Just in time for the fiftieth anniversary of the movie Jaws comes the Official Jaws LEGO Set!
Click on the pics to enlargen (you're gonna need a bigger browser):
At a hundred and fifty bucks this is actually a pretty good deal for a LEGO set this large.
Click on over to GeekTyrant for more photos of this amazing set!
It's not all LEGO: though the company makes tiny rubber tires for the minifig-scale vehicles, it's yet to enter the market in competition with Michelin or Goodyear. But that detail aside, the Super Awesome Micro Project funded and built by Australian Steve Sommarito and Romanian Raul Oaida is practically 100% LEGO blocks. Total number of pieces: about half a million. |
| 1-Point-21 jigawatts of LEGO awesome! |
And yes, it even has minifigs of Marty McFly (with skateboard) and Doc Brown! Incidentally, CUUSOO designers who see their ideas on the store shelves get 1% of the profit, and the two guys who collaborated on this model are donating their cut to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.- Jabba's Palace was first built by the B'omarr Monks, who continued to live within it and practice their religion long after after Jabba the Hutt took over and made it his headquarters.
- The Hagia Sophia was a Christian basilica until 1453 when Ottoman Turks forced their way inside, slaughtering thousands of innocent people whose blood poured into the streets of Constantinople. From that time on Christians were forbidden from worshiping within their own building.
Got that? Good. Because it only makes the claim by a group of Turkish Austrians that LEGO's new Jabba's Palace set from its Star Wars line is "racist" and an affront to religion all the more ridiculous.
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| LEGO version of Jabba's Palace (left) and Hagia Sophia in Istanbul (right) One is a place that has known murder, slavery and intolerance toward others. The other is a children's toy. |
From The Telegraph article...
Austria’s Turkish community said the model was based on Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul and that the accompanying figures depicted Asians and Orientals as people with “deceitful and criminal personalities.”Hit the link for plenty more of this ludicrous story, including a statement LEGO released in response to what the Turks are insisting.The Turkish Cultural Community of Austria released a statement calling for Lego to apologise for affronting religious and cultural feelings.
The anger was provoked by “Jabba’s Palace”, a model of the home of Jabba the Hutt from Lego’s Star Wars product range based on the blockbusting series of science fiction films.
Jabba is the large slug-like creature who holds Han Solo captive in the film Return of the Jedi, and his palace is the setting for several crucial scenes, including using Princess Leia as his slave.
Jabba’s domed home and accompanying watchtower bare, according to the statement, an unwanted resemblance to Istanbul’s great Hagia Sophia, and another mosque in Beirut
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The Jabba case came to light after an Austrian Turk complained to the organisation after his sister had bought his son the box set.
Austria’s Turkish community also took issue with the figures that went with the palace, including Jabba.
“The terrorist Jabba the Hutt likes to smoke a hookah and have his victims killed,” said the statement posted on the organisation’s website.
“It is clear that the ugly figure of Jabba and the whole scene smacks of racial prejudice and vulgar insinuations against Asians and Orientals as people with deceitful and criminal personalities.”
The crimes associated with the figures, the statements adds, include terrorism, slavery, murder and human sacrifice.
Taking into account that many of the Lego figures carry weapons, the Turkish organisation also urged parents “not to buy toys of war or toys of discrimination” as the model goes against the “peaceful coexistence of different cultures in Europe”.
As an indication of the anger felt over Jabba’s Palace, the organisation said it was considering taking legal action against Lego for inciting racial hatred and insulting human dignity.
How about some more comparison? Like, how the Turks in Austria are claiming that "The crimes associated with the figures... include terrorism, slavery, murder and human sacrifice."
There are numerous accounts written by those who survived the conquest of Constantinople about how Sultan Mehmet II allowed his soldiers to plunder the city for three days: butchering anyone who got in their way, stealing from homes and separating families. Mehmet II took the city's most beautiful young women - and men - to be in his private harem (those who resisted were beheaded). Many boys were pressed into the service of the Janissary corps. Not long after the conquest, the Ottoman Turkish sultan sent several thousands of children to each of the major potentates of the Muslim world to be slaves.
So far as we know, the only criminal activities that Jabba the Hutt and his gang engaged in were spice-smuggling and gun-running.
Nor do I ever recall Jabba employing suicide bombers, declaring jihad against anyone or even declaring that Luke's announcing himself as a Jedi as being "blasphemy". Come to think of it, Jabba tolerated a lot of "coexistence of different cultures" at his court.
Yup, Jabba the Hutt and his palace are insulting to certain cultures and religions, no doubt about it...
Dang! But I am soooooo going this route if I ever get hit with male-pattern baldness :-P
Artist and designer Elroy Klee came up with a rather radical notion: LEGO wigs! GeekTyrant has more pics of his work.
