Tag Archives: Samurai

This awesome Batman is a little far from Gotham City

Batman has always been a bit of a rōnin at heart: a masterless warrior honor-bound to protecting people. So it makes sense that a fusion between Caped Crusader and samurai (and LEGO) would be supremely satisfying. It’s not the first time Batman and feudal Japan have come together (if you haven’t seen the anime Batman Ninja, it’s a odd mash-up), but this build by Dad’s Bricks (Joe) at Japan’s Brickfest is just plain awesome. Every aspect of the Batsuit makes an appearance, from the blades on his arms (now the samurai’s vambraces) to the ears on his cowl (now the helmet crest). I don’t know what the Japanese term is for “whoa,” but now I might have to learn it.

［LEGO] Batman Samurai

A shell for protection – just like the Koopas

You may remember gGh0st‘s first build in his Iron Builder duel with Sandro Quattrini: a katana. Here’s a refresher, if you need – it’s worth seeing again. Well, he’s come full circle with his ninth and final build. And just as the shell seed part protects a Koopa, the shells protect this samurai warrior, making up the armor and helmet. But I’m liking some of the other building choices too! In particular, the tile pieces for the plating around the waist, and the Bionicle mask make a great men-yoroi (the face protection that samurai wore). Only time will tell whether it’s enough to win this battle – but it’s been fantastic watching these two builders face off!

Very Last Strike (The Samurai)

A moment in the Quantum Lands

I adore this serene LEGO scene by builder exluse. Depicting a weary samurai discovering a strange new land, this construction displays some excellent prowess in natural and sculpted forms. The statue is gorgeous, based heavily on this design by fellow Quantum Lands builder Stan Building. It makes for a wonderfully pose-able sculpture atop a top-notch plinth with some sharp angles, and also helps anchor the viewers that follow the QL project in said realm. But the real star of this vignette is the tree: several beautiful twists of brown pieces leading to explosions of pink leaves and flowers at the ends. This is just about as organic as I’ve ever seen our toy of choice, and its flow contrasts the placid water so well.

A New Discovery...

Great LEGO build may not win power, but it wins respect

Samurais and mechs mix so well. It has been proved by the LEGO designers, and now Moko confirms it one more time. His warrior in dark red armour is a sight to behold. For me, the lack of prints or patterns makes its clean, neat look really stand out. And all the chrome rings is where the design really shines.

機甲武人 玄斬

If you’ve been following Moko’s creations, you should know that possibility is a must for a great mech model. This samurai is no exception, striking its signature stance with the sword ready to hit. What a beauty!

機甲武人 玄斬

Check out this colourful cyber samurai

This is one to watch out for on the battlefield! Eero Okkonen has taken inspiration from the Monkie Kid sets with the vibrant colours featured in this build. Yellow curved tubes (AKA macaroni) form part of the character’s wide helmet with red claws portraying horns. The fingers are actually skeleton arms and the windscreens in dark turquoise are perfect for creating the samurai’s armour skirting. The futuristic design is completed by the use of trans red at the knees, arm shields and in the sword. It’s an eye-catching model where you can tell Eero has taken time to analyse parts from the Monkie Kid theme in order to apply the pieces in inventive ways.

Polymer Samurai

This fly guy is a one cool samurai

It would probably not be a good idea to swat insects in front of this character! Sandro Quattrini has created this unique looking build of a humanoid fly in samurai clothing. There are some fantastic details in the design such as a statuette trophy at the centre of the chest, moustache pieces portraying defined muscles and a castle helmet at the end of the torso. Large plant pieces form the bands around the arms which are primarily made up of inversed tire pieces. The tips of the fingers and toes use minifigure hands to provide the character with an extra hairy feel. Things might be the other way around if you confronted this fly, most likely you’d be the one buzzing off!

