Yearly Archives: 2018

All’s well that ends well

The annual LEGO build challenge SHIPtember is over, but we’d be failing our obligations to you our readers if we didn’t highlight Simon Liu‘s Frontline Artificial Intelligence Logistics Supervisor. This brutalist, monolithic behemoth has a great contrasting colour scheme of primarily dark grey, with subtle hints of vibrant yellow and brilliant orange. I love the juxtaposed angles that Simon has created with a variety of interesting techniques. The FAILS serves as the logistic hive centre of the SL Drone Fleet. Heavily armoured but completely unarmed, the SL FAILS depends on its fleet to be its defence.

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Classic Space is all grown up

Neo Classic Space has existed for some time as a modern interpretation of the nostalgic grey and blue theme from the early official LEGO space sets of the late 70s into the 80s. But builder AFOL anon is stepping up the game with the sleek space cruiser. The SHIP (easily clocking in the 100-stud length for a SHIPtember entry) retains the styling of its smaller cousins, with an arrowhead shape, side-mounted blasters, and spoiler, while simultaneously smoothing out the hard edges.

I particularly love the shaping from the rear, where it gives off faint vibes of a Super Star Destroyer in classic space livery.

LEGO soot sprite from Spirited Away will warm your heart

If you’re a fan of Hayao Miyazaki films, then this LEGO creation inspired by the 2001 release Spirited Away by Chris Xenyo will be instantly recognizable. These little fuzzy-looking critters, known as soot sprites, or Susuwatari are formed from soot, and they can lift things much heavier than themselves. Without a job to keep them busy, they sometimes revert back to soot.

Even though the model is fairly simple, the attention to detail, from the spiny look (made from black levers) to the thin and spindly arms and legs (made from flexible tubing) is very accurate to its on-screen inspiration. Even the background which includes the tiny tunnels where the Susuwatari makes their homes, and the wooden platform that borders their path to the furnace, make this scene jump straight out of the movie.

Straight out of the ’70s, this classic wagon is “groovy.”

From 1972 through 1994, Ford marketed the Granada (not to be confused with the U.S. Granada, which is a different vehicle) as a an executive car for the British market. Mateusz Waldowski built this slick LEGO version of a 1977 Granada MK1 station wagon, and it looks well-suited for any minifigure family vacation. In terms of accuracy, Mateusz has done a great job of capturing the overall shape of the vehicle. The grille is spot-on, and the five-wide half-stud offset technique used for the upper half of the vehicle helps emulate the subtle slant of the window pillars.

Mateusz put a lot of effort into detailing his station wagon, and the end result is enjoyable. It sports windshield wipers, a top-mounted luggage rack, clever door handles, and even custom chrome trim (represented by strips of silver decals). Another enjoyable feature is the tilt to the front wheels, which helps create the impression of steering. I almost want to take this adorable wagon on an overnight camping trip!

An absolute unit of a mech

There are mechs designed to transport cargo, to build new worlds, to race against each other, to save lives… And then there’s the Thunderbolt — designed, well, to destroy. The builder of this titan, Japanese mecha master Moko, made sure every tiniest piece of the mech’s design forebodes its foe’s fast, yet painful death.

But, of course, it’s not the mech’s color that gave it its name. The real show starts once the yellow bracers come open and everything around is illuminated with stunning lightning effects. This is when you notice old LEGO Technic 9V wired connectors running along the mech’s forearms; what a brilliant example of functional elements doubling as decorations.

Slowly, magnificently, the ship rose out of the water

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the first in its series to truly delve into darker themes and atmosphere. It seems this mysterious and gloomy tome is what inspired Simon Hundsbichler to build his latest creation, a microscale scene of the Durmstrang ship’s arrival at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry.

It seems Simon has a phobia for normal bricks, as there are hardly any throughout the build. There are a few used as the lake and some plates visible here and there, but everything else is built from “specialized” parts and more or less exotic tiles and slopes. Of course, the inner construction probably has a lot of basic bricks, but here the looks are probably the most important. The best details have to be the tower’s roof and the wings used as waves. It is not all just in the cool parts used and in the combinations of bricks most people would never think to put together; a big impact is made by the lighting, photography and the subtle background added in post-production. I can almost hear the wind howling and waves crashing!

This LEGO model was built as an entry for TBB’s Microscale Magic contest. Coverage on TBB of an entry will not be taken into consideration during judging, and will have no effect on its ability to win, either positively or negatively.

