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It’s hard not to love it when people come up with creative uses for Legos. Here’s a guy who takes famous photographs and recreates them with Legos. From the photo of Marines planting the flag at Iwo Jima to New York construction workers eating lunch on a girder and Buzz Aldrin on the moon, he’s reenacted them with great care and attention to detail. If you’re not familiar with the original photos, here’s a site that shows both the original and Lego versions together.
In yet another shameless attempt to cash in on my childhood Paramount Pictures is making a live-action G.I. Joe movie, creatively titled G.I. Joe. It’s being directed by Stephen Sommers, the mastermind behind The Mummy, The Mummy Returns, The Revenge of The Mummy, and Van Helsing. Wow, that’s a tour de force of shit. Can’t wait to see how he rapes my cherished childhood memories…
The movie is currently filming, and it isn’t due out until August of 2009. While you wait anxiously for the release, here’s a few things we know already: Read the rest of this entry »
Are your Lego men boring? Do they lack a certain something? Are they a little too goody two shoes for you? Well finally there’s a solution: automatic weapons. That’s right, you can finally have that AK-47 or RPG to complete your “Day in Iraq” scene.
BrickArms is a small toy company based in Redmond, WA that specializes in creating custom Lego figures as well as weapons for the little brick men. Prices are reasonable, so head over to their site and arm your miniature “freedom fighters”.
Richard Knerr, the co-founder of Wham-O, the originators of Hula Hoops, Super Balls, Frisbees, Silly String, Hacky Sacks, and Slip ‘N Slides has died at age 82. He and his longtime friend Spud Melin founded Wham-O in 1948 to market slingshots. But it wasn’t until 1958 when they heard about a bamboo ring used in Australia for exercise and their business took off.
Without seeing one of these Aussie exercise devices they devised their own and made it out of Marlex. Then they re-wrote the book on product marketing, giving away free to kids who mastered them, had salespeople take them on planes, and generally did everything possible to create buzz. Soon their new product, the Hula Hoop, was the biggest fad to ever hit America.
Wham-O didn’t stop there. They went on to become heroes to hippies everywhere when they brought the Frisbee and the Hacky Sack to the market. They defined summer entertainment for kids (and drunk college students) when they introduced the Slip ‘N Slide. They seemingly defied the laws of physics and redefined bubble gum machines when they developed the Super Ball. Along the way they entertained countless people with reasonably-priced, innovative toys. Basically, if there was a Nobel Prize for toys, Knerr and Melin would get it.
So rest in peace Richard Knerr. I hope like the Egyptian Pharaohs they buried you with all of your toys to keep you entertained on your journey over the River Styx.
Classic commercials for Wham-O toys after the jump.
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Three Chinese dudes who have too much time on their hands have paid homage to Michael Bay’s uber-craptacular film adaptation of Transformers by building a full-sized Citroen Transformer. It doesn’t actually transform or anything, and it cost $8,000 to build. So really it’s just a statue. Bo-ring! Call me when it transforms…
I know this is a question you’ve asked yourself time and time again. Well now you can see the answer. Japan’s Yoshitoku Company has created this 1/4 scale rendering of what the iconic Star Wars badass would have looked like as a traditional Japanese samurai. If you want to get your hands on one, good luck. If you can find one, and I doubt you can, it’s going to set you back a cool $5,200. Yikes. I’ll just take this little number.
I have no information on this other than the video, but it appears to be a real-life transforming robot. And it doesn’t look like crap. See Michael Bay, it IS possible to do this stuff without ruining my childhood.
McSweeney’s Internet Tendency has a hilarious letter from Optimus Prime’s GEICO agent in regards to his recent claims:
$6,564,239.44 requested reimbursement for repairs to a truck part called the “Autobot Matrix of Leadership.” You stated this occurred in “an ultimate confrontation between good and evil,” with a Ms. Meg Atron and a Mr. U. Nicron causing the damage in question. Mr. Prime, I have checked every known car- and truck-part catalog published in the United States and have found nothing even resembling that part, never mind any part so expensive. Whatever disagreements you had with Ms. Atron and Mr. Nicron, I suggest that next time you either settle things peaceably or leave your Autobot Matrix of Leadership at home so it doesn’t break. GEICO does not cover Autobot Matrix of Leaderships.
