From Iron Forge finals to the biggest LEGO Sandworm we’ve ever seen, it’s been a week full of amazing MOCs and builder news. Our friend ABrickDreamer is here with the highlights, including our Lunar New Year interview with Vooi Loon Low. Which build is your favorite this week?
According to his biography, when he’s not building LEGO spaceships, Thomas Harding can be found photographing pigeons. That affinity for birds must extend to geese as well, as Thomas rustled up this charming fellow for us to take a gander at. Thomas first tried to make the Canadian goose using only the remaining parts from his phenomenal deer alt-build using parts from 31154 Forest Animals: Red Fox, but the plan didn’t quite fly. With a few extra parts, the bird came together swimmingly. I especially love the minimalist yet unmistakable head. It’s funny how the 2×3 design plate was first designed for simulating rock, but has found life in LEGO sets as fur and feathers.
Honk!
LEGO fan contests like Brickscalibur can push even the best builders to new creative heights through creative prompts, tight deadlines, and friendly competition. One builder whose creations consistently caught our eye during the latest competition goes by T-86 (Swe). What impresses with T-86’s builds isn’t just the stellar medieval brickwork, but the variety of approaches that capture the breadth of “castle” as a building theme. Let’s take a moment to celebrate each of T-86’s five submissions.
![[The traitor]](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54265974577_efbdfb215f_b.jpg)
First is “The Traitor,” submitted for the Perspective Matters category. This build is a showcase for brickwork in the modern castle aesthetic, creating walls that are deceptively simple at a glance, but upon closer inspection are a web of clever techniques. The arches on the right, capped with a jigsaw of “cheese slopes” are a highlight, as is the door with its deep notches. By framing the shot with wall-to-wall LEGO bricks and simulating natural lighting, the immersive scene pulls you in. T-86 sticks to a grounded setting but adds a fantasy twist using elves for the tale of deception playing out in the courtyard.
![[The shadowmolded]](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54266222041_36455873a2_b.jpg)
Next, for the Adventuring Party minifig-centric category, T-86 goes full fantasy in an eye-catching way, using almost entirely black elements. Dubbed “The Shadowmolded,” they make a nightmarish ensemble, softened somewhat by a mix of animal companions. The brick-built dragonraven is especially nice.
Press on for more enchanting castle builds from T-86
On January 28th, toymaker Mattel announced a new brand for building kits called Mattel Brick Shop with the first wave of sets appearing in May of this year. While details are light at this time, the newly launched website features graphics very similar to packaging on LEGO (sorry, “other name brands”) sets for 18+ builders.
The press release states, “With Mattel’s trusted legacy and expertise, Mattel Brick Shop is designed to disrupt the status quo and elevate the building experience. Here, we bend the rules of construction with innovative features and materials that inspire builders to try something new.”
As for what those innovations might be, the included image provides a possible clue, as the logo dimensions and orientation suggest a mobile phone. Perhaps app integration will feature heavily? Could the prominence of the word “shop” could indicate the ability to pick out bricks individually as one might from other name brands? Or perhaps it refers to the embossed “Mattel” printed on each stud.
Mattel is also the owner of the Mega line of blocks, which the toymaker says will not be going away with the introduction of this additional brand. Mega has seen impressive growth in recent years thanks to high-profile IP not offered by other name brands, such as Pokémon, Barbie, and Game of Thrones. This is again speculation, perhaps Brick Shop plans to differentiate with iconic building-focused sets for older consumers or perhaps sourcing ideas from the community? We won’t need to wait long to find out.
Mega Bloks debuted in 1991, succeeding Tyco as the leading line of bricks compatible with other name brands. While the underlying patents on LEGO’s interlocking brick system expired in 1978, the Danish toymaker took Mega to court in the 90s over similarities with the “studs and tubes” system, but ultimately lost the case with the judge ruling that the specifics of the LEGO brick’s shape “merely performs a technical function and cannot be registered as a trademark.”
The anniversary for said patented brick also happens to be January 28th and is now known as International LEGO Day among fans of other name brands.
Okay, so maybe the ancient Greeks didn’t celebrate the Lunar New Year, but they certainly loved the Zodiac, and when it comes to snakes, who better to usher in the new year than everyone’s favorite gorgon, Medusa? James Zhan recreates this monster of myth with her writhing hair of snakes in LEGO as the figurehead of an ornate mirror, fusing whimsy and functionality. Perhaps it’s a warning not to get lost in your own reflection (or just a sly wink to Medusa’s fate in Clash of the Titans). James rounds out this beautiful and functional model with a microscale version of Olympus above and a Greek city below.