Great work Elroy! But I have to wonder: what was it like to tell three beautiful women "Here, I want you to wear LEGO on your head..."?
From the story at Boing Boing...
Boing Boing reader Jeff Hindman says he chanced across a "giant Legoman washed ashore" today while strolling on the beach at Siesta Key Village, Fla.Doesn't look like the LEGO man is in any distress from his ordeal. I mean, look at how big his smile is :-P"It is very big, about 8 ft. tall," Hindman said. " ... I worked with Lego in my younger days, but this piece is amazing, it's still there on the beach."
A photo of the creature shows it beached on a sandbank, in otherwise good condition. On its chest is the message, "No real than you are."
This suggests it has the same origin as Lego men who washed ashore in Zandvoort, Holland, three years ago, and then in Brighton, England.
And not only that, but it's fully functional too! PLUM B's LEGO Lancer shoots rubber bands. And yes, the chainsaw bayonet even revs-up to make mincemeat out of those pesky Locust grubs and Lambent mutants!
Now if only we could have this sitting on the shelves at Toys R Us in time for Christmas...
That is absolutely insanely AWESOME!! And if you want more, GeekTyrant has this and another version of the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man scene from Ghostbusters recreated in LEGO.
Hat tip to Chad Austin for the great find!
Thanks to Paul Steinbrueck for such a delightful (and clever) find!
The bad news is that the felt-tip markers cost $45 to replace (just kidding :-)
Seriously though: that is hella awesome!
I never want to have to write a summary sentence like that again.
Sophia Heesch, a teenager from Germany, was recently on a TV show in that country called Wetten, dass...? (translated into English it's "Wanna Bet...?") demonstrating her... talent. Sophia, without looking at it, can be given a Star Wars LEGO minifigure and just from sucking on it and feeling with her tongue, can tell whether the minifig is Han Solo or Yoda, and even more unusual characters like the ASP Droid.
Here is the clip of Sophia showing off her amazing powers!
Wetten, dass...? is a German game show, so apparently Sophia won some money. Remember that next time you yell at your kids for putting toys in their mouths :-P
This thing looks scary. Sorta intimidating like the Voight-Kampff machine from Blade Runner. But set your faces to stunned y'all: the CubeStormer can solve any Rubik's cube puzzle on its own in twelve seconds or less, and sometimes even in less than five seconds!
Check it out...
Mike Stimpson is a photographer... and a LEGO maniac. So he combined his love of both and came up with a series of pics replicating some of the most famous images in modern history with LEGO bricks and minfigs (like Stimpson's take on the classic VJ Day kiss in New York City, shown at right). The Daily Beast has more about Stimpson's work along with the photos that inspired them. And if you want to check out the rest of his stuff, click on through to Mike Stimpson's official website.(Thanks to Lee Shelton for the great find!)
And yesterday the site showcased the stunning work of some folks who took LEGO and rendered some classic images from the Dune saga...
I'm now tempted to break out my own LEGOs and see if I can build Leto II or a Guild Navigator :-)
Take, f'rinstance, Jericho: The Promise Fulfilled, a 28-minute long film – done in stop-motion animation with LEGO bricks – about the fall of Jericho from the Book of Joshua in the Bible.
I first wrote about this movie a few weeks ago. And also about Anthony and Jessica Rondina: the brother/sister pair who have earned widespread praise and official acclaim for their work on the film. Well, after I posted that I got a really nice e-mail from Jessica Rondina letting me know that they would be hosting a free public screening of Jericho: The Promise Fulfilled at StoneBridge Church, their home church, on the evening of July 31st.
Now, some people might think it's a bit crazy to drive two hours one-way just to see a short film starring little yellow LEGO minifigs. But this kind of thing cries out to me like the irresistible lure of the fabled Sirens. So on Friday afternoon I got in the car and set out to see, as I called it when asking if I was at the right place, "the little LEGO movie".
I spent the two hours driving back trying to think up enough adjectives to describe what I had just witnessed. And after watching the DVD of Jericho: The Promise Fulfilled three more times over the weekend, I still can't produce adequate hyperbole to convey my delight about this film!
But first, a little setup about what went down that night. I was quickly greeted by director Anthony Rondina, who showed me the display of some of the sets and "actors"...
Mark and Wendy Rondina - the producers of Jericho: The Promise Fulfilled and the co-producers of Anthony and Jessica (i.e. their parents) - went all-out to create a true cinematic experience for us, even getting a movie theater-style popcorn machine!
A little after 7 p.m. the show began, with the pastor of StoneBridge Church introducing the Rondina family. Wendy Rondina then briefly discussed how Jericho: The Promise Fulfilled has been making the rounds at film festivals.
