Mariners Realize, Destroy Universal Childhood Fantasies

John Herrman — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 05:20:11 EDT

Everyone who's grown up with Legos has mused about the limits. Could I build a car? A house? A boat? Now you can tell your inner child: Yes! Just don't let him watch the end.

Japanese boy band Arashi constructed a boat capable of keeping the whole group of four afloat, assisted only by the natural buoyancy of the boys' whimsy. It worked! For a while! Then, as you can see for yourself, things fell apart disastrously. The only salve I can offer for your bruised, waterlogged dreams is this: Japanprobe thinks the Legos are knockoffs.

OK good, now that we've got that settled, next we shall conquer the sky! And by we, I mean Japanese boy band Arashi. [Japanprobe]

Yankee Stadium Gets a Glorious Lego Send-Off

Sean Fallon — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:00:00 EDT

For die-hard Yankee's fans like myself, this has definitely been a year to forget. I think everyone would agree that the season itself was a total disaster, and I'm sure that there are a lot of people that are sad to see the old stadium go. Lego artist Sean Kenney is one of those people, which is why he and a Manhattan grade schooler spent three years building a 60" x 66" x 14" replica (1:150 scale) using 45,700 bricks. As you can see, the result of their efforts so far is impressive. When completed, the stadium will be populated with tons of miniature spectators and vendors. A full gallery is available after the break.

[Sean Kenney via Craziest Gadgets via Coolbuzz]

Question of the Day: Do You Say "Lego" or "Legos?"

Sean Fallon — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 16:50:00 EDT

We desperately need you to settle an ongoing debate for us. When you refer to everyone's favorite plastic brick building blocks in the plural form, do you say "Lego" or "Legos?" Lego is technically the correct term—but it sounds weird. I mean "I would like a box of Lego for Christmas" vs. "I would like a box of Legos for Christmas." Words used in the English language that are the same in both the singular and plural form are always awkward—but dammit, this one is important. So we must ask: do you say "Lego" or "Legos?"

Lego-Built Wall-E: It Was Only a Matter of Time

Sean Fallon — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:10:00 EDT

It was only a matter of time before someone decided to tackle a Lego version of Disney-Pixar's cute little cash cow Wall-E. After a three month planning session, Joe Meno, editor of BrickJournal magazine, managed to get the job done. The result is a very impressive model that features a moving neck and arms along with rolling treads. Hit the Flickr gallery for the full set of photos. [Flickr via Brothers Brick]

UM-5 War Doll Lego Mecha Pops Open To Reveal Pilot Cockpit

Adrian Covert — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 21:31:51 EDT

Lego enthusiast Brian Kescenovitz created a Lego mecha with a hatch mechanism that reveals a pilot in the cockpit. Called the UM-5 War Doll, it's inspired by the VS suits from the game Lost Planet, but I can't help but think of MechWarrior. Best Lego mecha ever, right? [Monday Noodle's Lego Pages via Brothers Brick]

Artist Repairs Walls In Italy With Lego Bricks

Elaine Chow — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 13:00:00 EDT

In an art stunt that Jesus is sure to love, artist and lego enthusiast Jan Vormann went around the quiet little town of Bocchignano, Italy filling its decrepit walls with lego pieces.

The work was done as part of an Italian group project “20 Eventi.” A group of artists developed projects in the Sabina region to create a open-air museum that spans four villages. [Boing Boing]

Question of the Day: Do You Still Play With Toys?

Sean Fallon — Fri, 16 May 2008 19:40:00 EDT

After diving into the disastrous effects having a toy collection can have on the love life of a grown man, I feel compelled to ask: are you an adult that still plays with toys? And, just to be clear, when I say "toys" I am referring to products normally reserved for children—like action figures and legos. If you do, make sure to list your favorites in the comments.

World's Tallest Lego Tower Reaches 10096.13-Foot Mark

Sean Fallon — Tue, 06 May 2008 18:30:00 EDT

Once again, the record for the world's largest Lego tower has fallen. Last year, the Lego bricks towered 96 feet over Toronto. This year, in celebration of Lego's 50th anniversary, participants at Legoland in Windsor, UK built a tower resembling a Viking longboat mast that managed to hit the 96.13-feet mark. [Metro and Daily Mail]

The Stackable, Smackable Lego Desktop Calendar

Sean Fallon — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 19:30:00 EDT

Ok, it may not be an officially licensed product, but the term Lego-esque certainly applies to this desktop calendar. In true Lego style, the sections can be stacked and configured into any pattern you choose—and changing the date is as simple as smacking the top of each brick. And we all know that relieving some stress by smacking something at the office can be good thing...except when it is a face and/or ass. Available for around $27 US. [Early Adopter via TFTS via Uberreview]

