About Patrick

Patrick (aka MassEditor) has called a few places home, but now settles amidst the foothills of the Ouachita Mountains in Arkansas. A fan of LEGO as a kid, Patrick left his dark ages behind in 2013 when his wife purchased him a Pirates set for Christmas. She's regretted the purchase ever since. Patrick builds mostly in the castle genre as a member of the Guilds of Historica on Eurobricks. He is an active member of ArkLUG. When he's not building a castle or swamp out of LEGO, Patrick enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife and two dogs. You can see his work on Flickr here.

Posts by Patrick

The fun begins where the pavement ends

I’m certain there’s a bit of the off-road enthusiast in all of us. Who couldn’t possibly enjoy the chance to escape the trappings of urban life and explore the countryside in a rugged 4×4? If it’s something you’ve never thought of before, than you’re sure to develop an interest after seeing this awesome collection of classic 4×4 vehicles by Pixel Fox:

”LEGO

From the Mercedes Unimog and Land Cruiser J70 to the Land Rover Defender and Jeep Cherokee XJ, the builder’s collection has spanned some of the most well-known and capable trail rigs. According to the builder, it all started from inspiration sparked by the wheel fenders included in the LEGO Stunt Truck released earlier this year (you’ll see the part replicated to great effect throughout this series). The mix of LEGO elements and environmental photography combines for a fantastic presentation, though purists are sure to balk. Plus, some of the scenes are just downright awesome, like this one featuring a beautifully-designed Land Rover Defender:

Land Rover Defender

Or the Unimog tree-cutting scene:

Mercedes Benz Unimog 406

Make sure to check out the builder’s Flickr page for the full line up so far and stay tuned as even more are planned.

There is peace in the swamp, though the quiet is Death

I’ve spent a lot of time in the swamps and bayous of the southern United States fishing, hunting, photographing wildlife and generally avoiding venomous snakes and hungry alligators. The bottoms – as we affectionally call them down here – are also one of my favorite sources of inspiration for LEGO building. I recently completed this bayou-related build, my dream house set in the swamps:

Swamp Outpost

Perhaps the scene feels a little lifeless but I purposefully chose not to include minifigs in this creation as I thought they would detract from the overall aesthetics. Using a fog machine and some LED lights I was able to create a creepy though strangely alluring atmosphere in this shot:

Swamp Fog

A fog machine can be a lot of fun to create mood in a LEGO scene, as can well-placed lighting. For outdoor scenes like this, I find it helpful to shoot outside at dusk with a single artificial light angled above the build to mimic moonlight. A tripod, fresh memory card and a lot of patience are also musts!

Tanks beware, the War Mustang is locked on

Enemy armor slowing you down? Then get ready to pop some tanks with the War Mustang Multi-Purpose Anti-Tank Missle System (try saying that several times real fast) built by Stud Systems. The War Mustang is a lovely and cleverly designed combat vehicle. The coolest detail has to be the poseable missile launcher and guidance system, which conveniently folds down into the roof when not in use.

レゴ ウォーマスタング多目的対戦車ミサイルシステム(LEGO War Mustang Multipurpose Anti Tank Missile System)6

レゴ ウォーマスタング多目的対戦車ミサイルシステム(LEGO War Mustang Multipurpose Anti Tank Missile System)3

Spherical spaceship has all the right curves

There’s no stopping Tyler Clites when it comes to building remarkable and just plain mind-boggling spacecraft. In a similar vein to the awe-inspiring alien vessel we featured a while back, Tyler presents us with another beautifully spherical craft in the form of this futuristic Russian starfighter.

MOLNIYA - I

The unique shape is the star of this creation, but there’s so much to appreciate here. The touches of gold, olive and white add just the right amount of color to what is otherwise an appropriately drab and utilitarian palette. The retro, “lo-fi” look of the vessel is a fantastic design choice, as if this intergalactic starfighter was built using Soviet technology from the 1960’s. Like Sputnik, but with one big frickin’ laser.

Brickheadz face-hugger is chest-burstingly cute

Alien: Covenant hits theaters in the U.S. this week, which is the only thing me and my wife have talked about for weeks (we’d be a tad more excited if Ridley Scott had nothing to do with it, but that’s a whole other discussion). It’s been a long, long time since we’ve had a decent Alien movie. Over here at TBB headquarters we were stoked to see all the recent Alien-themed builds as the release date grew nearer, but absolutely no one could have anticipated this perfectly timed creation by Manufactura Jarema.

06

This is the Alien franchise presented in all its face-hugging, chest-bursting and hole-punching glory, but with the delightfully adorable twist that can only come from a Brickheadz character. Could the violent implantation of a parasitic alien and its gruesome exit from a human body be any cuter? We certainly think not.

A media empire under one LEGO roof

Manhattan bustles with the edifices of American enterprise, towering symbols of capitalism whose many styles span New York City’s distinct historical periods. Past, present, and future often lie within the same block, Art Deco and Modern architecture mingling to reflect the city’s status as a permanent symbol of capitalism. One building which exemplifies this mix of old and new is the Hearst Tower, painstakingly recreated here in LEGO form by Daniel Stoffler.

