Posts by Adam Jacobs

I am the robot walrus

When I first heard about Mitsuru Nikaido‘s LEGO mecha walrus, I pictured a cyberpunk Beatles nightmare. But when I looked at how well-built and detailed it was, I was only impressed.

What really sells this as a mecha walrus are the green eyes. They give off a ghostly computer-like glow that is creepy and makes the rest of the build look metallic. The tubing also helps, but without the eyes, I would have thought it was just a LEGO Technic-style sea mammal.

The skin even looks like armor plating! Well done, Mitsuru!

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Dropship to the rescue!

Reinforcements have arrived! Whether you are deploying soldiers to the battlefront or supplies in the midst of a humanitarian crisis, Anders Sinding’s dropship is the LEGO vehicle needed to get the job done.

This build looks like it arrives screaming down from the skies. It’s clear this dropship is capable of anything. I’m way impressed with the decision to not use transparent pieces for the cockpit, going instead with sloped bricks angled in a way to have the same jutting windscreen vibe. The engines are just as incredible, using not one, not two, but three fan intakes.

I like the clear blue piece on the nose. I’m sure it’s part of the dropship’s sensor equipment, helping sweep the landing area for obstacles or threats before deploying. As far as color goes, I really admire the choice to stick with red with white and blue accents.

Overall, I would be more than happy to see this ship coming to the rescue if I was in a tough spot.

Prepare to defend Helm’s Deep!

Embedded into the base of a mountain, Helm’s Deep was the castle retreat of last resort for the people of Rohan as told in The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien. Builder Patrick B. shares his micro rendition of the fabled fortress.

Known as the Hornburg for its sounding horn at the top of the castle’s spire, Helm’s Deep is every castle junkie’s favorite location. Patrick spares no expense in detailing the tiniest features in his tiny version of the castle. From the wooden palisades over the main gate to the curved ramp leading up to it. The small culvert is there, as are the windows of the main keep. Building everything within a black frame is a nice display touch as well. Helm Hammerhand himself would be proud of this magnificent tribute to the Rohirrim fortress that bears his name.

Load up and roll out

There’s always a ton of cool builds that show up in February thanks to various “Febrover” contests. This year was no different with Isaac Snyder’s (on Flickr as -soccerkid6) M-Tron rover and loading station.

First off, so many shields! It’s incredible to see so many of one piece used so well. The shield shape gives the base of this build a concrete look, very fitting for space-corporation LEGO design. I’m also a huge fan of the use of ladders as the frame. It feels like this whole build was taken right out of an industrial outpost controlled by M-Tron.

But the rover is the real star of the show. The wheels were installed backward so Isaac could use the grey disk as a detail effect, which is very clever. I totally dig the mini-crane on the back as well, with again a ladder being used, this time as the crane arm.

M-Tron should really make a comeback. If it does, I hope it looks like Isaac’s stuff!

LEGO BrickHeadz Pets: 40442 Goldfish and 40443 Budgie [Review]

Two new sets in the Pets subtheme are here to grow the BrickHeadz family, following the recent BrickHeadz dog and cat sets. 40442 Goldfish (US $14.99 | CAN $19.99 | UK £13.49) and 40443 Budgie (US $14.99 | CAN $19.99 | UK £13.49) will be available starting March 1. Adorable to look at and fun to build, these creatures can either be displayed on a shelf as colorful decor pieces or swooshed around the room, and whether that’s under the water or in the sky is up to your imagination. Read on to see just what we thought of Goldfish and Budgie!

The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of these sets for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Click to read the full, hands-on review

Time for some serious shredding

Radical! School is over for the day so it’s off to the skate park, as seen in this LEGO creation by Chi Hsin Wei.

What’s not to love about this? From the kid poppin’ an ollie to the stair rail grind, everything about this super rad. I especially like the detail given to the individual skateboarders. The pink socks on the girl are fantastic, as are the Converse high tops on the kid in the air. Perhaps the best part of this, however, is the ghetto blaster at the base of the stairs. For those of us who used to rule the concrete slopes, no skate session is complete without some fresh beats.

“Houston, this is Platform 7”

From a galaxy likely not too far away comes a creation from LEGO sci-fi building genius Tim Goddard.

This is incredible. The amount of detail here is off the charts! Just look at those stairwells (yes, the external stairs and the internal yellow stairs), the airlocks, the lines on the landing pad! But that antenna on top, that takes the cake. Clearly, it can send messages all the way from Pluto to Earth.

Also, is that the Death Star as a fuel tank?

You’ve done it again, Mr. Goddard. Keep up the great work!

Roam around in a rad rover

Even been in one of those situations where a massive rover vehicle would do a lot better off-road than a minivan? I have, and I almost got stuck! Builder Andreas Lenander shows off the ride I should have been driving that day.

I love how untraditional this vehicle is compared to a normal LEGO car. The wheels are built from scratch, using angled bricks that really give off a rugged vibe. Looking closely you can see that the central spokes of the wheel rim are made from a pirate ship steering wheel! Incredible!

Also, the tree in the background is made up of brown whips wrapped around an antenna. Very clever.

Clearly, this thing can crag up any canyon and still come out without a scratch. I mean, would you want to mess up that sick paint job?

A mine for the blacksmith

If you’re a blacksmith, odds are you have a supplier of ore and metals coming from a nearby mine. In this case, the mine is built by -LittleJohn. Clearly taking inspiration from the new LEGO Ideas Medieval Blacksmith set, builder -LittleJohn made this creation for the Colossal Castle Contest. The Allanar Mine is run by dwelves (dwarves + elves) who offer a warm meal and a soft bed to any travelers passing through.

The level of detail here is staggering. The landscaping, the mine building, and the inn are a work of art. I’d have to say my favorite part of this build is the windows. They’re beautiful! Both paned and double-paned are built so creatively. I’m going to have to see if I can replicate -LittleJohn’s techniques in my next medieval-themed creation.

Stay away from the Forbidden Island!

There’s many reasons why it’s called the ‘forbidden’ island, and builder Cube Brick shares a few of them with this tribal encounter.

It looks like the sailor barely escaped being sacrificed to whatever these guys worship. However, I’m still on the island admiring the fantastic wet and dry sand job. I love the shells and the hermit crab!

Interestingly, Cube Brick combined Classic LEGO island natives with new Aztec warrior minifigures. Doing so really helps the narrative that this is a dangerous place, especially with the skeleton in the cage and the de-armed figure on the altar! Yikes!

A peaceful house in the Greek countryside

Γεια! — That’s “hello” in Greek, which is what I would say if I were visiting this Greek house in person. Built by creator Toltomeja, the Greek House is a fantastic portrayal of typical dwellings in Greece.

My favorite part about the house is the white walls and stairwells. It’s such a classical look. The tile flooring on the patio is very well done. I appreciate the variety of colors used to indicate foot traffic over the years. An additional sign of the house’s age is the vine work growing up the side of the stairs.

This was a gorgeous LEGO model to look at. If it was a submission on LEGO ideas, I would definitely throw in my support!

Walking in a garden of peace

“Give me odorous at sunrise a garden of beautiful flowers where I can walk undisturbed.” That quote from American poet Walt Whitman perfectly describes what we see here in builder vincentkiew‘s creation.

Walking through this scene must have been just as relaxing as building it. I really admire the roof work on the gazebo and the house, using various pieces to give an illusion of texture. The flower pots by the beautifully-crafted doors could not be built better.

The lily pads with flowers serve as a calm reminder to the walking wise man of the fragility of life. Perhaps this whole build reminds us all of the peace that comes to the soul when taking a solitary stroll.