About Ben Andrews

Ben Andrews is an Australian artist with a strong love for writing, LEGO and conversations. His LEGO dark age only spanned a couple of years, though when springing back into it, his direction became a little more purposeful. Displaying MOC's at shows since 2015, Ben has been spending his time building his skill set and inspiring others to reach into their creative inner child/engineer/artist. He isn't an active member of one specific LUG, but is honored to build, share ideas and collaborate with the crews from MSELF, ALUG, WorldLUG and MUGS. Ben Andrews lives with his incredible Partner and two inspiring kids in the beautiful Dandenong Ranges. His days are filled engaging humans in understanding their creativity, being a purveyor of fine second hand books and developing community through communication and ideas generation.

Posts by Ben Andrews

Scouting forward into landscapes of unknown terrain

Fascinating builder Kobalt brings his latest LEGO creation to the table, and it seems to jump straight from the cover of a 1960s sci-fi novel. The slim, lightly curved legs of the Atomic Bug support a large bulbous body constructed predominantly in olive green. This speaks to me of treading over rubble in some alternate universe’s cold war. Red highlights and pinstripes adorn this strider, while the touches of yellow bring out some rather clean greebling towards the rear. This craft has been well looked after. A series of snug searchlights are found under the cockpit canopy as well as some nifty aerials, made from a couple of varied lengths of flex cable. I couldn’t personally think of a better part for those large transmitter-receivers.

Atomic_Bug_00

On turning this craft around, we are presented with what I can only assume is a power source. Built primarily in white, it stands out nicely from the rest of the body. The white 4×4 multifaceted cylinder hemisphere as the cap on the end allows the continuity to be smoothly ended. This reminds me of a futuristic energy core containment system, presumably for its atomic fuel. From this reversed angle we can also see more of the yellow hints, peeking out from the top. The girder piece gives such a great industrial feel and though it’s almost all hidden, the glimpses you get from the varied angles is all it needs.

Atomic_Bug_02

Alpha squadron, do you read me? You bet I do.

In the depths of LEGO space and time, the amount of creative ways to build space craft has blossomed exponentially. Sometimes from the most complex of concepts and other times, from something as simple as a basic letter from the alphabet. Dave Kaleta has been working on his letter based starfighter series since the beginning of this year. Though what really impressed me, aside from his great creations, was that his three-year-old son, Elliot, sat predominantly at the head of the build team. Inspired by a Star Wars letter-based starfighter contest a few years back, they set some of their own rules to build by and opened up a newly inspired space.

N-Wing Hero

Read on to see more of the series within Dave and Elliot’s collaboration.

Prehistoric sea serpent poised to strike

Recently I wrote an article that mentioned there are a few names that spring to mind when considering LEGO-built characters. Another one of these prolific builders is Anthony Wilson. His newest creation is Aquasaurus, an impeccable display of form and function working so well together, that it hurts my head.

Aquasaurus

His incredible use of colour is always refreshing to see. This build harks back to the colour palate exclusively used for the Arctic City and Town sets, which I have always enjoyed. Relatedly, one thing that separates this from the pack, are those excellent gill fins, set in the ever-elusive teal. Though not made of many pieces in this elegant creature, the contrast it creates is brilliant. In a creation of such scale, articulation can also be a challenge to hide and keep functional. Wilsons subtle use of colour specific Bionicle parts, achieves this flawlessly, giving the limbs of this creature an exceptional pose. I find myself wondering how much this beast would weigh, as his use of balance on that black pillar is great, leaving only a tiny footprint of a base below.

For another look at Anthony Wilson’s beautiful use of colour, check out his Western Woods.

Need to take on something big, green and angry? Build your own Hulkbuster! [Instructions]

If LEGO instruction builders could be ranked, Hachiroku24 would be close to the top — both for his designs and the videos he uses to share those designs. His most recent set of instructions comes from the armory of Tony Stark: the Hulkbuster. This well-designed, fully articulated and heavily armoured power suit is a well-balanced build as well as an easy to follow instruction guide. Each section is beautifully structured, incorporating a great array of plates with ball joints and bars to give this Minifig scale behemoth some excellent functionality. The mid section, where we find the flat silver ingots and printed 1×1 half circle tiles really does it for me. It’s not just that silvery band of simplistic greebles, but the pivot articulation from the waist up.

Lego Hulkbuster MOC

See step-by-step instructions on how to build your own Hulkbuster

Fabulous Fabuland friends take Billy Goat’s Steamboat for a ride

Fabuland holds a beautiful place of reminisce for me and somehow Pete Strege seems to have encompassed that feeling in an incredible new LEGO creation. Billy Goat’s Steamboat is an incredible display of fine colour choice, confined motorisation and great shaping without compromising stability. The dark blue of the cabin walls and hull are framed nicely with white, while the rest of the colour wheel comes to life with a combination of dark azure and yellow. Though please don’t be fooled, take a closer look. Weaved throughout the yellow are trace amounts of bright light orange, which adds some real warmth to the model, as subtle as it may be. There is also a sublime amount of blue pinstriping, which tops off the build high up, with two blue half barrel containers.

