About David Guedes

David Guedes, aka Lettuce, has been building with LEGO all his life, though he had a “dim age” in his teens, and didn’t buy any new sets for 6 years. He has been active in the fan community since 2014, regularly displaying creations at conventions like BrickCon and BrickCan, as well as interacting with fans of LEGO of all ages. David is a member of the VLC and a founder of DaveLUG. He lives just outside of Vancouver, with his wife, two sons, a dog, and a house full of little plastic bricks. His flickr account can be found here.

Posts by David Guedes

InSight has landed

Because I grew up during the time of M:Tron and Blacktron, I tend to think of fantastical fictional ships when I think of LEGO space creations. Of course, this totally neglects all the models built of real world spacecraft. Luckily, LEGO fans like Cyndi Bourne produce amazing space creations like her NASA Mars InSight Lander to remind me that space is a real place. This detailed model was originally commissioned by an employee at NASA Jet Propulsion Lab, but it was Cyndi’s idea to add the landscaped base. Her landscaping always impresses me and clearly she can build the surface of any planet! While it might seem simple, as the whole landscape is built from various sizes of dark orange plate, achieving this look requires both patience and creativity. You have to know just where to put each plate, and Cyndi clearly knows.

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Yes, another Baby Yoda

Baby Yoda continues to infatuate the people of the internet, LEGO fans included. We still don’t know if it actually is a baby Yoda or a baby Yaddle, perhaps it’s just a Yiddle for now. And while we’ve shared a few already, we here at the Brothers Brick can’t get enough Baby Yoda creations. Wilson Du is the latest builder to fascinate us with his version. Recreated for the most part with pieces from the current buildable Yoda set 75255 (US $99.99 | CAN $139.99 | UK £89.99), though with substantially improved eyes, this model was his first creation in 25 years! And more than just being a beautiful sculpture, this little buddy has posable hands to hold a piping hot soup or reach out with the Force. I’m most impressed with how well the chin and mouth have been constructed here, with an expression that’s just begging for chicky nuggies and choco milk.

The Good, the Bad and the Mandalorian

The first season of the Mandalorian has now finished on Disney+ and while we have some time to wait before season 2, we can still revel in the LEGO creations inspired by the show. The planet Nevarro makes a few appearances, and First Order LEGO has recreated one pivotal scene. The landscape is sufficiently textured to give the model the same gritty feeling as the show. Additionally, the buildings are built using many small pieces, making them as aged and weathered as we’ve come to expect from the Star Wars galaxy. To avoid getting too spoilery, I’ll just say that the scene is filled with all the right details, from droids to moisture vaporators, that make it unmistakably Star Wars. Check out the rest of this builder’s photos and see what other details you can spot.

Set sail through the ruins of Valyria

Some really great large Game of Thrones LEGO creations have been built in the last few years (if I don’t say so myself). Ekjohnson1 has built a number of amazing smaller Game of Thrones models, including this masterful vignette of Tyrion Lannister and Jorah Mormont sailing through Valyria. The amount of detail jam-packed into this small scene is amazing.

Right off the bat, I have to recognize the parts chosen for the custom minifigs. There is no question which characters are represented. Beyond that, there is so much to be in awe of here, such as the wands and claws as reeds. Two techniques stand out as most impressive to me both being held together by gravity and balance. First, the upside-down green hats being used as a plant – amazing. Second, and fittingly described at the bottom of the paragraph, is the use of 1×1 round tiles at the bottom of the model to represent the water simply but effectively.

This LEGO Baby Yoda sips and silently judges you

With so much new Star Wars content coming at us this holiday season, it’s easy to lose sight of what’s really important in life. Thankfully Caleb Watson is here to remind us life is good, because Baby Yoda is here.

Maybe you think I’m joking, but then you take a look at that cute little 50-year-old baby drinking his cuppa soup and you’ll see what I mean. Memes are one thing – and I’m not complaining, I am here for Baby Yoda memes – but LEGO models take this to the next level. And then Caleb took it to a whole other level by giving his model of the tiny Force user movement. Now let’s all sit back, and watch LEGO Baby Yoda drink all our troubles away.

For more of how Caleb’s mechanical mind thinks, check out his in-depth article on constructing a LEGO representation of a genetic disease.

Supreme Leader Kylo Ren’s new headgear

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker hit theatres just a few days ago and LEGO fans have already started to produce some amazing creations. One that stands out is Petros Nicolaou’s rendition of Kylo Ren’s helmet. While I was a fan of how it was destroyed in The Last Jedi, I love how it was reforged in a Kintsugi kind of way in The Rise of Skywalker.

