Posts by Ryan Kunz

This sleek fighter jet will answer your need for speed

Fighter jet aerodynamics are tricky to render in brick form, but this LEGO F-14A Tomcat by our own Ralph Savelsberg pulls it off with a variety of sloped and angled elements, including the trans-clear bricks that form the cockpit. The Tomcat’s characteristic swept-back wings are represented with meticulously chosen angled plates. Adding to the authenticity are the missiles stowed beneath the wings and the antenna pieces used for the airspeed sensor probe beneath the cockpit. Not pictured: a highway to the danger zone.

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Aren’t you a little young to be collecting alien flower goo?

The classic LEGO Space theme gets an adorable update with this diorama by Joel Short, who provides some quick lore behind the expedition: “These giant flowers are a great source of energy, but must be approached with caution!” Much of the cause for caution, I assume, comes from the fact that those harvesting the flowers are infants who surely lack the necessary qualifications to operate such heavy equipment on unforgiving terrain … but hey, look how cute they are! Speaking of small things worth ooohing and awwwing over, check out all the great little details: the crocodile tails standing in for spiny plant tendrils, the full and empty bottles of pollen, and of course the Space logo itself at the front of the build, lovingly rendered in all its minimalist glory.

In space, no one can hear you make swooshing noises

Sometimes, you can hear a LEGO model even when all you’ve got is an image. Take this spaceship by Al-Tair here, which inspires a reaction somewhere along the lines of KSHEWWWWWW PEW-PEW-PEW! For anyone who doesn’t speak spaceship onomatopoeia, that’s the sound that automatically springs to mind as you imagine yourself swooshing the model around, firing those deadly-looking wing cannons. Bonus points for the use of one of my favorite cockpit pieces (we all have those, right?): the newer trans-blue helicopter screen from the City theme.

Towering stones, reddish tones, and brave clones in the Star Wars action scene

At first glance, the most show-stopping part of ARKUM ELO‘s LEGO diorama of the planet Geonosis is the stunning array of organic-looking rock formations. A second glance highlights the elite clone Delta Squad taking on a detachment of Geonosians and battle droids, the action so vivid that you can almost hear the whine of superheated plasma as both sides trade blaster bolts. But what makes this model stand out are the extra touches from the LEGO Star Wars video games: the health bars hovering over the action and the floating studs ready for collection. Good thing both parties appear to be at full health because it looks like the battle is about to get nasty.

Fall in love with Fallout 4’s rustiest truck stop

Whether you’re a video game veteran who’s been wandering the Wasteland for years or a Brotherhood initiate who just gleefully binged the Fallout show, there’s plenty to love in Raymond Stuijvenberg’s LEGO diorama of the Red Rocket Truck Stop from Fallout 4. The details are too numerous to mention them all, but let’s start by properly appreciating the building techniques involved. You can’t see them—which means they’re doing their job—but the builder used ball joints to get the roof and support at just the right angle. And yes, those are Dogmeat and Mr. Handy at the vault-dweller’s side.

Do you dare venture inside?

Behold! Busy bibliophiles blissfully browsing

If you’re the sort who lives to read, chances are you’ve dreamed of having a gigantic library filled with every book your heart desires. Consider that wish granted, even if it’s in tiny LEGO brick form. The “Scriptorium,” an eye-popping build by Paweł Michalak (Kris Kelvin), has everything a book lover might want. Cozy reading chairs! Cool quasi-medieval ambiance! And of course, enough books to keep Albus Dumbledore (spotted on the fourth floor) or William Shakespeare (on his way to the third-level floor terrace) occupied with ample reading material. Said books come in different thicknesses and heights; along with actual minifig book elements, I can spot 1×2 plates with a slide thingy, stacked 1×1 slopes, ingot bricks, and even candle pieces (to represent scrolls), to name a few. (Who cares if you can’t actually read any of these books? They look darn good on the shelf.)

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.