Posts by Ryan Kunz

A complex train build that never goes off the rails

Look, I’m not a train guy. I can barely tell a caboose from a boxcar, and yet even I am in awe of Smile Leo‘s amazing LEGO train, depicting a China Railways DF11G locomotive. The first thing to notice is the variety of angles at which the bricks and plates all fit together for the smooth, rounded angles of the train’s nose. Next, check out the intricacy of the machinery around the wheels. With another model, I might just classify it as a bunch of greebling (you know, little mechanical details that are there just to look cool rather than have any particular function), but it’s clear that every meticulously chosen element mimics an actual train part. I can almost hear the churning of pistons and the whine of wheels on rails.

Begun, the Clone War has—and it’s lookin’ good

Like a regular guy who dutifully appears at family reunions only to get shown up by his neurosurgeon cousin, the Acclamator-class assault ship tends to get overshadowed by its more famous descendants. But this humble Acclamator (by FlyInSpace) looks amazing enough in LEGO to have us forgetting about mighty Star Destroyers for a few parsecs. Executed with nary a stud in sight, it uses SNOT bricks to simulate the smooth-yet-textured hull plating to great effect.

Acclamator • Main View

Here’s an aft view. That dark bluish-gray greebling is just superb.

Acclamator • Rear View

But wait! There’s more!

How do the clone troopers board? We’ve got you covered.

This LEGO model from The Dark Knight Rises definitely comes in black

Batman has taken to the skies in various vehicles over the years, including 70916 The Batwing from the LEGO Batman Movie line, but among the most unusual has got to be the Bat, a vehicle so cool-looking they didn’t bother thinking of a cool name to match. Here, builder Lubeee . has replicated Batman’s aircraft of choice from The Dark Knight Rises in all its black-on-black glory: part helicopter, part hovercraft, all silent guardian.

The Bat

Take a closer look! (Don’t worry, Lucius Fox won’t mind)

Get caught in the grip of this biomechanical jellyfish

There’s something both unsettling and mesmerizing about this otherworldly LEGO jellyfish by Mitsuru Nakaido. It’s undeniably a machine, with its cool palette of light and dark bluish-gray, yet the tangled stalk of wirelike tentacles (woven from various cable, hose, and rope elements) gives it a smooth, organic feel. Is this creation the housing for some unknowable alien intelligence? Is it a relic of some advanced mysterious ancient civilization beneath the sea? Is it something else entirely? That’s up to you to decide.

LEGO Jellyfish mech_05

Intensify the forward firepower! (And the detail level, too)

The official LEGO Star Wars Executor Super Star Destroyer is a great set. But if it’s missing anything, it’s perhaps a fully operational moon-sized superweapon to crash into after its shields fail and some crazy A-wing plows through its command bridge. This fiery diorama by Codyaner fixes that oversight with aplomb. The build captures one of Return of the Jedi‘s most thrilling moments as the mighty Imperial flagship collides with the Death Star’s surface, complete with backlit orange and red flames and a dazzling array of greebles (you know, the little doodads that give the surface its texture) to represent towers, power stations, and whatever else the Empire likes to stick on the surface of their surprisingly fragile planet-killing toys.

LEGO Executor Star Destroyer Crash MOC

A fantastic build in more ways than one

My favorite LEGO set of last year (and possibly of all time) is the LEGO Lord of the Rings 10316 Rivendell set. I could wax verbose about that set, but I don’t have to — because everything I loved about Rivendell is back here in this piece, which builder Martin Gebert calls “Rivendell-inspired.” You can certainly see the official set’s influence — the organic blending of nature and masonry, the pastel greens and whites, the otherworldly architecture. And yet this build manages to take the fantasy even further — look at that lovely hanging fountain and the perfectly irregular smoothness of that outcropping. Best of all, this model (entitled “The Arrival of an Old Friend”) is just chapter 1 in a series, so be sure to follow Martin and keep exploring this incredible slice of a fantasy world.

