Well I'll be nowhere near Denver sadly, but I wish you guys all the best and I hope the fund raiser brings in tons of money for the kids. Kotaku you guys rock for doing this!
@Witzbold: I just wish I could get the hard drive out of it. Does look nice though, but I liked the Halo one as well. I appreciate any custom console that looks more like an artifact out of the game universe as opposed to a console with a big picture of the main character on it like a big billboard or advertisement for the game.
Cool, but (and most people aren't going to realize this) this sort of construction is more about LEGO color knowledge, familiarity with Bricklink (or the ability to order loose brick directly from The LEGO Company without being restricted by the fairly limited Pick-A-Brick selection), and part/color rarity than it is about being a skilled LEGO artist. I know they have nothing to do with this event, but I'd really be much more interested in seeing a gallery of the stuff he's _not_ donating. #childsplay
That'd be pretty crazy to own :| I wish I knew how to build Legos that nicely.
Edit: Actualy, are those lego pieces that color or did they just go back and paint them those colors? Some don't look like whole lego pieces. Either way, it looks nice but it takes away from that Lego Pixel effect =/
@Mentuss: But some of those look like half-tone bricks. I'm not hating on the piece, it's still wonderful. I'm just saying I've never seen them colored in such a way and some of the smaller ones wouldn't be able to just float there had they not be attached horizontally. #childsplay
@ph15h: Yeah, thats right they painted it. Just like pulling the stickers off a rubix cube.
Pfft, back off, it's awesome. It's lego, all lego. Insult the statue again and you'll get a shoryuken! #childsplay
@ph15h: Hmm not sure really, probably read the initial post and was a bit miffed that someone would bring 'doubt of authenticity' up to the table when these are for auction to raise money for Childs Play. Personally I don't think you could put this up for charitable auction if it weren't legit. That and sure I like attention. #childsplay
@tshirtwearingdork: Again, where does authenticity come into play when asking whether certain pieces are painted to create a more detailed piece of art? It's for charity and the product's "legit"-ness is not in question but merely the process in which the final product was achieved. #childsplay
@ph15h: Hmm I guess Art is always authentic if it's not fraudulent.
In my point of thinking, and this is going to be different for everyone, had those pieces been painted it would have taken away from my perceived view of the concept of building Ryu out of Lego as in my view creating the shape and then painting it wouldn't be as honest as building it out of appropriately coloured blocks in the first place.
However, if those block colours are not lego colours that are available then I would have no problem with the artist first painting the blocks those colours and then using them in construction, as this would be somewhat different in my mind to just going back and painting them afterwards, that to me would be akin to telling someone you had completed a rubix cube by peeling all the stickers off.
In my view making Ryu out of lego, is completely different to making a Ryu shape out of lego and painting it to look like Ryu. I guess that's where its legitimacy comes into it, and really that's going to be more a case of each to their own really isn't it.
Personally I'd like the blueprints to this design as I think it's brilliant. #childsplay
@ph15h: I can see some Jpeg artifacting that makes some of the bricks look that way, but as far as I can tell, every colour is available on the Lego site to make those things.
When I have a bit of spare cash I might make something similar myself. #childsplay
@ph15h:
Ryu is made from black, white, light bluish-grey, red, dark-red, tan, and either dark-orange or reddish-brown (all legit LEGO colors).
Baby Mario is made from black, white, light-bluish grey, dark-green, green, lime-green, red, dark-red, orange, dark-orange, tan, and reddish-brown (all legit LEGO colors).
The Tentacle is made from black, green, lime-green, and two shades of pink. I'm not that well-versed in the various shades of LEGO pink, but I think it's dark-pink and either pink or light-pink (again, all legit LEGO colors).
In the last couple decades, the LEGO color pallete exploded, to the point that Peeron.com has identified at least 127 unique colors (some colors appear to be intended to look the same, but vary a bit based on what material the part was made from (they make parts in at least ten distinct materials). Some of these colors are extremely rare, with the rarest color that I know of having only been used on one part (that being trans-neon red, which was only ever used in the original BIONICLE Toa eyestalk). A few years ago after Kjeld Kirk turned over control of the company to someone outside of the Christiansen/Kristiansen family, it was decided that the color pallete needed to be seriously cut back, so a lot of those colors have been permanently declared off-limits for future sets. The current color pallete is probably closer to 50 unique colors, and all of the parts used in these mosaics appear to be on the list of active colors.
Oh, and these appear to have all been made four studs thick. Not only does it significantly improve the travelability of items like these, but some of those parts aren't as easily obtainable in 1x1 or 1x2 bricks. Building this way, you'd only need to be able to buy 1x4, 2x4, and maybe 2x3 bricks. #childsplay
@Purple Dave: Everything this man says is correct.
All the pieces are legit LEGO bricks that I got from the giant stock of LEGO bricks we have here at Netdevil that the company was super cool with donating to the Childs Play cause.
@Klyph14:
Um...you do realize that the real LEGO Master Model Builders glue nearly everything that they build for work, and most of the LEGO Certified Professionals probably glue their commissions as well.
