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

20 parts bird, 100 parts awesome

Here’s a little something different courtesy of aukbricks. This piece of art was created using just twenty elements, ten each in yellow and black. Compared to most LEGO models, there’s not much physical cohesion to this build. In fact, it looks like there are only two pieces actually connected to each other. The image of the bird comes from careful part placement and alignment.

This is a digital render, but it could be replicated in the real world as it uses only existing part/color combinations. I particularly like the use of tentacles for the tail feathers. The bananas that do double duty as claws and as detail in the head are a close second.

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This planter will grow on you

Realism in LEGO sculpture is a difficult thing to achieve, and when it’s done right it can be amazing. Barbara Hoel has created a tiny slice of (plant) life that feels very real indeed with Small Planter on Books. The human-scaled books each have their own unique style and size. The variations in the spines make this feel like a real pile of tomes, and not just a repeated build in different colors.

The planter and greenery really are what really caught my eye, though. Seeing a plant that is, perhaps, not the perfect specimen of health is pretty unusual. One side of the plant looks like it’s been kept out of the sun a little too long, while other parts are thriving. Unicorn horns and transparent green ball joints represent new growth. Rare blue capes and technic gears make for some vibrant flowering bodies and buds.

There is a detail view of an alternate build of the planter in Barbara’s photostream. I recommend checking it out for even more great botanical creations.

Oh Captain, my captain

LEGO mosaics are near and dear to my heart, as is the character of Captain America. Bluesecrets brings both together in a stunning creation featuring Cap in his bearded “Nomad” phase. This mosaic is 45 inches wide by 35 inches tall (about 114 x 89 centimeters) and is comprised of nearly 40,000 plates. Many brick mosaics use a “studs out” approach where the top of the brick is visible. In contrast, Bluesecrets uses a “studs up” technique where the plates are stacked on top of each other. This allows a higher level of detail in the image, but requires different (and, in my experience, trickier) craftsmanship as the “pixels” that make up the image are rectangular instead of square.

A sweet dream in LEGO

I love LEGO creations that fool the eye. When I first saw Sweet dream in the old garage by AdNorrel, I thought I was looking at a well composed photo of a real-life moment. I was scrolling through images of LEGO creations at the time, so I knew that couldn’t be right. So I took a closer look.

“Oh,” I thought, “that’s a LEGO minifigure in the center. So the garage is probably brick built. Yep. Looks like they put the build in front of their garden outside to get the background….no. Wait.”
“….”
“….wow.”

There are a lot of details partially hidden in the shadows of the garage. The tiling on the wall expertly mimics the slightly warped wood of an older building. Trophies and statuettes hint at past racing glories, blending in with the more functional aspects of the garage. Custom printing on many of the signs adds tantalizing hints of the larger world this creation inhabits. There are indications that a lot more is happening just out of sight, too, as there’s a crane to the right and the front end of a car to the left. Continue reading →

A build 17 years in the making

Since 2002, Spencer_R has been wanting to build the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco. One key thing held them back; they were stymied by the lack of the perfect part. (A feeling that is familar to many LEGO builders, I’m sure.) Flash forward to 2017 and the release of the 1×1 plate with a printed square pattern, part of the 70620 Ninjago City set. Then flash forward another year or two, as Spencer needed a whopping 1040 of them to complete the build. The end result is 1/650th scale version that is both a labor of love and a treat for the eyes.

Beyond the highly accurate recreation of the shape of the tower, Spencer has also faithfully reproduced many other details. At the base of the tower the park contains redwood trees made from flower stems, a fence of 1×2 grilled tiles, and a 1×1 round plate standing in for the fountain. There’s even a cafe pavilion overlooking the park grounds.

Be sure to check out the full album on flickr for even more close up details, build commentary, and a great overview of the history and features of the real building.

That’s a twist. That’s very twisty.

The Norwegian museum Kistefos Museet is currently expanding, and Lego Fjotten brings us a look at the planned art bridge museum in LEGO form. Designed by BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group), the building spans the Ranselva river while twisting along its axis. The LEGO version accomplishes the same task, spanning a river of 1×2 transparent blue tiles with a turn that is almost as seamless as the large scale architecture will be.

Beyond the centerpiece of the bridge, Lego Fjotten also shows skill with a realistic and complex landscape. Trees, gently sloping hills, a cobblestone walk, and tiny picnic tables with minifigure statuettes give things a sense of scale.

To learn more, I recommend you check out BIG’s project summary for the Twist. There you’ll find amazing concept art and an explanation of how the Twist changes the entire experience of the sculpture garden.

Does this bug you?

