Remember those 3D art toys from the 80’s with tiny moveable pins you could use to make impressions of your hands? Well, Josephine Monterosso has built one out of LEGO using Technic parts. The builder says she plans to rebuild with longer Technic pins so that the 3D images will have more depth. (Enough for a face!)
This stunning steampunk sculpture was first revealed at BrickCon in 2015, where it won a well-deserved Best In Show award. Although we covered this creation in our BrickCon roundup post at the time, the builder Paul Hetherington has only just posted his own images — a perfect excuse for us to feature this beautiful LEGO model in more detail.
Last month we featured an impressive Lite Brite-style LEGO creation by British builder Jonathan Gale. Apparently that build was just the beginning of Gale’s lightsaber balancing escapades. Like Picasso, Gale won’t be satisfied to leave this building style behind until he’s mastered it. So far, he has experimented with both hexagonal and grid-based light-saber arrangements. His most recent build uses 2695 lightsaber blades to create the iconic LEGO logo.
These fantastic LEGO optical illusion sculptures come from Marion. Each one is a visual delight. You may recognize a number of these sculptures as mind-benders and thought puzzles, each using fantastic technique to get the shaping just so, and it’s quite effective.
This beautiful LEGO sculpture by Xavier Viloria is both intriguing and unique. The builder was inspired by the works of Mari Shimizu and hakkachan and those influences do show in this lovely build. The central doll-like bust is well shaped and those silent tears are a lovely touch. I also like the tendrils that travel through her neck and open into a flow of flowers within her chest.
Without a doubt, my favourite part are the flowers that are made from minifigure cloaks. What a great use of those cloth LEGO parts — very effective.
This pixilated classic space logo by Jonathan Gale is one of the most impressive LEGO creations I have seen in a long time. If you look closely, you’ll see that his build is made up of thousands of LEGO lightsaber blades (5520 of them to be exact). There is an LED light behind the blades, giving the translucent pieces a glowing effect.
Jonathan said he was inspired to try this building technique after a LUG meeting where he realized that 25 LEGO lightsaber blades fit perfectly into a 2×2 stud square. This build took over 10 hours to complete and, according to the builder, came with a constant and serious risk of collapse. I can’t even imagine the amount of patience it took Jonathan to complete this beast.
Korean builder Haeundaddy has designed and built probably the best LEGO version of Shotaro Kaneda’s bike from Akira that I have seen. This larger scale bike is shapely, detailed and full of the smooth lines that characterise this famous red bike. The specially designed base is a nice touch as a model of this calibre needs something a little special to rest upon.
The details are fantastic, from the sports seat to the handlebar area, and Haeundaddy has taken the time to capture his work with some excellent photography.
Just a couple weeks ago, we featured some lovely minifig artwork that recreated Michelangelo’s The Creation of Adam by Ki Young Lee. The builder has been hard at work, though, and I love his latest. With some great minifig choices and deft Photoshopping, we have Eugène Delacroix’s iconic 1830 painting “Liberty Leading the People.”
While my own preferences lean toward revolution over devotion, Ki Young Lee’s recreation of Leonardo da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” is no less excellent — though not brick-building the architectural background elements does seem like a lost opportunity. I do like Simon the Zealot’s neck beard.
If you were at BrickCon this year, you probably saw this colorful creation by Adam Dodge. Adam’s LEGO rainbow island features a collection of monochromatic landscapes, buildings, and minifigs that would impress Roy G. Biv himself. The chunks of bright colors and smooth transitions in this creation are very artistic. And the overall effect is super dynamic. Be sure to zoom in and check out all the details of Adam’s build including one minifig that is up to no good.
The artistic builder who goes by Why not? presents an untitled work depicting a painter creating his own world of tranquility amidst a menacing cityscape. Is this a stark vision of the future or a grim reminder of the past? Either way the message is strong!
This weekend sees The Great Western Brick Show take place in the UK at the STEAM Railway Museum in Swindon. Some of the displays this year will mark the fact that it’s 175 years since Isembard Kingdom Brunel opened his maintenance facility, whose surviving buildings house the museum. Jimmy Clinch has chosen to celebrate the occasion with a brilliant mosaic of the big man himself…
Brunel is something of a hero of mine: the most audacious engineer of the 19th century — a designer of tunnels, bridges, railway lines and enormous steamships. He’s a pinup-boy for any self-respecting steampunk fan and I would love to hang this mosaic on my wall.
I had a crack at building my own tribute to him a few years ago, recreating the famous image taken in front of the SS Great Eastern…
If you get the chance to make it to the show this weekend, show your respect with a doff of the top hat to Jimmy’s mosaic. I’m sure Isembard would appreciate it.
We’ve always known that the LEGO minifigure is awesome, but who’d have guessed it was divinely created? Thanks to Ki Young Lee, who has reinterpreted into LEGO form Michelangelo’s painting The Creation of Adam, which graces the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, we can at last see how the minifigure came into existance.
