Toys

We've seen plenty of crazy Lego re-creations over the years, from landmark architecture to vintage computers, but we can't help but be impressed when an entire movie is redone in bricks.

That would be 1939 classic "The Wizard of Oz," which a team of 12 Lego builders has turned into a marvelous 3D plastic diorama that includes just about every scene in the film, including a rotating tornado.

The collaborators from VirtuaLUG recently showed off the result of their teamwork at Brickworld 2013 Chicago, a display of spectacular Lego builds. … Read more

Unfortunately, the Large Hadron Collider is too big to bring home and put on display in your living room. Scientist Sascha Mehlhase created a 4,500-piece Lego model of the collider back in 2011 at a cost of about $2,700. That was also too big for most people.

Now, he has created a smaller model of the ATLAS experiment, a particle physics experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, and put it up as a candidate for an official Lego kit.

The project is on Cuusoo, a site for Lego enthusiasts to share their models and attempt to gather 10,000 votes in order for Lego to consider making their creations as kits. Mehlhase's ATLAS currently has 5,756 supporters, so it has definitely caught the eyes of Lego builders.… Read more

Here's another accomplishment that NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity Rover can add to its resume: the Mars-trotting robot will soon become an official Lego model.

Lego recently announced Curiosity's new gig after wrapping up its formal review process of creations that passed 10,000 votes on Lego's Kickstarter-esque Web site Cuusoo. Ironically, mechanical engineer Stephen Pakbaz, who worked on Curiosity for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, created the design for the 1:20 scale Lego version of the rover. … Read more

We've seen an official Lego Sydney Opera House set before as part of the toy company's Architecture range, but let's be honest: an awful lot of detail got lost in the model's tiny size.

Lego's about to do something about that, though. On September 1, Lego fanatics will be able to get their hands on an insanely detailed 2,989-piece model of the iconic building designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon in the 1950s. And, at 11 inches by 25 inches by 15 inches, it's going to be huge.

The model is offering a few neat perks for Lego brick collectors: rare dark-tan Lego bricks, tiles, and sloped bricks, as well as the company's first-ever 48x48 stud baseplate in blue -- and the curved white pieces that form the Opera House's sails. … Read more

I don't get it. I'm gone an entire week and there's not one show. I get back, Justin's gone, but I still have to do one. What's up with that? Luckily it's a non-issue. Today we've got CNET HDTV editor Ty Pendlebury on the program to help me wrap up the chaos that was E3 2013 and filter out some of the new-found disgust I have for videogame fanboys. You know, the worst kind of fanboy.

- Check out Jeff's slideshow showing the most exciting games of E3.

- Play catch-up by looking back at the rest of CNET's E3 2013 coverage.

- Follow Ty on Twitter.

- ESPN drops 3D, four years after the rest of world has already given up on it. … Read more

Remember the robotic Transformer shown off by Brave Robotics at last year's Tokyo Maker Faire? It seems the toy caught the eye of official Transformers toy maker Tomy, which is now working with Brave Robotics to create a commercial line, according to Italian hobby news Web site Hobby Media.

Tomy, which hit robotic success in the 1980s with its Omnibots line, is seeking to get up to date with current technologies to make a dream come true for Transformers fans everywhere. … Read more

The classic Lego person is a happy creature, sporting a smile on its barrel-shaped yellow face. These are the Lego people I grew up with. They all looked pretty thrilled to be little Lego beings. But times have changed. There are Lego battles to be fought and Lego foes to struggle against. It's starting to look more like "Game of Thrones" than "My Little Pony" in the Lego world these days.

Researchers from the University of Canterbury in New Zealand and the Industrial Research Institute for Automation and Measurements in Poland investigated the faces of Lego minifigs made between 1975 and 2010. First, the study notes a dramatic increase in the variety of facial expressions starting in 1989. "The two most frequent expressions are happiness and anger and the proportion of happy faces is decreasing over time," the study's abstract reads.… Read more

Comedian and self-appointed judge John Hodgman reveals the secrets to surviving the apocalypse and answers your questions about National Doughnut Day, the proper way to grow a mustache, and how to deal with Internet whiners.

If you like what you hear, subscribe to Netflix and check out John's stand-up special "Ragnarok" on June 20, push play, and walk away. John's also performing in Chicago on June 13 at the Just For Laughs comedy festival. Details on all his tours can be found here and on John's Twitter!… Read more

Leaked from today's 404 episode:

- Weird Al Yankovic says next album will be his last.

- Australian scientists uncover "God's bathtub."

- These Blu-ray discs will last 1,000 years.

- You guys, Xanga is about to shut down unless we give them $60k.

- This teenager would rather go to jail than play his Xbox 360.… Read more