About Rod

Rod likes building stuff, particularly steampunk and microscale. He's built for a number of the Dorling Kindersley LEGO books, including LEGO Play and the Awesome Ideas book. When he's not building, he writes, and has published a trilogy of old-fashioned adventure stories. To pay the bills he works in innovation and marketing for one of the world's biggest brewers, inventing new beers and ciders. This is clearly the best job in the world.

Posts by Rod

Classy castle in a creaky casket

Marcel V. has built a wonderful microscale LEGO castle in a box. The fortress itself has hints of Disney in its soaring spires and color scheme, but for me it’s the classy brown and gold of the casket which elevate this model into something special. The silky lining within the box lid — achieved with a nice pattern of curved slopes — is excellent. It’s so good when a microscale creation is more than “just” a tiny version of something else. Here, the micro-ness fits with the setting to conjure up something altogether more magical.

I had a go at building a LEGO kingdom in a box myself a couple of years back. However, Marcel’s brick-built box is much cooler than the slightly scabby wooden chest I used for mine!

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Living the high life

Heikki Mattila is on a roll. This excellent high-rise bedroom scene comes hot on the heels of a fabulous LEGO sauna. It’s a follow-up model to Heikki’s cool sitting room we featured previously, with a similar city skyline visible through the window. But it’s no less impressive for sticking with a theme. The bed with its cushions and attendant tables is nicely-built, and the abstract wall art looks fabulous. I also like the plant and the way it stands out against the microscale cityscape beyond the glass. However, it’s the imaginative use of a reversed baseplate as the bed’s headboard which makes the scene for me.

Banana-flavored fighter doesn’t slip up

Pico can Grootveld‘s latest LEGO starfighter combines a striking design with an eye-popping color scheme. The presentation is excellent, with the banana-bright yellow bursting off the black and white backdrop. But it’s the building details that catch the eye, inviting a zoomed-in view to see some of the lovely touches and techniques up close. Don’t miss the tapered cockpit, the pin-joints used as gun housings, and the judicious use of stickers for added depth and texture.

Are you just going to leave it there to bleed out?

Someone call an ambulance, there’s been a murder! I find Steven Reid‘s latest scene a little disturbing. Why aren’t the yellow bricks helping? Are they really just going to stand there and watch?

I don’t often post digital LEGO creations, but this one caught my eye, and it doesn’t seem to feature any of the “cheating” which digital builders can succumb to — no impossible connections or parts/color combos that don’t exist.

The church by the old oak tree

simply bricking it makes excellent use of a proper old-school LEGO element in this microscale church model. That tree piece dates from the late-60s, and coupled with imaginative parts usage for the church’s knave and gable-end, it all makes for a lovely little scene.

Shhh, this weapon is secret

This model originally started off as a new Secret Weapon of the Luftwaffe — the latest in a series of LEGO models I’ve been building for years. However, it was one of those creations which took quite a different turn as the build progressed, and ended up quite definitely a ground vehicle — bizarre seeing as it started out as a chunky dieselpunk helicopter! Sometimes things not proceeding as planned can be frustrating, but in this case I was quite happy with the result. Besides, I figured the Wehrmacht probably deserved to have some secret weapons of its own…

I couldn’t resist having a play around after the model photography was complete. Turns out the blueprints for this mechanical marvel fell into Allied hands at the end of the war…

Peace comes from within, do not seek it without

When people ask my why I build with LEGO, I often say sifting through a brick bin is my version of raking the Zen garden. Jonas Obermaier must understand something of the “LEGO building as meditation” feeling to have put together such a beautiful little Buddhist shrine.

The shrine itself, nestled in against the rock, is nicely-done. But it’s the bunting strung from the tree which does it for me — a lovely touch which elevate this simple model into something special.

The Jewel of the Eastern Seas

jsnyder002 takes a trip East for his latest LEGO creation — a series of minarets and domed towers strewn across a rocky island chain. The architecture has a wonderful Middle-Eastern flavor, without being the stereotypical desert scene these kind of “Oriental fantasy” settings often take. I really like the two-tone rocks of the islands — it gives the impression the ocean around these outcrops might sometimes get quite rough.

There’s a nice sense of activity and bustle with the minifigs moving around the towers and docks. And don’t miss the intricate brickwork used to lend texture to the town’s walls, bridges and steps…

Raptor (n) – a bird such as an eagle or hawk; an aerial predator

Joshua Brooks‘ latest lego creation is a near-future VTOL military aircraft — the AH8-Raptor — which he describes as a hybrid of an Apache attack helicopter and an A-10 Warthog. Regardless of its pedigree, it certainly looks the part as it releases its ordnance against jungle insurgents.

This thing’s chunky realism and spinning turbofans wouldn’t have looked out of place in James Cameron’s Avatar. And I mean that in a good way — whilst I thought the plot and dialog were risible, the movie’s production design was amazing. For an added bonus, Joshua has also built a hangar scene depicting his fearsome war machine getting rigged for more trouble…

Forest hideout deserves revealing

Brother Steven appears to enjoy a getaway in the woods. At least that’s the message I take from his latest LEGO scene, a forest hideaway lodge. The rock base is lovely, and the light gray bricks make a nice change from the usual darker shades used for stonework. The waterfall is well done and the lodge itself looks suitably rustic. The only bit I’m not sure about is the square-trunked trees, but even though I might have employed round bricks, it’s not a deal-breaker when everything else is so nicely worked.

And don’t miss the lodge’s interior and the hidden tunnel entrance when the model is viewed from the rear. This is a wonderful piece of LEGO building — I could look at it all day.

More power to the flower

Gabe Umland‘s latest creation is a beautiful LEGO flower shop. The technique used for the clapperboard walls is interesting — 1×1 bricks built sideways and slightly skewed to create a slope effect. It looks great here in sand green, particularly against the brown of the building’s frame and the porch. In fact, one of the things that makes this model appeal is the overall color balance of the image — with the tan of the roof reflected by the little delivery truck. Often LEGO creations can be a riot of color, but sometimes it’s nice to see something a little more restrained. You wouldn’t describe the color scheme here as dull or flat, but it’s certainly classy.

The build was apparently inspired by an actual flower shop Gabe’s grandfather owned. That explains some of the painstaking attention to detail. Don’t miss the interior and all the ways Gabe has used different plant pieces to create the wide variety of flora on sale…

The weather outside is frightful, but the microscale’s delightful

I don’t know about everywhere else, but this weekend saw winter begin to take hold in Scotland. Appropriately enough, along come two lovely little LEGO builds which perfectly capture the chill in the air. First up, IamKritch‘s cabin looks like a great place to sit out the blizzard. The trees and the frozen stream are smart, but it’s the simple use of a brown grille brick for the cabin’s log walls which grabs the attention.

And then there’s Brick Blue Wren‘s wonderful winter diorama. I like the variety of techniques used for the trees, and the curved backdrop and base evoking the shape of a snow globe. The color scheme properly pops off the page, particularly those hefty snowflakes against the blue sky. A few more models like this and I’ll be all set for Christmas.

About Rod

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