The undoubtedly craptacular Michael Bay helmed Transformers movie comes out this week. If you’re looking to retain your childhood memories instead of having Hollywood soil them, check this out instead. These people-with-too-much-time-on-their-hands made Transformers costumes that actually transform. Looks like they’re based on actual Transformers too. So sit back and relax and pretend it’s 1985 all over again…
Suck on this Michael Bay. This homemade stop-action movie was made using actual Transformers toys. There’s not much in the way of plot, but something tells me there won’t be much in Bay’s upcoming summer blockbuster either. And the effects in this one look like Transformers, not some sort of strange-overdone-too-complicated-ridiculous-robot thing. Strike another blow for the little guy!
A group of people with way too much time on their hands has staged Spike Lee’s classic Do the Right Thing with those wicked cool 1970’s Sesame Street Fisher Price toys. I had a set of those toys as a kid. Why didn’t I think to reenact a racially charged, highly adult movie with them? I guess I’m just not very creative…
They had me at “Fuck you Mr. Hooper”…
via BoingBoing
Behold, verily I say unto you that if thou needest some churchin’, but thou hasn’t the time to get to church, head on over to The Brick Testament to see The Bible recreated in Legos. Above is Charlton Heston bringing the 10 Commandments down from the mountain. Below is Evan Noah loading all the animals onto the ark.
Behold the fruits of the South Park Studio, an online tool for creating your own South Park character. Above is my South Park representation of Johnny Cash. Below, James Brown (or possibly Randy Watson…).
This thing rocks! More musicians after the jump…
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Yep, it’s Fabulous Las Vegas made out of the greatest thing ever to come out of Denmark: Legos (no, not Helena Christensen, as you may have thought from the title…though with her work in Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Game” video, maybe she is the tops, but…wait, what were we talking about?)
LEGOLAND in California is the home to the world’s most faithful reproduction of the Las Vegas strip made out of Legos. The display include The Luxor, The Stratosphere (with working rides on top), New York, New York, Tropical Island (complete with the old pirate show out front), and many more.
For lots more photos check out Damn Cool Pics post about it, or check out the official LEGOLAND site.
StromDotCom has posted a photo gallery of toys that should never have been created. There’s some seriously messed up toys in there, including this Garfield Super Sodomizing Scooter. WTF were these people thinking?
Ok, so I know this is really old, but sometimes I’m slow. It’s the video for “Fell in Love With a Girl” by The White Stripes. And it was made by ANIMATING LEGOS! How freakin’ cool is that? To make it even cooler, it was directed by Michel Gondry, who directed the brilliant Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep (which I’m expecting to be brilliant, but Netflix just delivered today…).
Enjoy:
Well, a Jack Bauer figure at least. McFarlane Toys is releasing a line of 24 figures in August. Apparently Keifer was given a prototype of one of the figures, and he decided to take it out partying. The 24 Blog has the full story. Watch out Keifer, Jack’s not going to like this. YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE TO TRUST ME ON THIS.
Ah, GI Joe. One of the most enduring toys of my childhood. Other lines of toys came and went, but the Joes and Legos stayed interesting through them all. I had a metric shitload of Joes and Joe-related-paraphernalia, and I loved every bit of it. Looking back on it though, some of it was really, really lame. So let’s count it down:
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This is a deeply twisted but absolutely hysterical video. It’s a Tickle Me Elmo (or more specifically a TMX) on fire. What makes it twisted is Elmo’s thrashing around and his pleas to “Stop it, stop!” What makes it hysterical is that it’s Elmo, on fire.
via BoingBoing
Is it just me or were toys definitely cooler in the 80s? And I don’t think many people will argue that Optimus Prime wasn’t the coolest toy from the coolest line of toys of the 80s, The Transformers. Watch this commercial and I guarantee if you’re a male around the age of 30 you’ll be singing along with the song. Transformers! More than meets the eye.
Ah, the joys of the Long Tail…
BrickFlick is a site dedicated to re-creating scenes from video games using only Legos. They apparently started by making a video of Grand Theft Auto, rendered in Legos, and have gone on to do scenes from Mortal Kombat, Contra (Up up, down down, left right, left right, B A Start!), and others.
I’m firmly convinced you can find ANYTHING on the internet, and finds like this only encourage that belief.
A site out of the Netherlands has instructions for every Lego set ever made! I can’t even begin to explain the waves of nostalgia that came back to me when I saw this. I have to believe almost every kid that grew up in the 80s playing with Legos. So my little Lego man hat’s off to you, anonymous Dutch dudes!
