It’s time again for a Bricks of the Dead contest, and this time we’re going to add a few wrinkles to the mix. First of all, we need you to show us what you can do with a relative small scale creation (no bigger than 16×16, hence the name of the contest). I’ve featured a few of them recently as examples. Also, the theme of these creations is destruction, which means you need to build that into the model. It can be anything from broken windows to crumbling ceilings and walls, rusting pipes, etc.
Contest Rules:
- Creations can be no larger than 16×16 studs, but they can be as tall as you want
- Creations must features some sort of destruction (broken windows, crumbling walls, etc)
- Third party parts (BrickArms, BrickForge, etc.) are allowed
- Physical modification, including stickering, is allowed
- Digital entries (LDD and the like) are allowed
- One entry per person
- Entrants must be at least 13 years of age (that’s just an internet rule, guys)
- Entries must be newly built for this contest and cannot have appeared online prior to December 5th, 2011
- Entries must be posted in the Flickr Group for this contest, which means you need a Flickr account if you don’t already have one (they’re free)
Contest Prizes:
We’ve got some great prizes this time around, starting with a custom SWAT minifig and a sizeable armory to make sure he’s got plenty of firepower to take on the zombie hordes.
And what good is a human if he doesn’t have anyone to fight? So here’s another zombie (from the new Pirates of the Carribean sets) to make sure he doesn’t have too easy of a time in the post apocalyptic world.
Prizes donated by Zombie Mutts and Yatkuu. Thanks fellas!
Update: GI Brick is Donating More Prizes!
The fine folks over at GI Brick have decided to sweeten the pot buy throwing in their Zombie Apocalypse Survivor Pack. And it’s awesome.
Contest Judges:
Dave – The creator of Bricks of the Dead and your personal hero
ZombieMutts – Regular writer of Bricks of the Dead, MOCer, and all around good guy
Yatkuu – MOCer extraordinaire and winner of the last contest at Bricks of the Dead
Contest Deadline:
Because of the holidays I want to give everyone plenty of time to work on this, so the deadline for this contest is Midnight of January 31st, 2012.
Winners will be announced as quickly as the judges can come to a consensus.
What timezone?
Eastern time.
I like contests, to bad i’m not 13, son of a bitch
That’s it guys, it’s contest time !
I wanted to thanks Dave & ZombieMutts for inviting me to be a part of the jury on this one, it’s a first for me and I’m really excited to be on the other side!
There are some pretty skilled builders around here so I have no doubt we are going to see some awesome builds.
Since I won’t be joining this one I just wanted to humbly share a few pieces of advices, it’s probably old stuff for most of you but I just thought it could be useful for the readers who have little experience with Lego contests.
Do not see the size as a limitation but rather as an incentive for creativity. 16*16 is a great size to work with as you don’t need to have a huge collection to build some great stuff; it also fits nicely with the “destruction” theme as chances are that you will only have room for a fraction of the structure/scene you will want to display…
For anyone who is not familiar with the concept of building on an imposed size I found that this blog is a nice place to start. The author has written a couple of posts on the vignette building – techniques used, what makes a good vignette… that sort of things. The dozens of MOCs featured there can also be a great source of inspiration.
I have taken a part myself in several vignette contests so I’ll just add a more personal advice on something I have learned from the MOCs that I usually see stand out. The idea is of course important but so does the presentation. For a vignette, the base is particularly important. Take some time to design your base so that it’s not just there to support the MOC but also to enhance your build.
Now put on your thinking caps… there are some great Figs to score!
Excellent advice, Yatkuu!
Is one of those figs the builder zombie in the picture?
The builder zombie is part of the prize pack.
WOW
Oh Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!
I like your enthusiasm.
BTW….it’s a bit hard to tell due to the matching colors but I want to make sure everyone realizes that the SWAT minifig comes with a custom Kevlar vest.
It’s a pretty cool vest too. There’s even a clip on the back to attack a gun, nightstick, or coffee cup.
Oh yeah…forgot about that clip!
Exciting, I shall have to see what I can come up with.
I’m looking forward to it. Judging from your comic, you’ve got the skill to make something very cool.
That zombie in the orange jumpsuit was such a tease!
Time to start building…
Time indeed! Get crackin’.
