Tag Archives: Characters

These LEGO Kung-Fu Panda characters are fast as lightning!

These days, the only place I really seem to see Kung-Fu Panda material is in poorly-cut Instagram reels. Admittedly, that probably says more about more about my social media habits than the film – and to be fair, it is a great film. Thankfully, Jannis Mavrostomos has freshened up my feed with this great LEGO rendition of the main cast! Each one features some great building. An orange leaf looks great for Tigress’ outstretched palm; Crane’s wings look great, as do the rounded features of Monkey’s head and, er, Po’s belly; and I love Viper’s cherry eyestalks. But the best bit is surely the comically small Mantis. What do you mean, where’s Mantis? He’s right there on the right hand side – represented by a single plant stalk!

Dance to your Death with Sekiro’s Corrupted Monk

LEGO and video games have proven to be a powerhouse of family-friendly fun, but combat in LEGO games is a pretty basic affair. If punishing action is more your speed, perhaps you’ve wondered what a LEGO Souls-like game would look like? If it’s anything like Marius Herrmann‘s Corrupted Monk from Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, it would be a beautiful game indeed!

The Corrupted Monk from "Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice"

FromSoftware, makers of Elden Ring and Dark Souls, are known for their amazing enemy bosses that combine punishing difficulty with breathtaking dark fantasy character design. For many, the Corrupted Monk is the pinnacle of boss encounters, as dueling this demoness requires total mastery of the game’s robust combat system (unless you cheese the boss — no shame in that!). Marius’ model employs some incredible parts usage to capture the Monk’s haunting appearance, like the use of an inverted Ninjago Anacondrai helmet for a mouth and a frog for a nose. There are hand-strung beads made of eggs and flowers, as well as a vintage LEGO Scala pearl necklace for this classy lady of darkness. The color is striking, especially the draping tiled fabric in gold, yellow, and black. Given the vibrant colors, this is clearly the “True” version of the Corrupted Monk. Sekiro also features a spectral version of the boss, but I suspect creating a model this incredible using only translucent parts would be too punishing a challenge for even the most hardcore LEGO builder.

Powerful princess of the Saphire Sword

Fantasy-flavored minifigs might be all the buzz right now thanks to LEGO’s new D&D partnership, but prolific Finnish builder (and TBB regular) Eero Okkonen is here to take the crown with his latest swords and sorcery inspired brick-built character. Eero makes clever use of the latest plant elements, like the lavender breastplates sourced from a new mold in LEGO Friends 42620 Olly and Paisley’s Family Houses. One of my favorite elements of the creation is how perfectly the opalescent sword pieces work as both hair and skirt. There are so many details to admire, like the Prince of Persia dagger of time as a brooch, Gungan shields on the belt, and alien cocoon thighs. Like most of his characters, this one is highly-poseable, so be sure to dive into Eero’s Flickr page for a full gallery and build insights.

Princess Sapphire

Looking for more of his great character creations? We’ve got plenty of Eero Okkonen’s LEGO builds in our archives.

Cad, the Bane of his bounties

Anyone else excited for the Bad Batch to return on Wednesday? I know I sure am. Bounty hunter Cad Bane made a surprise appearance in the show’s first season, and just in time for the third and final one, Flickr builder gGh0st has come up with a superb rendition of the Duros. He’s even got his trusty, sassy sidekick Todo! The semi-circular jumper plates are great choices for the droid’s eyes/face. There’s loads of clever parts use, but I would question Bane’s choice of fitting a thermal detonator to his wrist. In his line of work, that’s surely asking for trouble…

Cad Bane & Todo

Flexing one’s musical LEGO muscles

I recently got my hands on a bunch 0f LEGO flex tubes, but I’m still figuring out what to make with them. Perhaps I should take inspiration from Eero Okkonen? This stylish keyboard player makes great use of them. Said tubes are used as the wiring for the PA system and keyboard, but Eero also shows off his braiding skills by using them as hair. It looks great! And the nice parts use doesn’t stop there. A pair of red fences are cleverly inserted into some Technic quarter-circle gears to make an on-stage monitor. Meanwhile, some Dots pendants are the perfect size for some earrings!