As a bonus, James created an alternate profile for Medusa with an open eye that can be swapped in should you dare to meet her gaze. The spikey vine works brilliantly in both orientations as Medusa’s eye lashes.
As a child growing up in a small town, LEGO made my world so much bigger. I could imagine life in space, the Middle Ages, or big cities because the act of building with bricks made history, science, and far-off places real. But it wasn’t until years later, thanks to communities like Brickshelf and sites like this one, that I came to understand how universal my experience was. One of my great joys in writing for this site has been the chance to learn from and be inspired by creations shared by talented builders around the world.
Builders like Vooi Loon Low, a Chinese Malaysian AFOL living in Kuala Lumpur.
A few years ago, Loon started sharing LEGO models of shops on Petaling Street, the heart of Kuala Lumpur’s historic Chinatown. Specifically, he’s been recreating the shops as they would have appeared in the 1950s. These buildings, sometimes paired with black and white photos, are the only LEGO models Loon has shared. I wanted to know more about Loon’s motivations for this very specific and long-running project. When I reached out, Loon was kind enough to share his story.
Read on to hear Loon’s story and see more of his builds of historic Petaling Street
There’s something about this pigeon that I don’t trust. The way he stares with disdain as he paints the sidewalk with suspicious white dots… I’m not saying he’s connected to the mob, but he’s definitely a made bird. Made out of LEGO by Tobias Whelan [Intense Potato], to be specific. The builder is best known for vehicles and buildings (including New Hashima and the amazing Medina al Musawrah collab), but this foray into animal builds shows his range. Tobias wanted to experiment with some of the newer curved elements that LEGO has added to the mix, as seen in the shaping of the bird’s head and chest. My favorite parts use has to be minifig arms for the bird’s toes. A common pigeon from an uncommonly talented builder.
“Where does he get those wonderful toys?” you might ask. Well, in the case of Djokson, you build them yourself from the most unusual combinations of LEGO parts imaginable. The builder’s latest character, the Feral Jester, plays with more recent elements, like the color built from a mix of blue leaves, and the antennae which stem from the latest wave of Dreamzzz sets, like Cooper’s Gaming Controller Jet. I love the mosquito-like face which, paired with those razor-sharp fingers, makes this one clown you don’t want to cross.
To learn more about the builder’s process, inspirations, and LEGO history, check out our interview with Djokson from last year.
Tired: snail mail. Wired: snail phone. In the crazy pirate world of One Piece (coming soon as official LEGO sets) den den mushi are a species of telepathic snails who function as phones letting Marines and captains communicate across the vast Grand Line. Anime enthusiast and character builder Rokan Cheung imagines what one of these useful critters would look like as a LEGO build, and the results are just as charming and weird as Eiichiro Oda’s original design. Now I just need to know if we’ll see a den den mushi at minifig scale in the upcoming sets.
The RX-78-2 mech from Mobile Suit Gundam is up there with the X-Wing and Optimus Prime as one of the most enduring subjects for LEGO builders. But as we’ve seen with models like this brilliant X-Wing from last year, even if a subject’s been built a thousand times before, new parts, new techniques, and a fresh pair of eyes can still yield exciting takes that improve on perfection. That’s definitely the case with this remarkable mobile suit from DeRa.
As we saw with this ferocious LEGO tiger from last year, one of DeRa’s builder superpowers is a knack for articulation. This Gundam can swap armaments and strike any pose from the classic anime, like the best gunpla model kits.
Click to see more of DeRa’s Gundam masterpiece in action
There’s something special about ’80s kids’ films: their practical effects, a spirit of adventure, and a willingness to scar audiences for life with nightmare fodder. Perhaps no scene broke so many young hearts as Atreyu losing his horse Artax in the Swamps of Sadness. Jack McKeen recreates this iconic scene from The Neverending Story with a LEGO tribute that has me both awed by the technique and fighting back tears. I’m impressed by the brown tiles transitioning to slopes around the sinking horse; you can almost feel the horse being sucked into the swamp. The base, built from writhing vines and dinosaur tails, is eye-catching. And Jack’s minifig Atreyu couldn’t be more perfect.
The Neverending Story is one of my favorite films, but the book it’s based on is even better. If you haven’t read it yet, it’s a treat at any age. And you can relive Artax’s tragic end, only in the original version he talks as he drowns!
With the Lunar New Year less than a week away, we’re seeing a lot of amazing Year of the Snake builds from LEGO builders around the world. In the latest This Week in Bricks, ABrickDreamer puts the spotlight on snakes while highlighting many other incredible MOCs, contests, and builder tips from around the web, like the results of the Colossal Castle Contest (congratulations to Louis of Nutwoood, builder of this incredible castle!)