My bad, I misread the description and thought the zombie in the orange jumpsuit was just there for decoration. Glad to hear he’s part of the prize!
And once again, I check your site just in time to see the contest. Wow.
When’s the deadline?
Oh, January 13th. Kthx
*Ignore my fail number order please*
Hah, you made me double check my content.
ZOMYGOD! I’m totally going to submit something! I’ve been wanting to try my hand at this for sometime! <3
Please do!
Got up this morning and saw this, spent 5 hours so far building. it’s looking good so far
Can’t wait to see what you end up with.
:/
Don’t think I’ll be entering this one. For me, lego destruction = SMASH IT UP!#Good for accuracy though.
Fair enough. I always love seeing what people can brick build as far as broken stuff though.
so none of the entries can have been posted on flickr before the 5th? damn it!
Yeah. We want people to make some for this contest.
Yeah, we want all new creations for this thing.
yay! I will be legally eligible!
And there was much rejoicing.
I have a question, is the zombie in the top pic that looks a little like gordon freeman part of the prize? Or is he just there to make the swat officer’s righteous tan look better?
Part of the prize pack. Nice, eh?
alright, I should have my entry up on flickr soon
Excellent, but take your time on this one. You’ve got over a month to work up something really special.
I actually had a really good build that I got some pics of to see how they turned out and then i left it for a few minutes and it was taken apart and all over the floor so, yeah.
Ashes to ashes…
I spent part of yesterday working on my entry for the contest. I’m still trying to tie-in that element of destruction though… Is there a limit as far as how much destruction we need to add in to the creation?
I don’t think there’s a limit
I agree, Its hard to build destruction, it’s an oximoron!
That’s what makes it a challenge!
There’s not any sort of hard and fast limit, but the judges need to be able to see and recognize the destruction.
Can I base mine off a TV show?
Absolutely.
Out of curiosity, which one? Days of Our Lives? General Hospital? The possibilities are limitless.
Im doing a scene from The Ambling Deceased.
Oh God, another one!
I put my all into the last one… and by “all,” I also mean most of my bricks in neutral colors… And of course, I still need those city buildings for Zombie Outbrick, so this may be difficult. Perhaps I can figure out something anyway, we’ll see… 😉
Hah, yes, another one.
Don’t forget, this can be something small. The maximum is 16×16, but it by no means needs to be that big.
Indeed, a great example of a minimalistic approach is this amazing MOC of the Death Star. As you can see, the author managed to capture the essence of the subject with a minimum amount of bricks….
For some reason this ended up in the spam queue. Weird.
Probably because it’s a dumb joke! Your spam filter is too clever Dave.
HAH!
I love the fact that the photo isn’t even in focus.
Loving these comments…some people dont seem to get the joke.
New photos of a model by me up on Flickr!
http://www.flickr.com/photos/legomiles/6486796809/
Can parts hang of the side? Examples a gun or part of a car.
Yeah, that’s fine.
K thanks.
I have to say, I’m eagerly awaiting the 19th of Dec so I can put aside my school finals and work on this. I’ve wanted to participate in one of these contests for a while now, and finally it comes at an excellent time. Soon I can say later to Wayne State and hello to Baby (what my daughter has named all zombies in the house, lego, plush, or otherwise.)
Hey, another Metro Detroiter!
Yeah, and proud of it too! I’m actually at school right now skipping a review and taking a break from writing a term paper to check out your page. I love your site, I have to say I bore my wife talking about it after I check it out…and she has had to hear all my ideas for the vignette since last week when I first saw this contest.
That’s awesome. Don’t worry, I bore my wife with similarly silly stuff. It’s lucky for us we married patient women.
I got an idea!
Fantastic!
My, oh my! I might have not had enough time to comment, but I’m so making time now! Now I just to to find out if I have another runner-up prize! No promises…
If you do, super, if not no worries! Just make sure to get an entry in.
