Reasonably Blogged

Sands of Time Winners Announced!

2010-08-19T12:42:00.004-04:00

At long last the votes have been tallied and the winners announced! Who won? Well click and find out!

Build a Minifig-Mobile Contest at BCN

2010-07-30T11:01:00.002-04:00

This is a fun one - you know the new LEGO Collectible Series 2 Minifigures that are due out soon? Well, the Brick Comic Network has a contest to help you win them!

The contest is pretty simple - build a vehicle for the figure. It can be a car, an airplane, a train, a space craft...whatever. And the vehicle that best fits the minifig (in the eyes of the judges) will win that minifig!

The contest runs from August 1st through September 19th - plenty of time to enter a build for each of the 16 figures if you're super-ambitious.

Click the banner above for all the details!

New Parts in Buy-Me-Mizer

2010-06-24T10:28:00.002-04:00

I've added in some cool Green-Dragon Knight parts into the Buy-Me-Mizer.
Enjoy 'em while supplies last!

2010-06-22T07:30:00.002-04:00

Reasonably Clever has teamed up with S.O.S. (Slightly Obsessed Studio) to create a new comic book! Written by Sigrid Ellis and illustrated by yours truly, DENIZENS will be published on-line. A new page appears every Tuesday and Saturday.

Today....take a look at the front cover.

Tranquility Base Guest Comic

2010-06-12T08:44:00.004-04:00

Looking for a bit of extra Reasonably Clever humor this weekend? Pop over to Tranquility Base for a guest strip!

2nd Annual Micropolis Building Challenge - EXTENDED

2010-06-08T11:27:00.001-04:00

Due to some serious confusion over the entry requirements (No, you don't have to be going to Brickworld) TwinLUG and Reasonably Clever have decided to extend the deadline for entries for the 2nd Annual Micropolis Building Challenge. You now have until July 24th to submit your modules!

Sorry for the confusion, gang. I'll try and be more clear in my contest descriptions in the future.

BoxCars - My little twist on CubeDudes

2010-06-08T08:00:00.002-04:00

Here's a bit of bandwagon-expansion. I've started building little cubic vehicles for CubeDude style characters. I call 'em "BoxCars".

Above is the Bat BoxCar, modeled after the '66 Batmobile.

I've also bowed to pressure and made a new Serenity Model...

...cute, isn't it?

LEGO Red Devil Mosaic

2010-06-02T12:00:00.002-04:00

What did I build over the Memorial Day weekend? A stylized image of the Humboldt Squid in LEGO brick.

Other than the eyes and frame, all the bricks are transparent. This gives a nice "Stained Glass" feel to the work. As a bonus, the image works from both sides - perfect for setting in a window somewhere.

This is a companion piece to my larger Octopus Stained Glass Mosaic.

Click on through to see more photos on my Flickr Stream.

Keychain Experiment: Update!

2010-06-02T07:58:00.003-04:00

Time for another photographic glimpse into the wear and tear on a LEGO Keychain.

Well, the paint is just about gone, but the plastic still looks brand new.

I realized I should have been documenting the wear and tear on the backside, so here's a shot of that...

Be on the lookout for some new developments in the Keychain experiment series very soon!

Photo Set Reviews on Flickr

2010-05-25T11:50:00.003-04:00

I know these aren't the in-depth reviews you were hoping for, but as a bit of filler there are three new photo reviews up on my Flickr Stream. All three at Toys R Us "sneak peek" sets due out at general retail later in June.

7566 - CITY - Farmer Impulse Set

7953 - Kingdoms - Jester Impulse Set

7949 - Kingdoms - Prison Carriage Rescue

Collectible Minifigs at TRU

2010-05-21T09:53:00.002-04:00

Thanks to my lovely wife, I now have almost two boxes worth of the new LEGO collectible mini-figures. The "official" street date for these in the US is June 17th, but some (most? all?) Toys R Us locations have been putting these out early, along with the first waves of the new summer sets.

What am I going to do with all of these guys? Heh. Don't worry - I have plans.

(And, yes, eventually some of the parts will end up in the Buy-Me-Mizer.)

2nd Annual Micropolis Building Challenge

2010-05-20T09:34:00.003-04:00

Observant readers might have noticed this contest a couple of days ago, but here's the official announcement!

Click on through for all the details!

