The summer 2020 Ninjago line contains a lot of big sets, but what if you’re on a budget? Coming in at 401 pieces, 71717 Journey to the Skull Dungeons is currently available, and pretty affordable at US $29.99 | CAN $39.99 | UK £24.99. Can it keep up with the excitement present in the rest this wave? Read on and see!
Click to read the full hands-on review
No, this isn’t a product shot out of an IKEA catalog. This is a LEGO creation by Heikki M. If you’re like me, though, you had to look twice to be sure. The construction may be straight forward, but there are lots of details that really sell this as a human-scale object. The variation on the heights of the candlesticks, the well-chosen seams on the metal shelving, and even the hand-hold of the storage crate match what the eye expects to see. My particular favorite is the potted plant. Those are nested Technic wheels and 3-leaf plants. Recognizing those elements made me realize the smaller-than-actual-size scale of this build, which was a moment of mental adjustment. And let’s not neglect that abstract-art print. Ribbed 1×2 bricks create interesting textures, but still “read” as a flat image thanks to that tiled frame. It’s really clever building all around.
This isn’t the first time we’ve featured amazing miniature architecture from Heikki, and I doubt it’ll be the last.
We’ve already featured one dynamite LEGO build from Cecilie Fritzvold, but this one is a blast, too. (Sorry/not sorry.) This time the bundles of TNT were used for an engine mount, SCUBA tank, and a ring of coral. The great part usage doesn’t stop there, though. Check out those adorable clown fish with rubber band accents, Technic tubing and lightsaber blades as tall plants, and the variety of Clikits beads forming the colorful sea bed. All in all, it’s a soothing image that’s more rewarding the longer you look at it.
LEGO recently introduced the Monkey Kid theme, bringing the legend of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, to a wider audience. Builder Red has created a truly regal version of Sun Wukong that’s full of character and clever building. The gold accents in the crown are nice, and the cloth pants and dark blue armor are snazzy. But the real star of the show is those toes. How cute are they? Okay, maybe the really impressive thing is that cocky expression. A tilted bit of shoulder armor adds just the right touch of grumpiness to complement those deep-set eyes.
If you’re curious as to how this creation came about, Red has an Instragram post that goes into the details of the build process. And when you’re done there, you can check out the other builds of theirs that we’ve featured in the past.
This elegant LEGO dragon by builder Mitch Phillips is inspired by the red dragons from East Asian mythology that are said to bring good luck and happiness. I think it’s working, as this build makes me happy indeed. I love the elegant curves and the fact that many of the dragon’s scales are made from minifigure flippers. The red fins are complemented by orange Technic teeth as a different texture of scaling. Blue colors in the robot arms fingers and large fins mirror the crown of three-leaf plates in the head.
A closer look at that head reveals the intricate build in the eyes–highlighted by the use of the “One Ring” from the Lord of the Rings theme to add a touch of chromed bling. This dragon is fierce, but also a thing of beauty.
These days any distraction is a good distraction, and Cecilie Fritzvold brings us a very good distraction, indeed. This awesome LEGO arcade features games that incorporate the dynamite bundle element. There are three of them in the video game, and several in the claw machine–most notably as part of the claw assembly itself. I also want to call out the quality setting for these arcade classics: the flooring has just the right “cheap linoleum” look, and the printed 2×2 tiles on the wall make for excellent posters. And that strawberry malt is just too cute. Man, I really want to try to win something out of that claw machine. It’s probably rigged, though.
If you love claw machines as much as I do, you’ll also want to check out this fully functional human-scale LEGO claw machine.
We’ve already shown you the ins and outs of Wu’s Battle Dragon from the summer 2020 Ninjago sets, but that’s not the only dragon in this series. No, there’s another, larger, offering to be had. 71721 Ninjago: Skull Sorcerer’s Dragon (US $79.99 | CAN $109.99 | UK £74.99) is just over three times the pieces…for four times the price. Is it worth it? Let’s take a detailed look and find out.
Click to read the full hands-on review
If tiny LEGO castles are your jam, then Patrick B. has a treat for you. This 12 x 12 stud microscale masterpiece is full of so many cool parts that you’ll wonder why anyone bothers using standard bricks. The tops of Scala milk cartons make tiny blue tents, a minifigure microphone and tank linkage combine in the cannon, and dark green minifigure epaulets and tooth plates provide some vegetation. The castle itself is also a tiny work of art. If you look close you can spot bucket handles, minifigure hands, neck brackets, and even a basket as the interior of the front gate. And check out the construction on those towers! Quarter circle tiles are wedged into a 2×2 round plate to for the turrets. It’s a connection some might call “illegal” but I call “sweet.”
If you’d like to see how Patrick achieved all this, check out the Instagram post highlighting the build. And if that still isn’t enough great part usage to satisfy you, I should mention this isn’t the first creation of Patrick’s that we’ve featured.
Heading into the forest? You’d best watch yourself. There are…things in there. Critters. Faeries who don’t take kindly to intrusion. Don’t believe me? I’ve seen ’em! And so has Ted Andes! Captured their likeness in LEGO, even! Those top wings are from 2015’s 76039 Ant-Man Final Battle, and the lower ones are from the 2004 Alpha Team Mission Deep Freeze sets. There’s Knights Kingdom II shoulder armor, and Bionicle Rahkshi Back Cover armor as their legs. Curved Hero Factory blades serve double duty as swords and long hair. This combination of themes seems almost as mythical as these faeries themselves!
The Ninjago Legacy theme revisits classic Ninjago sets with updated builds and designs. Turning back the clock to Season 3, the 71704 Ninjago Legacy: Kai Fighter reprises 2014’s 70721 Kai Fighter, more than doubling that set’s 196 pieces to a much heftier 513 part count. This new version retails for US $39.99 | CAN $49.99 | UK £34.99 and is available now. Is it a worthy upgrade to the classic set? Come along as we run through the highs and lows of this new set!
We’ve featured a number of VB‘s disquieting creations in the past. Their latest, The Anito takes it’s inspiration from the ancestor spirits of Philippine religions. Perched among overgrown idols, this mysterious figure gazes at us with piercing white eyes almost lost in a sea of organic curves capped with bony appendages. Is that a white flute the figure is playing? Is this music we really want to hear?
I like the work put into the setting. Those bony elements return in dark tan to form some dead plants, but that’s balanced by a good mix of bright green vegetation. The dark green bits in the foreground include the head of the Norse Midgard Serpent. Mixing mythologies a bit, maybe, but totally worth it for the effect.
As an aside, that idol on the right is uses some big toothed wheels to form the mouth. That’s soooo close to fitting my “Technic Gears for teeth” trope of late. It’s a thing I tell you. A THING. Either that, or all these creepy images are just really starting to get to me.
In Aztec-culture Mictlantecuhtli was the god of death. In Tino Poutiainen‘s LEGO version, he’s…well, still a god of death, I suppose. Perched atop a grey stepped pyramid, this deity has got to be giving that little golden LEGO microfig the major heebie-jeebies. I really like the figure’s bright colors and innovative posing. There’s clever part usage to appreciate, too, like the blue minifigure hoop-blade weapons for bracelets, dark tan Technic rod skirt, and the silver Technic ball ends for earrings. I also dig that brick-built skull.
And yes, I think I’ve identified a new trend. This is the third creation I’ve written about recently with that “Technic gears for teeth” thing. I’m going to have to give it a try myself.