Posts by David Alexander Smith

A fabulous frigate full of fantastic features

It really shows when a builder knows their subject, and that is absolutely the case here! According to Luis Peña his 1:200 scale LEGO model of a Type 23 frigate in Chilean Navy service was built with the aim of reproducing as many of its details and equipment as possible. Every aspect of the build, form the various surveillance and control radar to the ship’s 4.5 inch Mark 8 naval gun is a miniature replica of its real world counterpart.

My personal favourite features, though, have to be the microscale Cougar SH32 helicopter perched on its landing pad, and the Sea Wolf anti-air missiles’ vertical launching system, which Luis has built in epic mid-launch.

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Star Wars dune buddies

I’d always imagined that a Stormtrooper’s lot was a hard one. Endless patrols beyond the Dune Sea hunting down pesky Rebels; and for what thanks! These LEGO Sandtroopers by LEGO 7 go some way to humanising the Empire’s faceless heavies. Built with dirty and distressed body armour and posed reminiscently of soldiers from real-world conflicts, I absolutely buy into their battle-weary plight. It’s a genuinely touching human tribute to one of Star War’s most recognisable bad guys.

Have a yabba-dabba-doo time!

This neat microscale creation by Lennart Cort absolutely nails its subject, literally reducing Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble to bricks and studs. Building at this scale requires that rare ability to see the archetypical aspects of its theme in individual elements, and who would have thought a 1×1 orange and a 1×1 brown brick would represent these Stone Age buddies so well. The foot-powered car similarly convinces in its use of cylinders for rock wheels. Here at TBB we are dazzled by so many amazing piece uses in the models we see, so it’s always good to be reminded that sometimes the base elements of the LEGO system are all that’s needed to have a yabba-dabba-doo time!

Creating a charmingly crooked castle

It’s one of the contradictions at the heart of LEGO building, that we love to see the rectilinear brick subverted. Bravo to jaapxaap, who has centred his latest model on some seriously wonky geometry. There’s no doubt that Falcon Castle is suffering from years of subsidence, its central tower quaintly leaning at the most acute of angles.

Of course it takes real talent to do this, which you pick up again in the embellishments that have been added: the ingot bricks used to simulate wear, or the golden tower painstakingly formed form telescope pieces. In the end though, you just have to marvel at the way the imperfections of the ramshackle fortress have been so perfectly built.

A sailor’s paradise

What better way to relive that perfect holiday than to recreate it in LEGO! Paul Trach has the right idea, building this stunning Dufour 520 Grand Large yacht bobbing on an azure Caribbean sea. The gradients of blue, created by layering trans-blue tiles over suitably selected black and grey plates, evoke the Antiguan paradise perfectly.

The yacth is a beauty too, sleek and elegant, and filled with accurate nautical details. Check out its beautifully laid timber deck, splendidly precise sail and rigging, and plate thin hull. All that’s left to do is kick back and enjoy the scene.

Circle: a brick-built tribute to Finland’s finest

Building a tribute in LEGO to Finland’s finest progressive rock act Circle, Eero Okkonen proves once again that he is the master of the brick-built figure. Each band member has been designed with full articulation in mind, and posed according to their distinctive performance stances.

At TBB we often pick up on standout techniques, but in this case the build is simply littered with too many clever ideas to choose from. Perhaps it’s the way Mika Rättö’s facial expression and distinctive facial hair has been formed from arched mini-figure hands and elaborate horn element?

Or then perhaps it’s the way the amplifiers have been lovingly crafted? Dive in and look for yourself — there is so much to discover.

You can read more about Eero’s love for Circle, and see many more photos on his Cyclopic Bricks Blog.

The dark art of LEGO building

I completely understand YOS Bricks‘ fascination with the black brick, having been featured myself on TBB before for this reason. You can see the appeal in his build of a Thestral from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, which uses the black elements to capture the creature’s eerie silhouette.

Again, in a more complex form such as this giant horned dung beetle, the dark colour allows individual bricks to read together as single forms — the insect’s antenna and wings being particularly good at showing this.

Black also works marvellously against brighter colours. The turquoise eyes of the Mooncalf from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, glow magically in YOS Bricks’ final example.

Now we got ears it’s time for cheers

Back in 2016, Koen treated us to his magical take on Disney’s iconic Mouse. Two years later, in a response to LEGO’s own BrickHeadz versions, he’s redesigned his model of Mickey as well as adding Minnie to the mix. It just goes to show how much a year or two means in terms of the evolution of LEGO elements; Koen improving on the rounded shaping of the characters’ heads with new curved tiles as well as using the printed eyelash piece for Minnie’s eyes. The design of Minnie’s bow, with its single stud polka dots, and her brick-built shoes, demonstrate some seriously clever building too. The result: a brilliantly realised recreation of our favourite cartoon couple.

Building the winds of change

This mini-windmill model, built in collaboration between Mark van der Maarel and his son, resonates with positive energy. It’s wonderful to see the pieced-together building style normally associated with post-apocalyptic creations being used to covey a green message. The salvaged sails and junkyard components of the windmill are offset by wonderful foliage and neat tulips formed from lever bases. Nature is thriving here, a theme that resonates with LEGO’s recent plants set made from sustainable plastics.

The last resort in building

Whatever happened to Fabuland – the 1980s animal-character driven play theme from LEGO – appears to be Dutch builder Sebastiaan Arts‘ raison d’être in creating his last habitat in the world. In one of the strangest takes on the post-apocalyptic theme, the various animal-headed Fabuland characters have holed up in the Last Resort, a towering orange residential complex.

See more of this LEGO Space / Fabuland mashup

The dragon with a flare for fashion

Dripping with charm and dressed to impress, TBB regular Sheo has built this most stylish of dragons. Capturing the spirit of the dandy in the beast’s elegantly coiffured wings and debonair attire; a triangle tiled handkerchief poking out from his suit’s breast pocket. You have to question the sincerity in Sheo naming him a respectable dragon; there’s literally a twinkle in his eye, formed from a clever combination of ring, small cone and mudguard elements. I can’t help but imagine passing him in some shady back street, tipping his hat and grinning roguishly as he goes about his disreputable business.

Designed the Blacktron way

When revisiting a classic LEGO theme such as the first wave of Blacktron sets, as CK-MCMLXXXI does here with his Ravenwing Fighter, you have to really get your head around the original design principles. It seems obvious when pointed out, but the black- and yellow-accented Blacktron fleet references the danger markings of the animal kingdom. The insect quality of this nifty spacecraft draws on this, bringing to mind an angry hornet. Best of all, it takes the triangular Blacktron insignia and uses its angles to form a distinctive bug-wing shape. Marrying this with an abdomen-like cylindrical body completes a near perfect Blacktron vehicle.