LEGO Rolls-Royce Jet Engine

A half-size replica of the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000, used on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, made out of LEGO. On display at Farnborough International Airshow 2012 in the 'innovation zone'.
LINK: Youtube

Master Builder Makes Legos Bend To His Will In Ohio Stadium Replica

Opened in 1922 and currently able to handle more 100,000 fans, Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, is a sight to behold. It's almost as amazing as the Lego replica sitting in Paul Janssen's basement.

The 42-year-old Ohio State University professor tells NPR's Robert Siegel on All Things Considered what it was like to build the horseshoe-shaped stadium out of 1 million Lego pieces. Built at a scale of 1:120, it took years of planning, collecting pieces and building to complete the project.

The mini-stadium can seat only 6,000 Lego people — that's thanks to issues of scale, not Janssen's work.

You can see the results for yourself in the photos below, and in a full photo gallery over at The Columbus Dispatch.

There is also audio on this story at the LINK.

Billionaire Builds $194k Playhouse For His Kids

“A billionaire has treated his two children to the ultimate Christmas present – a $194,000 playhouse which costs as much as a three-bedroom home. The two-storey timber ‘home’ is a replica of the family’s chalet in the foothills of the Swiss Alps, having been built in Britain. It cost $194,000 and 2,000 man-hours to build, while a further $38,000 to $64,000 was spent on transport and installation – making it the world’s most expensive playhouse. The building – by Norfolk-based company Flights Of Fantasy – comes with double glazing, solid pine flooring and bespoke carved Swiss eaves, while lighting is provided by more than 400 decorative bulbs. The living room has a stone chimney, illuminated by led lights, and is packed with bespoke furniture and TV equipment.” w/ photos. LINK

Stagecoach Made From 1.5m Toothpicks

“A real-life stagecoach built in Warsaw could soon be seen on display in a museum, not because of its historic nature, but because of what it’s made with. It may look like a typical stagecoach just waiting for a horse to come pull it along, but that’s far from the case. The stagecoach is made exclusively out of toothpicks — and an awful lot of glue! Terry Woodling, 72, has been making things from toothpicks since 1981 and got his latest idea after seeing a miniature replica for sale. “I started with the wheels first,” Woodling said. That, he says, was the easy part. “It’s a little more than a toothpick in length,” he said when describing the width of part of the wheel. It’s taken a lot of those little guys: 1.5 million toothpicks to be exact. It hasn’t been cheap, either. That’s because Woodling estimates he’s spent more than $1,200 in toothpicks alone.” LINK

Man Spends $50,000 to Recreate a First-Class Pan Am Cabin in His Garage

Anthony Toth is so obsessed with perfectly recreating a vintage Pan Am first-class cabin in his garage that he once traveled to Thailand for—wait for it—original Pan Am branded headphones. And his obsession goes much deeper than that.

Anthony saved things like the cardboard linings on food trays and recorded his trips with multiple rolls of film and extensive tape recordings of the radio selection on board. "This consumed my world," said Tosh. As an adult, he works for United Airlines, and two years ago bought a home with an oversized garage in which he could build a faithful replica of Pan Am's first-class cabin. The project has taken him, in total, 20 years.

The one concession he's made to the modern age? A flat-screen TV in place of the old-school projection Pan Am used. Everything else (save the stewardesses) is either original Pan Am or a custom-made replica. He's hoping to open his obsessive ode to Pan Am as a museum, but he seems perfectly content to just hang out in first class. [WSJ, images also WSJ], Via: Gizmodo

Tiny Arcade Machine

Samuel Seide made this charming little replica of an arcade machine for his son. Link, Via: Youtube

Farmer builds Big Ben replica in his field from 50 bales of straw

Closer inspection reveals that this is a rustic copy of the Victorian landmark, built on a farm using more than 500 bales of hay - and featuring a working clock. Although its faces are illuminated at night there are only two - both facing the road - rather than the four of the real thing.

The 70ft Big Ben sculpture, made with over 500 bales weighing over 20 tonnes, dominates the view on the A51 road between Nantwich and Chester in Cheshire

Little Ben: The sculpture, which has a working clock, was built in celebration of summer and heralds the 150th anniversary of the famous London landmark. Previous straw creations have included a rocket and a windmill. LINK

Working Replica of Noah's Ark Opens

In SCHAGEN, Netherlands the massive central door in the side of Noah's Ark was thrown open Saturday for the first crowd of curious Pilgrims and townsfolk to behold the wonder.

Of course, it's only a replica of the biblical Ark , built by Dutch Creationist Johan Huibers as a testament to his faith in the literal truth of the Bible.

The ark is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high and 20 cubits wide. That's two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a three-story house.

Life-size models of giraffes, elephants, lions, crocodiles, zebras, bison and other animals greet visitors as they arrive in the main hold.
A contractor by trade, Huibers built the ark of cedar and pine -Biblical Scholars debate exactly what the wood used by Noah would have been.

Huibers did the work mostly with his own hands, using modern tools and with occasional help from his son Roy. Construction began in May 2005.

On the uncovered top deck - not quite ready in time for the opening - will come a petting zoo, with baby lambs and chickens, and goats, and one camel. Visitors on the first day were stunned.

'It's past comprehension, ' said Mary Louise Starosciak, who happened to be bicycling by with her husband while on vacation when they saw The ark looming over the local landscape. 'I knew the story of Noah, but I had no idea the boat would have been so big.'

There is enough space near the keel for a 50-seat film theater where kids can watch a video that tells the story of Noah and his ark. LINK

Amazing Tower Bridge replica made out of 1.6million matches

A man has spent ten years building a replica of Tower Bridge out of 1.6million matches - two years longer than the real thing.

Michael Williams crafted the 6ft-long structure every evening over a decade and it now has 156 working lights.

The replica of the real London landmark, which is 800ft long, has two household bulbs lighting up the two towers, and an illuminated 52 gun galleon underneath.

The 'water' is filled with lights. LINK