Posts by Daniel

This microscale Y-wing is setting up for an attack run

The single most recognized feature of the BTL-A4 starfighter, a.k.a. the Rebel Alliance Y-Wing, is the long tube-shaped engines or nacelles that give the starfighter its nickname. But an equally distinct design detail would have to be the greebling, or random non-specific technical looking details, that fill the rest of the ship behind the wedge-shaped cockpit. This microscale model by Tim Goddard has absolutely nailed both of these details in a very challenging scale for a model this complex.

Gold Leader

The recent introduction of a number of tiles with rounded edges like the 1×1 quarter tile, the 1×1 incisor tile, as well as the 2×2 curved and angled tiles, provide a lot of detail both on the ship’s fuselage, and in the stand, which contains a slice of the Death Star surface. Another MVP with this model is the 1×2 silver ingot. The signature elements all come together perfectly.

Tim’s Y-wing joins his growing wing of Rebel starfighters at this scale, including a U-wing from Rogue One and classic X-wing.

Properly scaled speeders from Solo: A Star Wars Story

Sometimes, the scale of official LEGO Star Wars sets presents a challenge for builders who want to create elaborate scenes to incorporate them into. Microfighters can help in this situation unless you are not a fan of the cute and chunky vehicles in proportion to their minifig pilots. One solution is to do what Brick Ninja did, and re-design the official sets to better match mini-fig scale.

This custom version of Han Solo’s stolen M-86 speeder may have fewer play features and a bit less detail, but it matches the dimensions of the movie vehicle perfectly, and still fits Han and Q’ira side by side.

M-86 Landspeeder

See Moloch’s landspeeder and compare these to the official LEGO sets

Tiny castle wins the prize

This tiny castle by -soccerkid6 was built as a prize for a castle building contest but stands on its own merits as a great microscale model. Many different red elements make great roofs, and I love the ice-cream cones inverted under that long hall. The rockwork is also interesting, with lots of techniques normally found on much larger builds, such as the uneven base and sideways bricks.

Summer Joust 2018: 48x48 Castle Prize

And in case you are wondering what it looks like from the back–I know I was.

Summer Joust 2018: 48x48 Castle Prize

Clean and simple microscale castle is packed with charm

When it comes to building a great microscale castle, there is something beautiful in the simple choices, color, angled walls, round or square towers, a bridge. This lovely castle scene by Henjin_Quilones has many of these simple choices that add up to an enchanting build.

Ovenntrie Castle

One of my favorite features is the use of inverted 2×2 round bricks, with windows at the top made with the gaps on the underside of the bricks and plates. A few well-placed gears are another nice detail. The grooved bricks used as stairs was a surprising feature. I also really love the smooth walls topped with slopes, and the very few windows placed very thoughtfully.

Besides the castle itself, there are other areas of the scene worth noticing, like the small village and docks, the watchtower on the far side of the bridge, and the detailed landscaping.

Building Ninjago City: The Brothers Brick open collaboration [Feature]

Summer is here, and that means there are only about three months left until BrickCon 2018. As we announced in May, The Brothers Brick will be hosting a public collaborative display of Ninjago City open to any full convention attendees. Check out that announcement for detailed instructions on the guidelines and how to participate. In the meantime, we here at TBB have been busy little builders, and have over a dozen city blocks underway, not to mention a massive volcano lair for Garmadon. Today we want to share some tips and tricks to help get you started, as well as some of the building techniques that we have used so far in the construction of the lower levels of Ninjago City. Let us know in the comments below if you would be interested in more detailed guides or additional techniques shown in our city blocks.

Ninjago City is a layered city, with the oldest buildings on the bottom stories, rising to modern, nearly sci-fi architecture at the top. As such, we’re approaching the building of our modules from the bottom up, starting with the oldest, lowest level. Nearly all of the buildings shown here will have additional structures placed on top to complete the upper levels–in many cases several more stories. Look for additional articles as we continue building the upper levels. Each of these modules conforms to our standard to ensure the whole layout will fit together well (except in the few special modules we’ve noted).

