About Lino

Lino is an artist, humorist, and occasional responsible adult. He is the co-founder of a challenge-based LEGO car club called LUGNuts which boasts over 1100 members worldwide. He proposed automotive building challenges every month for ten years (120 challenges!) which he and the other members built accordingly. LUGNuts has retired its challenges on its 10th anniversary but still remains a cornerstone for LEGO automotive builders. Between his artistic work and LEGO builds, Lino has been published in several books, including Beautiful LEGO, Beautiful LEGO: Dark, and Beautiful LEGO: Wild. He lives in Washington with his girlfriend and dogs.

Posts by Lino

The big Beluga of our dreams

I’m certain no one asked for this big assault VTOL called Beluga. But clearly LEGO builder ReD M is a master at bringing us what we’d love to see but never knew we wanted. Whether it be the shaping, intricate details, or striking color scheme, this hefty gunship is very suddenly the object of so many LEGO fans’ desires. It’s like something out of all the best sci-fi movies ever made. With its parameters established long ago by a legendary and influential builder who has passed some twelve years ago, there is a certain look to the Vic Viper. Click the link to check out how this big Beluga fits into it. And as tradition goes, these Vic Vipers are almost always exclusively built in NoVVember. What a great way to honor a fine tradition. We’ll surely be on the lookout for whatever else ReD M builds.

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We all float up here

LEGO builder Jesse van den Oetelaar must have his head in the clouds as evidenced by this stunning new creation. Fall colors, hot-air ship, floating islands, great build techniques; what’s not to love, really? There’s been a good deal of floating island-themed builds gracing the pages of The Brothers Brick lately. Not that we’re complaining! Sometimes the best place to be is a fantasy world high among the clouds. Take a lofty trip into our archives to see more floating island creations by talented builders all over (or way above) the world.

A LEGO chest full of D&D winning

Some people have a special talent for cooking, crafting, music making, and what have you. Esteemed LEGO builder Sean Mayo’s special talent lies in…well LEGO building but also mixing in other nerdy hobbies and making them super cool. I mean, take this treasure chest chock full of neat little Dungeons & Dragons doodads, for example. It includes a collectible silver figure, dice storage complete with dice and bag, a vertical holder for a notepad and D&D spell cards, and a gold coin. Sean tells us he has taken the classic Castle LEGO dragon of yore and combined it with the D&D logo to make the graphic. Clever!

The whole shebang can be stored neatly inside the box. What Dungeon Master wouldn’t want this at their next gaming event? If this wasn’t enough to warrant a full-on nerdgasm, then you may also be thrilled to learn that the outer panels are easily interchangeable to instead reflect a pirate theme or whatever else you’d like. What a special talent indeed! My special talent? I’m glad you asked! I write sensitive poetry about the man from Nantucket. While you’re mulling that over, check out some other Dungeons & Dragons-themed creations from other people around the world who also have special talents.

Tanks for the inspiration

It was fun, silly and therefore I was inspired to write about it. Sandro Quattrini built this Tankhead mech and was himself inspired by Emerson Tung’s Tankhead art. It’s like a circle of inspiration! I enjoy the color scheme, complex curves and overall stance and attitude of this mech. The oversized gatling gun it carries isn’t without its charms either. Maybe it’ll inspire you to build something. What does it inspire in you? let us know in the comments. While you’re at it, check out why we think Sandro Quattrini is an inspiration to us.

A dysfunctional family portrait

Here’s something some of us can relate to: You gather the family for one of those formal portraits and dad has some unsavory opinions, mom worries about your eating habits, brother would rather dress as Batman and the less said about little sis the better. The end product is a study in angst and dysfunction forever immortalized over your parent’s dining table. LEGO builder Joseph Zawada has a similar vibe going here except this family is a bunch of mechs. They most certainly share a family resemblance. There are four mechs in all but, if you’ll indulge me, I’d like to show you just two of my favorites.

Click to delve deeper into family dysfunction

Billowing sails on the high seas

The latest episode of LEGO Masters had me in awe as the contestants built stunning pirate ships in just eight hours. This lovely tall ship by Ralf Langer is admittedly several nautical miles above and beyond that and surely took him more than eight hours to construct. The cannons, the rigging, and the waving flag are all amazing touches to be sure. But the star of the show here has got to be those billowing sails. Ralf is a master at building complex curves and textures and this ship encompasses all of that in some surprising ways. Please do yourselves the favor and set sails for our Ralf Langer archives to see what other adventures await.

This cat mech has had enough of your shiz!

