The University of Colorado Boulder has an ongoing project to construct a LEGO version of its campus, built by a team of LEGO builders. Imagine Rigney has just finished building a LEGO version of the Macky Auditorium Concert Hall, where dozens of major College of Music performances take place each season. The auditorium is over a century old, and its Neo-Gothic architecture style has been nicely captured in LEGO bricks
Yoshi is a fictional dinosaur who first appeared in Super Mario World on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as Mario and Luigi’s sidekick. In the game, Yoshi can grab objects with his tongue, swallow the object and then produce a distinctive spotted egg to throw. Well thanks to Mr Kevin Hinkle, you can now build your own LEGO Yoshi, complete with Yoshi eggs and Baby Mario.
It might seem odd that Singapore’s first electric supercaris named after a flower, but there’s actually a design-related reason. The Vanda Dendrobium has doors and a rooftop that unfurl upwards and backwards in sync like an orchid in bloom, and dendrobium is a type of orchid. Gerald Cacas has managed to capture the Vanda Dendrobium in LEGO, despite its edgy design and complex shaping.
If your minifigures need to stop for a coffee during their busy mini-day, they should look no further than this new coffee house, Kahunka Koffee. Built by Andrew Tate , this is a larger, grander interpretation of the retired, iconic modular set 10182 Cafe Corner. Andrew also built a subtle stone face into the main entrance on the corner in recognition of his favourite LEGO theme – Pirates, hence the name Kahuka Koffee. I always like when street scene details are added, in this case, a delivery truck as well as some relaxed coffee-drinkers enjoying the outside seating.
Andrew admits that he has only built a ground floor interior, but the brown and tan colour scheme perfectly reflects shades of coffee. Perhaps the flight of stairs hints to some further building work to be done on this model.
Earlier this month, we wrote about Brick to the Past‘s huge Scottish diorama, The Jacobite Risings, a build taking 10 months and using 1 million bricks. Within this creation spanning 16 square metres, were some adorable, microscale models of the Scottish wildlife found in the Cairngorms. Brick to the past have provided instructions so you can build your own Osprey, Deer, Capercaillie and Black Grouse.
Osprey are a bird of prey and returned from extinction within the UK to make their home in the Cairngorms.
Click for more instructions to make Scottish wildlife out of LEGO
Don Figueroa is a Filipino-American artist and a toy designer whose is best known for his work on many different Transformers designs. An early concept drawing of Rolling Thunder Optimus Prime by Don Figueroa was produced for a Transformers/GI Joe crossover comic, but it never came into fruition. Alex Jones has used the concept drawing to create a LEGO version of Rolling Thunder Optimus Prime using Olive Green, a challenge in itself as this colour has limited parts.
Rolling Thunder Optimus Prime transforms from robot mode, complete with a rolling weapons system, to vehicle mode, aka Supreme Tactical Commander Grand Patriot
Click to see more views and Don Figueroa’s original concept artwork
The Ford Mustang GT350 lost its Mustang tag and was marketed simply as the Shelby GT350 for the 1966 production year. Ford struck a deal with the car rental company, Hertz Corporation, to offer about 1,000 GT350s for rental and afterwards these cars were returned to Ford, refurbished, and sold to the public as GT350-H models. Most ex-Hertz cars were black with gold Le Mans stripes and rocker panel stripes, just like this phenomenal LEGO version built by Paweł Kmieć.
Paweł Kmieć’s LEGO version is not just about looks, it has functional doors, bonnet and boot (aka trunk for you US chaps) but that’s not all…
There’s nothing like a good pirate ship to shiver our timbers, and Nicola Poloniato has built a suitably intimidating ship, cloaked in black. The Black Star is approaching at speed with a full compliment of sails, not forgetting the Jolly Roger. I can’t say she looks friendly, just look at those cannon balls blasting from beneath the main deck.
It’s worth taking a closer look at those firing cannons; I love the smoke effect and their explosive movement cleverly built with a mix of transparent round 1×1 plates.
Saruman appears as Jacob Marley to warn Scrooge to change his miserly ways or face a dark future of unhappiness. I love the clock on the wall and the chair in the corner in the bedroom.
The State Theatre (皇都戲院) is a former cinema in the North Point area of Hong Kong. It is currently in a poor state of repair and faces demolition, despite being a Graded building and part of Hong Kong’s heritage. Originally known as the Empire Theatre, it was renamed the State Theatre in 1959 and was a cultural hub in post-war Hong Kong. Alan Boar and Mythbot collaborated to build this historic building in LEGO as a way to raise awareness of its plight, encouraging support for the preservation of Hong Kong’s historic buildings.
Don’t miss all the street levels details like the Classic Tram , Leyland Truck, food vendor, as well as a hubbub of pedestrian activity.
The F-15 is a twin-engine, all weather fighter that is the mainstay of the U.S. Air Force’s air superiority and homeland defence missions. Boeing boasts that its proven design is undefeated in air-to-air combat, with more than 100 aerial combat victories. Kai NRG has a special reason for building a LEGO version of this particular jet fighter, his grandfather worked on developing the aircraft. He has certainly done a very good job, the shaping is fantastic with SNOT building giving a wonderfully smooth, streamlined appearance.
Just in case you didn’t spot the working flaps in the main image, this view shows the added functionality in Kai’s design.
LEGO Elves sets have always been a rich source of beautiful colours and interesting parts for builders who prefer to make their own creations. Five sets due for release in 2018 have been revealed, and there are some great new parts and colours to be found. The largest set, 41194 Noctura’s Tower & the Earth Fox Rescue looks to have a nice supply of Zombie Teal (a colour that is returning in 2018 after being ‘killed off‘ back in 2006). Let’s take a closer look.
41194 Noctura’s Tower & the Earth Fox Rescue
A closer look at the the tower shows a new kite-shaped, transparent part, decorated with Elves elemental icons.
Read more about the new parts and colours spotted in Elves 2018 sets
