This music box, built by Peter Carmichael, is currently one of my favorite LEGO creations. Its smooth edges, customizable cylinder, and colorful “comb” are all gravitating. As my very tactile partner would say, it’s one of those things you want to “see with your hands.”
Click to see a video of the mechanism!
If you were to create mechs based on your favorite LEGO minifigures, which would you chose? For Steven Howard, he’s picked three that would top the lists of many people, especially when they look this cool. And I’ve gotta say, the setting sun backdrop and shadows showcase them well. They look like they stomped straight out of the LEGO Movie. But they’re even better up close…
Click to see these guys individually
Orcs are probably one of the ugliest creature in all of fantasy fiction. But this little guy created by Jme Wheeler is stinkin’ adorable as all heck. How can you not smile when you look at that face? I’d like to think of him as an innocent baby, who does not yet know evil. But I guess there is just something about the Brickheadz style that lends to the “cute” factor. Whatever the case, my favorite part of this particular build is definitely the loincloth.
Have an afinity for BrickHeadz? We’ve got lots of them in our archives!
If you think about it, the Super Mario universe is one of the only places where you want to go down the tubes. I mean, other than a water slide, where else can you find something fun at the end of a “plumbing” pipe? Perhaps this extra large (64×64 stud) pixleated pipe, built by H.Y. Leung, contains all the extra coins Mario could dream of.
And don’t worry, he’s not going to be stuck in mid-air forever. This pipe contains an equally large mechanism inside to move him up and down.
If you’d like to see more of H.Y. Leung’s builds, be sure to check out our previous articles highlighting them.
Back in January, we featured a tiny LEGO upright piano with instructions, built by Tiago Catarino. Now he brings us another mini masterpiece: a baby grand! While they’re both adorable, I have to say, this one is my favorite. He captures the shape perfectly.
Click to watch the tutorial video
Early last year, I wrote an article about a pair of LEGO meerkats and mentioned the species’ vigilance and protectiveness. And it’s true, these little guys are one of the most family-oriented animals in the world. It’s the job of every member to take a fearless rotation as babysitter or sentry, and when there’s danger they act as one “mob” to defend themselves. Quite impressive! When I saw this build by Felix Jaensch, I swore I had seen it before. But maybe that’s just because he’s such an incredible artist of lifelike LEGO art.
While these guys are certainly impressive, I wouldn’t even say this is his best build. We’ve featured many more, including a rabbit, macaque, red panda, hamster, kestrel, and blue and gold macaw.
We have all known that person at some point. The one who says something and all you can do is silently give them that judging gaze. Sometimes they’re even a friend. And you love them, but man are they weird. This build by Gregory Coquelz, inspired by the writings of author China Miéville, perfectly captures that moment. Maybe it’s the slurping in the middle of a very serious Dungeons and Dragons quest. Whatever thought bubbles you give the scene, the characters and their outfits tell a great story.
You can see more of Gregory’s work by visiting our archives.
Ludwig van Beethoven is known across the world as one of the greatest composers who ever lived. He ranks among the most famous and influential musicians of all time. So naturally, there are plenty of busts of his form in colleges, museums, and concert halls all over the globe. But how many are made with LEGO? Steven Howard has expertly rendered one, complete with note-studded parchment.
The stern face, flowing locks, large collar, and ascot make Ludwig instantly recognizable. But one of the best aspects of this creation are the expressive eyebrows, shaped using Wampa horns.
There are a lot of musical builds coming together for a LEGO Ideas contest right now. You might want to try your hand! If you’d just like to see other musical masterpieces, keep an eye out for more cool content, or visit our music archives.
Step aside Godzilla, there’s a new monster in town! And she brought offspring! This LEGO amphibian by alego alego is one the best I’ve seen. It has excellent shaping, and those helmets for eyelids are awesome! Green cherries were a great choice for toes, too. But the nifty parts usage doesn’t stop there! As your eyes wander around the scene, you can make out garage door elements and crates/containers giving texture to buildings, and 1×1 dark green round plates with holes attached to upright paintbrushes for tiny trees. Not to be forgotten, the 1×1 plate with a printed square is perfect for adding depth to the smaller buildings.
Check out more of this excellent builder’s work by visiting our archive.
Can lots of legs get you there faster? One species of centipede is nicknamed the cheetah of the desert, so maybe. I’d like to think that if I had a whole bunch of legs I could rest some while using the others, like the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland. Well this LEGO myriapod, built by Vince Toulouse, doesn’t really have that option. Its 36 pairs of Insectoid legs have places to go and people to carry!
To see more creatures with many legs, check out this this little cutie, or this centipede mech. For the bravest, take a look at a mech from your nightmares.
If you haven’t seen Treasure Planet, you must. It’s one of Disney’s most underrated films. And if you have watched it, you can probably pick this guy out from a mile away. John Silver is a partially cyborg version of the classic Long John Silver character from the famous Treasure Island stories, and this LEGO version by Jayfa is an excellent recreation. Using balloon elements to create a rum belly is top-notch parts usage. He also wouldn’t be the same without his little space-goo buddy, Morph.
We’ve featured Jayfa many times on TBB. If you’d like to see more of his exceptional work, check out our archives.
Is there a contest I’m missing or are cameras the popular true-to-life choice for LEGO artists right now? Lately we’ve had a few camera builds, and they’re all too awesome to pass up. This Nikon FG, built by Ming Jin is one that has caught our eye. There is something about the marriage of LEGO and a camera body that works so well. Just enough blockiness and curves at the same time.
You can check out those other cameras I mentioned by viewing our LEGO camera archives.