Posts by Theo Spencer

A silky-smooth build of a speedy Jaguar

Of all the things the 1980s gave us, undoubtedly the coolest were some of the race cars of the era. As well as its F1 cars, you had Group A touring cars, the legendary Group B rally cars, and the futuristic Group C prototypes. LEGO car builder extraordinaire KMP MOCs has taken a stab at one of my favourite Group C racers: the Jaguar XJR-12, in resplendent Silk Cut livery. I’m impressed with how low to the ground this is. KMP builds most of their MOCs in a scale similar to Speed Champions, and the ground clearance in these sets isn’t particularly accurate (though understandably so). But here it’s practically cutting daisies! I don’t think you could fit much more than a piece of paper under there.

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This LEGO diorama from the Thrawn trilogy brings great honour to the Mitth family

There’s a lot of hype in Star Wars circles about a guy called Thrawn at the moment. Apparently he had some books about him or something? Weird that they wrote nine books about a guy who was only mentioned in passing in that one episode of the Mandalorian. All jokes aside, Thrawn (or Mitth’raw’nuruodo, to give him his full title) has a special place in many a Star Wars fan’s heart, including Andrew Cazenave-Tipie (AKA CRCT Productions). I must admit that I’ve only read the latest crop of ‘canon’ books, so I don’t recognise the scene that this build is based on. What I do know is that it looks fantastic! The way the light bounces off the walls at the back gives this real depth. It also highlights some great texturing on said walls. And a mention for that floor pattern, too, made up of the 2×3 shield piece. This wouldn’t look out of place in a castle build, but looks equally at home in the Star Wars universe!

This hardsuit packs a punch in both offense and defense

I’m not sure if I’ll ever get bored of seeing LEGO mecha. There’s so much variation that can be achieved with a simple bipedal frame. Marco de Bon‘s hardsuit, with a touch of Warhammer 40K about it, is the latest to catch my eye. I’m partly drawn in the by the unusual colour scheme: dark green with red highlights looks very smart indeed. That shield is worthy of note too. The slope parts at opposing angles make for a very nice paneling effect, and what’s the best form of defense? Offense! As well as looking cool, putting some spikes on your shield is sure to yield results in this regard.

A miniature meeting of the Middle-Earth minds

There’s so much Nice Parts Use (NPU) in Dan Ko‘s adorable LEGO Lord of the Rings wizards that I don’t know where to start. Look at Gandalf the Bley here. His beard consists of upturned eggshell pieces, and the top of his staff uses a skeleton leg. His nose is also a rounded 1×2 plate, which may not necessarily qualify as NPU, but it’s a great choice nonetheless. As for Radagast the Reddish-Brown, his beard uses an arch piece to give some shape to his face. In the hat, you’ve got an ingot flanked by the frankly genius choice of a pair of minifigure chairs. They give him so much character! Dan has even repurposed some wood stickers to add detailing to his cloak. That is NPU par excellence! Do we need a new acronym for this? NSU – Nice Sticker Use?

Tales of the Space Age 2: Electric Boogaloo

Some say that sequels rarely live up to the originals. Personally, I disagree, and there are plenty of examples: Terminator 2, the Godfather, the Empire Strikes Back… and Jan Woznica! Hot on the heels of his beautiful Ideas set 21340 Tales of the Space Age hitting shelves, Jan has graced us with another trio of space vistas. Aren’t they gorgeous? The use of printed tiles as increasingly distant planets in the left-hand one is especially neat. My favourite is undoubtedly the centre one though, depicting what looks like the Cassini probe orbiting Saturn. The way the flex tubes converge to give the illusion of rings disappearing into the distance is epic.

This is definitely my preferred type of tweeting

It’s taken a few attempts, but spring seems to have finally sprung here in Finland. In any case, the birds are a-singing every morning, which puts me in the mood for LEGO builds like Louis Barbedor (Loysnuva)’s. He’s a cute little fella, isn’t he? The bird, that is. I’m afraid I don’t know Louis well enough to say either way. I like the construction of the body – it’s very nicely rounded off with some newer curved slopes and wedges. The branches are a nice touch too; presumably their main function is to support those spindly legs, but it works so nicely as a stand for this little tweeter.