Come and check out more of this beautiful steamboat

Beautiful rendition gives new twist to LEGO Architecture

Constructed in 2016 on the Coconut Grove in Miami, the Grove at Grand Bay brought a new twist to architecture. This is just what creative builder Lego Fjotten has done for LEGO Architecture. This fantastic rendition of the dual twenty storey towers, is spot on. The multi-teared garden beds weave perfectly throughout the base. Built predominantly from 2×2 and 4×4 macaroni bricks topped with correlating tiles, their shaping is near identical to the real coastal complex. Their pattern gives the pathways and pool quite an amount of character by itself.

The Grove at Grand Bay

Designed to follow the consistent twist from the ground to the top six or so floors, Lego Fjotten has handled this challenge incredibly well. Though if my calculations are correct, he would have been building with a touch over three thousand trans-clear 1x2x3 panels, an impressive feet by itself. The constructed twist allows practically every condo a slightly different view of the horizon, which makes me wonder what the tiny figs would think living there? I can only begin to imagine the views from the top.

Guardian stands at the ready, through rain or shine

If Marius Herrmann hasn’t been a name gracing your feed with his iconic sci-fi and game culture builds, this is an excellent example of what you’re bound to find. Based on a previous design, this Guardian of the Shrine is the lead commander of the 2041 police force. Its imposing stance, strong and at the ready, undeterred by the surrounding rain. This gorgeous Photoshop edit really shows this character off, showing purpose behind his being. Great part use comes naturally to Marius and this pillar of authority is no different. His use of a Scala denim jacket as a short Hakama sets the bar, while the socket wrench found on each limb brings continuity in construction. I feel that the small space blasters on the sides of the head, add to its formidable appearance, leaving me to question if I he would know more about me that I do.

神社の守護者; "Guardian of the Shrine"

For another view of Marius Herrmann’s atmospheric LEGO creations, have a look at his Alfheim from God of War.

Mech made for the catwalk with a frame that just works

Mecha seem to be coming out of the woodwork left, right, and centre at the moment, and the warrior mech Howlite by GolPlaysWithLego instills a sense of gladness in me. This slim line bipedal mech holds all the familiarity and function of a humanoid hardsuit, only this time, driven by a Trandoshan (aka Bossk from Star Wars). The chest has been ingeniously constructed with a curved windshield forming a smooth collar for the transparent canopy to sit.

Howlite1

The balance between greebling and practicality within this mech is admirable. Not one section of this build is over done, yet it holds some impeccable parts use. The combined use of the new truncated cone piece, alongside a couple robot arms, ice cream cones, and a phone handset makes this pelvis section stunning. Its somewhat skeletal design and colour scheme gives utilitarianism a well needed facelift.

Rock block box to rock your socks off

When thinking about LEGO brick built characters, a few names spring to mind and LEGO 7 is absolutely one of them. His creations seem to prove themselves, time and time again, and I find myself really looking forward to any of his new works of art. There is just so much to love about his newest build, Animal Music Box, that it’s hard to pick where to begin. This handiwork is booming with colour, expression and simulated sound. As this is an all inclusive show, the speaker stacks and attached lighting rig frame the background banner superbly, leaving the band to focus on the music. Though there is a lot going on in the main image, he has been kind enough to break it down into individual elements too.

Animal Music Box

So, lets delve into the box itself before getting onto the plethora of characters found within.

Babydozer on the path of destruction

Accomplished LEGO artist Ted Andes has presented us with a cute riddle: What’s under twenty pieces, adorable and could potentially demolish your house? Baby’s First Bulldozer. This is a prime example of minimal part use for the win. Also known as the Pamper Pusher, this little guy was built as a part of a collaborative effort for Brickworld Chicago. I always enjoy seeing simple two- or three-piece combinations that just work. The tread system made of the microfighter wheel base, a 1×3 thin Technic lift arm, and a stretched tyre, is absolutely one of those.

Baby's First Bulldozer

A Pegasus is more than a work horse

Impeccable maestro of the LEGO sci-fi/space genera Blake Foster seems to not be able to sit still after completing his massive four-year project, the Ugly Duckling. This time, while sticking to his tried, true and tested style, he has created the Pegasus Class Anti-Frigate Attack Fighter. His somewhat iconic, solid dark bluish grey greebling creates the feeling of a substantially sound craft. The white with red pinstripe enclosed paneling is stark in contrast yet strikingly vibrant.

Pegasus Class Anti-Frigate Attack Fighter

Click to read more about the Pegasus

Lumos Maxima! This incredible custom LEGO Hogwarts Castle looks like it could be straight from the movies

LEGO builder Hyungmin Park has brought something incredible to life. The many official iterations of the Harry Potter universe from LEGO have granted many builders the parts, concepts and construction ideas to achieve so much, and LEGO fans have responded with countless adaptations in a wide range of scales. But when I saw this new Hogwarts castle, I had to rub my eyes. I already have a love for both minifig and microscale builds, but here they work together to create a great forced perspective, all the while being impeccably lit with a huge amount of LEDs.

Harry Potter - Hogwarts

The Hogwarts Castle is as iconic as a pop culture building could be, and Hyungmin Park’s rendition is just stunning. The main structure of the building has been predominantly locked into microscale, with the odd exception of a well-placed minifig scale scene, reminding me a bit of the giant official LEGO microscale Hogwarts Castle. But this does two things: it allows the viewer to soak in some of their favorite scenes, and it gives some great forced-perspective photos. Having them completely lit up, only enhances the experience even more.

Click to see more photos of this incredible Hogwarts Castle