The repaired helm adds an extra level of beauty and badassery. And as cool as it looks on film, it looks just as cool represented in LEGO. The shaping of Kylo Ren’s unbroken helmet would itself require some skillful parts selection to achieve all the right angles and shaping. Add in the veins of red keeping it all together, and any builder would have an extra difficult challenge of them. It seems Petros was up to the challenge though. Take a closer and see that all the pieces seem to fit together.

Hitch a ride in the back with a pig

I’m always amazed at the ways LEGO fans can use minifigure accessories as design elements in new and creative ways. One of my new favourites is Versteinert’s vintage Chevy. While there’s no denying how well the shape of the truck has been captured, the use of weapons and utensils is captivating. Whether it’s the frying pan and lightsaber hilt repurposed as a banjo or some of the less intuitive design choices, the exaction is magnificent. The teacup makes a cute side mirror and the revolver is an effective exhaust pipe. Most impressive, in my opinion, is the grille made up of 4 axe heads – what an ingenious way to vent an engine!

All aboard the Gingerbread man’s Christmas ride

As the population of LEGO Gingerbread Land grows, it’s important for all gingerbread people to know they have options when it comes to gingerbread transportation. If every seat on the Gingerbread Railroad is booked, hop on board CTR69 Bartosz’s delicious-looking Gingerbread Man Christmas Vehicle.

This 10,000 reindeer power hybrid snowmobile-train can haul gingerbread people, supernatural beings, and cargo with ease. Icing drifts are no match for this ride – the giant wheels and treads pack enough power and traction to plow right through anything that comes in its way. But even with all that power and speed, the ride will still be smooth enough to not put out the flame on your giant candle. Don’t hesitate, book your trip to Gingerbread Land today.

What a cute wittle penguin!

Now, what have we here? Far from its habitat in Mecha Antarctica, Mitsuru Nikaido’s Mecha Penguin is here. But why is it here? Well, from a distance we can’t really tell now can we? Is it here to destroy its enemies? Or perhaps it wants to endear us for treats of little robotic pilchards. The way I see it, all evidence seems to indicate the former. Observe the creature’s razor-sharp beak and wings. Not something you’d quite want to cuddle up with. The glowing eyes may also be a clue to his intentions. Whatever the case, I think it best to keep our distance and hope he doesn’t see us.

Magic keeps Hogsmeade Village together

The Harry Potter universe’s village of Hogsmeade continues to be a great source of inspiration for LEGO builders. I don’t know if it’s the lure of crafting medievalesque buildings in a non-castle creation or the fact that it’s a winter-themed town that isn’t decked out in red and green, but I know it works. The latest one to catch my eye is Roanoke Handybuck’s Hogsmeade Village. The two buildings pushed against each other, bookended by three happy little trees, and blanketed in snow, really captures the feeling of cozy wizarding town. Looking deeper into the scene, you’ll notice a few amazing parts usages that make these cottages look old and ramshackle. Maybe magic is the only thing keeping them standing. The first thing to notice is the lantern made from a pair of brown Witch-king crowns. Most interesting to me though, are the windows framed with neck brackets. Well a relatively stable connection of LEGO parts, it gives an especially rickety look for the windows’ muntins.

Call it Leviathan

Many LEGO fans talk about hunting for their white whale – that one set they’ve been searching for all their lives. This is, of course, an allusion to Captain Ahab’s ultimately fatal obsession with finding an actual white whale in Moby Dick (do 168 year old books need spoiler warnings?). It would seem that that fairy tale whale is still out there hunting ships, as Oliver Becker demonstrates.

Has the white whale grown to such an immense size to dwarf the ship? Or is she a regular-sized whale and it’s the ship that’s actually tiny? We’ll never know for sure, but we do know that there’s some excellent parts usage at play here. Dead center in the frame of the shot is a white lever base, expertly used as the whale’s eye. I really love the swords with jagged edges used to create a splash – those few parts convey the creature’s movement. And it’s a big splash, so maybe it really is a larger-than-life whale.

1989 Batmobiles are so hot right now

Even with the release of the new 1989 Batmobile right around the corner, we continue seeing new models of the caped crusader’s classic ride. We recently featured one such design, and now Lucas has delighted us with his latest version. And I say latest, because he’s made a ton of Batmobiles. While I can’t necessarily corroborate his claim that he’s “the ultimate master at building Batmobiles”, he does make a pretty convincing argument.

I’ll let you review the plethora of designs in his photostream yourself, but let’s take a closer look at this one. First of all, I love the size of it. Whether official sets or fan creations, Batmobiles are often oversized for minifigure scale cars. This one looks just right. Second, the use of minifigure accessories is quite skillful; the frying pans for intakes are especially perfect. Third, many of the updates he made in this version were done not just for looks, but also to make it a more stable model. Not only does it look cool, but it stays together too. Taken together, do all these factors make him the master of Batmobile building? Let us know what you think in the comments below.