Chapter I - The Arrival of an Old Friend

Whichever way you look, a new world awaits

The best LEGO builds tell a story. Take this one by Carter Witz, which begins with a simple premise: what if a magic portal separated a land of summer from a world of winter? What happened to divide these two realms? And what will it take to bring them together again? While you’re pondering those answers, be sure to appreciate the rich combination of plates, tiles, sloped bricks, and plant elements to achieve the textured greenery. Same with the variation of elements that make up the ancient, weathered stone wall. (I count at least twelve different kinds of brick in that wall.)

Between Worlds

Here’s a better view of the opposite side, where winter still reigns. Rather than simply duplicate the topography of the summer half, Carter added mysterious ruined columns topped with drifts of snow. Enchanting!

Between Worlds

This AT-TE does whatever a spider can

How’s this for a classic Star Wars moment captured in LEGO diorama form? It’s 2008, and you’re watching The Clone Wars, surely the last Star Wars movie you’ll ever see in theaters (haha, right?) when suddenly, a normal-looking All-Terran Tactical Enforcer starts climbing a frickin’ purple cliff like some sort of fat metal spider. Tim Goddard uses unevenly layered sloped bricks and tiles laid out in SNOT (studs not on top) fashion to achieve the irregular surface of the cliff. The AT-TE looks great in midi-scale—all the way down to the tiny clone trooper sitting at the turret.

AT-TE on Teth

Send out an exploratory party like it’s 1999

Before there was Star Wars, there was Space: 1999, which told the story of the residents of a moon base blown into the unknown (along with the moon itself) by a thermonuclear explosion. The vehicle of choice for those unlucky explorers was the Eagle, rendered here in LEGO by builder klaupacius. Unlike a certain well-known Corellian freighter named after a different bird (which appeared on big screens in 1977, two years after Space: 1999), the Eagle was inspired by actual Earth-built exploratory spacecraft. This build accurately conveys the transporter’s utilitarian nature from those nuclear fusion rockets all the way to its sleek nose cone.

Eagle01

Storm the beaches of Kashyyyk with this faithfully recreated tank droid

Whatever your feelings toward the Star Wars prequels, it’s hard to deny the quality of their production design. This LEGO incarnation of the NR-N99 Persuader-class tank droid by builder Matt (from Revenge of the Sith) is just one example of the many instantly iconic vehicles the prequels bestowed upon us. The build does its on-screen counterpart justice—from the fencing foils used for the antennae to the “I” typewriter keys cleverly repurposed as the droid’s photoreceptors. You can almost hear the pew-pew-pew of those heavy repeating blasters.

NR-N99 Persuader Class Tank Droid

An adorable hero in a half-shell

Remember the official LEGO Ninja Turtles line from 2013-2014? We never did get to see the titular turtles before their fateful meeting with the mutating ooze. Builder Cecilie Fritzvold remedies that oversight with heartbreakingly cute baby Raphael. This pre-teen mutant ninja turtle even comes with his own brick-built pizza. Note the red bandanna off to the side, hinting at the fearsome fighter he will someday become. There’s no sai in sight, though—probably a good idea not to entrust a baby turtle with such a sharp object just yet.

Ninja Diet

A familiar meme like you’ve never seen it before

A picture of a brick-built monkey puppet giving you the side-eye might be on your LEGO BINGO card for today, but the Internet works in mysterious ways. This model by Renauld Petit Lego takes the famous meme to its natural next incarnation. If you’re unfamiliar, the Awkward Monkey, as it’s known, is a famous meme used to convey the ever-relatable uncomfortable situation … like explaining a meme, I guess. There’s nothing awkward about the techniques used here, however: sloped cheese bricks for the snout, curved bricks for the face, and layered plates (much like you’d find in the official LEGO Star Wars helmets theme, like 75349 Captain Rex) to achieve the rounded head. And let’s not forget those eyes, of course. I can feel them staring right at me. And away. And back again.

Awkward Look Monkey Puppet