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Fort Knowhere, a cozy spot to live out the end of civilization

Who doesn’t love a good post-apocalyptic scene? This outpost by Sebastian Bachórzewski has pretty much anything a gang of war-hardened survivors could want or need to hunker down and weather the storm. Personally, this fenced compound reminded me of the Road Warrior, with its eclectic mix of barriers, ramshackle buildings, and broken vehicles. One of my favorite features is the use of so many minifig hands to top the fence.

Fort Knowhere

This alternate view shows off some more great details.

Fort Knowhere

Complete set of LEGO Space X rockets and vehicles – Go for launch!

Space and space exploration is also a very popular subject when it comes to LEGO creations. Valerie Roche and Matthew Nolan have designed a collection of SpaceX vehicles and put it on LEGO’s crowd-sourcing platform Ideas, where it’s already well on its way towards the needed 10,000 supporters. One of the coolest things about this project is that the designers have received input from people working on the real SpaceX program to help make the models even more accurate.

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Check out the full collection of vehicles

Massive collaborative LEGO project shows Vikings invading a Spanish village

Group LEGO building projects are a great way to create something much more impressive than what an individual builder might accomplish, and this recent collaboration between a group of builders called The Brickstons and several friends from the LEGO club ALE is a great example. Considering that there were 14 builders involved, the scene is very well designed, with carefully laid out building standards and many unifying design elements helping everything fit together. This isn’t their first experience with large displays though, and we highlighted their 1930s Harlem display last month.

Viking Attack

The diorama portrays a Viking raid on the coast of Spain in approximately the year 859, a real historic event. The villa shown here isn’t any specific port, but rather an amalgamation of what a typical village in the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba would have looked like at the time.

Viking Attack

See all the amazing details in the images below.

Check out more details

Posable Arale and Gatchan figures are super cute

Arale Norimaki is a fictional character from the Dr. Slump manga series, created by Akira Toriyama. Arale is a robot girl who is strong, energetic and a bit naive. This playful model by LEGO 7 — which also features two Gatchan, or Gajira Norimaki — is a wonderful tribute to these unique characters, who make an occasional appearance on the popular anime Dragon Ball from the same creator.

Arale & Gatchan

One of my favorite details is the use of a white rubber band wrapped around Arale’s ankles as a rumpled sock. The simple construction of her gloved hands, made from only 6 parts each is another nice touch. On the Gatchan, an inverted yellow chair forms a bib for this critter who is known to eat just about anything.

LEGO 7 has tweaked the model just a bit to give us a very dynamic and especially playful scene.

Arale & Gatchan

One tasty cup of coffee makes the day better

This wonderfully detailed coffee stand by LEGO 7 does not have a single brick out of place — from the hanging glasses rack to the roasting machine in back to those delicious pastries on display. Even the custom stickers and the logo on the apron of the baristas are a perfect choice.

DOLLY COFFEE

For even more details, check out this top view, featuring a grinder, outdoor tables, cash register, water cooler, and a professional looking espresso machine.

DOLLY COFFEE

Tim Murphy with night-vision googles in BrickHeadz style

Ever since the premiere of Jurassic Park 25 years ago dinosaur fans have been thrilled and amazed to see the evolution of visual effects bring these creatures to life on the big screen. With the newest installment, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, opening in theaters this weekend, this tribute to John Hammond’s grandson Tim Murphy by Maru C in BrickHeadz style is a perfect addition to the growing list of fan creations depicting some of our favorite characters and personalities.

Jurassic Park Brickheadz

Jurassic Park Brickheadz

Adorable Hazmat worker in BrickHeadz style

Usually, fan-built BrickHeadz models feature well-known public figures or fictional characters from pop culture, like The Little Mermaid, Scooby Doo & Shaggy, Rose Tico and Jar Jar, and my own Trump and Putin BrickHeadz. For a nice change, this Hazmat responder by √erde’ is a really well-designed model true to the BrickHeadz aesthetic while clearly depicting the Hazmat uniform. Armed with what looks like a flame-thrower, humanity is safe from any potential outbreak.

Hazmatz

One of my favorite details is the simple use of hinge plates in two colors to form the life support tube on the front, and he has a complete life support system on his back.

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