Femme fatale can be interpreted in many ways

We have seen many top-notch character builds from Eero Okkonen over the years, including his recent recreation of the Finnish band Circle, and it seems Eero has nailed the human form in bricks so well that he can pump them out with an (ironically) inhuman speed, with each better than the last!

The builder often takes inspiration from Japanese videogames and cartoons and his latest creation, RADIANT EXERT IV is no different. While there is no specific source material that Eero has tried to recreate, the bulky armour, bunny-ear ribbon in her hair and a miniskirt are unmistakably Japanese. There is a strange yet perfectly balanced mix of bulk and elegance, with eye-catching details like a sword with a laser blade made of Clickits string and wings on her boots.

This apothecary will fix what ails you

Fantasy-styled castle creations are a popular subject for LEGO builders, and we love when someone offers a twist in a building genre often dominated for long periods by a particular style. This village apothecary by Mr_Hobbit_Foot has elements of the established “fantasy ramshackle” style (pioneered by Luke Hutchinson amongst others) but adds a cartoony edge. We have the expected rough-and-tumbled brickwork to create detailed walls, and the mixture of tiles and plates for a textured roof, however the shaping of the central building evokes Asterix illustrations or a Celtic feel as much as your regular fantasy setting, and the irregular bases make the whole model pop off the page.

The builder appears to be slowly putting together a full fantasy village in this style. I particularly like the blacksmith’s shop, which comes complete with a pumpkin-headed scarecrow out front…

Colossal Gundam made with over 10,000 LEGO pieces and stands 3 feet tall

When LEGO artist Henry Pinto dreams of a project being envisioned, its always going to be a thrill and it never disappoints. Looking at it brings chills down our spine with the exceptionally detailed and accurate modelling of the Gundam RX78-02 from Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin. Fans of mecha surely buckle at their knees seeing this amazing mecha coming to life in LEGO. Thanks to Henry, we have exclusive never before seen photos of this amazing build in all its glory.

The RX78-02 stands 90cm tall (over 35 inches) and is made up of over 10,000 LEGO elements weighing around 10kg (22 lbs). Henry started building this back in May and recently completed in September – a total of 5 months and late nights, lunch breaks, and with constant tweaking to perfection. What makes it also outstanding is how it’s void of the typical LEGO studs that give it a clean and smooth finishing, never giving a hint that it was made with LEGO elements in the first place.

Click to see more of the incredible Gundam

Our future lies amidst the stars, in a LEGO O’Neill Cylinder

First proposed by the American physicist Gerard O’Neill in the 70s, an O’Neill Cylinder is a large tube, pressurised with an atmosphere, and spinning to create artificial gravity. The hull features alternating strips of “land” and transparent windows, allowing sunlight to be reflected inside from large mirrors. The cylinder has become an iconic design, familiar from a raft of TV, movie, and videogame depictions of mankind’s future. Ralf Langer has built a beautiful LEGO version of an O’Neill-based space colony, using microscale to ensure his space settlement features fields and trees, flowing rivers, and towering cities. The rings supporting the curved land panels have technical-looking greebles, and the entire creation looks much bigger than it really is. This is epic LEGO sci-fi, depicting a future I’d love to see.

LEGO Ideas First 2018 Review Results bring the names of the next LEGO Ideas sets [News]

As many of us are still enjoying their newly bought LEGO Ideas 21311 Voltron sets, the LEGO Ideas First 2018 Review Results are already here, so we can finally learn what the next LEGO Ideas set will be.

Click here to see the ideas approved by The LEGO Group!

Massive 1/15-scale LEGO Vought F4U Corsair takes to the bright and terrifying Pacific skies

With its distinctive inverted gullwings and gorgeous dark blue color scheme, the Vought F4U Corsair is easily my all-time favorite fighter plane. Produced throughout both World War II and the Korean War, the warplane also has the distinction of having the longest production run of any piston-engined fighter. While James Cherry may not be the most prolific LEGO builder — he shared his amazing 1/15-scale LEGO F-14A Tomcat jet fighter exactly two years ago — but each of his creations is well worth the wait. Built to the same scale as the Tomcat, James’s Corsair is deceptively huge; for a better sense of the scale, notice that the palm trees are built from stacked washtubs! We’ve estimated that this LEGO Corsair has a wingspan of over one hundred studs (over 32 inches or 82 cm), and it’s over 80 studs long from nose to tail (over 26″ / 67 cm).

See more photos of this amazing LEGO Vought F4U Corsair