The ongoing Pi-rat competition has yielded a lot of interesting pirate ship builds. But Bard Jaskier has gone in another direction and constructed a brick-built buccaneer with a treasure chest full of delicious Swiss. Bard’s mousey marauder is not just adorable, but makes good use of pirate ship pieces, like the crow’s nest barrel halves that make up the legs of his shorts.
Devid VII delivers a devastating desert destroyer with this high-tech hover vehicle. The insectoid shape calls to mind the Dune ornithopters, but the markings suggest this is a future Earth military vehicle, rather than an otherworldly piece of technology. Wherever it originates from, Devid’s done an amazing job with not just the build, but the small vignette that supports it. Thanks to the angle of the ship and the dust cloud it’s kicking up, we can practically hear the hover engines as it speeds past us.
Tim Goddard is known for his marvelous mechs and spectacular spaceships. But it’s important to branch out and flex your creative muscles every so often. That’s why we’re so enamored with this racing rabbit. Tim’s done an amazing job of capturing the animal in motion and creating a sense of speed in this static model.
Take a look at this intrepid LEGO gladiator from Ivan Martynov. Named Araxacus, he’s resplendent in his green armour. Green is probably a better choice camouflage-wise than the usual gold and silver metal that ancient Greek and Roman warriors wore. Mind you, the big red cape might not help much in that respect. If you did manage to spot him, you’d see a whole host of interesting pieces. Araxacus is so intrepid he even uses some non-LEGO for his armour! The chest piece comes from a Hot Wheels car, of all things, that was designed to be compatible with the Mega Construx brands. I’m particularly drawn to that headpiece, which I’m sure I have a few of in my parts bins but always dismiss for being of no use. More fool me – it looks superb here.
We love a good pun here at TBB, almost as much as we love awesome LEGO builds. So when you create a bathtime-themed pirate ship crewed by the Rubber Duccaneers, it’s going to grab our attention. As you can see, Random Vector has done just that! This build is chock-a-block with charm. Aside from the excellent wordplay in the title (seriously, I’m a bit jealous of that one), Random Vector has really committed to every detail here. Of course there’s the bathtubs that double as pirate ships, but equally the rubber ducky figureheads are a cute touch that unifies the three vessels. The bathroom furniture on the flagship consists of a shower head at the stern, and a plug doubles as an anchor. Genius! The bubbly setting is so effectively done using various transparent pieces, and really elevates this build from good to great. And, naturally, these cannons fire bath bombs, not cannonballs. So if you don’t want to get hit by one… Duck!
With the creation of the new settlement of Queenston, Ayrlego has begun to populate the site with all sorts of colonial LEGO constructions. The latest of these additions is the East Terran Trade Company office and warehouse, and boy does it look spiffy! First, there’s that palette heavy in tans, browns, and greens, which do so much in conveying the area’s affluence, resources, and even climate. Vegetation plays a key role here as well. With the unkempt wilds right next to the building, Queenston must still be coming together. Yet the climbing vines along the walls of the structure give the building age, showing that it was likely repurposed from some other intent. Finally, Ayrlego never skimps on the structural detailing, like the bare wood beams and that perfect ceramic roof. But the high point of the build for me has got to be the two-piece bell in the top of the white tower.
My childhood consisted heavily of trying to create the alternate set builds on the back of the LEGO box. But builder Gerald Cacas must’ve been watching the anime Akira when he created this excellent alt-build using the parts from 10298 Vespa 125. While not in the same color as Kaneda’s red bike, this is still a beautiful recreation in baby blue, heavily relying on all the curved slopes from the Vespa model. The way in which the bike wraps around both wheels is astounding given the part limitation! All that’s missing is a brick-built Shōtarō for this thing to start zipping around Neo-Tokyo.
From this angle, you can really get a sense of how detailed the console is, as well as the engine located just in front of the back wheel. Both are absolutely marvelous, feeling futuristic and modern despite lacking that specific parts palette. It’s amazing that this pop culture touchstone is so easy to communicate with hardly a printed or textured piece!
If you’re seeing some weirdness over the horizon that might be Fedde Barendrecht. Or rather his LEGO creation called UFOSIX, not Fedde. Although, while I’ve never met him in person, judging from the stuff he builds, I wouldn’t be too surprised if he is a tad weird. There’s nothing wrong with that, really. He seems to be the type of guy I’d love to have a beer with. Or a vacuum bag full of cat hair; whatever weirdness he might be into. Anyway, this snazzy unidentified far-fetched object has an uncanny Alien Conquest feel which, like the Kindle Fire and the end of Charlie Sheen’s career, takes us back to 2011.
I’m still writing on the same desk I bought in college and have been meaning to upgrade for some time now. Thankfully, Pan Noda has crafted an industrial desk and chair set that is just my style. The use of various tans and browns creates a realistic wood grain texture that pairs perfectly with the ample use of black bar elements to suggest rugged, pipe style fixtures. And details like the minifigure ice skates as drawer handles and the chair’s lift lever elevate this furniture to top tier décor.
If you have some dirt that needs moving, some land that needs flattening, or just some noisy activity to upset the neighbors, then look no further than this awesome Dressta TD-25M series-1. Bricksley is so good at building that it doesn’t even look like LEGO. They tell us that this 1:18 scale model is fully motorized with four PU L motors (drive, pneumatic system), two LED lights, and sounds (backup alarm & horn) controlled by an Xbox One X pad via Mindstorms Robot Inventor Hub.
Care to see the whole shebang in action? You betcha! Check out the video then.
I (and TBB) admittedly missed the first version of this gorgeous LEGO loco by Mateusz Waldowski when it was posted last year. But the newest iteration, sporting a vivid, green-striped color scheme, is definitely the one I choo-choo-choose! In the limited palette of dark green, Mateusz creates some superb angles, sculpting the front of the train perfectly, and showing extensive knowledge of geometry. The black underside definitely feels mechanical, but also clean and orderly, as if designed by an engineer’s engineer. And I absolutely love the seamless inclusion of this 1×2 slope with grill along the sides of the train. From personal experience, it’s not easy to get a slope like that to sit flush with a wall, but the builder shows he’s on the right track with this one!
And in case you wanted to see the old color scheme from last October, featuring sand green, and yellow coloration and a different bogie design, here you go.
Since being introduced with the LEGO Collectible Minifigure Series 2 back in 2010, the so-called trophy figure has been a boon for microscale and nanoscale builders. Sometimes this means creations at a truly colossal scale (relatively speaking), but Caleb Huet shows us that smaller, more introspective builds can be just as good. In this case, our nano-fig is walking through the desert. I’m not sure whether this takes place in the past or future though. At first, I thought the setting was some Egyptian ruins, but with the markings on the floor I’m not so sure. Did the Egyptians have floor lighting? That seems something more in line with extra-terrestrial civilisations. But the pyramids… What if the ancient Egyptians had help with their superstructures? Did the aliens take the floor lighting back with them? Is our intrepid nano-fig having the same epiphany?
See, small builds really make you think. Even if they’re not particularly sensible thoughts.