Sometimes, the dragon wins. After spending over two years working on this project, I never thought I would finish it. The quote meant to me that I would never finish the dragon. It originally started out being around 3 feet tall and dark red. Needless to say, I didn't make it structurally sound. So I went back to a traditional green.

He originally started out on two feet, but truthfully, the dark red version looked more like a t-rex than a dragon. The original green version was standing on all fours--I opted for more of a gargoyle pose and I'm quite happy with it.

The head was the most fun and easiest part to design. It's based on the original head done in dark red. The jaw is hinged so it opens and closes. He also has a soul patch, because he's a modern kind of dragon :-)

The neck needed to be rounded, and I thought this would be the biggest hurdle. However, with hinges, it's amazing the type of effects you can get. The hinging pieces also helped significantly with rounding the spikes.

The body was pretty straightfoward, but he definitely needed some definition in the underbelly, so tan was good for under the neck to the bottom of the body. The lower legs were built in to the structure, and the arms are attached with technic pins and bricks so they do not affect the stability of the sculpture.

Because dragons in my mind need to look threatening, I made the front claws in an attack position. Additionally, the claws can hold minifig skeletons quite well.

The tail and the wings took quite some time to get right. The tail went through several iterations before it ended up in its final version. Originally, it was going to be bent off to the side, but I couldn't get it to look right. It also needed to have a spike at the end (this is the nice thing about dragons--they're fictional, and they can look how you want them to).

The wings went through several rebuilds before they were done correctly. Red seemed like a good choice for the color, but green with sand green membranes would make the wings look more realistic.

Designing the wings, both realistically and proportionally, was quite the challenge. The wings are joined to the body with plate hinges, allowing customizable placement while not affecting overall structural support.

As long as the wings had points of contact with the surface area, the wings would be well-balanced. Having the wings balance on the bony structures and having the membrane folded in and peaked at the top, not only made them well-structured, but proportionally correct and realistic.

Special thanks to my husband Russ (particularly with the wings), and Troy for overall dragon help :-) Some stats: 2,000 or so green bricks, a few hundred tan, and 1,000 or so sand green for the wings.

Both versions of the dragon and build pictures are available on Brickshelf.]]> http://www.brickbox.com/sculptures/dragon/#000200 http://www.brickbox.com/sculptures/dragon/#000200 Dragon Fri, 24 Aug 2007 09:43:50 -0800 Under the Sea Wedding, but it never really worked out for it. I was making a SNOT seahorse mosaic for it, but it didn't exactly fit into the scene anywhere.

My sister, however, looooves seahorses. And I gotta admit, they're really amazing to watch. They have the beauty and strength thing going for them. Not only that, but the dad takes care of the youngins and even gives birth.

This a bit different than my other mosaics, and it's a bit more on the abstract side than the Florida Gator or the Script Cal. This is a single color subject, and the seahorse as to be conveyed by the shape alone.

Instead of making this flat, I did end up giving the seahorse some detail by giving it some shape on the body. It looks more detailed this way without adding additional colors into the design.

However, the seahorse by itself isn't a good thing to give to a couple. I figured mirroring it would give it a nice, pleasant effect without overdoing it. Because seahorses are usually in the water (duh :-), I gave them a blue background.

What did present a slight problem was trying to make the background stand up. I'm sure my sister could hang this on the wall, but getting a custom shadowbox made is expensive (believe me, I've tried), so making it freestanding would be easier.

When it was finished, I made the background studs-up. This presented an interesting situation since the mosaic was studs-sideways. The best way to get the mosaic on the background and make it stable was to use technic bricks and pins. It's amazing how well they can hold something up.

It also ended up being pretty tall. From the last picture, you can see how it compares to a bottle of Port. :-)

Some stats: Lots of blue bricks, lots of red plates, and a couple of technic pieces to make everything come together.

]]> http://www.brickbox.com/mosaics/seahorses/#000183 http://www.brickbox.com/mosaics/seahorses/#000183 Seahorses Tue, 19 Dec 2006 13:45:15 -0800 Welcome to my LEGO blog. I try to keep this as updated as I can, but in the summer I usually don't build much (except for the occassional wedding project and the inspirations that may stem from them). I also try not to post customer's wedding stuff until after their wedding (I don't want to risk any bad karma on them).

October 29, 2007

I've made significant progress on the rebuild. I need to finish off the teeth and add the hat.

October 14, 2007

Albert is currently being rebuilt. He didn't survive shipping, and I wasn't really happy the way he turned out, as he was my first sculpture.

