Sometimes a LEGO creation makes you blink twice before you realize it is actually made out of LEGO bricks. It doesn’t have to be a big creation with complex building techniques, sometimes it can be something quite simple like this spray of plum blossoms made by ZiO Chao. It showcases the blossoms of a plum tree in different stages. When I say simple, I don’t mean to say that this is by any means an easy build. After staring at this picture for over 15 minutes, I still can’t figure out how the five petal flowers are put together. Could the base of the flower be a dish or maybe a steering wheel?
Posts by Bart Willen
Medieval city tour
Sometimes you just happen to stumble upon a creation that shocks you. Roger Cageot’s creation did this for me. I was shocked that I never heard of Roger Cageot and that I’ve never seen his work before. His medieval street creation is simply stunning. It looks like it could be a film set. Every single building is a knockout if you ask me. I could write a feature about every single house and be perfectly happy to do so. My favorite building has to be the tan stables with the sagging roof. No, wait the white building on the right with the crumbling plaster. No, wait the Tudor-style house with the diagonal wood beams. No the barrack on the left with the half-round wall and the excellent roofing. Ah heck, I love it all! You can ‘walk’ these medieval streets by checking out the rest of the pictures in Roger’s stream. Some of the houses also have an interior.
Yo ho ho, it’s a bug’s life for me
Hachiroku24 shows us a collection of LEGO bugs made with an amazing eye for detail. Their collection consists of a lady bug, a praying mantis, a butterfly, a bee and a rhino beetle and all of them are amazing. Let’s zoom in on each bug individually. The lady bug is just a cute little ball. The 2×1 wedge with stud notch work perfectly for the eyes of the lady bug and have you seen those little feet? The praying mantis head is simply perfect using the bionicle tooth and the technic ball for eyes. There are a lot of plant stems, tail ends and even surfboards used in this little bug. The butterfly is a beautiful build using different shades of blue for the pattern on the wings. The bee and the rhino beetle are the best of the bunch. Although it is not pictured here, they both come with a set of wings using transparent pieces including the 1×4 curved slope which looks stunning! You can watch a video of the build here. Now I am off to build these myself. I think I will frame them and hang them on my wall in stead of buying an entomology display.
2 modular buildings are always better than 1
What is better than one LEGO modular building? Two LEGO modular buildings and make it a corner building! Kale Frost show us what an upscale Birch Books might have looked like. Kale stayed true to the official set design for most of his creation. He did however add a few little touches to make this creation truly stand out. Complete with a signboard in the shape of a book to emphasize that they are selling books inside. The lettering above the entrance also is a nice touch and it is executed very well using the new curved 1×1 slope. I do wonder what the S would look like had the curved 1×1 slope been used there as well. He further added a brick-built pillar box which goes great with the British vibe of the building. Now, all we can do is wait for an upscale version of the 107 house next to the Birch Books.
Tex Wrangler hits all the sweet spots
Matt Goldberg’s latest LEGO creation is challenging me to step out of my comfort zone. I am a fan of LEGO but bionicle and technic LEGO are just not my cup of tea. My knowledge of parts in these themes is very limited too. But Matt’s creation is so damn perfect that I just have to cover it! LEGO western was my favorite theme when I was a kid and the Tex Wrangler hits all the sweet spots for me. From the spurs to the big golden revolvers to the bullet belt. The Hero Factory Chest Badge makes him look like the town sheriff and the Ben 10 flexible shoulder neck piece partly turned inside out works perfectly as a cowboy hat.
Levitating Bonsai Balance
Ever since the release of the LEGO 10281 Bonsai tree, there have been a lot of LEGO Bonsai trees appearing on my socials. I do not recall an official set ever-inspiring so many fans to create their own versions of (except for maybe the BrickHeadz). This one by Hoang Dang is the cherry on top of the cake. Not only does it come with a custom base and pot it also appears to be levitating, hence the title.
Let’s get straight to the tree which to me is te main highlight of this creation. There are so many cleverly used parts hidden in this creation. Hoang was also kind enough to post a break down of his creation, making my life as a writer a whole lot easier. For the trunk the following pieces were used: mammoth trunks, mammoth heads and a Scala horse saddle. I kid you not. There also is a lot of attention to detail when it comes to the flowers in the Bonsai tree. The flowers appear to have 3 stages. Starting as a small bud, which slowly opens until it is in full bloom.