Wendy Rondina also talked about how Christian filmmaking is starting to really come into its own, with many people now beginning to realize the talents that they have been given in this powerful medium. And I fully agree with her. In fact, in many ways the film we were about to see epitomizes something I've been saying for years on this blog and elsewhere: that the technology has finally become such that anyone can make an excellent film. The opportunity is definitely there. We just need to make the most of it with what God has given us.
And then the film started...
Jericho: The Promise Fulfilled is an unparalleled achievement not just in Christian filmmaking, but for the art of stop-motion animation. I have seen many LEGO-rendered films over the years but if any one of them has approached the technical complexity, the sheer ambition and all-out comedic genius of Jericho: The Promise Fulfilled, my mind is drawing a blank. This was very much a labor of love on the part of the Rondinas and their colleagues at Gideon Production Group and it's only too obvious that they poured, if I might paraphrase from Mark 12:30, all their soul and all their mind and all their strength into this film. Its production took a year and a half: a testimony to the dedication and passion of the people who made it.
Jericho: The Promise Fulfilled is about the epic conquest of Jericho by the Hebrews following their four decades of wandering in the wilderness. Two things that I feel compelled to note about this film from the getgo. The first is the insane amount of research that Jessica Rondina did in writing the script. Like stuff about Rahab which isn't necessarily in the Bible itself, but is still ancient Jewish tradition. The second thing is that Jericho: The Promise Fulfilled never takes itself too seriously! It is a film all too aware of its nature of being done in LEGO, and that leads to some very clever visual gags inspired by the properties of LEGO bricks (but I ain't spillin' the beans, you'll just have to see for yourself :-). Between that and how Jericho: The Promise Fulfilled pays homage to such pop culture icons as The Matrix and Cops, this might be the most offbeat and fun example of Christian filmmaking that I've yet seen. Indeed: the thought crossed my mind more than once during the screening that if they keep this up, Anthony and Jessica and their crew might well become Christian movies' answer to Monty Python!
For its writing and comedic creativity alone, Jericho: The Promise Fulfilled would shine. But in terms of technical production, the film is utterly mind-blowing: a glorious orchestra of stop-motion, in-camera practical effects and cutting-edge computer imaging. Every frame of the film was stop-motion animated by hand, with no looping involved at all. So far as I know from watching the "behind the scenes" feature there is only one effect that was done in real time (watch for the water cooler). The battle scenes are of a scale and complexity that would make Cecil B. DeMille cringe with despair, but that didn't stop these North Carolina kids from pulling off shots guaranteed to drop jaws all over the place. The ultimate downfall of Jericho should be meticulously studied in film schools, it is that amazing. And then there is the Jordan River: easily the most beautiful stop-motion rendering of moving water that I have had the pleasure of seeing.
So, was Jericho: The Promise Fulfilled worth driving two hours to see? You bet it was! And I sincerely hope and pray that as many people as possible will be able to watch and appreciate this wonderful film. At the present time your best bet is to catch it at a film festival or a similar screening. Keep an eye on the Gideon Production Group's website for any that are scheduled.
And y'all also keep an eye on Anthony and Jessica Rondina and Gideon Production Group. This is a team of family and friends that has been gifted with an unbelievable amount of talent, and I have no doubt that God is going to continue to bless their hard work and enthusiasm.
They work with a medium found at any typical Toys R Us... but their vision is as grand as Cecil B. DeMille's.Anthony and Jessica Rondina are a talented brother/sister pair out of Huntersville, North Carolina that got into animation with a high school project. A few more films under their belt and now their feature Jericho: The Promise Fulfilled is sweeping up film festival prizes and earning the duo widespread acclaim! Christian-Movie.com interviews the Rondinas about their Gideon Production Group, how they animate with LEGO minifigures, their future projects and how they dedicate it all to God. And if you wanna see more of the Rondina pair's awesome work, mash down here for their official website!
Behold the achievement of Jumpei Mitsui, who has faithfully rendered the World War II Japanese battleship Yamato in LEGO...
If this is not the biggest LEGO model of all time, it is certainly the largest one that I know of.
Mash here for more about this incredible model. And thanks to Shane Thacker for the great find!
Brendan Powell Smith's The Brick Testament is one of my very favorite websites ever. Guess it's because I'm a student of the Bible, and also a lifelong LEGO geek. The Brick Testament is devoted to illustrating the scriptures with the classic building blocks. The wildly popular site has been around since 2001... but only now has Smith gotten around to LEGO-rendering the Book of Revelation! If you don't mind some harsh language for dramatic effect, this is definitely a must-see. I think my favorite part of it might be Smith's take on Revelation 12 and the war in Heaven.So is it humorous? Heretical? An indication that Smith has finally gone too far? Whatever it is, his concise and rollickin'-fun technique with LEGO makes for a far more interesting and thought-provoking examination of Revelation than what the Left Behind novels turned into. For that reason alone, I'm compelled to make The Brick Testament's Book of Revelation recommended reading.