Any colour you like, as it long as it’s black... And red

When it comes to LEGO cars, Jonathan Elliott sets one heck of a high bar. Our archives will help to erase any doubts you might have, but so too will this mega hot-rod. It’s at a slightly bigger scale than his usual, minifigure-scale-ish vehicles. All that means though is that it’s even more chock-full of details, particularly in the engine bay. And just like any self-respecting car enthusiast, Jonathan seems to enjoy tinkering with his models; the wheels on this were originally black, but a small tweak to blood-red rims has elevated this build from looking sinister to downright deadly. Which, in a hot-rod, makes it just about the coolest thing on the road.

The Desolation of Smaug(‘s t-shirt)

Known to many as a master of Star Wars LEGO creatures, Shaun “Brick” Sheepa has of late turned his attention to the Lord of the Rings. Having done horses, Ents, and everything in between, he has set the bar pretty high. You’ll be glad to hear that this latest beastie keeps that average sky-high! This is of course the kleptomaniac dragon that is Smaug. Is it pronounced Sma-oog, or Smorg? I never can remember. Anyway, as well as gathering gold and plastic bricks, he has clearly taken a shine to second-hand clothes. The wings are apparently made from a cut-up old t-shirt. Not one for the purists, perhaps, but there’s no denying it looks superb!

Jellyfish are just the aliens of the sea

Do you ever go the LEGO store’s Pick-A-Brick wall, take whatever they have in a given colour, and see what you can make of it? That appears to be what’s happened here with greenarj. I have to say, if I’d gone for trans-blue at said wall I’m not sure I would’ve thought to make a jellyfish! Certainly not one with snowflakes and whips for tendrils. Knowing me I probably would’ve made something space-y. The trans-blue is actually a great choice, though – it has the same ethereal quality that these sea creatures possess. They’re beautiful, but they’re also weird, aren’t they? Are we sure jellyfish aren’t just aliens that ended up in the ocean and couldn’t get out? Maybe this is a space build, after all…

So GLaDOS to see you

Ivan Martynov has turned to everyone’s favourite evil-robot-overlord-with-homicidal-tendencies for inspiration in the Digital Iron Builder contest. This doesn’t appear to be GLaDOS herself – but there’s no telling whether it’s just as evil or not. The seed part is a SPIKE sensor, an unusual part in its own right. It does look superb as the iconic eyes of Aperture Science technology though. In a way it makes perfect sense for this particular part use – the colour sensor is basically an eye, of sorts. The massive robot in the centre would be impressive enough on its own here, but the addition of a turret and Personality Core really ties everything together.

Chrome Crusher redux: less chrome, but more crushing

There seems to be a lot of nostalgia for LEGO’s Rock Raiders theme going around at the moment, and I am so here for it. French builder F@bz has turned his attention to 4970 Chrome Crusher. I always thought this was the coolest Rock Raiders set, and F@bz has done a great job of upping that cool factor! There’s been a touch of realism added too. The original cockpit piece was quite open to the elements, and this one made from ladders and a net will probably offer a bit more protection from any small rocks flying around. The drill also looks more purposeful. It isn’t chrome like the one in the set, but I think this one truly is a thing of beauty!

Which one of you goes “Kowabunga”?

Ever struggled to remember which Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle was which? If so, Dan Ko has provided a handy guide in LEGO form, with some beautifully-made sculptures. I never was that into the show, so I always had a hard time remembering the names (although I do recognise this first one as Donatello). Normally I just wondered how they ended up settling on these particular adjectives for characters in a kids’ show…

“OK team, we need some new animal characters for a kids’ TV show. Any ideas?”

“Turtles! But on their own? A bit four-legged – let’s make them mutant turtles, so they can be humanoids. And let’s make them ninjas too. Ninjas are cool! Still not relatable enough though… How about we have them be teenagers? The Mutant Turtle Ninja Teenagers! And we can name them after Renaissance artists!”

“Uh… Sounds great. The name needs some work though…”

See the rest of the gang after the jump