August 22, 2007

The dragon is done, so it's time to look at the other projects that either need to be resurrected or started that have been on hold for the past couple years.

]]> http://www.brickbox.com/works_in_progress/#000103 http://www.brickbox.com/works_in_progress/#000103 Works in Progress Tue, 17 Oct 2006 21:41:23 -0800 Click on the Lego pictures if you want to see larger versions.

I received this reference from The Original Brickengraver. I love working with Tommy, and he loves what he does.

The customer wanted an "Under the Sea" theme wedding. I wasn't really sure I could pull this off, but the customer was very willing to give me input on what she wanted (even when I completed veered off-course, make sure you listen to your customers), and I'm really glad with the results.

One of the particular things she wanted was a flower arch. As you can see, the flowers are in red and gold, which are good luck in the Chinese culture.

The other thing I added because I thought it would be a nice touch is 8 gold coins (8 is lucky in Chinese culture) in the treasure chest. Unfortunately, I couldn't really get the camera angled right for the pictures before shipping it off to Hong Kong to show the contents of the treasure chest.

The other important feature is sea creatures. There's a clam under the bride and groom, who are swimming, and an octopus and a ray to each side. I really wanted to add more sea creatues, but the little sea creatures like the sea horse and the crab were very expensive and would have exceeded the cost of the project.

The hardest part was yet to come. How do I make the bride and groom look like they're swimming? LEGO flippers are great, but I need to get them "suspended" in the water to make it look like they were really swimming.

What looked like the best solution is having them hold a clear pole (the octopus and the ray are balanced on clear LEGO pieces as well).

This was definitely a project that could have easily gotten more complex depending on time and what people are willing to spend. It was also the inspiration for making the seahorse sculpture I made a few months ago.

Stats: Some green plates, white bricks, lots of yellow and red flowers, and a cute little bride and groom sporting flippers.

]]> http://www.brickbox.com/weddings/under_the_sea/#000164 http://www.brickbox.com/weddings/under_the_sea/#000164 Under The Sea Tue, 17 Oct 2006 15:55:17 -0800 Click on the Lego pictures if you want to see larger versions.

When I received an email for another wedding cake (not sure why they're so popular, but hey they're fun and if they make someone's day, they're worth it :-), I also received a request to make something "hockey" out of LEGO. Mosiacs are not very challenging for me, so I suggested a hockey player sculpture to the client.

Originally, I was going to construct him in a face-off position, but since hockey players stand on the edge of their blades during a face-off, the balance was going to be difficult to figure out, especially with a short building time frame. Since the husband is a Colorado Avalance fan, I had to make it in the correct colors.

I found a few toy figures of hockey players, and they made good models for correct body positioning and proportioning. I started with the skates (had to rocker them, where a figure skater's blade is flat, the hockey player's blade is rocked so they can change direction quickly), and moved up from there.

Like the Maneki Neko, I made the arms modular. This is really helpful, especially since he had to be shipped across the country. It also helps with the stability because the arms are not built into the model. You can also see that LEGO used a similar technquie for their Minifigure sculpture.

Another important thing the player needed was the likeness of the husband's favorite Avalanache player, Joe Sakic. I created his helmet and face shield so it would look very simliar to the one he wears in his white uniform.

The most difficult part about constructing him was the hands. I had to make them the hockey gloves, but not let them become too huge, and still allow the player to grip the hockey stick. I ended up using regular plates for the hands, and giving the thumb some rotation so you can have him give a thumbs up, or actually grip the hockey stick.

He is definitely an original. I was thinking of making a second one to have around for a prototype, but I'm going to retire him. :-) Working on people is much harder for me than working on creatures, but it's nice to extend past your comfort level to see what you can do.

Some stats: about a foot tall, lots of dark red, white, and blue plates and bricks, and my best guessimate is around 800 yellow pieces.

More pictures are available at my Brickshelf folder, including the progress.

]]> http://www.brickbox.com/sculptures/hockey_player/#000148 http://www.brickbox.com/sculptures/hockey_player/#000148 Hockey Player Fri, 25 Aug 2006 09:30:53 -0800 Click on the Lego pictures if you want to see larger versions.

In working on a commissioned wedding project, I was inspired to create a seahore sculpture. This build only took a few days, which was nice after working for the dragon over six months and not getting anywhere. This originally started out as part of a mosiac (which will have its own page when its done), and then just took a life of its own.

