Tag Archives: Miyazaki

A little Laputa to brighten your day

We’ve seen a lot of LEGO renditions of Hayao Miyazaki’s Castle in the Sky, including a gorgeous scene of Laputa among the clouds and a beautiful music box floating fortress. But there’s always room for more, so here are a few that caught our eye.

Mel F‘s lovely little version is a joy. Mel built it to be a desk ornament, and it’s got that perfect balance of size and complexity to subtly show co-workers that LEGO is cool, but you’re not insane (that comes later when they see your LEGO room).

The Floating City of Laputa

Another gorgeous version comes from builder 米 基, with this terrific soaring castle surrounded by clouds. It even has Dola and her pirates’ tiny gliders flitting about beneath the massive fortress.

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Instructions for Laputa: Castle in the Sky LEGO music box now available [Instructions]

Korean builder Hwang Byeong Jun has released step-by-step instructions for the amazing Laputa: Castle in the Sky music box that we featured last month, complete with details on how to integrate the music box into your LEGO build.

LAPUTA musicbox instruction

You can see each step in the instructions in the builder’s photoset on Flickr, and you can download a PDF as well.

Beautiful working Castle in the Sky LEGO music box

All of Hayao Miyazaki’s films are whimsical and absolutely beautiful – and we here at The Brothers Brick are big fans, as evidenced by our continued highlights of LEGO creations from our favorite films throughout the years.

I present you with this collaborative LEGO music box by Banghoo H and Yeom-E. This intricate build features Laputa, the castle in the sky, and a steampunk-inspired, gear-filled mechanism to play music at the base.

Laputa : castle in the sky

Click for more pictures and a video below the cut!

Version #5 – Audi.TW’s Savoia S.21 from Porco Rosso

Stephen 趙(Chao) (obscurance) makes his first appearance since 2009 on this venerable blog, with this gorgeous “Savoia S.21“. The S.21 is a fictional seaplane / fighter that appears in the anime Porco Rosso, directed by Hayao Miyazaki.

According to Wikipedia: “While the plane depicted in the film never existed, Savoia was an actual Italian aircraft maker which produced a considerable number of flying boats in the 1920s, during which the film is set. An actual Savoia S.21 even existed, though the fictional one does not closely resemble it—the Cant.Z 501 “Seagull” is probably the closest real-life match. As a matter of fact, Hayao Miyazaki is said to have drawn his Savoia S.21 from his childhood memories of Macchi M.33.”

000-Savoia S.21

Constant readers of the blog will no doubt be familiar with this model, as 4 outstanding builders have taken a shot at the Savoia over the years. When I discovered how often the Savoia had been featured I was tempted to send the draft to the trash can, but I enjoyed seeing the unique approach used by each builder over the years and hope that you will too.

ねこバス Nekobasu (Catbus)

I watched My Neighbour Totoro for the first time just after Christmas. I wish I had seen it years ago, because it was absolutely wonderful. So seeing legorobo:waka’s model of the iconic Catbus was right up my alley! I love the somewhat simplified/blocky style…and that smile is just spot on!

nekobus_01

But the coolest feature is definitely the movement:

Check out the full photoset for all the views.

Fantastic Aircraft Models by Sydag

I was looking through flickr user’s Sydag’s new aircraft models earlier, and was shocked to discover that we’ve never featured any of his stunning airplanes here before. Sydag has been building some of the best small aircraft to be found, including this latest pair of Hawker Sea Furies, decked out for the Reno Air Races. Be sure to check out the other photos of them, as Sydag’s included lots of terrific details like folding wings and a de-cowled version.

Furies Unleashed

While I’d love to highlight all of his planes, this lovely version of Porco Rosso’s plane from Miyazaki’s film grabbed my attention in particular. It looks spot on, and the display is wonderful.

Savoia S.21

Nausicaä leads the Valley gunship into battle

One of my favorite vehicles designed by Hayao Miyazaki is the gunship from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind. This LEGO version by Jon Hall captures all the iconic details, from the rounded, swept-back wings to the unique landing gear.

Valley Gunship 01

The Secret LEGO World of Arriety

It’s no secret that Iain Heath (Ochre Jelly) and I share a LEGO Ghibli passion, so I was pleased but not surprised that he celebrated the release of The Secret World of Arriety (written by Hayao Miyazaki, based on the classic children’s book The Borrowers) with a lovely Miniland Arriety.

Arrietty the Borrower

Check out Iain’s write-up about the build (with a bonus micro-review of the movie) over on The Living Brick.

となりのトトロ

Our final Hayao Miyazaki tribute for the evening — and last post title in Japanese, for now — is this scene from My Neighbor Totoro by Andy Hung (andybear@hk), who lights up the night with an electrified Catbus in another great entry for the LEGO contest in Hong Kong.

The front side of model

The sleeping Totoro in the second scene underneath the main one is well worth a closer look:

00F

ハウルの動く城

Leo Chu (Bad Leo) takes a bunch of angular bricks and creates one of the most irregularly shaped entities in Hayao Miyazaki’s universe — the castle in Howl’s Moving Castle.

scene_new

Unlike builders of previous LEGO versions of this castle, Leo places his in a lovely scene, complete with laundry drying in the wind. Like the other Hayao Miyazaki LEGO models I’ve posted today, Leo’s build is one of the top 12 LEGO creations in the Hong Kong contest.

天空の城ラピュタ

Ericmok delivers even more Miyazaki goodness with his microscale rendition of Laputa from Castle in the Sky.

Castle in the Sky - Laputa

My favorite visuals in many Miyazaki films are the clouds, and Eric’s LEGO version of Laputa is one of the few to include this key element of the movie.

青き衣をまといて、金色の野に降り立つべし...

One of my favorite moments in Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind is not when Nausicaä fulfills the prophecy but when Obaba retells the legend. Hayao Miyazaki’s poetic lines reverberate through the fortress at the heart of the valley, and they bring chills every time I hear them in Japanese.

But the scene at the end of the movie is no less moving, built here in LEGO by Alex Hui, another top-12 entry for the Ani-Com Hong Kong LEGO contest.

LEGO風之谷

I’m less convinced by the chunky Mehve, but the lit Ohmu tendrils and historical scenes on the side of the display more than make up for it.

UPDATE: Alex has posted a video showcasing his LEGO model: