Brick news: TogetherFarm gardening blocks

Hellego! There is a new idea in the brick world by TogetherFarm. It's to be able to build your own gardens, with building blocks!

They are not your regular size building blocks, but they are made so that you can make your garden to be any shape and size you want. TogetherFarm is an organization that helps encourage people to grow their own produce whether you are in the city or in the country. The idea came when they were thinking of a way people could have a garden, even if they didn't have a big backyard, or only had a balcony. With TogetherFarm's blocks, you can build your own garden any where you want. If you live in a condo, only have a balcony and want to have your own garden, these are perfect. You can build all around the area you want to garden and then fill it up with your dirt.

Right now, the project has a kickstarter. You can go check out more information about TogetherFarm blocks and help them out by visiting: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/togetherfarm/turning-plastic-into-produce-togetherfarm-blocks

I encourage you to help fund this project since it is something we have never seen before and is a great idea. I'm sure lot's of people could use these special gardening blocks!

The total bricks I got from the Pick A Brick wall

Hellego! A couple weeks ago, I made a post about my trip to the Lego store at Sherway Gardens mall. Well, after a long time taken organizing, searching names of certain bricks and counting, I finally have the full list of bricks I got. Now remember, all the bricks were in two small Pick A Brick cups.

All the bricks organized by type and colour

3 1x6 white panels

2 4x6 yellow plates

3 4x6 black plates

10 2x2  light grey 45degree slope

7 dark grey crates

10 1x8 red tiles

6 2x4 orange bricks

4 1x4 orange bricks

10 2x3 purple plates

4 2x4 brown bricks

6 1x4 brown bricks

10 2x4 brown plates

8 white flowerheads

8 red flowerheads

2 yellow flowers

2 red flowers

15 green stalks

5 2x4 green bricks

6 2x3 green bricks

19 1x2 brown plates

15 1x4 brown tiles

5 2x4 beige bricks

15 1x4 beige plates

43 2x2 dark beige tiles

18 2x2 yellow tiles

5 2x2 green bricks

5 2x1 green 45 degree slope

2 2x4 light green bricks

15 1x1 dark green bricks

2 1x4 yellow plates

5 2x4 black bricks

5 2x4 black 45 degree slope

17 1x2 black grille bricks

36 1x1 clear green plates

4 1x2 light green plates

5 2x4 light blue bricks

3 2x2 light blue bricks

9 2x4 light grey bricks

4 2x4 light grey 45 degree slope

4 2x6 light grey bricks

6 1x2 light grey plate with braced handle

12 black 4-brick-high basic antenna

3 black technic hook connectors

2 1x4 blue plates

6 red seats

44 1x1 orange cylinder plates

33 1x1 orange clear cheese slopes

53 1x1 red clear tiles

5 1x2 dark grey vertical shaft

7 grey and black mini antenna

7 control panel tiles

1 1x1 dark grey tile

By reading this, you may have noticed that I got more smaller pieces that bigger ones. I did this because they take up less space and that way, I could get more pieces for my money. I also took more bricks that I don't have or hardly have any of in my collection. There are some bricks that a picked that I would like to talk about.

First off, the 2x2 dark beige tiles. I took a lot of this piece (43) because I didn't have any. When I looked at MOCs on Flickr, I noticed that a lot of people use this brick and it makes the model look so much better. I knew that it was a must have brick. Since it was not too big of a piece, I took a lot of it especially since I would need a lot to make a floor out of it.

I also took the same piece but in yellow since they had it. I took less though (18).

Next, another brick I had almost none of was the 1x2 black grille bricks. I took 17 of this brick and again, I saw in creations on Flickr that some people used this brick for a lot of things. Example, to add a design in a wall. It's just a really nice brick that I don't have much of.

Now I am really happy to have taken a good amount (15) of green stalks. I had none and I have been wanting some so bad. I would see in battle/Star Wars creations this piece used and I found it look great in a creation that goes on outside. I also picked up some flowerheads to put on it.