No worries!
my time to shine get ready dave i just ordered brickarms for the contest
HAC blk,ARC BLK, APOC SMG BLK, SNIPER RIFLE BLK, MACHETE BLK,
MGL BLK, 4 MONOPODSBLK, 1 BLK REVOLVER, 4 U-CLIPS, HAC DARK TAN, HAC WHITE, ARC DARK TAN, ARC WHITE, LMG BATTLEKIT BLK, 2 FRAG GRENADES BLK, 2 BLOODY KNIFES, GUN METAL GRENADE LAUNCHER, GUN METAL MACHETE, TRANS ORANGE GRENADE, GUN METAL KNIFE, GUNMETAL LMG, GUNMETAL BIPOD, TAN BASEBAL BAT, BROWN BASEBALL BAT, TAN CKRICKET BAT, DARK TAN BOONIE HAT. TOTAL 25.55 good deal
…impressive arsenal! Just guessing.. you are going to tackle the theme from an action oriented angle.. don’t you?! Brick-on brickzedhunter!
Shine on, brickzedhunter, shine on.
thanks guys.
yatkuu is my moc building hero
meh… don’t try to flatter a judge, it’s called corruption… but thanks!
nah i consider corruption as me sending all the judges custom zombie packs made by be with 20 guns ect
He’s my MOCing here too.
Epic!!!!!!!!!!!!
Damn straight!
Hey Dave, I just noticed something, there are a couple gun repeats.(sniper rifle, and one of the assault rifles)
Yeah, the winner will get two sniper rifles and three of those assault rifles.
Bricksofthedead.com: We have a lot of f*cking weapons
jeez i ordered two bloody knives for the moc if i win ill get two more 😀
Can never have enough bloody knives!
Can you only enter once? Or is it not limited?
One entry per person. If you submit multiples we’ll only look at the latest one.
I think GI’s zombie pack should include a little more, i mean you know, like Brickarms
There’s a ton of BrickArms in there. The only thing that isn’t is the zombie head, right?
I mean like the original packs
Oh, with more civilian-type weapons?
does it have to be zombie related
Nope. Zombies are cool, but they aren’t required.
just finished building it
Outstanding!
dang it! i just got a new email adress and my gravatar went away and now i can’t get a new one. oh well. just try and remember me
Hah, just register the new email with Gravatar.
Aaaargh. I knew I was too tired but last night I picked up my 99% complete entry to have one last look at it before bed and *whoops* down it went and smashed into a pile of bricks. 45 minutes later I’d retrieved all the specialty bits from underneath bookshelves etc and put them in a pile. As they say, “fall down six times, get up seven”. Here’s hoping I can actually rebuild it better than it was before!
Oh god do I hate when that happens. Every time I move me Cafe Corner buildings for the comic I can just picture them tumbling down onto the floor, shattering into thousands of pieces.
If you look at my Ashmore MOC everytime you see a new angle the tree in the front and vegatation is different. The entire front end fell off a few dozen times due to the oddly placed tension of the baseplate.
while working on my entry i dropped it and rebuilt it 14 times my
You clearly have a too literal understanding of the “destruction” theme…
The zombie figure in mine fell off the 16×16 baseplate and shattered into 5 pieces-I hope the legomiles figure in it does not do the same!
dave is it okay if my 16×16 overlaps 2-1 studs.
As long as the base isn’t larger than 16×16
This prize is incredible….really hope everyone enjoys this!
for the destruction what its an outside scene like if there is a lot of growth like on both sides but zeds swarming in front of you.
Plant life overgrowing buildings and the like works for me.
perfect i almost thought i had to make a new 16X16 moc.
Has anyone snagged one of these as a potential zombie?
http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/Maccus
Without the hammerhead shark headpiece he looks like a pretty great zed!
That’s a great one. It’s a shame it’s only in one rather expensive set.
eBay has them broken out of the set, but they’re still about $15. I’m tempted though…
Same, It’s out of my budgie but I did think it would be good. A Davy Jones fig head would look good too.
*budgit
Hot damn! I snagged one for less than $7. Still steep for a single minifig, but since I think the torso as well as the head can be used for a zombie I’m not too upset. I’ll post some pictures once it arrives. Hmm, maybe I should do a gallery of improvised zed heads (Vader, Gunray, orc…) on Flickr.
Sounds like a good idea for a gallery to me.
Jabba’s Assistant Guy, Davy Jones, The Monster, Lady Liberty
With different hair the Lady Liberty has a nice classic Night of the Living Dead feel with those robes. Bib Fortuna is an interesting choice too. He’s a bit “fleshy” for my taste (same with the PotC Quartermaster Zombie), but that might make him just right for folks going with flesh-toned Legos. I agree 100% on the Monster, he’s a fantastic zombie head. I can’t find photos anywhere of Davy Jones without his tentacles, but his eyes are certainly menacing!
