Colonizing alien planets is the adventure of a lifetime, but things don’t always go as planned. This LEGO radar outpost by Douglas Hughes supports a group of colonists and space marines in their efforts to tame the wild unknown. The best part about a radar outpost with treads is you can make a not-so-quick getaway when the going gets rough.
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I think we could all use a little more zen in our lives right now, and this peaceful pagoda by Ayrlego is the perfect blend of simple, yet elegant architecture and a serene landscape. From the sturdy brick foundation to the gently sloping roofs, this harmonious pagoda is sending out some positive vibes.
At first glance, this LEGO model of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai could be mistaken for the official set… wait, who am I kidding? there’s no possible way you could confuse this incredible model by Rocco Buttliere for the LEGO set made with only 333 pieces.
There are so many great details that I’m not sure where to start. How about with the inner ring at the base of the model, which uses circular roller-coaster tracks to create a faceted plaza between all three spurs of the building.
Rocco also creates large trees that match the look of the tiny trees made from green flower parts.
Along with the many stunning architectural details like the symmetrical recessed circular gardens, and the gently curving buildings along the edge of the model and the multiple sloped and terraced plazas, the three tapering spurs capture the look of this iconic landmark beautifully.
Over the years, LEGO has shipped its little plastic pieces in many unconventionally shaped packaging, as any Bionicle fan well knows. When the newly released LEGO Dots arrived in stores in a multi-compartment tray with a clear lid, it was bound to show up in a model sometime. And that time is now, as nobu_tary has built this delicious bento box filled with colorful and tasty looking morsels.
February is over, and LEGO builders who participated in the month-long building challenge known as Febrovery even got a bonus day with this leap year. Several rovers have been featured here on TBB this month, but this open-topped model by Anthony Wilson instantly caught my eye, mostly with the presence of something not usually seen in space exploration vehicles, a tree, and a very nicely sculpted one at that. I would say this tree-topped rover was a breath of fresh air.
One of the most recognizable ships from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, the versatile, low altitude speeder manufactured by Incom Corporation proved effective in the battle of Hoth, despite being ill-suited for cold environments. It looks like Massimiliano Sibilia may have taken low-altitude a little too seriously in this microscale model, which features the iconic wedge-shaped speeder skimming over the surface of Hoth.
The model captures the clunky aesthetic very well, and the harpoon and grill on the rear are particularly great details on this small scale.
Well, I have seen a lot of different small parts used to represent minifigs at microscale. Still, I gotta hand it to CreativBricks for their genius idea to use actual Minifig arms in white to represent clones, and in tan and dark gray to represent B1 and B2 Battledroids, respectively. But the techniques used to create the vehicles go arm-in-arm with the figures. In fact, that AT-TE has some fantastic details for its scale.
LEGO mecha builders draw their inspiration from all across popular culture sources, like movies, anime, and especially video games. While mecha has very deep roots in Japanese culture, and in the writings of Jules Verne, and H.G.Wells, the 1984 BattleTech (originally Battle Droids) could be considered one of the original mecha franchise to inspire modern LEGO creators to build machines piloted by humans. And that is where Kevin Hansen turned for inspiration when building this model.
Built using a variety of curved white parts, the mech is very accurate to its source material, and this is one walker you do not want stepping on your picnic. Besides cannons on each arm, there is a missile battery mounted behind the pilot’s compartment that will make it rain fire.
Space program fans now have another amazing LEGO set inspired by real-life NASA missions and international collaboration in the recent International Space Station 21321. But what if your display space is limited? That did not stop lysanderchau for a moment, as you can see by their amazingly detailed microscale model based on the official set. There is even a space shuttle and all of the other extra vehicle modules at an even smaller scale to match.
While you’re at it, don’t miss our review of the official set.
Capturing great details on a spaceship that fits in the palm of your hand is a refreshing surprise from TBB Veteran, Letranger Absurde, and this pair of spaceships, while inspired by Star Wars, stand alone as a lesson in master parts usage. Take the fighter, made from a single LEGO minifigure robot head mold from the Galaxy Squad theme, where the facial visor serves as the cockpit canopy. And the red 1×1 tile on the side of the frigate nose picks up the circle design on the sides of the fighter beautifully.
While this sleek LEGO cargo ship by Guy Smiley would look perfectly at home in a scene of interstellar combat, this pair of vessels are here to get the shipping job done. The cargo ship is sporting some powerful engines, and the support craft has a manipulator arm to load and unload the containers. But my favorite part use is the door panels from a Minifig cupboard, used throughout the models, with those two tiny holes.
But every great spaceship needs a worthy stand to support it, and if you look closely at this scene, you will discover that this stand is a creation all its own, depicting an entire microscale city over which these ships are flying on their way to the port.
If we were ever to encounter alien life, there is every reason to believe that they will look nothing like us. The many conditions required for life as we know it to evolve are entirely based on our own little blue/green world. And if you are going to invent life in the form of LEGO creations, the only limit is your imagination. Take this scene by Djokson, for example. These insect-like creatures and their troop transport would fit right in on many science fiction worlds and the human troops that encounter them would have the fight of their lives.
The troop transport creature is appropriately named the Flea, for its obvious ability to jump clear across the battlefield. Heads-up!