About Chris Doyle

Chris has been involved in many parts of the LEGO community for over twenty years, and has been building most of his life. A love of transparent bricks and pop culture combine in most of his creations, which tend to be pretty large scale. His website, Reasonably Clever, featured one of the longest running brick-based webcomics, as well as one of the first LEGO-themed avatar creators. His photographs and creations have appeared in several books.

Posts by Chris Doyle

LEGO Holiday set 40426 Seasonal Wreath [Review]

Have you heard? Winter is coming. That means it’s time to start thinking about festive decorations built out of LEGO! Let’s take a look at LEGO 40426 – a mysterious 510 piece set that will be released on October 1st. LEGO sent us a review copy, but didn’t provide any additional details, so we don’t yet know prices, or where exactly it’ll be available, or even the official set name. In the meantime, though, we can explore the parts, packaging, and multiple building options that this set has to offer. It sure looks like a wreath, but maybe it’s a Yuletide Frisbee or something.

Click to read the full hands-on review

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Something to do before you croak

In these dark times, I’m all about seeking out wisdom to brighten the world. Jake Hansen has presented us with an interesting option: The Frog Council. Perched atop graceful columns, these three wise amphibians invite the viewer to ask questions. Questions like “How did Jake come up with the idea of using baseball caps for egg cups?” Or maybe “Are those minifigure hands adding details to LEGO vines?” Oh sure, you could ask them something important like “How can we improve the world?” Or even “Why did LEGO get rid of the classic grey color?” But, c’mon. They’re frogs. There’s probably an upper limit to what they’re willing to share.

Where did these frogs gain their secret wisdom? Maybe it was from perusing our frog archives. But probably not.

Mayor McCheese is through taking your crap.

Okay, let me start off by saying I saw something in this LEGO mech that builder nobu_tary probably never intended. For all intents and purposes, this is “just” an elegant mech with unusually bright colors. There’s interesting part usage like the kayak as for a shield, and great articulation through ball joints and click hinges. But then I saw the head area, which features a printed 8×8 dish from the Overwatch theme. The suggestion of eyes there reminded me of the squashed head on the new 76164 Iron Man Hulkbuster set. The yellow round plate under that then became a slice of cheese. Suddenly I was looking at Robocop version of Mayor McCheese. I guess the Hamburglar finally went too far.

Up for a challenge? I invite you to take some time and try and find fast-food parallels with other mechs in our archives.

Come to the dark side. We have cookies. And octopi.

Upon reflection, this warm and cozy den build by Krzysztof may not be as warm and cozy as you first thought. But take a moment to appreciate the great details in this LEGO scene before you get worried. I like the use of crates to give the table legs a bit of texture, and this is the first time I’ve seen a Chima mask used as part of a bear-skin rug. I also like the small details like the blue 1×1 tiles for chalk on the pool table. And the mirror is pretty swanky, too.

However, through that looking glass, another pair of eyes looks back, and they’re nowhere near as friendly.
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This mosaic is a Wonder (Woman) [Feature]

A little while ago, Alyse Middleton and I (Chris Doyle) shared the process behind our Wonder Woman LEGO Art mosaic. We didn’t have the time (or parts) to finish our vision then, but as promised we’ve returned to share the completed project – a 48 x 144 stud tribute to Lynda Carter. Consuming over 7000 pieces, (6,912 of them 1×1 round plate/tile), this has the same form-factor as the giant Darth Vader and Iron Man “Ultimate” builds.

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Who says science fiction has to be futuristic?

According to legend, Wan Hu was the first man in space. How? By strapping dozens of rockets to his chair and then going for the ride of a lifetime. Well, he made it to space in some versions of the legend, anyway. In a lot of them, the chair (and presumably Wan Hu) just explode on the ground. But no matter which retelling sounds the most likely to you, you have to admire this brilliant LEGO recreation by Bert Van Raemdonck. I particularly like the way that the curved bricks in the robe create a sense of rushing wind. On the explosive edge, the billowing smoke formed by 4×4 domes in white work really well, as do the 1×1 cone bricks in red as the tips of the rockets. Wan Hu himself is just as expressive, with quarter-circle tile and curved slope brick creating the perfect expression of “maybe I didn’t think this through all the way.”

