Posts by Jake Forbes (TBB Managing Editor)

Where the sidewalk ends

Nominally, LEGO is a building system designed for sturdy connections to support play and display. My favorite mocs throw those rules out the window and approach building like a chef embracing molecular gastronomy. Cloudy, a teen fan of LEGO from Poland, has only recently started sharing pics, but clearly, they are on the fast track to leaving their mark on the hobby. On a footprint of just 6×10 studs, Cloudy delicately assembles a slice of sidewalk that transports you to a miniature world.

There’s so much to admire from the fence of brown rods, to the sidewalk of loosely configured tiles and hammers. My favorite detail is the three leaf plant sunken into the ground to hide the long stems. Cloudy cites Daniel Cloward and modulexfan as inspirations – clearly learning from the best! We’ll be watching Cloudy closely to see what brilliant creations this young builder will share in future.

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Exo-Force Uplink upgrade is ready to quash the robot rebellion

Mechs are a core part of LEGO’s lineup, featuring prominently in Ninjago, Monkey Kid, Dreamzzz, and even in Star Wars and superhero sets, but only the dearly departed Exo-Force theme made mechs the stars. Twenty years after its debut, Exo-Force continues to inspire moc creators like WyndGekko who reimagine and expand on the heroes and villains of the robot rebellion. Here Wynd gives a beefy update to Uplink, one of the smaller mecha of Sentai Mountain.

Wynd applies the same talent for neo-classic space greebling that she displayed as the set designer for Building a LEGO Space Force Volume 2. This suit looks great from every angle.

The scrawny original set packed a lot of play into its $4.99 retail price. I wish I’d picked it up at the time.

Dicken’s kickin’ with block Crocs

We weren’t on the list to preview the first LEGO x Crocs collab shoes, but based on the reports from those who did, it seems like our feet dodged a bullet there! We’d much rather kick it with this brick built pair from the inimitable Dicken Liu.

Where will the LEGO footwear collabs take us next? Bloc Martens? Birkenblocks? Ugg.

Sword and shield for an 8-bit dragon warrior

I’m old enough to remember when Nintendo Power gave away a free Dragon Warrior cartridge to every new subscriber. Despite that push, the Dragon Quest franchise never gained the cultural clout in the US that it did in Japan, but even if you’ve never played the games, you can’t escape the impact they’ve had on RPGs. Builder Alanboar Cheung pays tribute to the king of JRPGs with these brilliant LEGO models of the hero Erdrick’s sword and shield (Roto in the Japanese original, as seen in the lettering). LEGO’s bright primary colors are a perfect match for the art from Akira Toriama (of Dragonball fame). If you’re wondering what the yellow detailing on the shield is made from, those rubber bits are dog sled harnesses, found in a single Friends set!

Mask of Shadows, Mask of Life – Bionicle still burns bright

While LEGO celebrates 15 years of Ninjago, afols of a certain age remember that this year also marks 25 years since the debut of Bionicle, LEGO’s radical move from bricks that may have saved the company. Even though there hasn’t been a proper Bionicle set in a decade, the spirit of Mata Nui burns strong with a vibrant fan community. Japanese builder gre_midoro is the latest afol to revisit the Bionicle universe with modern interpretations. First, we have Gre’s take on the Great Spirit Robot, the ultimate figure in Bionicle lore who was never represented in an official set. The living embodiment of Mata Nui wears the Mask of Life and stands before a halo of swords.

Standing in sharp contrast is Umarak the Hunter, wearing the Mask of Shadows. This character did have an official figure, but it was nowhere near as intense as Gre’s interpretation. The builder keeps the original’s trans green elements, but shifts to all black armor that incorporates armor pieces from post-Bionicle Constraction figs. My favorite feature is the horns that bring big Tim Curry in Legend energy.

A Hobbit hole means comfort, even in LEGO

Hobbit holes are a tricky proposition for LEGO builders, as being dug into the ground, they’re a test of landscaping as much as architecture. We’ve had two official versions of Bilbo’s hole, but it’s up to fan builds to fill in the rest of the Shire. Kamiel (bricks_4_all) offers up a peaceful hole for an unnamed hobbit that oozes charm. While not as large as last year’s The Shire, I much prefer Kamiel’s approach to terrain. The stepped plates allow for subtle gradation with a geometric cleanness that doesn’t shy away from LEGO’s block roots and evokes a cozy video game. The pair of trees add color and textural variation that turns a house into a homey scene.

Up close, we can appreciate the iconic round Hobbit door, not green like the one at Bag End, but a cheerful golden yellow. A ring of plates around the door creates a perfect circle without any curved bricks. The halfling resident is accompanied by a brace of coneys. Furry friends or a second breakfast?