Mathilda Crawatt

Intrepid LEGO reporter looking to branch out

The first thing I noticed about this wonderful LEGO Shoot the Bullet scene by Sweeps was the nice part usage (NPU) found close at hand. The 3 prong plant element makes a perfect hand for this chibi-style character named Aya Shameimaru (of Touhou Project fame). But the NPU doesn’t stop there. The ground is nicely textured with painters palettes and a nice bit of fall foliage. The recent new curved transparent bar in back is the perfect part to raise the character off the ground.

Real or Fake: Reporter Aya Shameimaru

Never practice turning people into frogs in the mirror

Witches are known for, among other things, flying around on broomsticks and turning people into frogs. F.S. Leinad‘s LEGO witch has certainly got the former nailed – this particular broomstick uses some minifigure hair to mimic the bristles flapping in the wind. As for turning people into frogs… Well, her spell seems to have backfired somewhat. Her nose, hat, hands, and feet have all transformed into tiny amphibians! She’s probably not very happy about it, but surely even the grumpiest of witches can appreciate some Nice Parts Usage.

Witch

Christmas is for caterpillars, too!

What do you think of when it comes to festive animals, either in real life or in LEGO form? Reindeer are a given. Turkeys are probably up there too. How about insects? If your answer to that is yes, either you’re getting 21342 The Insect Collection as a Christmas present, or you’re Nathan Hake. His charming caterpillar is braving the cold for some winter fun! Much like Nathan, this caterpillar is quite the sculptor – a smorgasbord of slopes and curved slopes on their sides make for a very convincing snow butterfly. Having an extra pair of hands clearly comes in, well, handy!

Clive the Christmas Caterpillar

Be sure to check out a 360° view of Clive on Nathan’s Flickr page. And Merry Christmas!

Briiiiiiicks... Briiiicks!

The stereotype for zombies is that they wander aimlessly, looking for brains. But Dan Ko‘s is a little different. If you listen closely, you’ll find that some of them aren’t actually looking for brains, but for bricks. It seems even AFOLs aren’t safe from the zombie apocalypse. Brains are no good! Zombified Fans of LEGO (ZFOLs) need bricks to fill their heads with. This one has turned to a pink roller skate, which by coincidence does look a bit like a regular brain. All the better to blend in with the horde of the undead!

Zombiiiies!

A LEGO character creation with explosive potential

Ever since a History of Science class my freshman year of college, I’ve read so many books on the history and discovery of radiation. But nowhere in those pages covering everything from the Curies to Chernobyl did I ever come across a scientist like the one depicted in this LEGO bust by Steven Wayne Howard. With the clever implementation of the Ninjago Spinjitzu canopy, we’re able to see all the nuclear reactors sticking out of this mad scientist’s cranium. An array of creature wings make up his wild facial hair, and his sinister visage is driven home with that skeletal bowtie. And the whole thing sits on a plinth that is, quite frankly, the bomb. The whole thing is downright maniacal, and gives me the chills!

The Nuclear Madman

Broken LEGO always turns me Inside Out with anger!

The rage I feel for LEGO bricks from the brittle brown era is something I’ve felt time and time again. But thanks to Nikita Filatov and their depiction of Anger of Inside Out-fame, I’ve got a much better idea of what’s going on inside my head. I can almost hear the voice of Lewis Black ranting about ABS integrity and how he should’ve used dark tan instead! Probably not the best time to tell him that LEGO discontinued trans-neon orange….

VignWeek 2023 | Disney | Anger

Don’t fall asleep looking at this build – you’ll feel rather sheepish

Character master Oliver Becker has crafted this charming scene of a shepherd and his flock (of, er, one sheep). Now this might sound odd, but I’m actually glad there’s only one sheep here. Not because I’m ovinophobic, but because if I started counting sheep, I’d surely fall asleep and miss the rest of this great build! The sheep is very good, chewing away on the grass, with its spindly legs. (Well it’s chewing with its mouth, but you know what I mean.) And any build that uses X-pod covers is a good one in my book. But the shepherd is where the whimsy really comes into this scene. He’s a great caricature, using inverted arch pieces twice – in his boots and for his face. He’s quite rotund though. Maybe that’s where the rest of his flock went…

Couting The Sheep