Posts by Norm Harper

The Scottish Highlands distilled in LEGO

The beauty of the Scottish Highlands has been marvelously captured in this build by 11drgnsMOC. Every sight imaginable, from a cottage covered in snow to a castle atop a sunny green hillside, has been nestled side-by-side in this delightful vignette. There’s even a brick-built bagpipe! We can almost smell the peat in the air.

This rendering was one of several models that the builder submitted to Bricklink Designer Program Series 9. Voting for this round is closed, with the winning entries to be announced on November 19th.

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Vancouver library recreated in brick by local LEGO legend Paul Hetherington

Paul Hetherington has a knack for building real-world locations in LEGO, and he’s at it again with this rendition of the West Vancouver Memorial Library, built to celebrate its 75th anniversary. You can tell what a grand place for the community this must be, with the ample greenery and curated outdoor space. Those umbrellas? Hub caps from the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine! But cutaway sections also let us get a good look inside at the library’s main hall and children’s sections. And, if you want an even better look at this 17,850-piece model, you can see it on display inside the actual library.

Paul is a LEGO institution in the Pacific Northwest, whose large-scale architecture and pop culture models have delighted the community for over 20 years. This model is particularly special for the builder as it’s the same library he visited as a child where he discovered the comics that would go on to inspire his LEGO building.

This medieval ballista will make your head roll

When battle calls for a massive medieval missile, your army should definitely have a ballista on hand. And Metro[pcs] has crafted one for all your LEGO castle siege needs. We love the use of gears and paint rollers to craft a machine that looks functional at such a small scale. But mostly we’re head over heals for those helmets as wheels.

We’re ecstatic about this Phantom-X mech

Although it sprang from Marco De Bon’s imagination, this masterfully built mech looks like it taken straight from a yesteryear toy aisle. The mostly black body is perfectly highlighted with bits of red and silver, and the range of posing possibilities outshines a lot of comparable LEGO builds. But Marco has had plenty of practice perfecting these bots. Check out our interview with Marco about his 1o years of building LEGO mecha!

A bloom you wouldn’t want to see in your garden

There are few builders doing creepy monsters as consistently well as [VB], who is back with a beast that’s equal parts insect, virus, and flower. The bright red at the center of (what I’m going to assume is) the head draws the eye immediately. But it’s the appendages that I can’t stop staring at. The delightfully creep blend of flexible tubes and exposed Technic somehow still manages to feel like an organic creature. And I love the subtle pop of color that the old gray harpoon guns give against the new bluish gray.

Mech-elangelo is ready to party

Long time fans of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles know that it’s Donatello who does machines, but the team’s resident party dude is rocking a mighty machine of his own, courtesy of Bas van Houwelingen. A giant robot suit might not be quite in line with the teachings of the ninja, but the Turtles never really seemed bothered by that kind of thing. Besides, look at all this suit has going for it, from the pizza loaded belt to the giant nunchucks and tonfas. And those trashcan forearms are a detail that it’s easy to imagine someone at Playmates dreaming up in the early nineties.

These chibi builds are Golden

It’s hard to escape the juggernaut that is K-Pop Demon Hunters. The movie just broke another record, holding for its 15th week in Netflix’s Top 10. It’s such a phenomenon, in fact, that I wouldn’t bet against LEGO producing some official sets someday. But, until then, we’ll settle for LegoWyrm’s take on Zoey, Ruma, and Mira. The characters are brought to life in a chibi form that’s a perfect compliment to the film’s tone, with plenty of great technique on display. I love the studs not on top construction of the trio’s eyes. And the way the printed design on Zoey’s pants is brick-built strikes a perfect chord.

Take a sec to admire this tech

We all love the brick-built greebles that decorate an intricate sci-fi model. But, sometimes it’s just as enjoyable to see how a builder incorporates some of LEGO’s pieces that feature pre-existing sculpted detail. Case in point, this bounty hunter droid by Toni A, which uses Technic and Bionicle parts to such perfection that you’d be forgiven for not knowing it was made from LEGO at all. Pre-sculpted piping, rivets, and pistons blend together in perfect harmony. And it’s easy to imagine those eyes shining at you from the darkened corridor of your disabled spaceship, as this robot closes in for the kill.

How do you say ‘brilliant build’ in Spanish?

One of my favorite places to eat is a nearby Spanish restaurant that serves things tapas style – that is to say, small plates that are full of complex and interesting flavors. And “tapas” might be the perfect way to describe this tiny build of a hillside in Spain by seb71. It’s definitely not very large, but it’s full of creative and complex parts use that I want to spend plenty of time savoring.

Initiate hunny defense systems

When Winnie the Pooh and his friends entered the public domain, some people jumped at the chance to reimagine the property as a low budget horror film. But Psyro TtunTomato has taken it in the other direction with this Pooh Bear mech worthy of a big budget blockbuster.

The intricate curves of this massive robot perfectly blend a high-tech aesthetic with Pooh’s trademark huggable stuffed frame. I just hope Pooh washes his hands before he hops in the pilot seat. Honey residue on the control panel probably doesn’t help much in combat.

We can deal with this massive Transformers build

One of the only constants to The Transformers franchise is that things are going to change. Case in point, we’ve seen Ultra Magnus, the Autobot City Commander, get reinvented in all sorts of ways over the years; from reluctant leader, to pompous general, to by-the-book cop. And Shipmaster has taken a little bit from multiple iterations of the character to craft this 7,000-piece behemoth of a build. All of the trademark Ultra Magnus details are present, but there’s plenty of creative license and extra detailing that makes this version stand alone amongst Ultra Magnuses.

Slay Bells Ring…

Let me be upfront: The Nightmare Before Christmas isn’t my cup of tea. But I respect it. And there’s no denying it’s captured the hearts of fans across the world. And, I have to admit, I find this Jack Skellington sleigh by Kalais to be a delightful blend of Halloween and Christmas aesthetics. The giant bone runners, the mausoleum-like back structure, the jack-o-lanterns lighting the way. Is it based off of something from the movie? I don’t remember. And it doesn’t matter. The charm of it all has scared the Scrooge right out of me.