LEGO Models that I have created
My first sculpture in over two years is the Garden Gnome.
This enigmatic figure watches over your garden and makes sure everything is in order. Along with Scarlet Mayhem, this was built from my “east coast collection” during my trip for BrickFest.
Studless, smooth, and sleek, this racer, known as “Scarlet Mayhem,” was the winner of the first annual Earth to Mars race, which tests a ship’s performance in atmosphere, interplanetary, and reentry situations. The two-man crew take turns flying the craft, similar to the Le Mans car race.
My latest models were unveiled at BrickFest yesterday: vignettes illustrating poetry by Robert Frost and A. E. Housman.
On June 18, the Space contingent of the Bay Area LEGO Users Group had its first Space-only meeting.
Along with the TransAmerica Pyramid, this was built for the display that my LEGO club, the Bay Area LEGO Users’ Group, had at the LEGO store in Pleasanton, CA.
These two fish were built as part of a display that my LEGO club, the Bay Area LEGO Users’ Group, maintains at the Stoneridge Mall LEGO store in Pleasanton, CA.
The TransAmerica Pyramid is one of the most distinctive structures in the city of San Francisco.
This old-fashioned fire truck was built in July, 2004 for the display that my LEGO club, Bay Area LEGO Users’ Group & Train Club put on at a museum in Pleasanton, CA.
Friday evening, March 10, I was at the Santa Clara Convention Center helping set up(*) the Bay Area LEGO Users’ Group & Train Club layout for the 2006 Cal-Stewart Spring Meet of the Train Collectors Association.
With other members of the Bay Area LEGO Users Group, I helped install a new aquarium-themed display at the Stoneridge Mall LEGO store in Pleasanton, CA on Feb 20, 2006. My contributions to this display were two fish and some seaweed.
This is another model that I built 3 years ago but only recently posted the pictures online. This, along with the recently posted Road Bridge, was built for the BayLTC train layout in 2003.
In 2003 (or maybe 2002) I built a bridge for the BayLTC train layout. But it wasn’t a train bridge, it was a road bridge (for cars and trucks). The road pieces came from LEGO’s 6600 Highway Construction set, and the bridge’s structural elements were built of Technic bricks.
Today I met with other members of BayLUG to set up a new display at the Stoneridge mall LEGO store in Pleasanton, CA. We had a display there for the past month with a Christmas theme, but I wasn’t involved in that. The new theme is miniature models of San Francisco landmarks: I made Transamerica Pyramid and Lombard Street models, which are now on display along with a Coit Tower model from Russell Clark and a waterfront scene by Paul Sinasohn that included a tall ship and the car ferry Sausalito.
Last fall, the Bay Area LEGO Train Club (BayLTC) was doing a show where many of our usual waterfront models were not available, so I volunteered to build a new model for that spot. I discovered Coast Watch HQ sets on sale at Costco for about $20 each, and bought two of them. I used many parts from the sets, such as the baseplates and windows, but built a new design to be a little more realistic. The building is of my own original design, but the helicopter and cutter are based on real U.S. Coast Guard equipment. Since it was for a train show, I made it come apart into pieces for easy transport.
A garage to take your LEGO cars for their regular maintenance. Has two service bays, each with a lift to give the mechanics access underneath the car. Also equipped with a workbench and a complete inventory of repair parts and tires.
This model is fully detailed on the interior, and also features rare and valuable printed bricks (Two each of “ESSO SERVICE” and “GARAGE”) from the 1960’s.
Initially I wanted to build a complete Santa Claus model, but Christmas came and went and I had only built the head and neck. So I finished this model as a bust.
These buildings were made for the BayLTC train layouts. Fellow club member Kenny Paul and I agreed on a standard for the placement of Technic pegs to connect the buildings together. However, with practice it turned out to be easier to not connect them, but to just place them next to each other.
The pegs are placed in a 1×2 Technic brick with peg hole, at the 7th and 8th studs in from the street, at the 3rd and (optionally) 8th brick heights. In addition, pegs may be placed at the rear, also at the 7th and 8th studs from the edge. The backs and sides of the buildings are incomplete because they are not visible; the rule is that from street level to the 6th stud, and everything above 12 bricks in height, must be decorated.
The tan building has a removable wall on the right side. This allows it to be a corner building or to be in the middle of a series of buildings. The removable wall features a fire escape.
With the Pok�mon Go game being such a huge hit at the moment, I thought I’d post about some old MOCs that I built 15 years ago. Sorry about the photo quality – this was the early days of digital photography…
This LEGO sculpture of a Maneki Neko (Japanese good-luck cat) was one of my earliest models, after building the Pok�mon out of basic bricks alone, I allowed myself the luxury of plates as well, in order to approximate the script on the coin. The cat itself is just basic bricks though, except for the arm detachment mechanism.
This is my second LEGO train model, a modern light rail vehicle (LRV). It is inspired loosely by the new vehicles that have recently entered service for the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) in Santa Clara County, CA. Like the VTA LRV’s, it has three sections, with the middle one having a wheelset fixed to it, and has a “low floor” design, so that there are no steps to climb from the platform. This gives easy access to those in wheelchairs, with strollers, or with other limited mobility.
Due to its distinct V-shaped tail, the original Bonanza is one of the world’s most recognizable aircraft.
