Boy do we have a doozie of a roundup! Welcome to only the second build challenge in LUGNuts history that involved prizes. For the first challenge with prizes we alerted our big blogging brothers and they, in turn, alerted the rest of the world. The responses and entries were overwhelming...but certain people came for the prizes, then left the group. This time, our strategy was different. We alerted no one and made it so only our most dedicated builders had a chance at winning. This time there were fewer entries but our most dedicated members took the gold...or the LEGO, as it were. Its called
The Stuff Dreams Are Made of and has to do with some sort of weird dream sequence written like an old pulp noir detective novel. A mysterious woman walks into a lonely coffee shop where she and the owner have the most intriguing conversation of his lifetime. he keeps wondering if this was a dream because they're discussing anti-gravity, time and space travel...some really heavy stuff. At the end of the night, without even finding out her name or where she is from, she drives off in the kind of vehicle that only makes sense in dreams. We were all tasked with interpreting and building her vehicle.
We couldn't get any celebrity judges for this. Turns out I couldn't afford Johnny Depp and Justin Beiber didn't want to be associated with a bunch of grown-ass men playing with Legos. So
Nathan and
I (your LUGNuts founders) did the judging in my Seattle Fortress of Solitude over some bread pudding and Three-Peckered Billy Goat Coffee. No seriously, the stuff is called Three-Peckered Billy Goat! And if you ask me, that's just one pecker too many! Anyway, we thought about the entries in terms of "the kind of vehicle that only made sense in dreams", as the challenge was written. Not dream cars. There is a difference. The kind of vehicle that only makes sense in dreams throws away logic in favor of something with a little more feeling and an artist's spirit. With that in mind, we will first list the top three winners followed by the rest of the entries. Enjoy.
First place went to
Dylan Denton and his stunning concept Piranha. This car unveils neat surprises from every angle. In terms of "the kind of vehicle that only makes sense in dreams", this space-age ride was the clear, undisputed winner. What makes this entry particularly amazing is that Dylan made up this concept from the ground up. Sure we're all talented builders, but when it comes to making up our own concept designs many of us fall short. I'm including myself into the mix. But Dylan pulls it off with integrity and pizzazz. The solar panel, working headlights, and the mysterious, gothy woman with just a little swatch of green hair dyed like seaweed was enough to skyrocket this entry into super stardom!
Dennis Glaasker is well known for building chromed out big rig trucks. But this time his talent and copious chrome was used to construct this dazzling '32 Ford Hiboy Hot Rod. The presentation and build quality sits somewhere in the upper stratosphere on this one and its just oozing with not to be missed glimmering details and mind bending techniques. While judging, we asked ourselves if it was fair to give a prize to a guy with plenty of photoshop skills and the money and resources to chrome-plate his own pieces. We tried not to be dazzled by all the chrome and imagined all the shiny bits as grey instead. When considering the skill and techniques, our conclusion was still a resounding yes and the well deserved prizes for second place.
First and second place was not even disputed. The decisions were easy. But there were a lot of contenders for third place. The one we kept coming back to...the one that tickled our fancy the most...was
Tim Inman's 1938 Bugatti 57SC Atlantic. Only four of these rare beauties were ever made and with its sleek lines and riveted dorsal seam, this riveting ride only makes sense in dreams indeed. Equally as shapely and exotic as the car, was the female fig Tim built to go with it. That helped my vote. And if having a crush on a LEGO chick with a lime green cocktail dress and a shelf for a butt is crazy, then...uh...yeah.
You've seen the best now see the rest. Probably had I have thought this out, it would have been...you've seen the rest, now see the best. It would be like a bunch of openers, then the main attractions. But I didn't think this out and gave you the big shebang first. Now that I've lost most of our readers, I have to admit this '58 or possibly '59 Corvette built by
Legogil made me smile. This retro ride and the pretty girl is the stuff dreams are made of for sure.