Webcomic Beacon Podcast Archive is up

2010-05-20T08:30:00.004-04:00

The archive of the Webcomic Beacon Podcast I was on has been posted...
Listen and be amazed as my internet connection drops just as I'm about to start talking! (Twice!) Just click the pic to head on over...

(If that doesn't work, I also have the mp3 of the podcast mirrored here.)

Keychain Experiment: One Month In

2010-05-17T11:43:00.003-04:00

This week's update on the Rock Monster Keychain experiment brings us to a full month of wear-and-tear.

Compared to last week, there's not much change. The grey paint on the body continues to erode, but the plastic bits still look intact.

2010 LEGO Advent Calendars

2010-05-17T09:44:00.005-04:00

Thanks to Amazon Japan, we have a first look at the 2010 LEGO Advent Universe. (Actually we have a very close look as they posted set contents. But if you want major spoilers you'll need to go looking for them yourself.)

We'll have two themes to look forward to. As expected, we'll get the inevitable "CITY" theme...and we'll also make a return to Castle with the rebranded "Kindgoms" theme.

No word yet if LEGO will keep their promise to make both themes available to US customers. Fingers crossed!

Keychain Expermiment: Damage Potential

2010-05-11T08:03:00.002-04:00

So what sort of damage am I expecting to see on my Rock Monster keychain? Well, let's take a quick look at my last keychain. Mr. Freeze....

(Click to Embiggen)

Pretty rough, eh? His one surviving arm is shattered, his legs have snapped off at the hip, his backpack is missing. Even the silver has worn off from the chain.

How will Rocky survive in comparison? He has fewer parts to deal with...but when/if those parts do break...

The Keychain Experiment

2010-05-10T07:48:00.004-04:00

While I was visiting TwinLUG last month, I picked up a new LEGO keychain at the Mall of America. In tribute to the recent Brick House story arc, I selecteded a Red Rock Monster. (He was on sale, too. What a deal!)

It seems I'm always needing to replace my keychain. I've been through a Pirate, several Exo-Force guys, and most recently a Mr. Freeze. They start out so very nice, but end up mangled blobs of plastic.

Maybe I have too many keys. Maybe they're just substandard LEGO.

I noticed this morning that the process has begun anew on the Rock Monster. His paint is rapidly wearing away...although the plastic parts still look okay.

Here, I took a photo with my phone. (Click to embiggen)
I figure I'll post an update on his status every once in a while - let's see how long this one lasts.

Buy-Me-Mizer Updated

2010-05-05T08:28:00.004-04:00

Due to numerous requests, I added two "sword and shield" combos into the Buy-Me-Mizer today.

I also added a few more torsos, some new accessories, and some nifty new hairpieces and helmets. Just look how excited SampleMini is!

Final Day!

2010-04-30T08:18:00.002-04:00

Today is the final day to enter both the BCN Caption Contest and the Friend Us On Facebook Giveaway.

There are some cool contests in the works, too - so stay tuned!

Clockwork Ostriches

2010-04-26T13:11:00.002-04:00

Just a little bit of fun with the new LEGO Ostrich.

Click through for the full set on Flickr

Webcomic Beacon

2010-04-21T09:06:00.002-04:00

Here's a bit of upcoming fun to add to your calendar! On Sunday, May 18th at 12 Noon EST, I'll be taking part in the following podcast:

Click on through to visit The Webcomic Beacon.

It's been a while since I've been on a podcast...the last time was back in August of 2008. Hopefully I'll be a bit more articulate this time....

Rough Week

2010-04-14T11:38:00.006-04:00

This has been a pretty rough week for those around me. I've had co-workers lose their parents, friends lose their pets, and other friends lose their jobs and relationships. Sickness and strife abound.

(Not to mention the deadly earthquake in China this morning. The universe definitely has a mean on right now.)

Into that mix comes the untimely death of one of the brightest stars in the AFOL community - Nate 'nnenn' Nielson. The Brothers Brick have a nice eulogy up for him - it speaks more eloquently than I can.

I didn't have much direct interaction with nnenn - but I was still inspired by his work and will miss his presence in the online community.

Friend us on Facebook and you could Win a Rock Monster

2010-04-13T12:53:00.005-04:00

So I've finally entered the year 2005 and set up a Facebook page for Reasonably Clever. As an incentive for folks to follow along there, I'm holding a quick mini-contest.

On May 1, 2010 I'll randomly pick five Facebook Fans...and each of those lucky individuals will win...

A ROCK MONSTER!

