In the depths of the Medina, behind the bazaar, the Sultan sneaks incognito through the arcade. Andrew JN evokes the architecture of the Middle East, and creates a nice sense of mystery and intrigue, in a LEGO diorama with a tiny 8×8 footprint. I love the restrained use of colour and the clean building style on display here. The use of turntable bases around the bottom is particularly effective, the layered archways are excellent, and the mosaic floor inside the arcade is nice touch.
Posts by Rod
LEGO church worthy of your worship
It’s a long-standing policy that LEGO will not develop any models containing religious elements. I’ve always thought that’s a shame for the Castle theme in particular, where churches and cathedrals would have been some of the most important buildings. Thankfully LEGO fans have stepped in to fill the void, and this hilltop church by Simon NH is a great example.
The landscaping is done well, with a nice mix of earthy colours, a few trees, and a couple of gravestones to break things up. But the main attraction is clearly the church itself. It’s well-shaped, with diverse colours that still hang together as a cohesive whole, and the roof and steeple are excellent. The steeple also has some nice parts usage going on — don’t miss the boat hulls creating arched windows, and the lovely little cross on top.
The power of a flower
Gardening always seems like so much hassle, all that watering and weeding. I think I prefer AC Pin‘s LEGO solution: a brick-built flower box which won’t need much maintenance, maybe just the odd bit of dusting. The builder says he was inspired by four different flowers he spotted growing in his neighbourhood. They’re certainly recreated nicely here, with a smart mix of slopes and curves to create petals, and the lovely use of minifig afro wigs for the central carpels of the yellow-petalled blooms.
The daisies are particularly pretty, and make a lovely image on their own…
Abs to die for
We’ve seen a few LEGO Predators in our time — from small-scale Predators killed by alien queens, to massive brick-built Predator busts — but this bad boy from takamichi irie is a cracker. Wonderfully detailed for its scale, this model features excellent posability and comes equipped with a lovely selection of armaments. The face is brilliant — immediately recognisable in a handful of pieces. However, the highlight is surely the torso — those abs look like the result of a whole lot of crunches during interplanetary hunting trips.
The Brothers Brick 2017 Readers’ Survey
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The survey is open until Tuesday, 20th June. Image courtesy of Todd Wilder.
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The smallest Prime
Optimus Prime is an ever-popular subject for modelling in LEGO bricks. Just recently we featured an impressively large Transformers city scene featuring the big ol’ truck-bot. However, it’s not often we see such cute details at small scale as in Peter Reid‘s latest creation. Immediately recognisable, this great little build has a nice depth of texture despite its size. I can’t help but provide my own soundtrack to this model — Peter Cullen’s tones pitch-shifted up to Calvin And The Chipmunks levels of squeakiness.
A grand day out with the bricks
Wallace and Gromit enjoy a lunar picnic in this LEGO scene by Patrick B. Whilst simple, the renditions of the inventor and his dog are nicely done, with Mixel eyes providing a bunch of character (however did we builders manage before those came along?!). The robot is perhaps a little small, but that’s made up for by the cool picnic equipment — don’t miss the thermos, the wicker basket, and the use of an upturned tricorn hat as a dog bowl. Eeh lad, that’s grand.
Howl at this moving (dragon) castle
Two heads + two tails + a castle on its back = one excellent Oriental dragon. The Tokyo Tag Team brings us this cracking LEGO creation — all teeth and claws and roof shingles. The castle itself is a great little build, with the dark green roof providing a smart contrast to the orange scales on the dragon.
The twin heads are well-built, with some good angled brickwork to provide the shaping. I particularly like those dark grey whiskers up front — a nice touch which adds an appropriately Eastern mythological feel.
Mars Defends!
The Near-Future LEGO Starfighter contest is prompting the creation of some lovely realistic-looking space vehicles. This entry from xiei22 is a cracker — all angled shielding, sharp colour blocking, and nice functional touches. Good photo editing too, depicting the ship in its role as a Martian patrol vehicle.
You can see even more of the model’s fine details in this cool schematic image. It’s worth zooming-in for a closer look, especially of the cockpit interior and those chunky-looking railguns…
A very handsome hansom
What better way to explore the see the sights of Victorian London than aboard the latest in steam-driven LEGO transportation? This contraption, cobbled together by Revan New, has room for only one passenger, but makes up for its limited capacity with speed. Capable of reaching the dizzying speed of 6 miles per hour, gentlefolk of a nervous disposition are advised to ride with caution.
The model has a nice level of texture and detail, as does the base. The woven basket and streetlamp are relatively simple, but add a sense of place and period. The only bit I’m unconvinced by is the use of a white droid arm as a plume of steam — I think it would look better with round white plates or stacked ice cream pieces. However, that’s a minor nitpick at a smart little steampunk vignette.
A smart little place in town
Every gentleman needs a smart little place in town, and Emil Lidé‘s microscale LEGO townhouse definitely fits the bill. With the elaborate stonework of the frontage, the elegant bushes flanking the entrance, the crest above the door, and the nicely-executed Mansard roof, this lovely little building has all the trappings of a desirable residence in one of the better parts of town. Emil has made good use of textured bricks, grille tiles, and scroll pieces, giving a real depth of detail — the key to the best microscale building. I’d love to see Emil build the rest of the stylish boulevard which this building surely calls home.
LEGO Pickett will grow on you
Newt Scamander’s little pet plant might not appear the easiest of creatures to sculpt from LEGO pieces. However, Jonas Kramm has taken up the leafy challenge and come out a winner — his selection of rubbery and leafy green pieces come together wonderfully. The organic and twisted vine look is excellent, prompting one of those “Is that really LEGO?” moments.