Lime green comes up a lot in this challenge. That's because in dreams, colors are important, almost symbolic. Builders keyed in in the key lime pie the mysterious woman ordered at the cafe. One of many excellent key lime entries is this second serving of goodness by gil is this lime and black chopper called Mysterious. She's a beauty suitable enough for this intriguing woman of mystery.
My case in point, this third serving of lime by legogil simply called Hot Rod. I looked up lime green in dream interpretation and it turns out it means hope for prosperity. Hmmm, interesting.
Red, as interpreted in dreams, is an indication of raw energy, force, vigor, intense passion, aggression, power, courage, and impulsiveness. Perhaps this is what
DoktorZapp was thinking when he constructed this long and low Red Meteor. I have to admit, I did smile a bit when I saw this low-slung 50's era concept.
According to
Croc Bomb, The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of may very well be...a Volkwagen Golf. Its kinda like that dream you have about the first day of school where you've made sure you had the proper books, pencils, lunch money, notebooks and class schedules but sometime during 5th period you realize you've been naked all day. I wonder if that has ever really happened to anyone.
It may have likely happened to
Peteris Sprogis. Not really, but I had to segue into his blue Motte Two concept coupe somehow and that seemed to be the only logical transition from one idea to another. You try writing this stuff. It ain't easy!
Later he enters this Motte_Ergetta, a futuristic looking car. The story suggested the mystery woman may have been a time traveller. This time travel stuff is difficult business due to what they call The Butterfly Effect. Go back in time, kill a butterfly in China, then through a bizarre chain of events suddenly you're your own grandpa!
When time traveling, its best to leave things exactly as is and be mindful of fashion and slang of the times or else cause undue attention to your time traveling shenanigans. You may find it amusing to freak out the early settlers with your iPhone Touch but it is not a good idea, lest they will burn you at the stake for witchcraft. Oh and
Jonathan Derksen built a cool car.
When I wrote the story of the mystery woman, I fancied her as perhaps a time traveller or maybe a denizen of Atlantis.
Oldeconoline sees her as a villainous murderess who drives a blocky square...um...thing with walls as thick as castle stone. Its miniland scale on the outside but minifig scale on the inside, as evidenced by the tiny minifig skeletons and captives. Uh...yeah, makes sense to me!
Ace goes and builds us a crazy robot chick with flowing red hair, red moon boots and a Blacktron Spider car...which apparently has red cylinder heads. That's just the kind of craziness that goes on in the future, probably as a cause of the Butterfly Effect. Whatever the future holds, I want in on those robot claws!
Shunazaver was in a whimsical mood so he built a...um...two-wheeled bike, jet car, horsey thingy. I admit the minifig girl does look adorable in her hat and cape. Shuna calls her my crush. Was I projecting myself when I wrote the story? was I the man with the bad hip and was I projecting what my dream girl could be? My hips seem in perfect working order, but my knees...often a bit sore. Maybe he has me figured out.
Or maybe
Jason Son has us all figured out with this Pussy Wagon. What's with that lowbrow name? Well, it comes from Kill Bill and unlike the Silverado from the movie, this Pussy Wagon is actually a wagon...a '66 Pontiac GTO, to be exact. This contender for third place had us admiring its shape and with Uma Thurman at the wheel, this is one badass ride! Oh and this post got real lowbrow already way back when I mentioned the three-peckered goat so...no big deal, really.
We go from lowbrow to high class with
Ralph Savelsberg's Mercedes 500K Special Roadster. This sophisticated ride also had us considering it for third place with its fine, luxuriant curves and equally opulent Lady In Red figure. Red in dreams can also symbolize sexual impulses. I wonder if the usually straight-laced Ralph knew this while building.
Dohoon Kim goes all black with this Ferrari Enzo. Its Dohoon's first 12-wide and a shining specimen at that. I'm sure dream interpreters would have a field day with the meaning of it's all black design and as he said he is not so good at building figures...she is crammed squarely within the driver's seat.