Surveillance technology gets a creepy boost with Marty McFly, Cole Blaq’s latest creation. I’m not sure if this steampunk drone is designed to extract information or blood. It looks like it could do either. Or both. Probably at the same time. Like I said: Creepy.

From a LEGO perspective there are lots of things to love about this build. The spear gun proboscis and minifigure whip antennae fit the insect shaping well. The plastic insect wings are effectively incorporated. My favorite details, though, are the Imperial astromech droid heads. Those transparent domes perfectly combine the suggestion of circuity and faceted eyes.

Cole provides more great views of this creation in his blog post. While you’re there, take some time to explore this builder’s other amazing creations.

No, really. Space is curved.

When you hear the term “LEGO brick” your mind is drawn to an image of just that…a brick. Rectangular. Boxy. Brick Spirou shows us the alternative with the Space Police Interceptor. Decked out in classic Space Police I colors, this single-pilot ship is all about the curves. The wings feature the repetition of double-curved slopes in a design that reminds me of the air turbines you might see in a strictly atmospheric craft. The front forks have triple curved wedges that add even more smooth lines to the look.

The rear of the craft also has some nice shaping. An aircraft fuselage section leads your eyes to the just-textured-enough engines. My favorite detail, though, is the Hero Factory Spine placed just in front of the tail fin.

Space Police interceptors have been all the rage here at The Brothers Brick lately. Be sure to also check out the Galactic Interceptor we reviewed recently!

A digital angel for difficult times

Builder Eero Okkonen returns yet again to The Brothers Brick with another amazing large scale figure. Say hello to the Blue Angel of Hallow – described by Eero in his blog post as “a superdigital being who watches over multimedia connections, protecting people from malignity and sourness.” Truly the sort of guardian we often need in today’s digital world.

Eero has once again found underutilized parts to create interesting textures and shapes. Insectoid wings bring more than a hint of circuitry, and the use of Space Port solar arrays for the skirts is inspired. The glittery solar panel sticker has an entirely different look when seen from the underside, reminding me of static or high jpeg compression. The blue of the armor and Clikits bracelet halo contrasts well with the magenta highlights and light green Hero Factory swords of her hair.

This mech tikis all the boxes

Marin Stipkovic brings us a mech with a lot of personality as part of the year long Mech Monday project. Inspired by the art of Taylor Schmidt, King Aku is a LEGO creation that has the feel of a tiki idol brought to life. It features tons of articulation, an expressive tiki idol face, and bold colors highlighted by the shine of gold. Another nice detail is how Marin didn’t just repeat the use of 1×1 round plate for all the teeth. He’s added visual interest by mixing in inverted 1×5 Technic plates. Partially obscured by the black brick of the mouth, those 1×5 plates take on the look of a brand new part. (I mistook them for Sweet Mayhem’s legs at first.)

Marin has also shared a short video that shows off the range of motion of this mech as well as its cool play feature. (Spoiler alert: Light and sound!)

This voodoo panther is no bonehead. Or is it?

The LEGO Bionicle line may have ended in 2016, but that hasn’t stopped fans from expanding on the theme. Case in point: Alex Mertens brings us a sleek version of the Rahi beast Muaka, inspired by a deep cut of Bionicle lore. I’m a fan of the smooth curves that give this model a sense of feline grace. The splash of color from the orange hose and lime green claws adds visual interest against the blue of the Hero Factory armor and Bionicle shoulder armor plating.

Speaking of that armor, we recently featured another re-imagining of Muaka that kept the yellow highlights from the Muaka & Kane-Ra set from 2001. Alex has gone one step further, taking the blue color from a Bone-Heads of Voodoo Island prototype that likely lead to Muaka! This early prototype can be seen in Christian Faber’s demo footage.

Go under the sea with the Royal Navy Octonaut

The year is 1859, and the British Navy is looking for Atlantis! Builder Paddy Bricksplitter has captured this historic moment of discovery in a detail-rich LEGO scene. Based on the columns and statue, our diver may have indeed found Atlantis. Let’s hope he’s also enjoying the rest of the view while he’s down there.

The Octonaut delivers a solid steampunk aesthetic without resorting to unnecessary embellishments. The tubing along the suit’s arms suggests a very real-world pneumatic solution for grip-strength at the ocean floor. Providing a nice contrast to the gold and brown, black rubber tires do double duty as weights and gaskets.

As cool as the diver is, the real highlight of this build for me is the innovative part usage on the sea floor. Not content with just the LEGO-standard fish and crab, Paddy has brought in Friends Accessories, Technic gears, a street-sweeper brush, and at least three types of minifigure hair. LEGO food items also feature prominently, with cupcakes galore, upward pointing carrots and lime ice cream scoops. And just look at that jellyfish!