Yearly Archives: 2021

Cop these crispy, deadstock kicks

It seems that Sneakerheads have found a new way to collect their favorite classic designs without devastating their bank accounts. Ever since the introduction of the LEGO 10282 Adidas Originals Superstar set, I’ve personally been looking forward to seeing how sneaker fanatics would adapt their own bricks into iconic shoes from the past and present. Builder John Huang is one such inspired fan. He’s made a few different sneakers so far but this Adidas Stan Smith model is the first to feature a brick-built display. The shoe itself is well built, capturing the sleek, simple design of its namesake and its patch of vivid green on the heel. The display stand for the shoe is based on the lid of an Adidas shoebox and John did a great job at capturing the angles of the iconic Adidas stripes, as well as the logo on the sides of the lid.

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This pipe is occupied by a pernicious piranha plant

You’ll need perfect timing to get past the snapping jaws of the lovely and deadly piranha plant unless you’ve got a power-up or an extra life up your sleeves. This pixel-perfect model of the most deadly of deciduous plants from the world of Mario, by ZiO Chao is packed with great details. From the gently curving leaves to the rounded Mario-munching mouth to that shiny pink tongue.

Check out the poseable stem on this beauty!

Leaving LEGO Masters S2: We sit down with the fourth team to leave [Feature]

The fifth episode of LEGO Masters Season 2 has aired. A new episode means another winning build and unfortunately, another team elimination. After each episode, we’ll be meeting these teams as they continue on their LEGO journey with the show behind them.

We sat down for a talk with the fourth team to leave this season along with our friends from Brickset, BZPower and True North Bricks. We chatted about engineering, building relationships, building on memories and the art of playing well.

Read on, but beware… Spoilers lie ahead!

LEGO DOTS 41932 Extra DOTS – Series 5: A glowing new assortment [Review]

It feels like it was just yesterday (Okay, it was March) when we took a look at the Extra DOTS series 4 packs. (It was so recent, in fact, that I copied this intro paragraph from that review.) But LEGO has gone rapid-release on us, and now there’s already a whole new set of unique printed tiles to collect and colored elements to stock up on. Packs of 41932 Extra DOTS – Series 5 are available now from the LEGO Shop Online for US $3.99 | CAN $4.99 | UK £3.99. We bought a few to see what this latest not-quite-blind-pack has to offer.

Click to read the full hands-on review

Vampire gets his crypt redecorated

In 2002, LEGO released the studios sets in which the heroes battled the classic monsters. Vampire’s Crypt was one of the 2002 sets featuring Dracula. Dracula has been doing more than fighting heroes and biting necks for the past few years. In 2012 the exterior of his castle got a serious upgrade with the Monster Fighter theme. The interior however stayed quite simple. In this creation by GunnBuilding it looks like Dracula hired the Fab Five to redecorate the inside of his castle. If you take a close look at the 2002 sets you’ll notice that it came with two cardboard backdrops. The brick built backdrops GunnBuilding created for the build match the original backdrop’s aesthetic perfectly. Elongating the candelabras with some gold parts is a very nice idea. The best thing about this little build however, has to be the torches mounted on the wall using 1×1 round plates with a hole in the stud and a minifigure screwdriver . The cross shaped pedestal for the coffin is a very nice touch.

The houses of blues

This is a street that makes me feel the opposite of the blues! Kristel Whitaker built a collection of identical townhouses inspired by the colours of the world’s oceans – and also LEGO’s many blue colours. Titled “Ocean Drive”, this build is not only the modular houses but an immersive scene of its residents. The children – currently on summer holiday – are playing outside with the cats while their grandma sits on the front steps. The others come and go, both for work and leisure, and the resident flamingo watches the neighbourhood amongst the flowers. Life is good in the big city.

I love how this is reminiscent of London’s famous Portobello Road, which features similar Victorian-terrace houses. Each of LEGO’s common blue colour looks good – especially teal! This scene radiates a certain warmth, both because of the inclusion of light aqua and medium azure, and also the flowers in each garden. I also like the architectural detail of white flowers in the crest that separates the first and second floors. It’s definitely a street that I would love to live in!

Check out more of Kristel’s lovely builds here!

Soaring Swordfish is one sharp looking fighter

With the live-action version of Cowboy Bebop scheduled for release later this year, it’s great to see a build which harkens back to the original anime. The Swordfish II is one of the main ships from the show, often pushed to its limits as it chases bounty targets. Christopher Hoffmann has created this incredible rendition in Lego form and demonstrates his inventive usage of parts. The ship almost looks like a dagger, ready to pierce through the sky. To achieve this aesthetic, Christopher has used wing pieces to create the ship’s blade-like nose cone. Wheel cover parts emphasise the round proportions of the cockpit, encircling the domed viewport.

