I love a LEGO build with details that make my eyes wander, trying to look for every amazing element and how it’s placed just where it needs to be to give that maximum effect and wow factor. Let’s pick a few of my favourites here from Anthony Wilson’s eye feast of a kitchen creation. First things first, that angled tessellation of the flooring gives it a more natural, less of an “anyone can do that with LEGO” feeling, which sets apart a regular builder from an experienced one.
While that fridge and the air-conditioning unit don’t necessarily look like the units I have at home, I immediately knew it was meant to represent Mitsubishi-branded appliances. Not everything needs to replicate real life, but clever ways of bringing out details delight the visual senses. Last but not least, creative uses of elements are not about difficult builds but also about placement instead. The light switch and key hanging beside the door are fine examples of these visual details that require little effort but make a world of a difference.
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Builder Bart De Dobbelaer gives me the vibe of an artist similar to H.R. Giger, with imaginative creations that are out of this world — alien forms that raise the hair on the back of your neck. This scene seems to be the breeding ground of a mother alien, spawning her offspring and preparing to infest and attack in search of their next meal.
I’m not sure who’s actually going to be the next meal though, the hunter or the hunted? It seems so awkward, because the tables have been turned and now the egg-filled mother alien is a delicacy on her own.
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Despite a lifelong fascination with archaeology and ancient history — and even a trip through Sinai, Cairo, and Karnak at age 19 — I must admit that Egyptology has never been particularly interesting to me, obsessed as its public portrayal is with glittering treasures and kingship. Nevertheless, I’m reading the excellent The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt by Toby Wilkinson right now, in which I find the chaotic Intermediate periods especially fascinating. Koen Zwanenburg is also fascinated with ancient history, and has built this amazing life-sized version of the boy king Tutankhamun’s mask from 16,000 LEGO bricks.
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I love racing. Not that I do it myself, but there is something enthralling about watching vehicles (or even just persons or animals) moving at high speeds in a winner-take-all contest. From track meets to Formula 1, NASCAR to podracing, I love watching races (n.b. I don’t actually watch car races, typically, but scenes in movies, like Cars, get me excited). And what goes faster than a car? A spaceship, of course! This small LEGO craft by Tim Goddard looks highly maneuverable, barely fitting a minifigure so that it can squeeze into the small gates that mark the course. The transparent 4×4 dish perfectly complements the windscreen to form a lovely canopy, and the color blocking is superb. Perhaps even better than the raceship is the triangular teal gate, with just the right amount of greebling to balance the smooth curves. And the stickers enhance it all the more. Gentlemen, start your thrusters!
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The next time you are building a warehouse scene, home improvement store, or automobile repair shop, and you want a neat looking forklift, consider taking inspiration from de-marco, who has shared video instructions for this three-wheeled lifter of heavy things. The black protective cage and a transparent orange cone provide great details.
The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.
The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.
No, this isn’t a product shot out of an IKEA catalog. This is a LEGO creation by Heikki M. If you’re like me, though, you had to look twice to be sure. The construction may be straight forward, but there are lots of details that really sell this as a human-scale object. The variation on the heights of the candlesticks, the well-chosen seams on the metal shelving, and even the hand-hold of the storage crate match what the eye expects to see. My particular favorite is the potted plant. Those are nested Technic wheels and 3-leaf plants. Recognizing those elements made me realize the smaller-than-actual-size scale of this build, which was a moment of mental adjustment. And let’s not neglect that abstract-art print. Ribbed 1×2 bricks create interesting textures, but still “read” as a flat image thanks to that tiled frame. It’s really clever building all around.
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The nautilus is one of those amazing creatures both strange and beautiful. With a spiral shell that seems to be a natural manifestation of the golden mean. And when interpreted by Mitsuru Nikaido, this cephalopod takes on an even more usual form, as Mitsuru builds mechanical versions of living creatures. Aside from the many curved sections, and the sprouting tentacles, my favorite detail would have to be the Hero Factory chest piece for eyes.
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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.
You can read more about the samurai and how Eero designed it on his website, Cyclopic Bricks.
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This month’s cover photo, from Faber Mandragore, makes you ready to put the pedal to the metal. I’m digging the simplistic clean scene, but at the same time it evokes the need for speed. The crumbling wall, with it’s great texture, draws the eye to the cola machine, bringing you right back to the bad ass hot rod. Thanks for sharing Faber!
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The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.
In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the first week of July 2020.
This week, we got hands-on with the new Technic Lamborghini, looked at the new pop art mosaics line, got a tour of the Crocodile Locomotive and more. Keep reading our Brick Report to get all the details.
TBB NEWS: This week we looked at the announcement of a new pop art mosaics line and had many new sets go on sale from Disney to Marvel, Friends to trains.
TBB REVIEWS: This week we reviewed the new Technic Lamborghini Sian and Ninjago Skull Sorcerer’s Dragon, one a speed demon and the other a dungeon demon!
Ninjago 71721: Skull Sorcerer’s Dragon [Review] – Wu’s Battle Dragon is tough, but there’s an even bigger dragon in the summer 2020 Ninjago line. Check out our hands-on review of this new massive set.
GayFOLs Virtual Pride Parade 2020 – Who doesn’t love an awesome parade?! Our good friends from the online LEGO community GayFOLs have shared this wonderful virtual Pride Parade.
OTHER NEWS: There were quite a few other interesting LEGO news articles from around the web this week. Here are the best of the rest:
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We’ve already featured one dynamite LEGO build from Cecilie Fritzvold, but this one is a blast, too. (Sorry/not sorry.) This time the bundles of TNT were used for an engine mount, SCUBA tank, and a ring of coral. The great part usage doesn’t stop there, though. Check out those adorable clown fish with rubber band accents, Technic tubing and lightsaber blades as tall plants, and the variety of Clikits beads forming the colorful sea bed. All in all, it’s a soothing image that’s more rewarding the longer you look at it.
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