Posts by Norm Harper

Captain, there be whales here!

As you no doubt recall (and for shame if you don’t), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home sees the crew of the original Star Trek series travel to 1980s San Francisco because a probe from space is speaking humpback whale. Trust me, it makes sense in context. Anyway, the film never gives us a glimpse at the other worldly creatures that want to speak with the humpbacks (my wife calls them whaliens), but I imagine they’d look something like this celestial cetacean by Jesse Gros. Jesse has captured the beauty and majesty of those gentle giants in a craft that looks like it would be equally at home gliding through the cosmos as through the waves.

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Check out this room you probably never checked in to...

I slept on going to the Star Wars: Galatic Starcruiser experience, and now I can’t sleep there. But, thanks to Brian (_tm31__), we can all bring the themed hotel room home in LEGO form. Brian has captured the resort’s Star Wars production design in a wonderful little vignette showing how the whole family can relax in comfort after a day exploring the galaxy. There’s a bed big enough for a wookie that mom and dad can rest on, and two bunks with padding that calls back to the Millenium Falcon’s corridors for the little Jedis in the family.

A Spider-verse build that hits the spot

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse was billed as part one of a two-part epic, but three years later we’re still waiting on the follow up. To help us deal with the wait, Noah (building_connections_official) brings us an original scene of the portal producing villain the Spot creating plenty of displaced chaos.

LEGO’s modular nature is put to perfect use here, with multiple props and scene participants taking up space in different parts of the build. The Spot’s trademark black voids being built around minifigure halves and the police car create a kind of unity from their disassembly.

And, while the full lab scene might be too much for an official set, Noah’s police car is exactly the kind of unique thing I’d love to see on store shelves when that next movie hits!

Let me get a tauntaun burger, hold the mayo

Star Wars is a rich universe, full of knights, scoundrels, soldiers, and wizards…but also plenty of normal folks. And, while we often see the ships and settings of the knights and wizards, we rarely glimpse the ho-hum of the galaxy. Which is what makes this food stand by Tim Goddard so refreshing.

There’s no lasers, no thrusters, and no chance of losing an arm to a lightsaber. It’s just a place where a moisture farmer or a hoverbike mechanic can grab lunch. One look at the droid manning it, and you know immediately it belongs in a galaxy far, far away. And you also know you better learn Aurebesh if you want to read the menu.

These dwarves are done digging

Although they’re known primarily as miners, Dwalin Forkbeard has higher aspirations for the dwarves near the Eastern Watcher. They’re about to mingle with the clouds, thanks to their airship the Skyscraper. The orcs won’t know what’s coming their way, as they watch low for their dwarven enemies, only to be pelted from above with bombs. Obviously, the large stone tower immediately draws the eye, and it’s impressively built. But the airship steals the show, with that wonderful dwarven masthead. For more of Dawlin’s impressive creations, make sure to dig into our archives.

Zounds! A zippy Zoid with zest

Hey, remember those robot animals from when you were a kid? No, not the Dinobots and Insecticons. The ones that had pilots, I think they started with a “z”. No, not the Power Ranger Zords. The other ones, that were like model kits. Zoids! That’s them! Okay, I might not have remembered Zoids, but thankfully Aido Kessler does. And Aido’s love for the franchise has given us this amazing Liger Zero Jager build, a ferocious looking feline with wings on top of wings.

Aido has also built a terrific looking display base for the Liger Zero, but don’t think that means he has to stay put. There are almost one hundred joints packed into this thing, which means this cat can move!

This ‘Bee has us buzzing

It’s fitting that The Transformers brand is ever-changing. While LEGO has been giving us official Transformers sets based, more or less, on the original 1980s versions of the Autobots and Decepticons, there are numerous variations of the characters to explore. And, one of the most recognizable of these is the live-action movie Bumblebee, rendered here by Replicardinal. The live-action Transformers designs are a dizzying mass of details, and its hard to imagine an official set doing a better job of capturing Bee’s 2007 style.

And while Bumblebee might not be able to convert into a Camaro, he can swap out his regular arm for a blaster, and I’d rather see him blow some Decepticons away than go for a drive.

This gaggle of greebles gives me a great grin

If the word is new to you, “greebles” are all those little details that give texture to a model. Whether it’s LEGO, or some big budget movie’s production design, they’re the details that make the fantastic feel real. Even though we don’t really see them in the real world all too often. And this Neo-Classic Space masterpiece by Scott Wilhelm has got enough greebles for a dozen spaceships. While the blue portions of the ship maintain a traditional smooth surface, Scott has made sure the gray portion is absolutely exploding with clips and bars and odd pieces at strange angles. The combined effect of which is a craft that feels like the most technologically advanced ship in the fleet.

The Ice Planet droids are bringing the heat

The holidays are behind us. Which means no more songs about the beauty of snow or the joy of cold weather. Now it’s just dealing with the harsh reality of winter as we try and survive the frost until spring arrives. With that in mind, we suggest you get yourself some Ice Planet droids, like this crew from Devid VII. They can shovel the walk with ease. At least, I assume they can. I mean, they’re built for keeping space explorers safe on a frigid planet, so your sidewalk should be a piece of cake.

Ring in the new year with these modern kitchen upgrades

It’s easy to earn oohs and aahs when you’re building a massive SHIPtember project or constructing a beloved IP. But I’ve really come to appreciate the effort that goes into smaller builds and builds of everyday items. That’s why I think Oshi Builds is really cooking with this kitchen setting. These are the kinds of things we’re all so familiar with, there’s no room for error. And, in minifigure scale, the number of pieces you can use gets very limited indeed. But there are some amazing details here; the knife block with the perfect angle, the dials and handles on the stove/oven. Heck, the refrigerator even has a cord running around the back so you can plug it in!

The majesty of a magpie magnified

Lee Nuo is a self-proclaimed bird enthusiast, and we’ve covered some of their avian builds before. But this tribute to the Formosan Blue Magpie takes things to a new heights, putting the bird at the certain of a vignette about the natural sciences and those who study them. We love the stylized magnifying glass and it’s POV into the smaller world, along with the scaffolding and the research team. It all serves as a reminder that sometimes the most beautiful things about nature are the things you can’t see with the naked eye.

This sugary sovereign bears a bitter burden

Life is sweet in the land of Candia, but that’s only because their ruler, King Syze, is determined to keep the forces of sourness at bay. Maxx Davidson has crafted a king as strong in will as he is in flavor. It’s clear that the weight of the world rests on this bubble gum colored visage. Thankfully, the milk chocolate throne brings certain perks with it. The king has a group of advisors who are a bunch of Smarties. And there are Three Musketeers defending the castle at all times. King Syze considers that kind of help to be a real Life Saver.