Posts by Theo Spencer

Well, that escalated quickly... Wheelie quickly

Escalators, I think we can all agree, normally go up and down in straight lines. Thomas Jenkins clearly prefers his escalator rides with a bit more adrenaline, though – he’s made his go round in a circle! This LEGO build was actually created for an article over at New Elementary celebrating said escalator piece. It’s an older article, but it checks out and is fascinating, so I recommend you give it a read. The seed part is the perfect fit for General Grievous’ wheel bike. You wouldn’t know it was for a moving staircase just by looking at this! The vehicle is almost entirely devoid of studs, which in turn lets its greebly nature shine. All it needs now is a Boga to chase…

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

This clock goes hoot-hoot instead of cuckoo

LEGO builder Kevin J. Walter has created this cute-looking cuckoo clock. Well, since there’s an owl there, maybe it isn’t technically a cuckoo clock… Do cuckoo clocks specifically need a cuckoo? Perhaps a hooting hourglass… No, it’s not technically an hourglass either. Thankfully Kevin’s creation is much more coherent than my raptor-related ramblings; it makes great use of minifigure legs as detailing. The repetition is great for replicating the intricate wooden carvings one might expect on such a venerable clock. Ditto for the pinecone counterweights at the bottom: the construction is fairly simple – cheese slopes around a studs-not-on-top core – but the effect is terrific, and again mimics skillful woodworking.

The detail I like the most though is the subtle tilt the clock has. Those counterweights and all that extra mechanism makes cuckoo clocks surprisingly heavy, so whenever I’ve seen one hanging on a wall they’ve been noticeably not flush. It’s a small detail, but it makes it feel so authentic.

Oh! I know, a Tytonidae timepiece! (You may need to look that up. I certainly did…)

Clever parts use that will blow you away

The on-going BioCup has seen pieces from the now-defunct Bionicle theme used in ever-more interesting ways. NateMakesMOCs has raised the bar with his latest effort in this amusingly cartoonish scene. Thinking outside the box, Nate has used a ball joint arm – or, more precisely, several of them – to create the mean-looking tornado that is the central villain of this piece. It’s an inspired choice: the analog nature of ball joints allows for a more chaotic look, which is perfect for this overgrown dust-devil. The slightly caricatured facial features are a perfect complement. The subject of this tornado’s ire? Well, it seems to be the farm below that is about to get swept up in its path. This is actually quite minimalist in style, with only a barn and some hay bales to suggest a setting for the build. Nevertheless, they both do a perfect job, and the technic gear hay bales in particular are another great use of parts!

Cthulhu himself cowers before the Outer Gods

HP Lovecraft’s work has been the inspiration for many a LEGO builder over the years, as evidenced by the glut of incredible builds we’ve featured over the years. Woomy World is the latest to enter this particular pantheon with this doozy of a build inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos. Specifically, this is an Outer God – essentially the bad guys of the Mythos, and some of the most powerful. And you thought Cthulhu himself was bad! He’s got nothing on these guys. Anyway, this mythical being looks typically Lovecraftian – any being with four eyes, four arms and tentacles is bound to be pretty powerful. Aside from the arms and head, this is about as far from humanoid as you can get. There’s even a little alien within this alien in the form of a Bionicle Kraata, forming what I guess is a tongue in those vertical jaws.

So, what? It could just be your average super-powerful extra-terrestrial, right? Well, what elevates this being from a mere inhabitant of the cosmos to an all-seeing deity has to be that ring around its head. This is one of the most unusual parts uses I’ve seen – it’s the ring from a LEGO Star Wars clock! It’s so inspired, I wonder if Woomy themselves might also be more than a mere mortal…

Not impressed by this build? “Shaman” you!

Toddrick has invoked his shamanic brick-building powers to bring us this intriguing LEGO character. The pose is somehow intimidating, yet there seem to be no weapons or immediate aggression on display. There is nothing in the way of an explanation from Toddrick either – he’s letting the bricks do the talking, and boy are they chatty here! The eye is immediately drawn to that colourful face mask, which really stands out against the black and brown hues of the rest of the build. I like seeing rubber bands used in designs to break up the solid lines of LEGO bricks, and they are used as detailing here as well as on the beastly horns. The leaf elements of the face are reflected by the use of more vegetation elsewhere on the mage’s outfit. This seems logical – after all, that’s likely what such traditional outfits are made of in the real world. The bushes on the sleeves in particular look really authentic. Toddrick hasn’t limited himself to system pieces either – the staff is a flexible axle, and the chest piece comes from Hero Factory. I think the necklace might even be a Scala or Clikits piece. Finally, on the back is a Duplo camp fire piece. Just about every LEGO system is represented here. Now that is magic!

An elegant weapon from a more civilised age (namely, 1999)

There are plenty of life-size LEGO lightsabers out there (including LEGO’s own promos), both from the Star Wars films and builders creating their own. Dicken Liu has taken inspiration from an altogether different source for their 1:1-scale brick-built laser sword hilt, however. This LEGO lightsaber is a model of, well, a LEGO lightsaber! I suppose that technically makes it 12:1 scale. This minifigure accessory has been virtually unchanged since the Star Wars line made its debut 23 years ago. Here its form is very faithfully recreated, making good use of the myriad round and curved slopes in the LEGO parts catalogue. Interestingly I think virtually all of the external parts you see here didn’t exist back in 1999, when we got the first Star Wars sets!