I also took bricks that came in colours that I didn't have and were harder to get.

As you probable noticed, I took a lot of the smaller pieces. I already had a few, but not a lot. So I took huge amount, especially since they took up practically no space in the Pick A Brick buckets.

I picked up 7 of this control panel piece. I already had other types of control panels but none like this one. It can be really useful for creations so I took a few.

I also picked out 7 grey and black mini antennas. I already had this piece but I need more of it since it's useful for vehicles, space ships, etc.

The last piece I would like to highlight is these crates. I only had a couple and they can be great to add detail in or outside a building. So I picked up 7.

At the end, when I was done filling up my two buckets, I was amazed by how many bricks I was able to put in. I took two small buckets instead of one large one because two small, one top of another, comes out as the same height as the large. Also, I noticed at the bottom of the large bucket, the sides start to go inwards so you have less space to put pieces, so it was just better to take two. Plus, since I had two, it meant I had two buckets to keep and it can help me organize my pieces.

I was also happy to have two because since I don't have a Lego store where I live, it's impossible for me to have any without going far away. I would have to say that this Lego store is probably the closest and it's about an 8h drive from my house.

So those are all the bricks I got. You can always click the pictures to enlarge them and see the pieces layed out better. I wanted to make a post to show you guys the bricks I picked out and explain why. Feel free to comment your thoughts and happy building!

Taking down my Chicken Restaurant MOC

Hellego! As you probably know, at the start of July, I made a Chicken Restaurant inspired by the Chicken Suit Guy minifigure I got. But in the end, it was time to take it down.

Now I never really like to break down my models like that because I would like to keep them. But like many other Lego builders out there, I can't keep buying bricks to replace the ones that are being used for another MOC and depending how big the build is, it can take up a lot of space. This MOC used a big amount of white pieces and it took up a lot of space, so in the end, I had no choice to take it down. Plus, I had finally done the stop motion I was planning to make with it.

One thing that I like about having a blog like this is being able to show other people in the Lego community that share the same passion as me the creations I made. To do that, I take lot's of pictures and write about it (and sometimes make a video). So at the same time, it helps me keep a memory of that creation. If ever I wanted to make it again, I could always look back at the posts I made for it to remind me of the design and how exactly I had built it at the time.

Now here is a picture I took once I was done taking it down. All the bricks you see are only the bricks that made the structure of the model. So all the inside, outside and vehicle detailing is not included.

Now isn't that a lot of white bricks? So as you see, even though it's a bit "heartbreaking" to have to take down a MOC, I do get back a huge amount of bricks for future MOCs.

I felt like making a post on this subject because I know that there are a lot of other builders out there that are in the same situation and just hate taking down their models. Now there are some lucky ones out there that can afford to keep their models as long as they want. But for most of us, it just isn't the case.

So do you feel the same way when taking down your models? Leave a comment!

Meeting sok117, a fantastic Lego builder!

Hellego! On my trip to Toronto this summer, one of my friends that lives there is friends with sok117 from Flickr! So he brought me to meet him and see his creations!

Right when I step in the house he greets me and I look in the living room. I see the huge Super Star Destroyer in the process of building! He also had a few other models in display. I knew right away I was going to see big stuff.

Once I saw all this he brought me down into his basement where most of his building goes on. There, I was able to see all his amazing models that he posted on his Flickr, and some he had never decided to post!

He first showed me his Avengers Helicarrier. It's even bigger than what is looks like on Flickr and it's really heavy!

He is the one in the blue shirt. My little sister is trying to hold it. It's about three times larger than her! All the detail on it was amazing!

A feature I found really cool was a section he added for Captain America's motorcycle. You can see the little droid hands that hold it in place.

He even added Loki's prison.

Here is the Avenger's meeting table.

He also showed me a lot of his Batman creations like his Batwing. He used a technique to make the wings that I would not have thought of doing. If you look closely, you can see the bricks are stacked sideways and then stuck onto the middle section. I found it was very cool because I had never seen that technique before.

