Some of the magic of Dicken Liu’s LEGO work is his ability to capture speed even when his creation is standing still. This is the case with this biomechanical leopard; the tail, the curvature of the back, and the purposeful gaze all leads me to believe that some serious business is about to go down. Someone or something is about to be destroyed and maybe even made into lunch. Do biomechanical animals eat? It’s a question I’d rather not find out, thank you very much!
If there is a Silksong-shaped hole in your heart, you might be able to fill it with this LEGO model by Dylan Mievis! Dylan has done a great job depicting the secret final boss of Hollow Knight – the Radiance – in all its awe-full glory. The main body of this “being of light” is made from two types of feathered wings, and its weird tentacle arms are mostly borrowed from the Piraka (a dangerous group to steal from!) Spare a thought for the adorable little Knight, made out of very few parts. Even armed with the Dream Nail, its gonna be an uphill battle!
Do you remember Galidor? I remember, and by the looks of this LEGO model, Care Creations does too! One of the sets in the infamous LEGO action figure line was the TDN Module; a large blue flying shuttle that could fit a figure inside, but was only made of nine parts! I think Care must have left their TDN out in the sun too long. This one has grown eyes, tentacles, and teeth! Spare a thought for the armored figure, and his electric chest plate, caught in the TDN’s grip. How’s he going to get out of this one?
While I enjoy nighttime, it’s nice to have James Zhan’s LEGO owl nightlight for when things go bump in the night. We’ve already ascertained that the hoot noises are coming from a great horned owl who visits our yard from time to time, which makes this build extra special for me. The howling, chittering, yelping, and whooshing noises are still a mystery; could be coyotes, raccoons, or homicidal maniacs. While I try to decipher who or what is making a rustling sound in the eves, go ahead and investigate our James Zhan archives.
We throw the acronym NPU around a lot here at The Brothers Brick and it usually occurs when we are impressed with the clever and unconventional use of LEGO bricks. I don’t think we have a term yet for when NPU reaches a point in which impressed becomes awestruck, bewildered, or even breathless. That’s kinda how I’m feeling in trying to convey this unprecedented Chinese lion dog by Nathan Don (Woomy World). I can’t get over how radar dishes and teal horns constructed in such a way can covey a fluffy tail. The upper legs consist of shoulder armor pieces and (what I know to be) car fenders. The body utilizes large macaroni bits (or maxaroni as the builder calls them). You’d expect BURPs (Big Ugly Rock Pieces) in a stand likely placed vertically, but when situated sideways, the piece offers up textures that seem like jagged shale.
I’d be remiss not to provide a closeup shot of the face. White croissants and Minifig headbands make up aspects of the guardian’s eyebrows, nose, and muzzle. Gray macaroni bits as well as more aforementioned radar dishes and teal and red tentacles comprise the mane in a similar style to the tail. I can’t even fathom how it all is pieced together internally. It’s either extremely clever NPU or magic and, by this point, I’d believe either scenario equally. Please check out our Woomy World archive to see why we think this builder’s NPU magic reigns supreme.
Joss Woodyard has a thing for creative LEGO creature designs (just look at what he’s got in our archives). But since 2024 is the year of the dragon, what better excuse than to get some awesome dragons out of him? April’s entry takes inspiration from birds both ancient and present for a striking feathered fiend. It’s part bearded vulture, part Archaeopteryx – the feathered flying dinosaur from the Jurassic period. And the feathers are what really make this build stand out, using a variety of pieces from the Bionicle and Chima lines of years gone by.
I do sometimes wonder where Andreas Lenander gets his inspiration for some of his more fantastical LEGO creations. Part of the fun is taking a guess, and for this one, I’m somehow getting a vibe of mythical Mesoamerican deities. It looks like some form of bird, but equally, it also looks like… Not quite a bird? The strange foliage and dragonfly-esque creature next to it certainly evoke somewhere exotic. Perhaps it’s a cousin of Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent. As a matter of fact, Andreas has named this piece ‘Kolibri’, and Wikipedia tells me that Colibri is a genus of birds with brightly-coloured plumage from Central and South America. Hey, maybe my hunch isn’t that far off after all!
Occasionally, an excellent example of great parts usage shows up online. One of the most recent such examples is this Colorful Owl by Nikita Filatov! This artist has done a splendid job of repurposing parts from the Wildflower Bouquet to create this adorable little friend of an owl. The dark purple bicorn hats make up the fluffy plumage of the owl’s wings, while the belly feathers are made of magenta paddles, and the eyebrows, which add so much character to the little bird, are made of wavy swords. If you, like me, didn’t recognize the disks that make up the whites of its eyes, have no fear; in that tan color, they are from the Wildflower Bouquet – and the part was made originally for the wheels of the James Bond Aston Martin. I’m looking forward to seeing more builds from NikiFilik. This one has been a (wait for it…) hoot!
Deep in the heart of the Mossflower woods, south of the gently-flowing River Moss, sits the storied Redwall Abbey. And when you need a cozier space to have your meal than the Great Hall, you can pull up a chair in the Cavern Hole, built for us in LEGO by Evancelt. This smaller dining hall is lovingly rendered for us in (plastic) brick form with a hearty feast upon the table. Evencelt here has made excellent use of third party parts for this build. The mouse figures and weapons – including the legendary sword of Martin the Warrior mounted on the wall – are from Crazy Bricks’ Mouse Guard series, and the stained glass windows are excellently repurposed from BRIQUESTORE’s Harry Potter stained glass prints. Going back to 1st party bricks, I love the living edge table made from various curves and arches holding a feast made from various printed tiles and food pieces. The chairs are also an excellent piece of design; managing to look both unique and similar enough to form a set. I hope they have saved a chair for me by that fire!
It’s a good time to be a fan of LEGO, Dungeons, and Dragons (not necessarily in that order). Partly, that’s down to the release of the epic LEGO Ideas 21348 Dungeons and Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale, as recently reviewed by our resident Dungeon Master Kyle. But equally, its release inspires talented builders like Dicken Liu to build their own creatures of fantasy! The humble mimic is a staple of D&D campaigns, and this one seems a little more dangerous than most. Normally you just need to watch your hands when diving in for treasure – but with its hatchet and shield, you’ll have a hard enough time just getting near this particular chest!
Michał Kozłowski has built a fantastic LEGO creature from the popular Horizon video game series. I’m reminded of two things: one, what a talented builder Michał is (this looks great!). Two, how epic the creature names are in this universe. This one is called a Thunderjaw, but you’ve also got things like Deathbringers, Glinthawks, Ravagers and Corrupters. You’re not going to pick a fight with any of those! Well, OK, you might. That is kind of the point of the game, I gather. But if you get hurt, you can’t say the mechabiologists who named them didn’t try to warn you.
Your first thought of dragons, wyrms and wyverns might be scary mythical beasts. But with adept use of his LEGO pieces, Joey Klusnick reminds us that dragons have feelings, too. It’s named the Weeping Wyvern – clearly named after its resemblance to weeping willows. But the poor guy is actually weeping! But why? There is a missing goat poster pinned to its left ankle. Perhaps someone used too big a nail, or the goat is this wyvern’s pet? It’s anyone’s guess, really. The only other plausible explanation is that it’s seen the eye-watering prices of the original goat on the LEGO aftermarket…
