Mariann Asanuma

Bow ties are cool! Especially when they are made of LEGO. I've been a fan of Doctor Who since its re-vamp in 2005. So I just had to do something for the 50th anniversary. So here's my take on Matt Smith as the Doctor. It took me about a week and a half to build -- or two and a half months because I had to put the "blueprints" aside for a couple months while I was busy with LEGO Cons and commissions. Any how, enjoy! http://modelbuilding...17/11th-doctor/

I was asked by Google to help celebrate their 4th anniversary of Google Chrome. They wanted a 5x5 foot mosaic building event that could be made by the Google Chrome team. As I had less than 2 weeks notice I created a variation of the mystery mosaics that LEGO does except than instead of using 1x1 bricks and 6x6 plates I used 2x2 bricks and 16x16 plates. You can a more detailed recap on my Model Building Secrets blog.

So I was at the LEGO store last week and I found this little gem a of a set. Set Name: Pink Brick Box Set Number: 4625 Number of Elements: 224 Price: $14.99 USD I am not a girly girl, but even I was excited by the great colors and parts in this fun set. If for some reason you are not into the Friends sets (although I can't see why you would be ), this is a good alternative to get at least the new lavender colored plates. It comes with 3 bags, a 6x12 green plate, the new orange brick separator, and an exclusive minifig Small bag Medium bag Big bag Exclusive Minifig -- I have to admit, this is one of the reasons I got the whole tub She even has back printing I had a bit of fun with the bricks and came up with this scene -- and no there are not inverted magenta slopes, I just turned part of the heart upside-down This was my first chance to use the new brick separator. Although I find that many of the new changes are useful, I like the thicker body of the original, this one is almost too thin to be a great tool. Overall rating: 9 out of 10 It is currently available, at least in the US on LEGO.com Final thoughts: It has a great price point, awesome parts, the new brick separator, and a very cool minifig! As I think back to previous pink tubs, I find I really like this one. The fact that there were very few "normal" colors and a whole bunch of the rarer ones really made me love this set. I am seriously tempted to buy a few more of this set if just for the color assortment.

Yes, its a dark purple torso.

I have several of these. I have a DS, but not the kind that the case fits in. I just sold my cases off and kept the tiles. I still haven't used them in a build but I have seen them used as billboards in Town layouts. I also saw them used for a movie theater as the screen. There are lots of uses for them.

I'm a couple of days late but I couldn't let the 10th anniversary of 9/11 pass without creating something to commemorate it. You can read more about it on my Model Building Secrets blog. And see more pictures on Flickr.

Well, I could make one that matches your colors

Hi guys and gals! I just recently finished one of my largest commissioned pieces and I can now share it with all of you. This is the Perot Museum of Science and Nature that is currently being built in Dallas, Texas. Here's what the rendered image looks like: Because the interior can be seen through the "glass" windows I had to make 5 floors worth of walkways. For the next month it will be on display at the Dallas Cityscape Exhibit. You can read more about it on my Model Building Secrets blog.

Yes, I glued the whole model, one brick at a time. I had to, I was shipping it from California to Texas.

Check this out: WB builds LEGO Partnership

Hello fellow Eurobrickers! I don't often get a chance to review sets, mainly because someone else has gotten the set first. But when I was at LEGOLAND California today I saw that they were stocking a new item on the shelf -- The Brick Calendar! Set Name: Brick Calendar Set #:853195 Pieces: 120 Minifigs: 2 Year of Release: 2011 Price: $16.99 USD View Pictures on Flickr Intro: As soon as I saw it, I knew I had to pick up one (or multiples) of this set. Naturally the idea of a build-able brick calendar is one that has been a long time coming. In fact an off brand created as similar one a while ago. But being an AFOL, we naturally want it to be LEGO. And you're eyes are not deceiving you -- that is a Series 1 Cheerleader and Skateboarder on the box! So for all of you who weren't lucky enough to find one the first go around you now have a second chance. Box Front of box There really isn't much to say about the box. One note though -- the months are in English, so for all our non-English speaking AFOLs, the months might not be as cool. Back of box What's Inside The bag doesn't really show how cool this set really is. Instructions The instructions are simple and effective. The Bricks This is really why I got this set -- the bricks! They are all printed on! I can see many, many applications for these elements besides the obvious of making a monthly calendar. Front of Bricks Back of Bricks The month printed bricks aren't as exciting as the numbers, but I still see uses for these. Ratings Parts: 10/10 - Printed number bricks, need I say more? Build: 8/10 - Simple but effective. Design: 8/10 - Ditto Minifigures: 8/10 Series 1 Cheerleader!!!! (And Skateboarder -- that's the only reason it doesn't get 10/10, not a second cool figure) Price: 9/10 - $16.99 USD Not really a bad price at all. I don't know if this will be available worldwide. Playability: 9/10 - As a calendar there isn't all that much in the way of "play," but as a parts pack for printed bricks I can see hours of play time. Overall:9.5/10 - There is so much coolness in this model. The fact that it is a calendar is cool, but the number bricks and the addition of the much coveted Cheerleader fig makes this a wonderful set in my book! My only complaint is the skateboarder fig, I mean how many of those do we need? Even so, I most likely will pick up a few more of this set very soon.

You can see the Bricklink prices for them on Bricklink

Awesome model! I posted it on my Model Building Secrets blog.

Hi all I was fortunate enough to be shown some new BrickForge Prototypes by Armothe. There's some fun new bottles, beakers, a martini glass and even a spill / splat piece. The laser beams and new gem elements are very cool but what most caught my eye is the 1x1 tiles!!!!!!! Here's an overall picture of all the prototypes he had to show me. Armothe said that they will all be available within a couple of weeks. I wrote some more about this on my Model Building Secrets blog. I see a lot of potential for all these elements and I look forward to getting some more of these soon.

Welcome to Eurobricks Where in So Cal are you located? As I'm a fellow So Cal resident I was wondering if you know about the San Diego and LA LEGO groups. If you don't we'd love to have you come and check out a meeting. And I'd be interested in the box as well -- Mariann

Sorry it caused you a headache. This set certainly was a surprise to me too. I couldn't find any info about it anywhere.

Four rosebuds. THIS IS THE LAST ACCEPTABLE ENTRY - Sorry...

Great review! I've already been able to find a full set and multiples of Series 3. For those wondering what "Clutchers" stand for, it refers to the "Clutch Power" (sound familiar? ) of the LEGO bricks.

Invader Zim 1 by Model Gal, on Flickr This was a fun little challenge for me. I was commissioned to create this for a guy's girlfriend. It took me about 2-3 hours to build. His head is top heavy, so to I had to put him on a plate to stand. Invader Zim 3 by Model Gal, on Flickr Invader Zim 4 by Model Gal, on Flickr Now of course people are telling me I have to do Gir too.

Its from The teeth are stickers.

Its from this Rock Raiders set. All you have to do to find something like this is do a search on Bricklink.

Why don't you just go directly to the source: CubeDudes Flickr Group

There is actually a whole Flickr group dedicated to this http://www.flickr.com/groups/627614@N24/

The book came out a few months ago. I know the guy who wrote it, Jonathan Bender. In fact, he interviewed me for the book and I'm mentioned in the back of it. I really enjoyed the book, but then I know so many of the people that he mentions that it was very interesting to read his description of my friends. It is a very good study into what the LEGO AFOL community is all about. When he started the book he was just doing it as a research project, but now he is just as much of an AFOL as the rest of us. I would also recommend it for your friends and family that might not understand your LEGO hobby. As he writes from an outside observer's view he shows them what AFOLs are really like.