Originally, I was going to make the nose pointing outward, but it looks better pointed downward. Also, I was trying to build the mosiac studs upward (which is a more common way of building), but the shape looks better with the studs sideways. I was able to get more detail into the flow of the body this way.

The pectoral fins and dorsal fins needed to be thinner than the body, as they tend to be softer-looking than the rest of the fish (a seahorse is a true fish). The pectoral fins were easy with some wedge plates, but the dorsal fin was a bit more complex because I couldn't find the right plates for shape, and a plate on its side isn't symmetrical (studs on one side, but not on the other).

The mosiac also doesn't have an eye on the seahorse because I don't want it to take away from the wedding scene (as it's only the background), but the sculpture needs life. The eye is larger proportionally than you would see on a real seahorse, but I needed to give him personality.

Because seahorses are usually in plants, I wanted to give him some contrast between the green plants and the seahorse. Most seahorses I've seen tend to be in various shades of brown, but there are a lot of photos of yellow seahorses, which make them very bright.

After he was finished, the seahorse could stand on his tail. This doesn't really put the seahorse in any context, because usually you see them swimming in seaplants or coral. The final touches adding some seaplants for the seahorse to hang out in.

I haven't decided if I want to make some coral to go around him, but I might extend on this a bit. If I do, I'll update the page :-)

Some stats: 8.5 inches tall, lots of yellow plates bricks, and my best guessimate is around 500 yellow pieces, and about 50 random plant pieces.

More pictures are available at my Brickshelf folder, including the progress.

]]> http://www.brickbox.com/sculptures/seahorse/#000134 http://www.brickbox.com/sculptures/seahorse/#000134 Seahorse Thu, 25 May 2006 09:42:18 -0800

Before you email me, READ what is below. I will NOT answer emails if your answer is listed below.

Can you make a LEGO wedding cake for me? How much are they?

See the Price List.

I want you to make something for me that no one has ever made before. Can you do that?

Yes.

Will you do that?

It depends. Custom works starts at $150, and increases from there depending on time involved, design complexity, size, and deadline. If the image is copyrighted, you need to own the copyright or I cannot build the design for you. Keep in mind this does not include shipping. That is a completely separate cost.

Please remember that I have a full time job (not building LEGO sculptures unfortunately), so I need to budget my time accordingly to my other commitments (mainly, my family).

Do you glue your creations?

No, and I will not. Do not ask. It's not worth the risk of poisoning myself to glue LEGO together. The LEGO creations come pre-built, and are packed very carefully.

Do you make instructions for your kits?

Usually no. However, there are exceptions to the rule. For the dog figures, there are instructions. These are only sold as kits to a particular dog rescue organization. They buy the kits from me for relatively low cost due to their good cause (I have two rescue dogs, so this is something I strongly believe in).

Otherwise, it's rare I'll make instructions. If I do, it's for something small I'll release it for free, like the F/A-18 instructions.

Do you sell everything you make?

No, I get more pleasure from building and creating than I do from selling. There are creations I've made that I will not sell--either for personal or copyright reasons.

Why are your prices so high? I can get the LEGO kits in the store for much cheaper.

I have to pay the same prices for LEGO pieces that you do. Then I have to take the time to design and sometimes pay shipping to get the LEGO pieces to me. I also have to include build time.

Can I ask you questions that are related to LEGO building or related to the website?

Sure, megabytes are much cheaper than LEGO :-)

m'kay, What's your email?

If you'd like to reach me, please email me at stripes at brickbox dot com. With all the spam I get, please understand why there's no hyperlink to my email address.

Once I get your email, I'll get back to you as soon as possible.

]]> http://www.brickbox.com/contact_information/#000107 http://www.brickbox.com/contact_information/#000107 Contact Information Thu, 06 Oct 2005 20:36:23 -0800 Wedding Cake - RETIRED

Due to lack of availability of some parts, the LEGO wedding cake is now retired. I really appreciate all the attention this project has received, even though it was originally done for my husband and myself.

Note: I may be selling the LEGO wedding minifigs in the future. If I decide to, I will post information here.

Making Music Together- $150 plus shipping

The record player and the heart will come already built, and include the following: 1 engraved 1 x 6 brick with the date (or whatever else fits) 2 engraved 2 x 4 bricks with the name of the groom and bridge A groom and a bride with your choice of hair for the bride and groom and choice of flower color for the boquet Any additional customization will increase the price to a minimum of $200 plus shipping.

