Galaktek

With all due respect to the fine people who put so much effort into video reviews like the one shown here, I still vastly prefer photos and text. Listening to someone talk always takes longer that reading, and photos are easier to view than trying to pause a video to see something. Also, there's no practical way to "skim" a video review if I'm in a hurry.

Nice designs everyone! This was fun to look at. 21: 3 26: 2 31: 10 42: 3 55: 2

Construct-o-Turtle When Toby Turtle heads to the construction site, he likes to make sure those pesky minifigs know who's boss. More photos Construct-o-Turtle by Galaktek, on Flickr

Box Turtle A distant relative of today's box turtles, the true Box Turtle was obviously doomed from its first contact with humans in the 17th century. Just a few have survived in the wild, relying on their ability to escape from their shell. More photos Box Turtle by Galaktek, on Flickr

Turtlebot Just a little 20-part turtle in the spirit of Peter Reid's classic. More photos Turtlebot by Galaktek, on Flickr

Matchbox Turtle The rare Matchbox Turtle faced extinction in the era of safety matches, but populations have gradually recovered since the invention of the Zippo lighter. More photos Matchbox Turtle by Galaktek, on Flickr

Nice designs everyone! 3:1 12:1 16:1 18:1 20:1 21:1

Thanks to everyone who entered! 4:2 30:2 38:2

Thank you for a great contest! There were so many wonderful entries. I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone comes up with next year!

Thank you all for your comments and votes! I'm very excited that this MOC placed in the contest. Congratulations to the other winners and to everyone who participated -- there were so many wonderful ideas and builds.

May one vote for one's own entry? My apologies if this is a dumb question; I'm not too familiar with voting-based contests. I remember it being prohibited in the first Eurobricks contest I entered, but I didn't notice it stated this time. Thanks!

That's lovely, every atmospheric -- it takes me right back to winter holidays past ...

Thank you all for your kind comments! I'm glad you enjoyed looking at it as much as I enjoyed building it. It's funny, I wasn't thinking about reproducing Lego vehicles when I built it, but I can see what y'all mean -- I guess I've seen the Lego sets so often that if I build a micro truck or train, it comes out in those colors :) TheLegoDr, I do hope it will work for the contest, since it's four 8x8 modules, plus minifigs. But either way it was fun to make.

The local train LUG's layout is always a big hit at the Winter Village! Winter Village Train Layout by Galaktek, on Flickr Kids can play with the crane in the busy freight yard ... Freight yard detail by Galaktek, on Flickr ... or light up the holiday tree in front of the main train station ... Town detail by Galaktek, on Flickr ... or drive the steam train past the frozen waterfall. Waterfall detail by Galaktek, on Flickr And of course the modules can be rearranged to make different layouts: Winter Village Train Layout by Galaktek, on Flickr More photos in the flickr set.

What an amazing set of entries. Tough choices! One vote each: 23. Pisten Bully - 1 vote 83. Jabba the Van - 1 vote 87. Camper Tree House - 1 vote 99. Vammoth - 1 vote 106. 50c Joy Ride - 1 vote 113. Hover Campercraft - 1 vote 124. Giant SqVWid - 1 vote 126. Giganticus Scorpio Camperidae - 1 vote 161. VW Bajaj - 1 vote

Tappet the Transformer Mona races a hot-rodded camper van that she works on herself. But her van is more than meets the eye! Mona and her van by Galaktek, on Flickr In robot form, Tappet is a mechanic too. He wields a pneumatic wrench and a cutting torch: Tappet transformed by Galaktek, on Flickr You can see the whole transformation process on flickr, but here's a shot showing how the parts hinge together inside: Interior by Galaktek, on Flickr Lots more photos in the flickr set.

Here's a nice simple one. It's the original camper, with a removable roof and micro scale interior: Mini VW T1 Camper Van by Galaktek, on Flickr The roof design and more of the interior: Mini VW T1 Camper Van by Galaktek, on Flickr More photos in the flickr thread.

Van full of memories An old camper van rusting in the back yard ... Van full of memories by Galaktek, on Flickr ... its windows broken and flowering vines growing on it. Van full of memories by Galaktek, on Flickr The roof is removable for, um, playability ... Removable roof by Galaktek, on Flickr ... and the interior is built in microscale based on the full-size model, including gear shift and steering wheel (held in place by a lever arm). Interior view by Galaktek, on Flickr View the full set on flickr