Posts by Chris Burden

Salvaging the Speedorz wheel

Sometimes a build comes along that makes you scratch your head. Some parts are just obscure enough that they’re hard for everyone to recognize. Of course, builders like Daniel Church like to go the extra mile to use an element that might not technically be its own element. Such is the case of these bright blue wheels, salvaged from the housing of some Chima ripcord bases. These Blue Bombshells are the latest Hyperious Choppers. Wonderfully compact and brick-built, these motorcycles are the perfect addition to a futuristic or cyberpunk-style build. Those hubless wheels and greebly engine sections contrast nicely with the smooth, colorful upper bodies.

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Soaring over Arrakis with House Atreides: Dune’s Ornithopter in LEGO

Denis Villeneuve’s Dune has quickly become a hit amongst fans and critics. The cinematography and soundtrack balance perfectly with the classic narrative to deliver a knock-out blockbuster that will last the ages. Much like Star Wars, Star Trek, and others, Dune features a plethora of cultures, planets, and religions. For me and other fans of LEGO, though, it’s the spacecraft and vehicles that really round it all out. The Ornithopters of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi classic have been a challenge for past projects but Denis Villeneuve’s design team produced a craft that will surely become iconic. When I saw this Ornithopter by TBB alumn Simon Liu, I had to know more. I talked with Simon about avoiding spoilers prior to opening night, his immediate need to build this beauty, and the challenges he faced with its final design.

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McLaren’s GT for the win

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is an automotive endurance race that tests the limits of cars and their teams. Highlighted in the film Ford v Ferrari, the race challenges teams to beat the competition by going the farthest within 24 hours instead of getting to a finish line first. Speed and reliability were crucial factors that led this notable design to victory, though Ford forcing Ken Miles to slow down helped. This model by KMP MOCs pays homage to the 1966 winner, by technicality, the Ford GT40 Mk2 driven by Bruce McLaren. The white circle and hood stripe nicely contrasts with the black body of the rest of the car. Gotta love those rounded 1×1 plates for their utility in design. The builder also makes use of new Speed Champions pieces and techniques to achieve a smooth, 8-stud wide design for this iconic car.

Searching for a new home on distant worlds

Febrovery might be far off, but that doesn’t mean we should deny ourselves rovers now. Builder Kilo Bricks brings the goods with the Goliathan Beta, an extensive mobile command center fit for exploring other worlds. This behemoth ten-wheel rover is a sight to behold. Its realistic design traversing over earthy terrain almost fools the eye into seeing NASA concept art. The keen eye of a LEGO fan will quickly be able to pick out the tells. Each angle of this beast is full of details worthy of praise, but the true show stopper is its interior. Ready to go for a ride and see what this monster has to offer?

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A place to escape from those pesky humans

I remember being super excited when Hotel Transylvania was announced in 2011. Not only due to its quirky theme or creepy characters. Director Genndy Tartakovsky announced that its potential success could also revive his old series, Samurai Jack. Well, Jack came back. Three movies and an animated series later, it’s clear this story was a big hit. Just in time for this Halloween, Mehdi Rustamov built a dollhouse-style playset inspired by this spooky series. This cute and creepy set is brimming with characters and features the main entrance hall, Dracula and Mavi’s rooms, and Quasimodo’s kitchen. Please don’t bother the vacationing creatures as we take a look around, all right?

Click here for a full tour…

Please tell me Umbridge isn’t invited

In the years since the Harry Potter books and movies were released, we’ve seen plenty of fan contributions to the Wizarding World. From “Potter Puppet Pals” to “A Very Potter Sequel”, wanna-be wizards and witches have sought to pay tribute in their own ways. LEGO’s celebration of the 20th anniversary of the movies has brought lots of fun new sets and the fans have responded in kind. This playful, life-sized version of an educational decree board from the Order of the Phoenix was built by twin brothers Diego and David Escalona. The beautifully built frame with padlock sits next to wonderfully crafted candles, a clever hammer, and a few large nails for that extra little bit of detail.

The frame achieves a lot of great angles, making it thoroughly realistic. The brothers keep with that realism, smoothly sculpting the handle and the head of the hammer with just the right angles in the right places. The dripping wax from the candles built up around the base and the Bionicle blades behind the flame pieces are both delightful details. The wee spider crawling across the frame is absolutely adorable, by the way. Mostly because it’s fake, otherwise, no thank you. Diego and David do well modeling some text and design elements within the proclamation from bricks, while others they included within the render with a playful message.

Considering the season, I think these brothers may have made some great props for a Filch costume. Other than that, these would look perfect with the Hogwarts Icons set, something I hope LEGO expands on in general.

An adorably unconventional couple

The holidays are approaching and gifts are on everyone’s minds. Though this time of year always brings its challenges, any gift-giving occasion can be a builder’s excuse to create something personal with LEGO. For instance, figure builder Mike Nieves recently gifted his newlywed friends this elegant fox posing in the snow with a fluffy penguin. Presumably their favorite animals, I’m sure the couple was delighted to receive this gift. I do wonder if they used them as cake toppers though.

Taking a look at the models individually, we can see that the builder had a good idea of the necessary forms and connections. The penguin’s thick, grey body consists of two mirrored sections of stacked plates and slopes. Modified plates are used as happy little feet peeking out from under the body. The wings’ connections are hidden but hinged, allowing it to flap about adorably. The rotating head even has a tiny opening mouth, which is pretty cute.