This takes about 4-5 weeks to complete, due to brick engraving and the availability of parts. Please allow a minimum of two (2) months prior to ordering, and at least three (3) months prior to the wedding date.

Seahorse Sculpture- $250 plus shipping

The seahorse can be done in your basic brick colors (blue, red, yellow, or black), and is a fully solid sculpture. Other colors may be done at an additional cost, depending on the availability of the other color.

Maneki Neko Sculpture- $325 plus shipping

The Maneki Neko (Lucky Beckoning Cat in Japanese culture) can be done with either the left paw or right paw up, depending on which meaning you want. See the link for the Maneki Neko for more details on the history behind the Maneki Neko.

F/A-18 Hornet - Free Instructions

The instructions for the F/A-18 Hornet are available free of charge. The LDR (Ldraw format) file is available here. The instructions are provided without warranty.

LEGO Dog Figures

Leonberger

Includes pieces and instructions on CD-Rom for building the LEGO Leo. Contact the Leonberger Rescue for pricing and availability.

Dachshund

Includes pieces and instructions on CD-Rom for building the LEGO long dog. Contact the Dachshund Rescue of North America for pricing and availability. Other rescue groups interested in purchasing for fund raising please contact me directly.

If you're interested in any purchases, drop me a line and we'll talk about pricing and payment. Thanks!]]> http://www.brickbox.com/price_list/#000106 http://www.brickbox.com/price_list/#000106 Price List Thu, 06 Oct 2005 14:25:26 -0800 Click on the Lego pictures if you want to see larger versions.

Created as an entry for the Mechastruct contest, I created a row-bot. The row-bot is designed to, well, row. :-) There really isn't that much it does do other than row.

Not only does it row, but it also can get out of the boat. Not really that useful of the robot, so it's an entry in the Useless Robots portion of the contest.

This is the result of the portable bot factory ideas generated on the Lugnet newsgroup, as well as an entry to the contest. He's so useless that he doesn't even paddle in water (you can't get very far on the carpet or hardwood floors by boat), or even sit in the right direction sometimes.

Oh yeah, if you're looking for the Mechastruct contest, it's been over since the end of 2002, so I can't find any details anymore on it.]]> http://www.brickbox.com/mecha/rowbot/#000105 http://www.brickbox.com/mecha/rowbot/#000105 Row-Bot Thu, 06 Oct 2005 13:54:39 -0800 F/A-18 Hornet - A little desk fighter (2005) Classic Space Moonbase - Moonbase Defense Module, Classic Space Style (2003) X-2 Moonbase Defender - Classic Space short range fighter (2003) Classic Space Minifig - a really big "maxifig" of a classic minfig (2003) The Columbia and Her Crew - In memory to the loss on February 1, 2003 Einhander - fighter from the PSX game with the same name (2002) ]]> http://www.brickbox.com/fighters_and_space/#000104 http://www.brickbox.com/fighters_and_space/#000104 Fighters and Space Thu, 06 Oct 2005 13:25:23 -0800

The Required Links

• The LEGO Corporation - without these guys, there would be no LEGO
• LUGNET user's group - uniting LEGO builders worldwide
• Brickshelf - a LEGO resource for everything from old kits and instructions to gallery pictures
• Bricklink - for all your LEGO shopping needs, brick by brick

LEGO Sculpters/Artists/Builders

• Brickmania - LEGO models of incredible detail
• FoundryDX LEGO Mechs - LEGO Mechs including Zakus, Valkyries, Gundams, oh my!
• Eric Harshbarger's LEGO website - This guy has some of the best sculptures including Bart Simpson and Emily the Strange
• Andrew Lipson's Lego Page - Check out the Dilbert and Rodin's Thinker
• Adrian Drake's Brick Frenzy - I was really surprised to see everything he built himself..
• Henry Lim's LEGO Sculptures - Where does he keep the stegosaurus?
• Mark's Lego Creations - A fellow after my own heart (classic space)
• Xcalabur's Lego Lair - Some really cool stuff in here

Minifig creators

• The Mini-mizer - check it out, also look for the Easter Eggs
• The Minifig Generator - great for a quick and dirty minifig

Other neat LEGO links

• The story of Andy's computer - Who says LEGO men aren't productive?
• The Acropolis Project - Greco-Roman LEGO builds
• From Bricks to Bothans - Your LEGO Star Wars News Site
• Duncan McKenzie's Cheese and LEGO Page - Uh, I'm not sure what to say..
• The Legoland Times - A LEGO blog

]]> http://www.brickbox.com/links/#000102 http://www.brickbox.com/links/#000102 Links Thu, 06 Oct 2005 11:07:03 -0800 Click on the pictures if you want to see larger versions.