Yes, one of the many Rock Monsters currently invading the Brick House Comic could be yours!

Come on. That has to be worth a click...

And the winners are:
Carole Vogel, Tettee Green, Théo Charré, Eamonn O Donnell and Flamero Burns

For those of you who where curious how the winners were selected, I used Radom.org to generate five random numbers, and matched those up with the friends list.

Congrats to the winners, and everyone else stay tuned for your next chance to win!

Comic Archive move is complete!

2010-04-12T12:31:00.002-04:00

I finally finished moving the full comic archive into the Comicpress system!
The comic posted-on dates aren't very accurate (a compromise between hacking Comicpress' one-comic-per-day code and having a one-strip-per-archive-page archive) but the content is all there.

As a bonus, the story is now broken up into discrete chunks - it should make moving around a lot easier. I still need to go through and update in-strip quick links, but that's not a priority at the moment. I figure I'll update those as I find them/find the time.

I have a few projects that need to be completed first, but my next goal with regards to the archive is to finally get some decent character bios put together. Having the comics in the new archive was a necessary first step.

The question now is do I go the full wiki route (like Legostargalactica) or opt for a series of wordpress articles that I could update from time to time.

Something for me to think about, anyway.

Ostrichsized - The Trendy Emo Band

2010-04-05T10:28:00.005-04:00

Click for more photos in my Flickr Stream

Annnnd.....you can now get this image as T-Shirt from the Reasonably Clever Cafe-Press store!

Contest at BCN

2010-04-02T08:03:00.003-04:00

I know it's been a bit since the last contest here at Reasonably Clever - I do have an exciting one in the works, so keep watching for that.

And, in the meantime, I'd like to announce a nice little contest over at BCN. It's quite a bit different from the standard LEGO challenge - and really worth a look.

Intrigued? Then click on through to The First Annual BCN Caption Contest!

Site migration still underway

2010-03-26T08:08:00.003-04:00

Still working on moving the comic archive into the ComicPress system. The first 250+ episodes are in there, as well as current strips backdating to late December of 2009. I'm hoping to have the rest uploaded and configured over the next two weeks. In the meantime the old archive page is still up.

Comicpress is a pretty neat Wordpress mod - it really does make managing the comic a lot easier. Instead of hand editing six HTML/XML files every day, I can just upload the comic in advance, set up any additional info that I need, and the system takes care of the rest. It's let me actually start to build up a bit of a head-start buffer for the first time in years.

Yeah, I should have automated this years ago. But when your day job is working with computers, it's tough to go home and seriously contemplate even more web design work. Y'know?

Guest Appearance at YOLT!

2010-03-26T08:01:00.002-04:00

Looks like Wash and Mary Sue have found time to take a break from hunting Bilbo - they've made a guest appearance in the audience over at Ye Olde LEGO-Time Theatre. There are a lot of other LEGO Webcomic characters in the crowd - can you spot them all?

Still working things out.

2010-03-16T13:08:00.005-04:00

Okay. Wordpress is being a bitch. So I guess I'm going to hybridize the site - the blog can stay here at blogger, and I'll use Comicpress to manage the comic (assuming I can get that to work right.)

Comic comments and updates will be from the front page of the site now, though.

*grumble*

Episode 900

2010-03-15T07:41:00.001-04:00

Read the comic here.

Episode 899

2010-03-12T07:23:00.000-05:00

Read the comic here.

Episode 898

2010-03-11T07:25:00.000-05:00

Read the comic here.

Episode 897

2010-03-10T12:59:00.000-05:00

Read the comic here.

Buzzkill

2010-03-10T11:00:00.000-05:00

Buzz tries out the Fairy Princess' outfit.
(Part swap from a new LEGO Keychain)

Episode 896

2010-03-10T07:46:00.000-05:00

Read the comic here.

Update Again

2010-03-09T09:45:00.003-05:00

So....Reasonably Clever is now running from a new host. Things seem to be okay - the only thing that's forver borked is the old forum areas (only linked to in a couple of odd places). They're not coming back, so I really don't care too much about that.

If you spot any other major glitches, post a comment. I may or may not fix 'em, but it'd be best if I know about them.

The main reason for the move is that Blogger is getting rid of FTP support - the way I choose to host my blog. Fixing all the soon-to-be-dead links meant a major overhaul of RC - and if I'm going to do that, I might as well go ahead with a full revamp. (The last one was back in 2007, after all.)