Gluing MOCs that you plan to keep (even if you never plan to disassemble them) is a no-no. Gluing LEGO sculptures that are meant to be permanent installations, or that you're building for hire gets special dispensation. I've even helped build a model that eventually got mostly glued together, and it's also the only model that I ever received a paycheck for (everything else I've done for fun and un-profit). #childsplay
You guys rock. I would love to help coordinate something like this in LA. I'm actually surprised there isn't something all ready int eh works here. You'd figure the payout stands to be huge because of the huge Hollywood/gamer scene.
Hell, Robin Williams might be willing to show up for free and do some MC-ing. #childsplay
11/20/09
It doesn't look THAT different from the Elite except the disc tray is matte black and it has random grey strokes and numbers on it. *shrugs*
11/19/09
11/19/09
Still, though. I've bought some DVDs for the hospital closest to me, and I encourage everyone else to donate as well.
Kids are awesome!
11/19/09
11/19/09
11/19/09
...I'm definitely going to that one, can't wait!
11/19/09
#speakup
11/19/09
11/19/09
I'm so jealous of people who are attending!
11/19/09
I hope that the fundraiser doesn't end up like this.
From the website of the venue.
11/18/09
11/18/09
11/18/09
11/18/09
11/18/09
Stephen Totilo sent along four more boxes of goodies to add to the mix.
His contributions include ... doodads, inflatables, costumes and masks.
11/17/09
11/17/09
:D #childsplay
11/18/09
11/17/09
Edit: Actualy, are those lego pieces that color or did they just go back and paint them those colors? Some don't look like whole lego pieces. Either way, it looks nice but it takes away from that Lego Pixel effect =/
11/17/09
11/17/09
11/17/09
Pfft, back off, it's awesome. It's lego, all lego. Insult the statue again and you'll get a shoryuken! #childsplay
11/17/09
11/17/09
Still, have you noticed they placed the blocks lengthwise, along the z-axis?
I think it's legit.
11/17/09
11/17/09
11/17/09
In my point of thinking, and this is going to be different for everyone, had those pieces been painted it would have taken away from my perceived view of the concept of building Ryu out of Lego as in my view creating the shape and then painting it wouldn't be as honest as building it out of appropriately coloured blocks in the first place.
However, if those block colours are not lego colours that are available then I would have no problem with the artist first painting the blocks those colours and then using them in construction, as this would be somewhat different in my mind to just going back and painting them afterwards, that to me would be akin to telling someone you had completed a rubix cube by peeling all the stickers off.
In my view making Ryu out of lego, is completely different to making a Ryu shape out of lego and painting it to look like Ryu. I guess that's where its legitimacy comes into it, and really that's going to be more a case of each to their own really isn't it.
Personally I'd like the blueprints to this design as I think it's brilliant. #childsplay
11/17/09
When I have a bit of spare cash I might make something similar myself. #childsplay
11/17/09
Ryu is made from black, white, light bluish-grey, red, dark-red, tan, and either dark-orange or reddish-brown (all legit LEGO colors).
Baby Mario is made from black, white, light-bluish grey, dark-green, green, lime-green, red, dark-red, orange, dark-orange, tan, and reddish-brown (all legit LEGO colors).
The Tentacle is made from black, green, lime-green, and two shades of pink. I'm not that well-versed in the various shades of LEGO pink, but I think it's dark-pink and either pink or light-pink (again, all legit LEGO colors).
In the last couple decades, the LEGO color pallete exploded, to the point that Peeron.com has identified at least 127 unique colors (some colors appear to be intended to look the same, but vary a bit based on what material the part was made from (they make parts in at least ten distinct materials). Some of these colors are extremely rare, with the rarest color that I know of having only been used on one part (that being trans-neon red, which was only ever used in the original BIONICLE Toa eyestalk). A few years ago after Kjeld Kirk turned over control of the company to someone outside of the Christiansen/Kristiansen family, it was decided that the color pallete needed to be seriously cut back, so a lot of those colors have been permanently declared off-limits for future sets. The current color pallete is probably closer to 50 unique colors, and all of the parts used in these mosaics appear to be on the list of active colors.
Oh, and these appear to have all been made four studs thick. Not only does it significantly improve the travelability of items like these, but some of those parts aren't as easily obtainable in 1x1 or 1x2 bricks. Building this way, you'd only need to be able to buy 1x4, 2x4, and maybe 2x3 bricks. #childsplay
11/17/09
All the pieces are legit LEGO bricks that I got from the giant stock of LEGO bricks we have here at Netdevil that the company was super cool with donating to the Childs Play cause.
[www.netdevil.com]
And no, none of them are glued together (I would be blacklisted!).
Glad everyone likes them, and I hope everyone who can will be able to make it out to the party to try and win them! #childsplay
11/18/09
Um...you do realize that the real LEGO Master Model Builders glue nearly everything that they build for work, and most of the LEGO Certified Professionals probably glue their commissions as well.
Gluing MOCs that you plan to keep (even if you never plan to disassemble them) is a no-no. Gluing LEGO sculptures that are meant to be permanent installations, or that you're building for hire gets special dispensation. I've even helped build a model that eventually got mostly glued together, and it's also the only model that I ever received a paycheck for (everything else I've done for fun and un-profit). #childsplay
11/17/09
11/16/09
Hell, Robin Williams might be willing to show up for free and do some MC-ing. #childsplay
11/16/09
If you're willing to come up to San Francisco, come to Ümloud! [umloud.org] #childsplay
11/16/09
11/16/09
Seriously all that loot, plus the dagger is amongst them! #childsplay