Lego Iron Man Must Be Seen to Be Believed

Sean Fallon — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 19:40:42 EST

A masterful Lego builder that goes by the name of Arvo is the man responsible for this unbelievably awesome Iron Man figure. And with results like that, the dude doesn't even need a last name. Just whispering "Arvo" will get grab the attention of geeks the world over. Damn I wish there were more pictures. Apparently Arvo likes to slowly add them to increase the suspense. [Arvo's Brickshelf Gallery via Brothers Brick via Neatorama]

Lego Master Working on 100,000 Piece, 21-Foot Battleship Yamato Model

Adam Frucci — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 10:45:00 EST

Japanese Lego builder Jun Brick (think that's his real name?) has been hard at work at a 1:40 model of the famous Battleship Yamato for over a year. This gargantuan model puts the Millennium Falcon to shame, stretching out for over 20 feet and using a whopping 100,000 pieces. He posts a metric ton of photos on his site as he works on it, giving us a really cool look at each step of the process and just how much work goes into building a model of this size. Impressive, to say the least.
[Jun Brick via Boing Boing Gadgets]

Happy 75th Birthday, Lego!

Mark Wilson — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 10:20:51 EDT

Today, Lego turns a ripe old age of 75. Founded in 1932 by carpenter Ole Kirk Christiansen from Billund, Denmark, the company made wooden toys. The trademark name didn't come until 1934, inspired from the Danish words "leg godt" (play well), and it wasn't until 1949 that Lego began producing their now-famous interlocking bricks.

The design finalized in 1958 and it took another five years to find proper materials to produce the blocks. So even though Legos are one of those "why didn't I think of that" ideas, creating the actual product was a painstaking process. Luckily that process will pay off for generations to come.

Ahh, Legos. I actually have none in my home at the moment, despite a plethora of other adult adolescent gear. Maybe it's a good day for a run to the store. [earthtimes via neatorama]

Pokemon Legos Make Dialga and Palkia Even Awesomer

Jason Chen — Fri, 06 Jul 2007 14:00:20 EDT

Mega Bloks may not be as cool as LEGOs, but do LEGOs form together and build Dialga and Palkia, the two legendary Pokemon from the two newest Pokemon games? We think not.

Not only can you form these creatures and wreak havok on time and space (we forget which is which), there are a few other little blocks with faces of various other Pokemon on there as well. We'll save our dignity by pretending we don't know the names of all of them. $43 each.

Product Page [Mega Channel via Kotaku]

Gallery: 10 Coolest Lego Weapons to Slay the Easter Bunny With

Matt Buchanan — Sun, 08 Apr 2007 14:30:45 EDT

Big or small, functional or not, modern or medieval, we didn't care. If it was somehow constructed with Legos, and looked like it was capable of taking down a three-foot rabbit weighed down by Easter baskets, we grabbed it. Rabbits that large are a menace to society and need to be taken out. Some actually shoot rubber bands (or fire), which makes them even better for whipping up a little rabbit stew.

What'd we miss? And what's in your Easter basket?

– Matt Buchanan

Inspired by Flickr via Dethroner

The Massively Multiplayer Online Lego Game!

Jason Chen — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 17:10:46 EST

This is a bit Kotaku-y, but hell, we think 99.99% of Gizmodo readers love legos, so we're bringing this to you anyway. Apparently, NetDevil is going to develop a massively multiplayer online game based on Legos.

Imagine Second Life, but instead of being shitty, scammy, and filled with graphics from 1998 it's actually fun! You could theoretically build your own houses, castles, cars, helicopters, and Bat Caves out of Legos! Awesome! Exclamation marks galore! – Jason Chen

Lego MMO Revealed [Kotaku]

Nutrition-Free Kellogg's Lego Fruit Flavored Snacks, Lego Logo and All

Charlie White — Wed, 14 Feb 2007 11:35:30 EST

Judging from the overwhelming interest in anything we post about Lego, we're thinking that some of the visitors to the Giz love Lego so much they want to put them in their mouths, and probably do from time to time.

Now here's your chance to do that without that pesky choking hazard. Kellogg's comes to the rescue with Lego Fruit Flavored Snacks, which contain no nutritional value whatsoever and may not even be food as we know it.

They're probably a part of the Gummy Bears food group. But never mind all that nutri-nagging. They're Lego, folks, it says on the box that they're fun, and they have a Lego logo on there, too. Eat 'em up! – Charlie White

Product page [Kellogg's, via Oh Gizmo]

Lego Belt: We're Warning You

Charlie White — Thu, 25 Jan 2007 16:00:00 EST

If you ever, ever want to get laid again, don't wear this $20 belt. Just don't. You've been warned.

Oh, it's for girls? That's different. Never mind. – Charlie White

Geek Couture: The Lego Belt [Uber-Review]

Old School Beer-Opening Lego Device

Travis Hudson — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 16:30:48 EST

Now this is one hell of a Lego mechanical device. None of that new-school, open-source Mindstorms nonsense here. This is straight up mechanical Legos capable of opening a beer bottle with ease. It may be a bit slower than traditional beer-opening methods, but it is a hell of a lot cooler. – Travis Hudson