As things stand, I can keep this blog (and this version of the site) as-is for a little longer. Meanwhile, I'll be configuring the new Wordpress version of the site. You might see occasional blips as I break things in the background. Pardon the dust. This will take a bit.

The end result will be much nicer for everyone - particularly since I won't be hand-publishing the comic HTML every day. (Yes, I've been hand coding pages for years. Yes, I'm insane.)
Since I have to go through the full archive page-by-page to move it into Comicpress there should be some incidental upgrades, too - stuff like a up to date character list, chapter tags, improved archive navigation, etc.

Speaking of the comic - I should have new episodes starting in a couple of days, Monday at the latest.

Anyway, that's what's going on.

Wonkyness on the way

2010-03-08T09:16:00.005-05:00

I've decided to move Reasonably Clever to a new webhost, one that will run Wordpress. The migration will (hopefully) take place this week. The site will most likely be majorly broken for long stretches as I make the transition. I'll try and get at least a ghost copy of things up as soon as I can.

So...likely no comics this week.

Updates as they happen. Or don't.

-----

Update: Site move now in progress. I'm re-uploading a copy of the current site...but it's going to take a while. I tried to put the more frequently used areas (Mizers/Comic/Blog) up first to minimize the hassle.

Episode 895

2010-03-05T06:59:00.000-05:00

Read the comic here.

Episode 894

2010-03-04T08:02:00.000-05:00

Read the comic here.

Episode 893

2010-03-03T06:42:00.001-05:00

Read the comic here.

Episode 892

2010-03-02T06:59:00.001-05:00

Read the comic here.

Photo Review: Luke's Landspeeder

2010-03-01T12:00:00.002-05:00

Photo Review of LEGO set 8092 - Luke's Landspeeder

This one's been out for a while, but I just now got my sets from shop@home. (Limited Edition stuff makes me SO grumpy...)

There's one huge selling point for this set - minifigure updates to the classic New Hope cast. I broke out the "vintage 2000" figures for comparison photos. Click through for all the fun on Flickr.

Arecibo Message in Mosaic and 4D

2010-03-01T11:00:00.002-05:00

Here's my latest building self-challenge - render the arecibo message in LEGO form.

A basic mosaic (at left) wasn't much of a challenge. 23 rows by 73 columns is small for one of my mosaics, and the image itself is as basic as you can get. I decided to follow the Wikipedia article's lead and add some color to help showcase the various portions of the message.

Sure, it's interesting enough as projects go, but why stop there? I spent some time trying to think of a new way to show the message.

Eventually I realized that if I build the message studs-to-the side I could show the image two ways - in the 23x73 grid, but also as a continuous stream of data, allowing the viewer to walk along the length of the message and view it as it was beamed into space...one bit at a time. I would capture the dimension of time...and show the message in 4D!

The first step was to rebuild the mosaic.

I used trans-clear plate for the "zero" bits - mainly because I had a ton of them on hand.

I decided to keep the false colors seen in the flat mosaic for the "ones". It adds a touch of visual interest to the long string...and also helps show where in the message you are. The proportions are bit squashed - LEGO plates aren't in a 1:1 aspect ratio. But The image is still legible, particularly with the studs-out mosaic next to it for comparison.

As you can see in this photo, you can disassemble the "compact" version of the message into the original data stream. The rows can be reconnected end-to-end.

This photo shows the start of the code. You can follow the full message by walking along the length of the model.

1679 LEGO plates were used to depict the message - each 3.2mm tall. The total length of the 4d-configuration is 5.37 meters, or 17.6 feet.

To see more photos, check out the full set on Flickr.

Episode 891

2010-03-01T07:02:00.000-05:00

Read the comic here.

Set Photos - 20014 March/April Brickmaster 4x4

2010-02-26T07:58:00.002-05:00

I received my March/April Brickmaster promo set in the mail yesterday.

It's decidedly meh. No new parts, no clever building techniques...just a pretty average creator set.

Photos are up at my Flickr Stream...click through to check out the set for yourself!

Episode 890

2010-02-26T07:15:00.002-05:00

Read the comic here.

As was mentioned in the blog comments yesterday, Luka does indeed still have her own hair - the hairball was on top like a wig. (There's in strip dialog downstream that clarifies that a bit.)

Episode 889

2010-02-25T09:47:00.000-05:00

Read the comic here.

Episode 888

2010-02-24T06:45:00.001-05:00

Read the comic here.

