I come back to this MOC which was in the running for the competition organized on Eurobricks: Character Rides Personal Spaceship.

I fell back on it this morning and I took the opportunity to take an interest in the origins of this machine seen in the animated series Clone Wars.

At first glance we see that this is an obvious cross between the Venator (8039 Republic Attack Cruiser released in 2009) and the Frigate of the set 7964 Republic Frigate released in 2011. This ship appears several times in a few episodes of the animated series Clone Wars and in video games LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars.
This ship is also known in the Star Wars universe under the names of Republic Light Cruiser or Jedi Light Cruiser. Obi-Wan piloted one during the Battle of Saleucami.

Pedro, the author of this MOC, even planned an interior designed in the spirit of LEGO sets like the 6211 or the 7665, i.e. not proportional to the size of the ship but designed on a minifig scale, and in the end we get a creation that could largely be of the level of the LEGO production in the System range.

To see more, visit the MOCpages gallery by pedro.

Decidedly Skrytsson is very inspired by Batman and his universe .... After an MOC staging Killer Croc in Bathroom Villain, he offers us a grandiose scene that is reminiscent of the Gotham City of LEGOmaniac in Batman Returns version, and directly inspired by Christopher Nolan's film released in 2008:  The Dark Knight.

He reproduces here the scene where Batman, riding his Batpod, rushes at full speed on the Joker standing in the middle of the street and spraying everything that moves with his gun ....

The building on the left is Gotham Bank, the one on the right is inspired by the movie universe. The scene is full of details, including a reconstruction of the attack on the bank by the masked henchmen of the Joker and there is even a Harvey Dent in bad shape surrounded by cans of gasoline on the verge of exploding ... We will also note the use of a particularly successful custom Joker minifigure.

To discover all these details and admire this MOC from every angle, go to the flickr gallery by Skrytsson.

The other store specializing in LEGO has just added some references to its catalog. On the menu, Darth Vader LED torch of 20 cm with luminous saber, the Darth Vader LED keychain 7 cm or the Blu-ray The Padawan Threat. Also adding many MISB Collector's sets, including Batman 2006/2008, with prices however quite high due to their rarity, and custom minifigs based on quality accessories (Arealight, Brick Warriors, etc.) very practical for those who do not want to order online in Taiwan or Great Britain.
Note that this shop offers like its competitors a loyalty program in the form of points (2 euros = 1 loyalty point and 1 point = 0,05 euro reduction) i.e. a significant 2.5% discount when you pay attention to your budget. Delivery is free from 29 euros of purchase (in mainland France).

For all intents and purposes, I'm not getting any money from this online store, and the guys who run this store are professional and cool enough that I'm talking about it here ....

It's not really a Star Wars MOC and yet ... Shannon Young built this motorized Juggernaut with two characteristic elements of a set we all know: 4481 Hailfire Droid released in 2003. This MOC indeed uses two parts x784 (Technic, Gear, Hailfire Droid Wheel) only available in this Star Wars set, which I also had a little trouble getting at a fair price ....

Shannon Young has integrated two engines Power Functions M (One for each wheel) and the Battery Box in the chassis of this rather well-designed remote control machine. The futuristic design is pleasant, the colors well chosen and the two wheels make their effect. Especially since they are perfectly functional, as evidenced by the video below.

To see more, visit the MOCpages gallery by Shannon Young.

The mobilization of a slew of Minecraft fans will have done the job: Cuusoo is assailed by supporters of the minecraft project, so much so that TLC had to strengthen its network of servers to better support the load generated by the invasion of a horde of players who would like to see materialize Minecraft made of LEGO bricks .....

To be clear, I don't like Minecraft. This game inspires me nothing. But the community is immense, as is often the case with online games which benefit from the fashion effect and from a passing craze that is certainly temporary but remains massive. The forums on the subject are countless and millions of people, often very young, who spend their time in this fun and graphically a little collection. 

But it must be recognized that the minecraft project on Cuusoo is the only one to really take off by dint of spam and harassment on the forums for every player to vote. There are currently more than 4700 supporters of the project. And what is even more surprising, LEGO intervened to give some information on the follow-up to this project obviously very supported by a whole community.

From November 14, 2011, LEGO intervened officially on the project and announced work on its feasibility and on a possible commercial strategy around Minecraft. LEGO designers are in charge of creating some prototypes in order to assess the opportunity to launch licensed products. Because it is indeed a license, and LEGO is in advanced contact with Mojang, an independent publisher based in Stockholm, Sweden, to negotiate a possible trade agreement. This small team of 9 people will probably have no objection to a lucrative business partnership with LEGO. Mojang understands that the fashion effect must be exploited as quickly as possible via an avalanche of derivative products and you can already acquire t-shirts, caps and other goodies bearing the image of the concept on the dedicated shop.

I think LEGO is taking this project very seriously, not because of the core interests of Minecraft, but mostly for the huge community that the game brings together. All these players are as many potential customers for LEGO which will quickly find affinities with the concept developed by Minecraft: Collective play, use of bricks, creativity, etc ....

But could LEGO go even further and acquire Minecraft? I think so. After the LEGO Universe fiasco, TLC has announced that it still wants to continue developing projects in the field of video games through partnerships similar to those concluded with TT Games and Warner Bros. By absorbing Mojang, LEGO would obtain a large community to satisfy in derivative products and above all prevent other competing manufacturers from getting involved ...