On the second to the last day of the challenge
Raphy cranks out this creation he simply calls...car. While a description is lacking, it looks suspiciously like an early 50's Buick...quite possibly the same '53 I built some time ago. He was feeling rushed and exhausted when he posted as evidenced by the dark grainy photo positioned on the kitchen table, but build quality is a step in the right direction. Some good photos and a write up...might have been just enough to put him over the top.
Rolic did precisely what I had hoped someone would do...plant the vehicle in the back ally nighttime scene portrayed in the story. This reminds me of some untapped potential that was never considered...like who is the man with the bad hip and what was his name in green neon lights outside the cafe? But this is a stunning concept Porsche 918 Spyder with exciting views from every angle. It would have been a strong contender for the win had the presentation not come a little too late.
What would LUGNuts be without a last minute run from
Lego911. It would be much more punctual but without that exhilarating feeling that a game could be overturned in the last few seconds. First on the 911 slab is this 1957 Chevy bel Air Sports Coupe...one of the most iconic cars on the planet. Peter's story mentions the girl running from the past...Butterfly Effect be damned.
Next Peter presents the 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Seville Hardtop. In life, this car was nearly 20 feet of automotive excellence with rocket taillights, the biggest fins of any production car ever made and a hood the size of a ping pong table. In this entry Peter describes the mystery woman's travels as if along a long black ribbon without a clue as to where or when the ribbon will take you next.
Turns out the next stop on the black ribbon, in this version of the story, anyway, takes the form of a Mercedes-Benz 540 K Autobahnkurier called...Key Lime. Another entry that taps into the wonderfully strange color of the key lime pie she ordered at the cafe, this stunning vehicle was a strong contender for third place and our favorite of the Lego911 run.
When you learn how the long black ribbon of travel works you get to come back to it as often as you want. This time the form is chock full of mid-engine weirdness with this blue DeTomaso Mangusta. The engine was Detroit muscle but the body and chassis was all European design with a rare bumper-less inverted slope nose. This vehicle is completely fitting for such an intriguing woman because Ferraris are so passe after all.
There's a phantom in our midst...according to lego911 anyway. Its a 1970 Citroen SM, what he describes as a...get this...light and fruity car. Light and fruity like a key lime pie perhaps. Peter is surely the only builder to claim he has built more LEGO cars than the run of many real cars. Its true. There were 14,000 of these cars made...911 has built over 20,000 LEGO cars.
And to add to his 20,000 car tally is this 1967 Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale in red with nice gold spoked rims from the Lightning McQueen set. Peter is probably still cranking out entries for this challenge almost two weeks after we locked the thread. That's just how Peter rolls. But the LUGNuts challenges are a harsh mistress, especially where big prizes are involved so that's all we got.
Oh and speaking of which, Dylan took home the coveted VW microbus set and chose Francesco, surely for its red classic hot rod rims. Dennis got the yellow creator car along with Mater...cuz he likes his American charm. And Tim takes home Lightning McQueen...also chock full of American Charm.
Alright, that wraps up our very special prize-laden 50th build challenge. Stay tuned for the totally balls out freakin' sweet-ass challenge many of you were born to take part of...design and build a totally new Batmobile. Its called Batmobile:2025. Here's the premise...we all take a trip to the year 2025. (try not to kill any butterflies on the way) Raphy has become a successful young director and is making another Batman trilogy...we all design totally new Batmobiles...'nuff said. Remember, just because the movies are made in 2025, doesn't mean they take place in 2025, so anything goes. Maybe even a freaky new color scheme would be in order.
There has been a lot of talk of time travel this round. Can it really exist? Perhaps Stephen Hawking has already went ahead in time to where they found a cure for his crippling ailment. Or maybe Ralph has already freaked out some colonial settlers with his iPhone Touch and, thanks to the Butterfly Effect, that is precisely the reason why strip clubs now exist. It makes perfect sense to me. Its all your fault, Ralph. Its all your fault.