Episode 887

2010-02-23T07:22:00.000-05:00

Read the comic here.

Episode 886

2010-02-22T07:54:00.002-05:00

Read the comic here.

Link back to 396, for the curious.

The backwards "N" and "E" characters are part of the font I use for "Hairball-ian" Speak..."Die Die Die".

LEGO Set Photo Reviews: Star Wars Minis

2010-02-19T14:00:00.000-05:00

Here are the two new Star Wars Mini-ship impulse sets. Found 'em at Target last night.

30050 LEGO Star Wars Republic Attack Shuttle Mini

30051 LEGO Star Wars X-Wing Mini
(Comparison shot with the 2003 version of this kit.)

LEGO Item Review - Atlantis Notepad

2010-02-19T11:59:00.000-05:00

Not really a LEGO "set" - but still worth a look. This is an Atlantis-themed Promo item I picked up at the Schaumberg,IL LEGO store a few weeks ago. Click through for a few more photos.

LEGO Atlantis Notepad Promo 4586603

LEGO Set Photo Review: Duplo Farm Animal Mystery!

2010-02-19T10:00:00.002-05:00

Many in the LEGO community are excited about the upcoming "Mystery Mini-Figure" collectible sets. I know I am.

But did you know LEGO is already testing out a Mystery Assortment? It's true! And it's DUPLO!

30060 DUPLO Easter Impulse

Take a gander at this Spring/Easter Impulse set. You get three DUPLO bricks (two yellow, one green) and one of five mystery characters.

Yeah. Four pieces.

For three bucks.

Beyond the silly price point, there's another fatal flaw with this set. The figure is supposed to be a mystery, right? Well, if you flip over the package....

...You can see what's inside. This bag, for example, has the calf in it. (Click to enbiggen)

I suppose this was done to keep people from ripping open the bags to make sure their kids get a full set...but at that point, why not just make bags for each animal?

It's a puzzlement.

The final mystery, though? What a farm animal is supposed to do with three DUPLO blocks.

Here's my solution:

Anyway, if you want to see more photos, the full Flickr set is here.

LEGO Set Photo Reviews

2010-02-19T09:09:00.003-05:00

I stopped at Target last night and they had stocked their Easter Impulse Item row - and that means new LEGO mini-sets!

There were two new CITY sets, two Star Wars Mini-Ships, and an interesting DUPLO mystery bag.

For starters, here's the two CITY impulse sets. Click through to see more photos!

30002 LEGO CITY Police Boat Impulse

30010 LEGO CITY Fire Chief Impulse

Episode 885

2010-02-19T07:43:00.002-05:00

Read the comic here.

I don't know about you, but Donut's expression in panel four doesn't instill me with a whole lot of confidence in this working out well.

Episode 884

2010-02-18T06:37:00.001-05:00

Read the comic here.

Here's a quick link back to 385. (499 episodes ago? Yikes.)

Episode 883

2010-02-17T06:48:00.001-05:00

Read the comic here.

Episode 882

2010-02-16T11:45:00.001-05:00

Read the comic here.

Episode 881

2010-02-16T07:40:00.001-05:00

Read the comic here.

Catch-up strip will be up around noon.

Episode 880

2010-02-12T07:05:00.002-05:00

Read the comic here.

And thus ends one of the odder two-day events in Brick House history.

A Portrait of Dorian Bley

2010-02-11T13:20:00.005-05:00

This is my first full-scale experiment with Lenticular LEGO building.

There are more photos in my Flickr Gallery for this project, including my earliest test boards.

Episode 879

2010-02-11T07:18:00.000-05:00

Read the comic here.

Because cutting off Whiskey's extra head isn't goofy enough.

Episode 878

2010-02-10T18:18:00.001-05:00

Read the comic here.

*whew* Caught up again.

Seems Donut took some lessons from Tony Stark when it comes to anesthetic.

Episode 877

2010-02-10T15:39:00.001-05:00

Read the comic here.

Episode 876

2010-02-10T14:06:00.003-05:00

Read the comic here.

Yeah, yeah. Playing catch-up again. I was out of town for a convention and got behind. Multiple updates today as I get caught up.

Episode 875

2010-02-05T08:06:00.000-05:00

Read the comic here.

Comic is up and ready, but I won't be able to hook it up properly until Monday late. In the meantime, click the link above to see Friday's strip.

Episode 874

2010-02-04T08:05:00.001-05:00

Read the comic here.