I've had a couple of people (okay, a lot) ask me where I keep my LEGO collection and how much space it takes up.

I have a good portion of my LEGO sorted mostly by color and brick/plate in the clear plastic bins. The slimmer containers have specialized pieces by type so they're easier to find.



The tubs have an interesting mix of what's in them. Some have animals, some have plants, some have slopes (and I have a lot of slope parts), some have wedges, some have minifigs, and some are just unsorted. Other tubs have my classic space and classic castle stuff.

I have some other LEGO sets that aren't pictured here, and I'd like to get some shelving in at some point to get this better organized. My goal is also to replace a lot of the LEGO tubs with some more clear bins, so I can figure out what's in them easier.

It used to be far worse organized. Just see here and here :-)

]]> http://www.brickbox.com/collection/#000101 http://www.brickbox.com/collection/#000101 Collection Thu, 06 Oct 2005 10:09:09 -0800 Click on the Lego pictures if you want to see larger versions.

A couple of friend's of Russ' and mine got married recently. One of their big things is their passion of music (she plays drums, he sings and plays sax). I was thinking about having the bride and groom on a record player, but that didn't seem to be enough.



I also wanted them to "dance" together on the record, but how do you convey music and love? Having superimposed music notes over a heart made a nice touch, but having their name engraved in the notes and the date in the bar really topped it off.



Russ recommended the gold color for engraving. I wouldn't have thought of that (I was thin king more towards white), but it came out really nice. Another thanks to Tommy at Brick Engravers for supplying the bricks. And of course, congrats to Brian and Leslie! :-)]]> http://www.brickbox.com/weddings/making_music_together/#000100 http://www.brickbox.com/weddings/making_music_together/#000100 Making Music Together Thu, 06 Oct 2005 10:06:35 -0800 Click on the Lego pictures if you want to see larger versions.

The wolf is my first sculpture (albeit small). The other day I decided to work on an abstract piece. Abstract is good, but it's also difficult if you've been the mindset of details.



And it's really difficult to ignore the little LEGO "bumps," but when you realize that they aren't a part of the overall picture, it's easy to get them out of the way.



Anywho.. I wanted to create a critter of some type, and a wolf isn't complicated like a tiger is, so I figured I'd stick with a one-color beast. Starting with the feet, the body and legs was the easy part.

I was looking for linkage plates for the tail, but as it turns out, using the bricks and the slopes worked out better. However, the most difficult part was the head--because that's where the most detail lies.



The biggest problem was getting the head proportional to the rest of the body. Once I figured that 2 studs would be better than 3 for the body, it worked out fine. The ears were actually fun to think of because they are on a plate modified with a bar, the bricks with horizontal clips can make the wolf show expressions.



Anyone who understands canines can see many expressions in the ears alone. Also, it works well for a model with limited functionality.

I also made a color variation on the wolf, which is a husky.

]]> http://www.brickbox.com/dog_figurines/wolf/#000099 http://www.brickbox.com/dog_figurines/wolf/#000099 Wolf Thu, 06 Oct 2005 09:16:47 -0800 Click on the Lego pictures if you want to see larger versions.

The dachshund is my second dog sculpture. I was trying to work on a full-size wiener dog, as I even have a real-life model. However, something that big is going to wait on some other projects I'm working on. Despite this, I did manage to come up with a mini-sculpture doxie.



Linkage plates worked well for the tail, but I had a better idea of how to do the head for the doxie than for the wolf. Dachshunds have very distinct facial features: the ears, long face, and the nose.



The best part is the modified brick with the rounded part worked well for the ears.

Anyone who understands canines can see many expressions in the ears alone. Also, it works well for a model with limited functionality.

With my real doxie at home sick, I did a variation on the wolf--a doxie. It looks like Charlie in one of his pictures. Doxies have very perky ears, especially when something has their attention.



Because Charlie came from the Coast to Coast Dacshund Rescue, I am trying to work with them on selling these little guys. However, they are available at the Dachshund Rescue of North America, another rescue group. Once they are available through Coast to Coast Dachshund Rescue, I will post that here as well.]]> http://www.brickbox.com/dog_figurines/dachshund/#000098 http://www.brickbox.com/dog_figurines/dachshund/#000098 Dachshund Thu, 06 Oct 2005 09:14:15 -0800