The external shape is not the only interesting thing here, though…

Baba Yaga? More like Baba Yeezys

You might have heard of Baba Yaga – a witch of eastern European folklore, who famously lived in a house that walked on chicken legs. Pan Noda has built a walking hut sporting a more modern choice of footwear — look at those sneakers! Whatever witch or wizard lives here certainly has taste. Perhaps they’re travelling long distances and don’t want their home getting sore feet. Either way, they’re certainly practically minded: The outhouse has been granted a pair of legs as well; I guess it means less plumbing to worry about. Even the mail box has walking appendages! This mobile home family is full of character, and with little context for the build we’re free to imagine our own fantastical story for them. Personally I like to think they’ve escaped from a Far Side comic strip – the whole scene is quite Larson-esque!

Songwriters’ block is a thing of the past in this bard’s abode

I love seeing castle-themed builds that are a bit different. Francis Wiemelt (Hubba Blooba) has built this charming residence for a mediaeval bard, and there are so many cool little details! The most striking aspect is the roof, which has a very satisfying colour gradient using various shades of purple. The walls are also nicely done, with a neat cross beam at one end of the house. Light aqua pieces are judiciously placed to stop the pristine white making the place look too nice. It is the middle ages, after all; this place looks like it would be found in a clearing on the edge of town, it’s probably not easy to get decorators out that far. There’s plenty of life around this little cottage, including the bard herself with cuffs on her sleeves using 1×1 round plates. Take a look down to the bottom left, though – the tree has mushrooms growing on the side, in this case, tiles held on by clips; and best of all, there’s a little snail down there as well!

The turtle with a small world on her back

Grayson M‘s latest creation reminds me a little of the Discworld books, which is certainly no bad thing! He has created a charming sea turtle with a whole world on her back – a world of coral. The reef on the turtle’s back allows for some inventive parts use; everything from zamor spheres and macaroni tubes to wheels and Bionicle blades is in there. Impressively all this is happening without making it feel too crowded – the variation in parts, textures, and size seems very carefully done to achieve this. But don’t let the bright colours of the reef distract you from the ingenious construction of her head! This uses a Brachiosaurus body from the short-lived Dinosaurs theme from 2001. It’s a perfect complement to the colourful coral and gives a weathered look to this reef mother.

I’d like to present this mighty pleasant pheasant

I have a real soft spot for birds, especially those built out of LEGO. Matt Goldberg has come up with a beauty of a build that is sure to ruffle a few feathers! Speaking of feathers, these are quite tricky to depict in LEGO due to their unique texture — they’re sort of like fluffy scales. Matt has used a plethora of parts to pull off the plumage here, from Hero Factory armour to minifigure arms. The tail feathers are the most spectacular of the lot, mainly using tentacle and horn pieces to great effect. Also present in the tail – and the wings, for that matter – are flexible pieces from 80012 Monkey King Warrior Mech. It’s a smart use of these pieces that I’ve only seen used in a small handful of builds. Not only that, it’s functional as well; you might be forgiven for thinking this bird can’t surely stand up on those two tiny legs, and, well, it can’t. The tail serves to conceal the structure to hold this phenomenal pheasant to the equally well-presented base. Very cunning!

What? DEMOGORGON is evolving!

I will confess that I’ve never watched Stranger Things, but I do know of the rather scary demogorgon. Joss Woodyard (Jayfa) clearly thought it wasn’t scary enough, and has built this magnificent – albeit nightmare-inducing – demogorchild. To me it seems like the last in an evolution that you might see in games like Pokemon, with the demogorgon itself the starting point. Thankfully I’m too engrossed in the fascinating build to be terrified. The demogorgon minifigure heads do get a look in, albeit from the Botanical Collection rather than Stranger Things. Some of the dark green parts from that same set are used on the legs and shoulders as well, while white leaf elements make up the ribcage. I like how the feet and lower legs evoke the dirt and ground that a flower might take root in. Perhaps this creature disguises itself as a beautiful orchid and devours unsuspecting passers-by. OK, now I’ve gone back to giving myself nightmares…

Ancient Egyptian amphibian with hands for feet

Builder W Navarre has taken inspiration from the latest LEGO Architecture set and travelled to Egypt for his latest Iron Builder salvo. The centrepiece is a rather jolly-looking frog, cleverly using the bright green hand piece for the eye stalks. It also sees apples repurposed as big toes on the front legs. This little amphibian does go some way to deceive regarding the scale of the build though! The rest of the build gives slightly more clues, and is worth investigating in its own right as there are some great techniques on display. Much of the background is brick-built in microscale and blurred to add some forced perspective, even the water of the river Nile below. The best bit might just be the hieroglyphs on the frog’s plinth though! A mish-mash of parts, together with some gaps naturally created by the geometry of LEGO pieces, gives them a terrifically authentic weathered feel. Another of the seed part hands even makes an appearance, although it is well hidden – can you spot it?