The fox is rather impressive. The slender, brick-built face closely matches the natural angles of the animal and this trend continues down the body. Clever connection points allow Mike to build out from a central core to achieve the fox’s figure. The chest is fluffy and the paws really stand out but that tail is the true star. I mean, the way the color blocking takes advantage of the structure is just smart.

It’s worth taking a look at the back of the fox to get a better idea of how it’s put together. Plus, I just wanted to look at that tail again. Achieving curves like that with LEGO is difficult and Mike really did well with both of these. What a great wedding gift for LEGO fans.

A silent raven’s call

This brick-built model of the common raven is a bit deceptive. Builder Felix Jaensch has a portfolio of impressive animal-inspired models but this raven seems to break the mold. Cleverly concealed in the sloping bricks along its back is a hidden button that allows the raven’s head and jaw to move. Pressing it gives the impression the model is calling out, albeit without the gurgling croak this bird often makes. This silent figure can’t audibly torment you, but it’s still a perfectly creepy build for this season.

Just looking at the model, it’s almost impossible to tell that it can move. The whole thing is a sturdy, brick-built structure that renders the bird in the traditional LEGO cuboid, pixelated form. Compare the below image with the above and you’ll only see tiny bits of movement in the neck. A change in angle of the structure holding the beak as the head moves down makes the smallest movements have big effects. Continue reading →

A dead bird’s eye view

Every time I see builds like this my mind goes wild with ideas for Dungeons and Dragons-themed sets. Though the LEGO Group may never make that dream come true for me, at least I can cherish the ideas of builders like Hugo Rouschop. This Orc Watchtower is perched precariously around a giant bird skull upon a nicely sculpted, spire-like rock structure. We all know scaffolding and bones are essential components to orc architecture, as well as chains and hanging cages with, of course, more bones. Add a net and some ladders and you have a place any orc would be proud to work in.

This angle makes the giant bird skull much more obvious. The bony beak rises above the roof while the eyes lay just below the platform. That roof technique is achieved with a net wedged between tiles and plates above and slide shoes below. Attachment points on the support beams keep the roof in place while the rest of the structure naturally curves.

Hugo certainly has a knack for orc builds. He has a good eye for fantasy and his builds are imaginative and playful. Now that I’ve got orcs on the brain, I’m going to go catch up on Critical Role for the rest of the night. Thanks for that, Hugo. Really.

A place of inspiration for knowledge, culture, and innovation

Beyond the books, libraries provide a place for community building and collaboration. Builder Ben Vijle saught to commemorate ‘De Krook‘ city library in Ghent, Belgium with this 1:500 scale model. This architectural beauty uses brown grille plates to mimic the steel beam facade that stands out on the river bend. The stacked levels provide a home for the businesses and organizations which collaborated for the library initiative. Ben uses sideways building techniques to achieve the thin profile of each level without any unnecessary gaps. The builder certainly had an eye for detail when modeling this relatively recent addition to the city.

As you can see, this microscale build features the river, nearby roadway, and the various levels of greenspace integrated into the riverbanks by the library. The brown grilles continue beyond the building structure to the bike path and footbridge. A red blade, bone, and needle hidden in the walkway peak out as Ben’s version of the sculpture of a man and woman by De Krook’s entrance. The printed 1×1 crosswalk tiles from the LEGO Architecture Tokyo set and the clips as bike racks by the road are also simple but awesome little details.

Don’t miss Ben’s lovely microscale renditions of other Belgian landmarks: Ben Vilje LEGO on TBB

Chilled to the bone

Nope. Absolutely not. If I have to fight the undead in the snow, I’ll gladly take a White Walker over this nightmare fuel. Inspired by a wendigo and his own original sketch, builder Andrew Steele brings us a model to match the season. This skeletal monstrosity is a mix of human, bear, wolf, and moose bones corrupted by evil ice magic. Behold the terrifying Kraatokk.

Much like most of Andrew’s builds, this massive creature makes use of Technic and LEGO System pieces to achieve its size and detail. Though the faux fur isn’t a “legal” LEGO piece, it works well with the character design by framing the wonderfully creepy, fanged skull. The antlers also add that perfect cryptid quality. I love the bits of green stuck to it like moss or vines from the undergrowth.

The back illustrates the length and stature of this spindly beast’s limbs. As large as it is, it requires some help from a stand to stay up. Andrew did well with this, constructing a base to match the model’s mystic, eldritch vibes. The translucent blue carcass at Kraatokk’s feet compliments the blue orb you can see above in his unnatural double rib cage.

If scary is your thing, check out some more horrifying builds. You’re sure to find something creepy to get you in the Halloween spirit.

The mechanical Huntsman never stops its search for prey

In usual fashion, builder Mitsuru Nikaido is back with another Mechanical Creature. This time it’s a Huntsman spider with some heavy Matrix vibes. This builder always has clever parts usage paired with an iconic color scheme that is simple but recognizable.

This model’s feature part would probably be the skis used in each of the spindly legs. But if you look closely, they’re also in the mouth of this creepy guy. Runner-up for parts usage would be the hinged bar holder, which is used to add some rigidity to the legs as well as to emulate the spider’s eight eyes. That Sentinel-style cephalothorax is a tight build that uses a Hero factory chest plate and hinged panels to hide its inner workings.

The abdomen continues the trend of the hinged panels to capture its curves. I always love how Mitsuru uses hoses and angled tiles in his models.

Hopefully, we never have these running around like the Boston Dynamic Spot bots showing up more prevalently nowadays. I will have no defenses against their terror.

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