The recent release of 10266 NASA apollo-11 lunar lander has inspired LEGO fans to create some great models, like this lunar rover by Robson M. But Thomas Jenkins has made his own interpretation of the lander, using some interesting parts for the legs — the bicycle frame works quite well. I also like the lunar landscape, brick-built with slopes and arches, complete with craters and moon rocks.
The leader of the Autobots, Optimus Prime, is known for motivating the troops with a good speech, and this model by hachiroku24 is striking the perfect pose to deliver. While this Optimus may not actually transform into his truck form, the builder did manage to capture many of the details that make this instantly recognizable, from the blocky red and blue limbs to those windshield pectorals.
Optimus is a popular subject for LEGO builders, so be sure to check out all the other amazing LEGO Optimus Prime models we’ve featured.
When Lloyd Garmadon gets tired of flying his green mech dragon all over Ninjago City, he can simply drop by the local chop shop and get it re-built into this sweet LEGO mech, by Max Kunz, complete with a Gatling gun for a hand! This mech looks both nimble and stylish with gold details throughout. The jaw of the mech dragon makes a unique detail in front, reminiscent of the alien mech from District 9.
When it comes to war machines designed to handle any terrain, the more legs the better. I mean, look what happened to the AT-STs on the forest moon of Endor, with their two spindly legs. But just because your walking death machine looks like an armored tarantula, doesn’t mean it has to sound like Godzilla stomping through the forest. This behemoth by Nick is sporting rubber feet for maximum stealth, which just might make it even more terrifying.
There are a lot of great part uses worth mentioning, particularly the missile batteries on either side of the head, made from a substantial collection of this roller-skate part, and several mysterious panels with 2 holes that turned out to be this cabinet door. That castle-themed shield is also a nice touch.
When I saw this amazing vertical city by Sebastian Bachórzewski, my first thought was, “What a neat microscale building,” followed almost immediately by “HOLY crap! That is minifig scale.” To say that there was a lot going on here would be an understatement. Between the many residential and commercial units piled high, to the floating vehicles coming and going at various levels, to the street scenes along all four sides of the base, this Favela is home to many faded, bitten, random, unwanted and surplus LEGO elements, cobbled together in some surprising ways.
Check out more of this stellar stacked city
Let’s face it, war is hell, especially on your feet. All that marching across rugged terrain can wreak havoc on even the most leathery of soles. Well, everyone who is anyone will be lining up to get their hands on the latest model in castle-busting siege engines by Tino Poutiainen, the Siege Giant (patent pending). Sporting the newest military miracle, the Trebuchoulder pads, this walking wall-wrecker will be no match for your enemies. Tino has put together a very expressive creation, from slumping shoulders to a tired and resigned expression on the giant’s face, made with only a few simple parts. I think my favorite part, besides that face, is the ram-headed club made from Tauntaun tusks.
And if you need more proof that the Siege Giant is the pinnacle of mobile combat, look no further than the smile on this soldier’s face. No blisters on these feet.
In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the second week of November 2019.
TBB NEWS & REVIEWS: All the brick news that’s fit to print, from Star Wars to Batman, and everything in-between.
Click here to read the rest of the week’s news
Building functioning vehicles has been a passion for many builders ever since the introduction of the Technic line of LEGO sets back in 1977 as the Expert Builder series. Some builders add motors so their vehicles can move and steer, but then there are builders like Sariel who go far and above merely building a motorized vehicle to create something truly special. When I first saw this model of a MAZ 535 heavy artillery truck made in USSR, I was impressed by both the scale, and the attention to detail, which compared to photos is remarkable.
But the amazing attention to detail doesn’t stop there. Sariel has created a video that shows off some of the many hidden features, included an opening top hatch, and two speeds for the transmission, which allows the LEGO truck to pull an incredible amount of weight. In the video, the Maz is seen pulling a chair across the floor! There is even a scene of an adorable hamster checking out the fabric hand-stitched canopy.
Growing up, I was lucky to have one of LEGO’s early sets in the castle theme, 375 Castle, which, along with several classic space sets catapulted my LEGO building creativity to a whole new level. And it seems I am not alone in my nostalgic feelings for this set. Galaktek has built a LEGO model inspired by this set, featuring a central section, with four hinged wings that open up for further play and display options. This one perfectly represents feudal Japan with an arched front gate, very detailed stone foundations and vegetation, and a lovely pagoda with ornate gold details.
And if this castle mash-up feels familiar, it’s for a good reason. You may have seen this model in person if you were in Seattle for Brickcon 2019 in early October, where the builder had several castles all built as an homage to the original castle LEGO set. We also covered another of these castle mash-ups recently here on TBB.
My original title for this article was something along the lines of a Zoolander quote, but then, that just made me feel old. But enough about me. We’re here to talk about a few amazingly detailed pirate ships at a scale suitable for Ant-man, the Wasp, or any other shrinking superhero, built by Robert4168/Garmadon and adorned with tiny sails made from paper, I think, and dozens of hand-tied rigging, which makes me tired just thinking about… or maybe that’s just me being old again. These ships may be small, but they still strike a mighty fierce cut.
This black-sailed ship is even firing cannons, using the ice-cream cone for the cannon smoke.
Majestic and mysterious. Those are just a few choice words to describe this LEGO model of Jules Verne’s enigmatic submarine captain by Eero Okkonen. Nemo, or Prince Dakkar, pilot of the equally mysterious Nautilus submarine, is adorned with gold trim, and that olive green turban even has a nautilus tile in front. By far though, the star of this build is his richly textured mustache and beard, made from such choice parts as Star Wars pistols, minifigure hands, and “raven” wings. He would make a fearsome foe indeed.
LEGO themes present creative builders with endless opportunities to mash multiple themes together into the ultimate, ultimate LEGO creations, like zombie pirates, zombie army, zombie spaceships, and zombie cowboys. (what is up with this guy and his obsession with zombies? I blame Halloween). Anyways, back to mash-ups, this wonderful SHIP (Seriously Huge Investment in Parts) by Hans Dendauw brings together the fan challenges of SHIPtember and Novvember (an homage to the Vic Viper, one of the racing spaceships from the 1995 video game Gradius, distinguished by a two-pronged fuselage), and does it all in Classic space style. Benny would be proud.