Here is his Tumbler

The Batboat

The Batmobile

He also made some Star Wars creations like the Millenium Falcon!

Don't get me wrong, this is really his own creations that he started from scratch, not Lego's design. I find it really cool how the whole top can open up to see the inside as you can see in the picture.

He also made a fantastic model of the X-Wing!

As you can see, he again used the side brick technique for the wings just like the Batwing. I find it gives it a much nicer and smoother design.

One last model I would like to show you is a Helicopter he made!

The two rotor blade sections are made so that you can have to modes: flight mode and landing mode. In this picture, it is in flight mode. To put it in landing mode, you have to put the rotor blades facing up.

As you can see by all these amazing models, he is a very talented builder. I asked him a few questions about certain things. He organizes his bricks by colour, and believe it or not, he hardly ever goes to the Pick A Brick. He gets almost all his bricks from sets he already has. If you want to see a picture of his building space, you can check out a picture he posted on his Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/61655501@N07/7015606467/. When I went it was not messy like in the picture. If you read the description, at the time he was doing a big clean up and organizing all his pieces.

He also said that he is a bit disappointed because right now, it is really hard for him to find time to build. He is going to start University this year and he also has a job. But he says he does have some projects in mind but I won't reveal them in case he didn't want me to ;).

So, what do you think? I personally think he is an awesome builder and his creations are amazing. If you have any questions about the visit just ask in the comment section and I will answer them if I can. Don't forget to go check out his Flickr and follow it! http://www.flickr.com/photos/61655501@N07/

Pick A Chick Restaurant Commercial - Lego Stop Motion

Pick A Chick is the best chicken restaurant in the industry! This is my latest stop motion project! I hope you like it!

Lego Store at Sherway Gardens Mall in Toronto, Ontario

Hellego! On my trip to Ontario this summer, I had the chance to go for the second time of my life to a Lego store! It was awesome!

This time at my trip to the Lego store I decided to have the ultimate Lego store experience and do something you can only do at a Lego store: get bricks from the Pick A Brick wall!

Here I am picking out bricks

I would not always right away put the bricks in my buckets so that I would be able to better organize the space to have as many bricks as possible in the buckets.

Here I am working at my buckets

Here I just finished my buckets. If you look closely, there is tape on both Pick A Brick buckets so that the lids don't fall off. That's how full they were.

This will probably surprise you, the people who worked at that Lego store found out that it was the first time I was doing the Pick A Brick wall. So they gave me plenty of tips and tricks on how to put as many pieces in each bucket. I could not believe it! I which I would have gotten their names because I would have mentioned them in this post ;). They were all so nice to me. That is also why I thanked them at the end of my video.

I don't know if you noticed in the video where I show all the models displayed in the store but one of them is made not by The Lego Group, but the members of the torolug!

There is a plate under that explains what the LUG is. For those of you that are new to the Lego community, a LUG is a Lego Users Group created by mostly adult fans of Lego. Most of the time you have to be at least 18 years old to join one. There are plenty all over the world. The torolug, as you probably guessed is a LUG based in Toronto. The well known Si-Mocs is part of this LUG. You can visit their website for more info here: http://torolug.com/

As you can probably tell I had an absolute blast at the Sherway Gardens mall Lego store! In total, after looking at all the models, talking with the people who work at the Lego store and taking lot's of time at the Pick A Brick wall, I spent a total of about 1h and 45 mins! That was a long time but it was worth every minute. I could have stayed even longer!

If you want to see the models again without going through the whole video again and extra pictures, go visit my Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/cdlegoblog/

Back With Lego!

Hellego! I was gone on a trip for a week and a half and now I'm back! I went and visited some friends in Toronto!

There are three Lego stores in Ontario which two are in Toronto! So of course, I went to one and I will be making a whole post covering it! Also, one of my friends in Toronto has a friend who loves Lego and is very popular in the Flickr Lego community. I got to meet sok117! I will be also doing a post about him.

So I am back from my trip in Ontario, with plenty of stuff to show you guys! I hope you guys are having a great summer!