After months sequestered in his secret underground lair, LEGO artist Baron von Brunk emerges with a massive Super Mario Bros. 3 airship that rivals any other block-meets-pixels creation I've seen. Behold its glory.
Okay, so he probably doesn't have an underground lair (though you never know, he is based in Queens, New York). What Baron von Brunk does have is a six foot long folding table covered with the most magnificent work of Super Mario LEGO work I've ever seen.
It's got mini-ships. It's got lights. It's got sounds. It's got Bullet Bills in mid-fire. It's even got a control deck, something the airships in the game seem to have left out.
Von Brunk details the model's creation on his blog:
Here it is at last, the finalized version of the massive Super Mario 3 airship project that I've been gradually working on since November 2011! Initially planned to be much smaller and streamlined, this titanic brute ballooned up to a larger scale, and used over 8,000 LEGO pieces in its completed form - as well as electronic components, such as lights and audio. The bulk of the ship is built entirely from reddish-brown pieces that resemble wooden planks, to create the effect of a rickety, wood ship made from logs, such as in its respective video game. Rather than have this ship docked on the ground, I used the magic of transparent-clear LEGO pieces for stanchions and columns, to keep it suspended several inches off the ground (as well as its small fleet of mini-ships flying)!
I'd almost rather believe it was hovering as if by magic.
Hit up the good Baron's site for more details on this wondrous construct, complete with plenty of photos snapped by his photographer pal Roz Smith.
"The Fireflower" - Mighty Super Mario 3 Airship!!! [Baron von Brunk's Tumblr LEGO Page of Justice! - via CNN]