NY Hearst Tower (AVG)

Built for and named after the famous American publisher William Randolph Hearst, the building claims a spot as the headquarters for one of the world’s largest media corporations, Hearst Communications, with ownership of numerous newspapers and publications including Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar and Cosmopolitan. The builder took on a daunting challenge recreating Hearst Tower, but the effort paid off with this accurate and realistically detailed model – which includes the original six-story base as well as the 40-story glass tower finished in 2006, here accomplished perfectly with triangular road sign elements. This makes for an interesting mix of architecture and an extremely impressive LEGO model.

Secrets abound in a hidden jungle temple

Inside the jungle, where few venture, are secrets so hidden they remain forgotten to all but time. Occasionally, through a mix of determination and plain luck, those secrets will reveal themselves. That moment of discovery is caputured brilliantly in this jungle temple scene by master castle builder Jonas Wide.

Jungle temple

Built for the Brethern of the Brick Seas collaborative role-playing project on Eurobricks, this scene is reminiscent of the discoveries made by conquistadores such as Pedro de Alvarado or Diego Velazquez de Cuellar during those early days of exploration in the New World. One can feel the mix of excitement and trepidation as Jonas’ explorers make their way up the stairs of this forgotten temple. The cautious stance of the lead explorer, musket at the ready, hints that discovery always includes an element of danger. Although the temple’s abandonment is evidenced by its crumbling stonework and jungle overgrowth, there is a sense that these explorers are not alone. Maybe this temple was abandoned on purpose, its secrets never meant to be found. In the blank spaces on earth, perhaps some things are better left undiscovered.

Glow-in-the-dark speeder lights up the way

It’s easy to default to the same adjectives whenever one of Tyler’s builds shows up — amazing, epic, awesome, stunning, awe-inspiring, breathtaking, etc. I’m at a typical loss for words with his latest, this sweet glow-in-the-dark speeder.

LUMIN 05i-T

Tyler is one of those rare builders who can turn any pile of parts — like some black and a handful of actual glow-in-the-dark elements — into something really special. Flawless photography and editing doesn’t hurt either. Overall, this is a cool design, well-presented.

Time to MAN up and get to work

Cement mixers are probably not the most evocative of heavy commercial vehicles, but that might change after you see this gorgeous 1:25 scale LEGO recreation of a MAN TGS 8×4 by Lasse Deleuran:

MAN TGS 8 x 4 in scale 1:25 (Model Team)

There’s just so much to love here, from the extremely accurate cab detailing to the mixing drum, which actually rotates (check out the video). I also love flashy lights, and this truck has plenty. The use of plates to get the swirling pattern on the drum is particularly cool. I’d be silly not to share this awesome still shot of the drum rotating, which also shows off the nicely detailed hopper and discharge chute:

MAN TGS 8 x 4 Rolling

There are so many details to appreciate in this exquisite and unique vehicle. So, while laying cement may not be the most exciting profession, the builder shows us you can at least do it in style.

LEGO looks great, even when it’s garbage

Life is a mess. Look anywhere and you’re sure to see clutter, trash, and other signs of waste. This is a fact builders can easily forget when aiming to create a lifelike scene, but it’s certainly not the case with this pile of garbage by David Guedes:

LEGO Garbage

If you’ve ever been down an alley of any major city on the planet, then this is going to be a familiar scene. The busted toilet, piles of cardboard boxes, newspapers and other assorted trash capture a common though rarely highlighted aspect of the inner city. It’s this attention to detail which can really bring a LEGO city scene to life. Heck, I’d go so far as to say this garbage looks rather attractive. The real stuff, well, not so much.

Snub-nosed speeder leaves behind nothing but dust

This wonderfully compact and cleverly built speeder by W. Navarre demonstrates small size doesn’t necessarily mean small details. Though I have to admit I’m not entirely sure what it means (if anything), the Chinese touch is a pretty interesting and unique take on the typical Star Wars-esque speeders we see. And I’d be remiss not to mention the great looking tree or the remnants of a boot on the skeleton’s foot. The use of a Nexo Knight armor piece to construct the speeder’s front end is hands-down the best detail.

深 Speeder

Famous towers in London skyline recreated at 1:650 in LEGO

Anyone who’s ever visited London will be sure to recall the city’s amazing skyline with its mixture of historic buildings and contemporary skyscrapers. Czech builder Milan Vančura has picked two of London’s more unique towers to recreate at 1:650 scale, including this model of 20 Fenchurch Street.

London Walkie Talkie skyscraper

Nicknamed the ‘Walkie Talkie’ for its bulbous shape, 20 Fenchurch Street opened in 2015 with much less fanfare and a whole lot more criticism than its architects had imagined – including concerns about a slight solar glare problem which caused sunlight reflecting off the building to reach temperatures of over 90 degrees Celsius at street-level and melt the paint off parked cars. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to find a city resident who would describe the building as anything other than bloated and inelegant. Nevertheless, the LEGO builder has done a fantastic job recreating the Walkie Talkie’s distinctive design in LEGO form, even including the sky garden which occupies the building’s top floors.

Milan also built one of London’s more eye-catching (and much less controversial) skyscrapers, the Gherkin located at 30 St. Mary Axe.

London Gherkin skyscraper

The builder does a nice job using 1×2 plates to capture the swirling architecture of the Gherkin. Impressively, the LEGO model is completely hollow with only a central pillar and several horizontal beams to support the structure. Milan tells us both models are part of a project to build a microcity exhibit by Czech LUG Kostky. We’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for more great additions and for the entire exhibit once it’s finished.