Did someone say clutch power? This LEGO bag has you covered

LEGO bricks are famous for their “clutch power,” which is what makes it possible for builder Sage Summers to assemble a stylish clutch purse that is sturdy enough for a night out. Not only does it look chic with its pearl gold detailing, but it’s spacious enough to hold all of your brick-built essentials. Sage was the most recent winner of LEGO Masters, along with her brother Ian, and like that Bricktacular builder, she’s got a knack for LEGO replicas that could easily be mistaken for the real thing.

From LEGO Masters to building local landmarks – Eddie Godden gives back with bricks [Interview]

Ever since appearing on LEGO Masters season 3 with his sister Asiza, Eddie Gooden (@e.b_brixx) has been spreading the message that all are welcome and anyone can be creative with LEGO. While Eddie regularly builds and shares mosaics, habitats, and custom minifig creations, finding time for larger MOCs can be a challenge. When the chance arrived to contribute to an exhibit on historic buildings in his local community of Spokane, Washington, Eddie leapt at the opportunity. We took this opportunity to catch up with Eddie about his minifig-scale recreation of the Spokesman-Review Building and life with LEGO after LEGO Masters.

Our interview with Eddie follows

A hairy situation in the desert

Building birds at minifig scale is an exercise in efficiency where every element counts. As we’ve seen in official sets and fan creations, it’s possible to create a wide range of bird species when you know which parts to draw on. Croatian builder Brick Ćaća has been on a Western kick of late and found a novel solution to add vultures to his desert landscape using long black hairpieces for their hunched bodies and the effect is uncanny. Different wigs work equally well for a variety of fluffy coats. I pity the poor outlaw buried in the sand, stuck with these buzzards who look ready to get ahead.

LEGO Mermaid Mural brings a shot of LEGO artistry to Starbucks Vietnam

Latte art? Tired. LEGO art in the coffee shop? Wired! Especially when the LEGO art in question is as rich and filled with color and genius parts usage like this mural from Vietnamese AFOL and Masterpiece Gallery alum Khang Huynh, in collaboration with building partner Kỷ Duy Phong. Created for Starbucks Vietnam, the artwork was created over four months and measures 1×2 meters. The work incorporates Vietnamese imagery into an ornate depiction of the coffeemaker’s mermaid mascot.

At first glance, the mural might look flat, but up close, you can see how it bursts from the wall. 2×1 round tiles let the artists shape the flower petals into organic curves. Creative parts usage abounds, like the use of Pteranodon wings for a green gradient in the lily pads.

The most galaxy-brain NPU, however, is found in the hands. Those life-like finger tips? Patrick Star heads from the SpongeBob theme!

Collectible Minifigs Series 28 Animals unleash creativity in the LEGO community

Few things bring together the LEGO community like Collectible Minifigs. Whether you’re looking for new elements, chasing nostalgia, or hunting for a friend to sit on your desk, CMF have something for everyone. Series 28, released this month, is all about animal costumes (you can read our review here). Even with this narrow theme, the figures are inspiring a zoo’s worth of creative builds. Whether you’re a habitat fan or a mecha mechanic, there’s plenty to appreciate in this menagerie of minifigs!

Candy Bricks created several impressive vignettes for the different animal figs. Our favorite features the frog amongst toadstools. Candy expands on the included bubble wand with a forest full of big bubbles.

Thorben (tee_baum_bricks) takes the frog fig in a very different direction, swapping bubbles for a very big sword! The CMF body gets repurposed as bigfig hands for this absolute brute of an amphibian. (You can see more of Thorben’s crazy mechs here).

Garret (2p_figs) used the frog head for the centerpiece of this swampy sorcerer. Leaf elements make for perfect froggy feet.

Of course there are a lot of non-frog critters in the mix…

See more creations featuring CMF series 28 animals

This LEGO carriage puts the hart before horse

Here’s one LEGO knight who’s not horsin’ around with his wagon needs. This charming medieval moc comes from a new face on the afol scene, a French builder who goes by Slippin’ Jimmy, and like his namesake, s’all good, man. Jimmy’s cart is pulled by cleverly designed stag that incorporates wands and minifig hands for its spindly legs. The antlers augment the classic samurai headpiece for an impressive rack.

While small in scale, the wagon is a surprisingly complex build that uses SNOT elements, round plates, and slopes to hit the perfect curves. The star elements are those white Technic panels that work perfectly as a cloth covering for the wagon.

If the green paper background and layout look familiar to regular readers, that’s because Jimmy photographed the scene with help from good friend Syrdarian, who wrote a guide for the site about building in this “ground-based” style.