Moroccan Riad Courtyard
Some people do not mind having studs showing in their creations. Some people strongly dislike having studs showing in their creations. Some people, like Andrew Tate, decide to have the studs showing with a purpose. In this latest model by Andrew, the studs are meant to represent the tiles on the wall. The effect sure is stunning. I am also a big fan of mixing the different shades of blue. LEGO has been pushing out a lot of softer colors ever since the release of LEGO Friends. And it sure is nice to see these colors getting incorporated into non-Friends builds. When it came to the flooring Andrew decided to go full studs-not-on-top which means that most of the floor is held on by gravity and willpower. It must have been quite the challenge to lay this intricate floor pattern. There are a lot of details to discover and this most definitely is a creation that deserves to be zoomed in on.
Beautiful on the outside and on the inside
I had to look really good to see that this model by Tong Xin Jun is built and rendered digitally. The fact that only existing colors were used certainly helped fool the eye. This cute little house is complete. It comes with its own vineyard and wine cellar, and what more could a person ask for during a pandemic? The brick build base makes this model look very polished. Creating a difference in texture between the path towards the house and the lawn adds to the feeling that the lawn is filled with autumn leaves. And have you seen those roof dormers? The best thing about this house is that it is fully furnished from the basement to the attic. And the furniture wasn’t an afterthought. It is designed beautifully. Sometimes a fan of LEGO uses a part in a way it was not designed for, but it just makes sense. The round 2×2 tile with wood grain pattern used as a cutting board/charcuterie plank is an example of this.
LEGO Ideas Sonic Mania Green Hill Zone to be next fan-designed set [News]
LEGO has announced that the next Ideas set will be SEGA’s legendary speedster, Sonic the Hedgehog. Selected from 26 Ideas projects that hit the 10,000-vote threshold last May, the concept design for Sonic was submitted by Viv Grannell. Viv has been interested in the world of Sonic for almost her entire life and thinks it is a perfect fit for the LEGO system. Her design was inspired by the Green Hill Zone level from SEGA’s 2017 Sonic Mania. There’s no word yet on when the set will be released or how much it will cost, but it often takes a year or more for an Ideas project to go from approval to final design, so we’ll have to wait to see the official design.
Click to read more about the LEGO Sonic Madness Ideas project
When the stars make you drool just like a pasta e fasul, that’s amore
LEGO is a beautiful medium to use. When sharing your creations you share the visual aspect of what you have made. Some creations are mainly visual appealing, some creations manage to evoke emotions. It rarely happens that a creation reminds you of a smell or a taste of even a sound. KitKat1414’s creation does this all for me. I can just smell and almost taste the pasta. And the best thing about this creation, next to the build itself, has to be that it appears to come with its own soundtrack. The song ‘That’s Amore’ by Dean Martin has been stuck in my head ever since seeing this lovely build.
Category is Facade Eleganza Extravaganza
Maxim Baybakov is a master when it comes to building modular houses. His latest creation is no exception to this. The grey building appears to have a lot of detail. The joint profile pops more in the eye thanks to the use of headlight brick in combination with various tiles. The tan building seems quite simple. However, if you zoom in on the picture, a lot of details in the brickwork appear. The construction of this building is actually quite complex. Luckily Maxim is kind enough to offer us an insight into the construction of both buildings. In his photostream, you can view a break down of the window techniques.
Pippi Longstocking and Villa Villekulla
Ben Tritschler’s latest LEGO model triggers feelings of nostalgia for me. You might know her as Pippi Longstockings, Pippi Langkous, Pippi Langstrumpf, Fifi Brindacier, Pipi Calzaslargas or as Pippi Långstrump, which is her original Swedish name. In 2005 UNESCO published lists of the most widely translated books. In regard to children’s literature, Pippi Longstocking was listed as the fifth most widely translated work with versions in 70 different languages! Ben used the stories of Pippi as inspiration for his latest creation and it is truly remarkable. The resemblance between the LEGO model and the source material is uncanny. Ben used light yellow, a colour which isn’t that common which limits you as builder quite a lot. In the garden there is a big tree which uses a lot of tree trunk costumes for the tree trunk.
Ben even put together figures for the main characters. And they are instantly recognizable. From left to right I present you: Captain Efraim Longstocking, Mrs. Prysselius, Tommy, Pippi, Annika, Kling and Klang.