When I saw this LEGO cat mech by Dan Rubin I immediately thought of that meme of the lady yelling at a cat who seems perturbed by a plate of vegetables. That image, and just about every variation of it I’ve seen so far, has tickled my funny bone to no end. There’s just so much absurdity to it! I imagine the cat growing into a giant mech suit and then taking sweet revenge on Miss Whiny-Yelling-Crying-Pants. Point that finger at me, will you? Hah! The imagination soars with hilarious scenarios. Anyway, that meme is not where Dan took his inspiration, as it turns out. This idea spawned from the bunny mech from Sucker Punch and the fact that LEGO produced a snarling printed cat face on a half-dome. I can’t even fathom which set that part would have come from but surely some of you know so be sure to let us know in the comments.

A twosome of terrific Trek tech

Set your phasers to positively delighted because LEGO builder Kevin J. Walter has a duo of 1:1 scale Trek tech for you to dork out over. First up is a Tricorder used to sense data, record data, and analyze said data. Star Trek medics use special Tricorders to help diagnose diseases and collect bodily information about a patient while the engineering Tricorder is used for…well, engineering purposes. Captain Kirk mostly used his to categorize hot space babes that he made out with. I like the attention to detail here and it looks as if you can fold it up and stow it in your Star Trek uniform that somehow had no pockets.

Next is a Type II Phaser for shooting space baddies who were not cool with Captain Kirk or anyone else (especially Kirk) making out with their babes. Unless you count a smartphone and a taser, we have to wait a couple of centuries until we can have such cool tech. In the meantime, check out why Kevin J. Walter continues to impress us dorks with his masterful LEGO work.

Whether day or night, these vans are arockin’ so don’t come aknockin’!

My childhood self in the 70s and 80s saw plenty of elaborately painted street vans, a phenomenon that has been sadly lost to time. But LEGO vehicle builder Isaac Wilder has kept the beautiful dream alive with this retro pair of Dodge street vans. Here’s a fiery sunrise van that I can attest was a common theme back in the 70s. That front bumper is totally sick!

For emissions more nocturnal we have a dark moonlit Dodge street van counterpart. The magic of these is, without even mentioning it, one can imagine the plush shag interiors and the not-quite-lawful activities going on inside. Also the sticker on the rear window that declares; gas, grass, or ass nobody rides for free. While all three may be enticing, clicking the Isaac Wilder link is a free trip so give it a gander.

For the love of money...and chicken legs

You can be forgiven for barely remembering the droid bounty hunter 4-LOM who boasted roughly one second of screen time in The Empire Strikes Back. But for LEGO builder Greg Dalink, 4-LOM (stands for; For the Love of Money) holds a special place in his heart. He’s working on a series of battle mechs that houses the Star Wars bounty hunter for which it resembles. You know, for when a bounty hunter wants to work more conspicuously. I love the greebly details and overall black and gun-metal color of this mech. The Bionicle shoulder pads make great compound eyes and the breathing device (do droids breathe?) is an amazing touch.

The best part is the head opens to reveal a 4-LOM minifig driver nestled inside as seen in this photo. It seems 4-LOM loves money and the feeling of being inside himself…or something. Ahem. Just click this Greg Dalink link to see some of the other bounty hunter mechs in action.

Doo-Doo Racer from the Stone Jungle

Now here’s something you don’t see every day—or rather, no other day in the history of the world ever. LEGO builder Nikita Nikolsky lets loose a Doo-Doo Racer from the Stone Jungle and we’re not sure how that settles with us. It’s like Mad Max meets Caddyshack or Death Race 2000 meets National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. Probably the less said about this the better. But if there were a B-List movie of the same title I’d likely watch it. Still, that’s some pretty sick camber on those tires though. The pipes are epic too but I don’t want to know what comes out of the exhaust.

Dia de los Muertos; the Halloween after Halloween

LEGO builder Kevin Wanner made a trip to San Diego recently, took a few photos, and treated us all to something amazing. In his words; “Día de los Muertos or Day of the Dead is traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2. It is a holiday of joyful celebration involving family and friends gathering to pay respects to those who have died. Traditions connected with the holiday include honoring the deceased using calaveras and Aztec marigold flowers known as cempazúchitl, it is also common to give gifts to friends such as candy sugar skulls.” I love the colors and festivity of it all. The flowers, painted cobblestone tiles, sugar skulls, and various cactus plants are all fun details. Even the photography, with its depth of field, is expertly done. It gives us a reason to celebrate the loved ones who have passed on.