At first, it’s easy to mistake the main gun to be made up of black candlestick pieces but it’s actually created by connector parts with a bar piece running through the barrel. The stand is also a great addition making this build feel as though it is an official model. The edges of the stand are created by angled bumper pieces which nicely compliments the proportions of the ship. And with that, the Swordfish II is ready to blast off into space. See you, Space Cowboy.

Draw your sword from Fiona’s Forge

This is one of the best fantasy LEGO builds I have seen all summer. Check out ForlornEmpire‘s recent creation, “Fiona’s Forge.”

Wow. Just, wow. Everything about this is a world unto its own. How did ForlornEmpire cram in so much detail so subtly into such a small space?

Let’s start at the bottom: the molten metal flowing under the steps into the casting racks is just unbelievable. I would have never thought to use window bricks to showcase the flowing metal beneath it.

The chain on the bucket looks like it was painstakingly made, using bucket handles, and… wait a minute, are those headlamps from the 2009 Clone Walker Battle Pack? Who would have thought to use such obscure LEGO pieces as a chain? While we’re talking about obscure bricks, I have to mention the Unikitty tail pieces used as supports for the shelf near the roof in this build. Such creativity! Such inspiration!

My only regret is that there aren’t any other images of this build. You’ve done it again, ForlornEmpire.

75,000 parts and six feet of sand green awesomeness

2021 has been a great year for sand green LEGO brick. But did you know that the celebration started well before the release of the LEGO Ideas 21327 Typewriter? Builder Jordan Morgan had already completed an amazing labor of love in that rare color – a 75,000 part, six-foot-long spaceship sure to leave you impressed. Featuring a fully detailed interior, working lights, and motorized functions, this build really lives up to the “Seriously Huge Investment in Parts” definition of “SHIP”. Keep reading for an in-depth look at this colossal creation!

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Fightin’ Falcon to the Rescue!

If you are a UNSC soldier in need of close air support, the Falcon will fly to your aid! Created by LEGO builder ZiO Chao, this low-altitude combat aircraft from the Halo video games has been recreated in brick form.

The legendary Falcon aircraft were first seen in the game Halo Reach. ZiO’s model comes with the autocannon mounted under the cockpit, as well as the troop bay in the middle that can ferry soldiers and Spartans to the battlefield. The smooth design of the propeller engines and main aircraft body is a testament to ZiO’s skill with LEGO bricks. I really like the yellow lights on either side of the central intakes as well.

What I appreciate most, however, are the details in this build that ZiO didn’t have to do but included anyway. For example, I think the white stripes on the prop tips matching the stripes on the cockpit canopy was a deliberate choice. The angled wings on the tail are also a nice touch. It’s the little things like these that make this an incredible LEGO creation.

A box full of nightmare fuel. How jolly.

Spooktacular builder Corvus Auriac is back with another creation determined to haunt your dreams. I’ve never liked the concept of a Jack in the Box – to me, they were always a thin veneer of playfulness over a dark core of “who hurt the toy designer as a child.” As such, it’s kind of refreshing that this one isn’t even trying to pretend to be friendly. There are plenty of complex techniques in use here, but the most chilling has to be the use of minifigure epaulets to form those terrifyingly real teeth.

The picture above is a computer-generated render, meaning this doesn’t exist for real. Yet. Corvis has said that a real-world version is on the way soon. We can’t wait. (Oh, wait, yes, we can.) If you’re looking for other builds that cross the line between reality and imagined, check out our render tag.

A Vic Viper worthy of royalty

Oh, the depths of space have so much to offer. As vast as the human imagination itself, nothing tickles my soul more than a great spaceship, especially one built from LEGO. Seeing how builders mold their abstract forms, creating engaging structures and silhouettes under the constrictions and limits of the LEGO system, builds a sense of absolute awe. Gaming fans of the modern era can escape into any number of epic worlds from Mass Effect to No Man Sky or the vast realms of Homeworld, EVE, or Star Citizen. As such, there is a wealth of designs that inspire wonderful builders around the world. This model was built by Carter Baldwin as a homage to a Hiigaran ship from Homeworld 2, but he diverged a bit from the original design. Take a look at the Imperial Interceptor, a marvelous Vic Viper for the Royal House of Sol. The stand-out color blocking achieved in this model depends greatly on the triangular tiles that hug the sharp edges of the ship’s body and wings. Contrasting the dark blue slopes and tiles, the gold gives the ship an eye-catching allure worthy of royalty.

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