"Doing it right"

Flickr user Drywall has created exceptional LEGO mecha based on the "Gekko" units from the Sony Playstation 3 title, Metal Gear Solid 4. Theses particular in-game designs have inspired LEGO mecha of my own. You can see the Gekkos moving around and mooing in the video below, real fantastic work on the part of the artists behind the game.



 
The animation and sound effects are so great. A real contrast to the boring legged slabs revealed in the Black Ops 2 trailer.



He has also created this equally magnificent realization of a "Think Tank" from Ghost in the Shell. Both of José's models stray from their inspirations; while retaining the concepts imagined by original artists the LEGO builder has tastefully added features of his own.

Geoff Herndon's Gekko. It is scaled to the LEGO minifigure, though I daresay the legs aren't spindly enough.

Tim Gould's GiTS Think Tank.

And the art sucks, too

I can't say that I'm very much into playing video games these days. They occupied a great deal of my attention back in junior high school, but I have since lost interest and neglect to keep up on them. That said, the "Call of Duty" franchise has gained a strong following over the past three or four years, and me being in high school amongst the target demographic, I am sure to encounter buzz when new titles are announced.



The Call of Duty franchise was once renowned for its realism in presenting the battlefields of WWII. The trailer reveals the upcoming title, Black Ops 2, is to be set in the future, justifying these legged mechs. Which, if I may offer my opinion, are butt ugly. Perhaps the developers are new and inexperienced at creating futuristic universes and technologies, or maybe it is that they're rushing to crank out a new title for every holiday season and don't the time or resources to put together a better art direction.

Here's some guys within the LEGO sphere doing it correctly.
 


Dane and FateHeart, respectively. I like how Dane's look as if it was a tracked vehicle retro-fitted with legs, the greeblies are great. FateHeart's is just a fun time on teeny feet, there's good humor in the crewman with the katana as well.


Mladen Pejic, of course.

But this isn't to say that wheels haven't gone out of fashion in the future, as Jas Nagra's recent future-military models prove:


Two years ago I featured a couple of vertical tanks of his design, so he's not all about wheels and tracks. I can really admire Nagra's control regarding excessive detail. No surface is made more complicated than it needs to be, the result is something very clean and functional. As the cluttered Black Ops artwork shows, restraint isn't always exhibited in science fiction artwork.

Hey that's not official

System? Bionicle? Fabuland? Jack Stone? Clickits?



No sir, them Rabbids is illegitimate. Regardless, it's a spiffy Star Wars: Episode I pod racer design, although exhaust from the center engine would probably blast the 'Bids in the face. That might explain their expressions.

By Jocelyn.

Say those figurines remind me of this bro with very little brains:



Now that's some cool joint Christiansen-Milne swag, though Disney probably got in more than his fair share too. Look at his expression, he's either sugar-high from too much honey or he's trolling. He extends one arm as to shake paws, but what he intends with the other is a mystery. Respect.

How much do these go for on Bricklink?

Lego Kidsfest 2011, Pittsburg

Via Mark of Classic Game room. He does say "legos" quite a bit, but you'll have to deal with it. Mark and the CGR is really the only media outlet I follow when it comes to teh vidya gamez. I think gamer culture has degraded from the nerdy pastime into the mainstream wannabe-geek entertainment hub it is today. Poo.

About four minutes he features some of Peter Morris' starfighters, which for me is the highlight. Some of the fighers in the video:



click any of the images to see his starfighter photo set.



Classic Game Room on Youtube.

Peter Morris' flickr.

omg halo legos

Because everyone knows Lego models based on popular video games is a sure-fire way to get page views and geek cred.

MOCpages user Stephen Chao is a Tiawanese Lego builder. Both prolific and skilled, his latest model is based on a design from the acclaimed Halo video game franchise.



Chuck Citrin's "Petrel" light dropship comes to mind; it too was based on art from Halo:


Such SNOT!

Huib Versteeg's represents a Main Battle Tank from the Command and Conquer video games.





shamless pluggin'. sshhhh. from battalion wars.

Also, Ryan Wood is auctioning one of his models to benefit disaster relief efforts in Japan. Follow the links here to view and bid.

THIS

is how to use cheese slopes.

Geoff knows the music.

Geoff Herndon, AKA Tekka Croe, has built a very nice ODST drop pod. The main reason this is the best one I've ever seen is that it's not a box: Geoff has actually given it some complex shaping. The second feature that stands out from many other Lego drop pods is that the doors hinge rather than just coming off.

As the next part of the quotation I used in the title goes, "time to dance." This is clearly applicable, because below is a video, and videos move, and people who are dancing move. Get it?

Art III, and then some.

In 2005 I received Battalion Wars for Christmas. It's a great game, combining Advance Wars style strategy with real-time 3rd person action. Something that attracted me moreover was the cartoonish art style. The following models were rendered by a man by the name of Gavin Rothery:





The game art was also an inspiration for a Lego model of mine.

Rothery also did concept design for the movie, Moon, which debuted last summer.


I'll have to snatch a copy when it comes out on DVD. There's a whole lot of goodies on his website, be sure to check it out.

Plastic highlights on the flickr streams include a simplistic but still funky skyscraper by Justin Vaughn and another microspace ship by Soren.

Dave Sterling Vs. Crismo Giger

In round Six of the MOColympics over at mocpages.com .

Sterling won with his Life-Size NES:



...And matching controllers and "tetris" game pak.


However I did find Crismo Giger's entry more creative, he uses decorative technic pieces to mimic the backdrop of an old-skool shoot 'em up. It's refreshing in the sense that 99% of the Lego builds out there are built with the third dimension in mind.

525, 600 Minutes.

Sometimes, a builder builds something fantastic

And sometimes, rebuilds are necessary.



Which version is better? You decide dear reader, I'm going on a roadtrip.

Medivac Dropship

By Matt AKA "Pepa Quin"




I don't know enough about PC gaming to know exactly what this is, but it turns out it's a Medivac Dropship from StarCraft II.

Check out the color blocking on the model, Matt is able to use six colors without overloading our eyes.

Taiidan Gunship

Every once in a while, there comes along a build that reaches the limits of the genre, and smashes through them with amazing results. I believe Rob's gunship may be the best model of 2009. I'll have to think a while to back that up, but look at it.

MY LIFE FOR AIUR!

by Pepa Quin

Beat you to it!

I saw your draft.

Anyway, Kidthor has produced yet another mech stomping out of the WH40K universe- a dreadnought. A very big dreadnought.

Happy Robot Day 3!

But angry alien wants to kill the humanoids...


(credit thwaak)

Yeah, WH40K is all right

But every Mecha's heart has room for a little Gundam love:


by torokimasa

I like how simple this is. With the exception of the cheese slopes and some internal snot bricks, I'm sure, it looks like it could be built from pieces available a decade ago.

Taiidan Scout Ship

I don't think I've ever seen legodrome's work before- which makes me sad, because everything he's built is uniquely interesting. For example, his most recent creation, the Taiidan scout ship from Homeworld:

O_O

gallery, credit vana.

A smash return

People don't often build miniature version of their models, but mingminzeno's mini Ragnarok is a great shrinkage of the original:



(source)

Shakespearian Proportions!

I hope this beast makes up for yesterday's mishap. The Mammoth tank by Peter Morris. I think nnenn put it best when he said "[E]very inch is a little spot to explore... lots of texture."