"i was thinging of installing a few recepticles under the soffits of the house so i don't have to keep running 20 or so extension cords. i know these would need to be GFCI protected"

Interesting about GFCI needed for soffit mount recepts. In Canada, if an outdoor recept is 2.5m (98.5") or more above grade, no GFCI protection is needed.

For the brick facade I would use a pancake box with weatherproof fixture over it. By feeding the pancake from behind through the wall you should be good.

i assume i have to have GFCI on the recpt. i will use it whether required or not, even though there is no code enforcement here.

what would the pancake box look like though? i take it that it is a surface mount box.

My experience with pancake boxes on existing surfaces is that the fixture will mount to the box, but you will have a difficult time getting a good fit against the siding. Best choice would be to cut out a brick, mortar in a masonry metal box and section of brick to fill the hole. Next choice would be to use a flat surface mounting block such as that offered by Arlington and caulk the gaps at the mortar joints.

An even better choice would be to mount lights in the soffit and not on the wall.

A receptacle in the soffit does not have to be GFCI protected, but I certainly would. All it needs is a weather-proof cover, not an in-use cover.

Here is a link that might be useful: AI Mounting blocks

Here's a link to a pancake box:
http://www-public.tnb.com/ps/fulltilt/index_CA.cgi?part=BC56111