This comic was completely re-scripted when I realized they were coming through the door the wrong way. Because I care.

Guest Strip: Everyday Gods

2010-02-03T06:43:00.004-05:00

Would you like another dose of Reasonably Clever humor today? Then go check out the guest strip I made for Daniel Mohr over at Everyday Gods.

Daniel is a friend of mine, and when I learned that computer problems were messing up his strip production I wanted to help out a bit. It was a fun little break from my "regular duties." You might want to read back at least a few days in his archive; the strip is funnier in context. Hopefully.

Episode 873

2010-02-03T06:34:00.003-05:00

Read the comic here.

Yes, a location outside of my workshop. Yes, that's the bathroom in our house.

The interesting thing about posing mini-figures on a toilet seat is that the rim tends to slope inward towards the bowl. I had to use a small bit of tape to get Donut to cling to the edge like that.

The threat of lukewarm pork is one of the most evil things I can imagine.

SIGH

2010-02-02T13:19:00.002-05:00

Hrm. I use Blogger's FTP service to manage this blog...a service they're discontinuing next month.

Switching how this works, even just going with internal blogger support, will require massive tweaks to the site.

I guess it's time for another redesign/overhaul of the Reasonably Clever experience.

As if I didn't have enough to do already.

*grump*

Episode 872

2010-02-02T07:18:00.002-05:00

Read the comic here.

Luka's built up quite a bit of tolerance to alcohol during her years as a pirate, apparently.

Also, for those of you asking about Whiskey, you can see him in panel two. He fell down behind the can. (Remember, he's inert plastic at this point, so he really doesn't care. Of course, he'll probably regret missing out on the party later on.)

Episode 871

2010-02-01T07:21:00.001-05:00

Read the comic here.

New Cube Dude: Spider Jerusalem

2010-01-30T23:22:00.005-05:00

Here's a little guy I built as a distraction from all the LEGO sorting I was doing this weekend.

Spider Jerusalem rendered in the Cube Dude style.

(Created by Warren Ellis & Darick Robertson
from the DC/Vertigo series TRANSMETROPOLITAN)

I think there's something troubling about seeing anything Warren Ellis had a hand in creating presented in a standard developed by a man from Disney/Pixar.

But I just had to build him anyway.

Episode 870

2010-01-29T06:52:00.002-05:00

Read the comic here.

I like the quietness of panel one - it's a nice contrast to the chaos of trying to take the photo. It wasn't exactly the easiest angle to get to (or light) in my workshop.

Those of you who know me in person know I'm not a beer drinker - the Guinness shown here actually belong to my wife.

Episode 869

2010-01-28T12:59:00.000-05:00

Read the comic here.

Well, what would YOU ask?

Episode 868

2010-01-28T08:14:00.003-05:00

Read the comic here.

The joke, of course, is that's exactly what I'm doing.

Second update later today to get caught up again. *sigh*

Episode 867

2010-01-26T08:20:00.002-05:00

Read the comic here.

Scotch's "but that's not important" line is lifted from Airplane.

Episode 866

2010-01-25T07:22:00.001-05:00

Read the comic here.

Episode 865

2010-01-22T12:14:00.002-05:00

Read the comic here.

I figured this would be a great time to deal with the ongoing theme that my characters hate being in my comic.

More LEGO Atlantis Photo Reviews

2010-01-22T10:01:00.002-05:00

Thanks to a recent LEGO Shop@Home order I'm finally caught up on the first wave(heh) of the Atlantis theme.

Check out my flickr stream for photo reviews of 20013 - Brickmaster Micro Neptune Carrier and 8079 - Shadow Snapper.

Episode 864

2010-01-22T07:45:00.001-05:00

Read the comic here.

Double post later today as once again I play catch-up.

Episode 863

2010-01-20T07:20:00.001-05:00

Read the comic here.

Episode 862

2010-01-19T06:46:00.000-05:00

Read the comic here.

Episode 861

2010-01-18T19:52:00.002-05:00

Read the comic here.

I thought for sure I had left Buzz in the background in previous strips - but I guess he was cropped out. Whoops.

Oh well. Having Buzz lying around my workbench is pretty believable, even if it wasn't clearly established before hand.

And, no, Buzz isn't moving under his own power - Only Luka, Scotch and Donut have self-mobility in the Author-verse. Everything else....is just LEGO.

Atlantis on Clearance? Really?