Looks like a pretty neat contest. Count me in. (Does the destruction have to be major?)
Also, that ad is kinda…not good.
The destruction doesn’t have to be major, but it does have to be noticable.
Which ad, the “Bitches be crazy” one?
That one with the lady hanging upside down, wearing almost nothing. (not fun when your little brother is looking over your shoulder.)
BREAKING NEWS- The latest contestant, Lego Junkie, has been found in an internet post I read- written by his mother. It has a lot about his organisation skills and ideas and the killer – he enters- and wins-building contests. http://www.geekmom.com/2010/09/ten-surefire-signs-your-kid-is-a-lego-geek/
Very funny post… and… holy cow! the photostream of this guy is impressive.
Just goes to show what I’m up against.
Wow. I’m impressed. And at 15!
ha.. I had not seen that… 15… jeez, we’re dinosaurs :-/
That we are.
Very, very cool. The broken bridge MOC featured in the article is awe inspiring.
Got my entry done. Hope it goes over well.
It’s awesome Silver Fox!
Will it be good enough to win though? I’ll have to wait and see what the final judge verdicts are.
I can’t comment on that, but I did quite enjoy the MOC. It’s something different, not what I really pictured when I wrote the contest rules. I really like that.
Bam, entered.
And my entry is up! That’s a month of solid building right there.
And my entry is up! That’s a month of solid building right there.
It’s in MINILAND scale too! Like they do at Legoland!
Phew! I was starting to worry you weren’t going to enter at all! There are some really fantastic entries in this contest (yours included).
Man I hope I win fingers crossed
Alright, I’ve been busy, so I haven’t really started my entry until now… But it’s shaping up somewhat nicely, for a less-than-24-hour build. I haven’t even looked at the existing entries, for fear of being so blown away that mine looks too hopeless to continue working on! I think I will anyway now…
Nice job getting it in under the gun!
Thanks Dave! I’m glad to have made it in before the deadline. 😉
i wonder who is gonna win 😀
We’ll find out pretty soon. The judges are still hashing it out.
Dave when do you need my answer?
I see that tab now on that email you sent me. Thank you!
When you’ve made your decision. I don’t think you need to rush yourself. Just sit down for a bit and look through the entries and use the grading rubric.
Ok…I will have plenty of time Friday to look at these. Also I will have my lovely better half break any of my personal tie breakers. She loves MOC’s. Thankfully…
OK…the final judge is now at home. I am looking at all of these for the first time…..
wow….just wow everyone!
There’s a lot of creativity on display, huh? I found interesting and engaging parts in every one of the entries. Good luck to the judges!
I agree! Some of those entries are simply fantastic, and most are at least pretty darn cool. It seems like the judges will have a hard time picking a clear winner
Just like the last time I judged I thought it would be the most fun to only really look at the entries at the deadline and I am blown away at these.
And unless I missed someone I added every one of you as a contact so don’t think I have picked a winner yet if you see my name popped up. 🙂
I just don’t have that kind of patience. I was constantly checking the Flickr group.
Yep me too, I was checking it every day! Great entries… but there can only be one!
Man I can’t wait to see who wins
Me neither. I have a feeling it might be the mall from Dawn of the Dead that Xenomurphy did… We’ll have to see, though!
That’s what I thought to it’s really cool
Ok people I’m 14 and I was walking to school airbus friend who builds withegos and he heard a loud alarm like from a chemical plant or something and it was loud and you could hear it from a mile away. Threes a road that leads to a giant barbed wire fence and we don’t know were it leads my friend thinks it might be a virus and zombies are coming
Well, tell your airbus friend they most likely don’t make zombie viruses at chemical plants… (that’s more of bioengineering sort of thing) 😉
I told him that but he thinks it might be a radio active plant or whatever. That day we didnt see any zombies. But if i did it would give my friend 100$ just. Joking I would run to his house and slap him b/c he was right
there needs to be another contest, this time, give out a black chaingun with brass bullets
i already have one, so its pretty obvious that my lego guys will survive the hell for at least 15 years