I’d love to see this sort of myth adapted in more creations. We could be on the verge of a complete re-imagining of Classic Space!

LEGO 40423 Halloween Hayride [Review]

Autumn doesn’t really start until later in the month, but that doesn’t mean we can’t get hyped up now for fall festivities. (After months of quarantine, I’m pretty sure time is meaningless, anyway. ) So who’s up for a haunted hayride? Oh. Right. COVID. Staying indoors is still the better part of valor, so maybe not. But wait! LEGO has come to the rescue! 40423 Halloween Hayride is available in North America from the LEGO Shop Online for US $12.99 | CAN $16.99. But is this set a trick or a treat? Read on and see!

Click to read the full hands-on review

The ultimate To-Go order

Getting your food delivered is usually a nice treat, but Ivan Martynov adds an element of danger to things. Rotor Shrimp may make you think twice about ordering that shrimp tempura. But if you do decide risk it, maybe you’ll get to see this LEGO beauty up close. I really like the segregation of colors in the dark tan and grey, and the triangular clip plates on the propeller pods create a really lovely shape. Meanwhile, the mix of round orange tiles and modified plates add just the right pop of color to keep this from being a drab build. You have to wonder, though, did this creature use those tiny legs to build this exo-suit? That seems like it would have taken a really long time.

This isn’t the first creature of Ivan’s we’ve featured. Check out our archives for more!

No two ways about it, you can count on this spaceship

There’s something familiar about the shape of this latest spaceship from Dave Kaleta and son. Those curves look too recognizable, suggesting a meaning beyond the utility of the shape itself. I’m sure it’ll come to me. In the meantime, I can enjoy the unusual colors. I think this is the first time I’ve seen a purple and lavender hull, and the extensive use of transparent neon-green lightsaber blades and radar dishes really makes things come alive. This beauty also has cool action features like an opening cockpit, adjustable engines, and firing missiles. (You can see them in action in Dave’s Instagram post.) It really adds up to more than the sum of its parts.

I’m still at a loss as to what this shape means, though. Maybe I’ll go looking at the other ships in Dave’s growing fleet for a clue.

LEGO reveals new Universal Monsters license with BrickHeadz 40422 Frankenstein [Review]

Is it too early to be thinking about Halloween? Not at all! And LEGO is here to help us get into the (ahem) spirit of things with a new BrickHeadz set. But is this a seasonal offering or a hint of something more substantial to come? Say hello to 40422 BrickHeadz: Frankenstein, number 111 in the BrickHeadz collection. This 108-piece set has yet to get an official price or release date, but will likely match the $9.99 US pricing from the rest of the line. What secrets does this set have in store? Read on and see!

Click to read the full hands-on review

LEGO City 60271 Main Square – exclusive set inspired by LEGO City Adventures [Review]

Do you watch LEGO City Adventures? Apparently it’s quite popular. And LEGO announced recently that they’re celebrating that success with an exclusive set: 60271 Main Square. This 1518 piece offering is based on the locations and characters from the show, and will be available September 1st. Featuring over a dozen minifigures, there are also builds ranging from limousines to tram cars to City Hall itself. That’s a whole lot of stuff packed into a US $199.99 | CAN $229.99 | UK £169.99 package. But is this City adventure worth the price of admission? Read on and judge for yourself!

Click to read the full hands-on review

Well, well, well

Huge LEGO dioramas are all well and good, but sometimes you can stop and enjoy the details in isolation. This Viking-style well by Marcin Otreba would feel at home in any larger collaboration, but works just as well a stand-alone creation. Unrelated, did you ever notice that if you type the same word often enough it stops looking like a real word? Well, I have. Well. Well. Well.

Anyway, there’s a lot to admire about this build. the use of half-circle tiles and rounded 1×2 plates make for a smooth and well-rounded stone exterior. The use of robot arms on the roof add just the right touch of visual interest and Viking-style. I also like the rocky exterior to the display base. It creates the feeling of a much larger scene without making things feel like you’re looking at the cut off top of a hill.

Back in January, we featured another of Marcin’s builds that include a similar well design. Check it out to see how well it works in context!