2010-01-15T18:41:00.003-05:00

Here's a weird one. Friends in Madison, Wisconsin found that two of their local Targets had the full Atlantis wave on CLEARANCE. One had them marked down 30% the other....50%!

(Yes, I badgered them into picking some up for me, so I know the sale prices were real.)

Targets in Detroit, however, had them at full price. The display was the same - a newly stocked endcap - but sadly, no little red stickers.

My guess is back-room confusion as to what needed the End-of-season clearance tags. But you never know - you might be in one of the "lucky" zones with the latest sets on sale.

Comment and let us know if you find them for cheap!

Episode 860

2010-01-15T07:40:00.003-05:00

Read the comic here.

BTW: Upload glitch ate the archive page. I'll fix from a backup tonight. (I really should re-do the stupid thing to make it more functional. Maybe this weekend...)

Episode 859

2010-01-14T06:39:00.000-05:00

Read the comic here.

Episode 858

2010-01-13T11:49:00.000-05:00

Read the comic here.

Episode 857

2010-01-13T07:13:00.004-05:00

Read the comic here.

Sadly, that really is the state of my workshop at the moment. That corner is filled with "to be sorted" stuff, as well as unopened sets that I simply had to buy at the time.

If you want to see things in more detail, I put the uncropped, full-sized photo used in panel 4 up on my Flickr Stream.

Double dose of comic today as I play catch-up. Second strip will go up this afternoon.

Episode 856

2010-01-11T07:27:00.001-05:00

Read the comic here.

The Brick House has always had a nearly transparent fourth wall - today's strip removes it entirely.

Episode 855

2010-01-08T05:13:00.002-05:00

Read the comic here.

I've gotten a few comments/emails about how the Meta-Door doesn't fit in with the look of the set/Brick House. That's the point of it...it's a strange portal to elsewhere. It doesn't fit in with where it is.

Hopefully today's pulled back view will give a better feel for that.

Episode 854

2010-01-07T07:55:00.002-05:00

Read the comic here.

Another new set today - it's a bit slapdash as I was distracted by other projects. Luckily I still had the "plain grey wall" left over from the Advent sets. It works just fine for this new room. I was playing with the lighting, too - the from-the-side shadows gives a slightly more dramatic feel to things, I think.

Finally, I don't normally like making my puns this explicit. I didn't think that "metadoor" would come across right without a little extra help, though.

Episode 853

2010-01-06T07:25:00.003-05:00

Read the comic here.

Once again my characters get uppity. I can't really blame them. From their perspective it's a lot like being in the Matrix - interacting with the Agents/Authors is bad enough...but you don't want to go visiting the Motor City.

Detroit is known as the Motor City, for those of you didn't know. So it's sort of a matrix-y pun.

Oh, nevermind.

Episode 852

2010-01-05T07:27:00.001-05:00

Read the comic here.

In today's certain-to-be-Oscar-nominated episode, our heroes get a chance to show their acting range.

Episode 851

2010-01-04T20:07:00.001-05:00

Read the comic here.

Arvo's LEGO Polaroid

2010-01-04T07:45:00.002-05:00

The nice thing about LEGO creations is that if you like someone else's, you can usually make your own copy.

Case in point: I had a friend lusting after the Arvo Brother's LEGO Polaroid MOC. With a bit of luck (and leveraging the fact I have a metric ton of brick on hand) I was able to come pretty close to duplicating their build to make a gift of it.

Trying to figure out the techniques used to make this model was a decent challenge, and I dare say I learned a few new tricks in the process.

You learn by doing, sometimes.

Episode 850

2010-01-01T02:00:00.001-05:00

Read the comic here.

I'm away from my computer for a bit, so the index will get updated later. For now, click the link above to check out the first Brick House comic of 2010!

Episode 849

2009-12-31T08:08:00.000-05:00

Read the comic here.

LEGO Stained Glass Octopus

2009-12-30T13:03:00.002-05:00

Ever have one of those ideas you just *have* to get out?
I was inspired to build something like this on December 22nd - took a couple of days to design it, and put the final bricks in place this morning.

Click on through for higher res and other angles.

Episode 848

2009-12-30T10:36:00.003-05:00

Read the comic here.

I tend to forget how passionate Donut is about his cooking...and then he'll remind me with a bit of dialog. Or, in this case, his suddenly serious expression in the last panel.

And, yes, Santa has a chicken leg, not Chili. He had the chili earlier. :P