SR-71 Blackbird

Yeah, I'm a day late with my MOC Monday entry, but I just had to post this. I was into military planes when I was a kid, and my absolute favorite was a beauty called the SR-71 Blackbird. At the time, it was the fastest jet in existence and could go faster than Mach 3. I think even today in retirement, it still holds the record. So as you can imagine, I was very excited to see how well David Low at MOC pages captured the essence of this flying beast. The build may be aided by the use of black bricks hiding some lines (the original jet was black), but I can't get over how realistic and faithful to the original it looks. Wonderful job!

Project 10179 : Update

I mentioned earlier that I'm currently slowly collecting pieces to build the ultimate Lego collectors set, 10179 UCS Millenium Falcon. As of right now, I have 486 of 5195. So I still have a long way to go. Since I don't have a lot of money to sink into this, I've been funding my project by buying and selling Lego sets I find at yard sales or on Craigslist (keeping the relevant pieces for myself, of course).
One crucial question to ask yourself if you decide to collect pieces for a project this size is "Do I want to own the set with it's original pieces, or do I just want the building experience?". One of those options is much cheaper than the other. For instance, the original set is almost all gray. Specifically, it's the newer shades of bluish light and dark gray in use right now. However, if I my selection to use some of the old light and gray bricks that are the same types, then I can speed up my collection quite a bit. Also, I think the final result would look more like the original movie version of the Millenium Falcon which was a piece of junk in the story.
Also, some pieces that are used will never see the light of day once built. For instance, this little piece here was yellow in the original set. Since the yellows are relatively rare, they cost more on Bricklink than the black ones do. But those yellow pieces are only to hold the guts of the model together, so you can't see them once it's built. Some very rare pieces like the custom painted satellite dish can set you back $50. However, a plain gray dish that is the same size only costs $1. If you want to own the original instruction booklet, you might have to shell out $100+ on eBay. If you just want to build it, you can download the instructions in pdf form for free from Peeron or even the official Lego site. It just depends on how much you care. As for me, I just want to build it, view it in all it's glory, and feel how heavy the sucker actually is.

50s Soda Shop

The first thing that caught my attention about this model (Soda Shop) was that it looked like a typical modular 3 story building, which I like. It is indeed modular, and the bottom floor is amazing! Builder Henrik Hoexbroe has recreated a 50s era soda shop complete with black and white tiled floor, jukebox, and vinyl booths. The blue and white wall tiles and his use of some strategically placed blue translucent blocks finish out the appearance. Also, kudos on the dessert display on the counter. Great touch!

Mercedes 300TD

For once, I'm not posting someones castle MOC this week, but a vehicle. Reality based vehicle MOCs usually don't grab my attention, but something about this station wagon by Senator Chinchilla made me want to stop and take another look. I'd highly encourage you to do the same for this Mercedes 300TD. You can tell he put a lot of effort and thought into every detail including the V8 engine, opening and closing doors and hood, the folding seats, the gear shift, and even a tiny glove compartment. My favorite little details are in the headlights, and the use of wing elements to give the hood some contour.