Fly Samurai

This sun-dappled battle is pretty brutal

Sun Tzu said, “The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting.” However, if you absolutely have to engage in combat, then why not take a leaf out of LEGO builder Simulterious‘ book and deploy a band of fearsome samurai armed with a cartload of rockets? This is a great little battle scene — soldiers scrapping over control of a pagoda-styled tower whilst gunpowder-driven projectiles fly all over the place. The walls of the building are nicely textured, creating a weathered effect and a sense of age, and the surrounding landscaping is well done with the rockwork suggesting a craggy hilltop in a wider forest. But it’s the photography and lighting which elevates this model into something special. I don’t know if this battle is taking place at sunrise or sunset, but the low hazy sun makes for a very pretty skirmish indeed.

LEGO Samurai castle battle

A duel for the ages

This epic showdown of martial prowess comes to us from Markus Rollbühler, and it’s chock full of drama, action, and enough clever parts usages to keep your eyes busy for a long while. There are so many to love, but don’t miss the minifigure armor for the torso on the left character, or the big figure arms used as legs on the right character, or even little things like the rounded end of Harry Potter wands for knobs on the dresser in the background.

Broken Peace

In fact, we love this build so much we’ve made it our social media cover image this month! Be sure to check out how your image could be featured for a full month.

This Techno Samurai is dressed to impress

LEGO’s big cloth pieces are certainly among the odder bits to use in a creation, and it’s always interesting seeing how clever builders can incorporate them. Marius Herrmann says that the cloth was indeed the inspiration behind this techno samurai robot, which uses the cape from the large buildable Chirrut Îmwe figure from Star Wars. Although Marius says the design was cheekily a ploy to see how little LEGO building they could get away with, the exposed arms and head are nevertheless quite fantastic, with a great mix of elements. Altogether, it reminds me of something that Arasaka would have built in Cyberpunk 2077.

B1-"Agelaius" Dueler

The blood moon samurai

Master of brick-built characters Eero Okkonen has shaped this fanciful LEGO samurai, and true to his typical style, has kitted it out with splendid parts usages from top to bottom. While there are many clever building techniques that are worth highlighting, such as the lever bases around the flag on his chest, or the offset cascade of car slopes for the front of the red kusazuri (or skirt armor), in my opinion, the best technique is a very simple one that serves both form and function. The front of the Samurai’s feet are made with two red cheese slopes around a black lamp holder, and the color different would be a problem in most applications. But here it perfectly mimics the split-toed tabi (or socks) of traditional Japanese garb.

Samurai of the Blood MoonYou can read more about the samurai and how Eero designed it on his website, Cyclopic Bricks.

One horseman of the apocalypse

Who needs the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse when you have this Kumamoto Castle Samurai, who can do more ass-kicking and raise more holy hell than four horseman combined. Or, at the very least, he would ruin your 日本の宴会. DanielBrickSon is a master of building with Bionicle and this is some amazing feat. To give some perspective to the massive scale of this, the flag is a sail from the 70618 Destiny’s Bounty set. The flag topper is a minifig-scale horse battle helmet. So just imagine your minifig horse wearing it next to this beast and you’ll get a feel for what it might be like to do battle with this awe-inspiring samurai. While masterful build techniques abound, the 2×4 plates facing studs-out along the base are an excellent touch. This would look to be right at home as a centerpiece sculpture in any Asian art museum.

Kumamoto Castle Samurai

Stressed? Have a cup of tea

Builder Eero Okkonen is no stranger to The Brothers Brick. His large-scale figures are something of a legend around here, often featuring warriors, wizards, and sci-fi women. Today, he brings us a samurai warrior, joined by a maiko, or apprentice geisha sharing tea. He beautifully captures both the modest down-turned visage of the maiko and the tired pride of the old warrior. What makes this build unusual for Eero is that the stunning figures are set in a lush landscape, which features a blooming garden complete with Zen Buddhist shrines and a reflection pool.

Tea ceremony in Japanese garden

I love the way he has used the texture of the undersides of 1×2 plates for the samurai’s armor, along with the decorative flowers stuck to them. The elbow brick in light bluish grey is used to good effect in both the facial hair of the samurai and the three legged shrine in the corner. You also don’t want to miss the golden chainsaw blade used as a hair ornament on the maiko! The whole scene is so tranquil that I wish I could go there and take part. Now where did I put my tea cup?

Tea ceremony in Japanese garden