Posts by Norm Harper

The best decorations mean the best confections

LEGO builder Julius Von Brunk has constructed an homage to the yearly quest for candy that brings back fond memories. Navigating a neighborhood on Halloween night in search of treats can be a tricky business. You need to look for a porch light, at the very least, if you expect the occupants to open the door. A jack-o’-lantern on the porch is a sure sign that a house has got some candy on hand. But if you want the good stuff, you have to find the most elaborately decorated domiciles. Julius illustrates that here with a lovely trio of townhouses. Each home has its own unique character, but repeating motifs like window placement and roof shape suggest that they were built as part of the same community. Still, it’s the house in the middle that the kids are really lining up for. Because they’ve gone all out with decorations scary enough to send some kids running away in fear (after collecting a full-size chocolate bar, of course). C’mon, Green House Guy, your pig mask is cute and all. But you’re handing out fruit. Get your head in the game.

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Need a hell-ping hand?

This five-fingered demon by Nathan Hake is an unconventional monster that makes for a suitably spooky way to celebrate Halloween. Inspired by cover art from an album by the Dead Pirates, Nathan has crafted plenty of character into this gruesome glove. The use of curved slopes and hinges creates a surprisingly anatomically accurate hand shape that feels like it could grab hold of anything. And a fortuitous lighting mishap gave the final pic a classic horror movie feel.

An RPG tribute that will make you say OMG.

This digital creation by Dale Harris pits a trio of unfortunate adventurers against some skeleton warriors and a massive dracolich. (For those of you not familiar with Dungeons & Dragons – and I count myself among you – all you need to know is that a dracolich is sort of an undead dragon thing. Although Dale’s work makes that pretty clear.) The massive skeletal dragon is obviously the immediate eye catcher in this build, but I’m particularly drawn to the work on the curved stone staircase on which our heroes find themselves trapped. Hopefully the die rolls their way.

A keetchee-a buoild zeet vill meke-a yuou sey ‘Bork Bork Bork!’

We recently covered an impressive Muppet Labs build by martin.with.bricks. And now it’s time to light the lights on the Swedish Chef’s kitchen. Poor Camilla is about to get turned into a serving of “Chickie in the Basket” unless something in that kitchen eats the Chef first. Martin’s perfectly captured the set from the original The Muppet Show, with lots of round tiles replicating the unique wall paper, and all the shelving and kitchenware that the Chef used to cause his culinary mayhem.

We’ve fallen in love with this Tumbler variation.

In the movie Batman Begins, the Batmobile is a prototype military vehicle that never made it into full production. But, had the Tumbler been put into military use, there’d probably be all kinds of variations on it in pop culture, like this Mass Effect 2 inspired version by Slick_Brick. The Tumbler’s trademark wheels and back fins make the vehicle instantly recognizable. But the details like rooftop lights and four minifigure seating give it an identity all its own.

And as a nice bonus detail, the display base has a clever set of tire tracks built into it. And check out that jet booster.

A gothic murder mystery awaits inside this glorious manor

As part of a challenge to create a hypothetical new LEGO theme, Geneva Durand opted to make something of a game out of it. The Detection theme’s flagship set is the Greenwold House, an 871-piece home full of classic crime novel fun. The front of the home offers tons of gorgeous detail – thanks in large part to an ample use of microphones and roller skates – while still keeping things at a scale suitable for a set on the shelves at Target.

The reverse side features six rooms, filled with clues for the Doctor and Detective (and the builder) to examine in hopes of separating fact from fiction and solving the crime. It’s a LEGO build experience and a murder mystery puzzle all rolled into one. Where I can preorder?

It’s gourds galore in this festive fall scene.

Tommy Frost has constructed an homage to one of the best parts of Halloween: the selection of the pumpkin! A truly frightening jack-o-lantern needs the perfect base, and every fall the local pumpkin patch is the place to select the squash that you’ll sacrifice for your front porch. Tommy’s LEGO pumpkin patch has all the hallmarks of the season – hay bales, people in costume, a scarecrow, and even some lovely fall foliage. Now let’s get these pumpkins home, pour some apple cider, and get out the biggest knife in the kitchen…

This town needs an enlargement.

Joel Schumacher’s neon-colored sequels get a lot of flack for being overly stylized, but revisit 1989’s Batman and you might be struck by just how Tim Burton-y it really is. Shannon Sproule has perfectly captured the essence of Gotham’s production design in these microscale buildings. While later filmmakers like Nolan and Reeves opted for a more grounded and realistic Gotham, Burton created a city that was every bit as weird and wonderous as Pee-Wee’s Playhouse, just in darker colors. Harsh angles, elegant curves, giant pipes, vents, and numerous statues are all the rage in this town. And they’re kept safe by a very, very tiny Michael Keaton.

An elevated excavator.

Charlie Jones has given construction equipment a futuristic upgrade with this digital build of a quadrupedal excavator. While the main arm looks to be largely stationary, there’s no doubt we’d still have tons of fun making this mech stomp around the sandbox. In the hierarchy of toy vehicles, tank treads beat wheels, but robot legs beat tank treads any day of the week.

A 1:1 build worth a closer look.

This pair of brilliant binoculars by Tom de Kesel takes standard tires and treads and gives them new life. The treads obviously form the neck strap, but it turns out that rubber tires turned inside out produce perfect lens casings. One remaining tire does duty as the focus wheel to add the finishing touch to this perfectly rendered prop replica.

This pistol will make you beg for mercy.

I’ve never played Overwatch 2, but I’m willing to bet that no weapon in the game is branded with the LEGO logo. That doesn’t stop this build by Simon Liu from being any less impressive. The numerous angles and the rounded shaping are executed to a precision that would make any future gunsmith envious. My favorite detail is putting the oft-unseen reverse side of the masonry brick to use in a sci-fi build.

A whale of a craft

As another SHIPtember comes to a close, there’s a ton of massive builds to marvel at. But Pascal reminds us that a spaceship doesn’t have to be massive to be impressive. This Narwhal Scout ship packs a ton of things to admire into a small space. Complex angles, just the right amount of greebling, and a sleek, stud-less hull can do the job when a significantly huge investment in parts isn’t on the table.