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

Home sweet LEGO home

Every LEGO builder has surely considered taking on the project of building an accurate model of their own home. terez trz is rising to the challenge with some lovely model-making and excellent photography. The images remind me of an IKEA catalog — in a good way.

To give you an idea of how good the model is, check out these comparison shots of the LEGO version and the original room…

I’ve often considered giving this idea a go myself. Terez’s great work might just be the inspiration I need to push me into action.

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Can he build it? Yes he can!

Koen Can Der Biest is a master of large-scale character sculptures in LEGO bricks. I love his latest, a depiction of every kid’s favourite construction worker Bob The Builder. Bob is immediately recognisable, and his tool belt is captured brilliantly, and as for that shirt — check it out (pun intended).

Koen’s photostream is well worth a visit for some other characters built at a similar scale. I particularly liked this version of the world’s most famous mouse…

Citizen! Desist your shenanigans!

I have no idea what world this LEGO mech by Unijob Lindo inhabits, but in my head it’s an irate Health & Safety bot who enforces the regulations with extreme prejudice. I think there’s no doubt about it, if the shenanigans continue then deadly force is authorised and that sidearm will see use…

Eerie alien spaceship with moving sections

Tyler Clites has built a fabulously eerie LEGO spaceship made up unusual organic curves and built in a cold alien color palette. The light blue works brilliantly with the gray and black, but it’s the splash of orange provided by the dome up top which really grabs the attention.

To top off this wonderful model, sections of it are motorised. Check out the video below to see the ship in motion in all its cold alien glory…

Glorious vintage racing car in LEGO bricks

red brings us a beautiful of a 1930s racing car. This is one of those creations you have to look at twice to be sure it really is LEGO. Everywhere you look you’re rewarded with brilliant building or nice parts usage — from the gorgeous shaping, through to the touches of detail like the brown rims on the wheels (built with chain links) and the excellent tiara-based hood ornament.

A view from the rear highlights more of the fabulous detail in this model. Just look at the wonderful dashboard and all the mechanical gubbins around the gearstick and rear axle.

The car also has a detailed engine lurking beneath its bonnet. All-in-all this is an excellent model, one I’d happily put in a display case and stare at for hours.

Isembard Kingdom Brunel engineered from LEGO

This weekend sees The Great Western Brick Show take place in the UK at the STEAM Railway Museum in Swindon. Some of the displays this year will mark the fact that it’s 175 years since Isembard Kingdom Brunel opened his maintenance facility, whose surviving buildings house the museum. Jimmy Clinch has chosen to celebrate the occasion with a brilliant mosaic of the big man himself…

Brunel is something of a hero of mine: the most audacious engineer of the 19th century — a designer of tunnels, bridges, railway lines and enormous steamships. He’s a pinup-boy for any self-respecting steampunk fan and I would love to hang this mosaic on my wall.

I had a crack at building my own tribute to him a few years ago, recreating the famous image taken in front of the SS Great Eastern…

If you get the chance to make it to the show this weekend, show your respect with a doff of the top hat to Jimmy’s mosaic. I’m sure Isembard would appreciate it.

Imperial Dancetroopers take pointe

Sometimes all a Stormtrooper wants to do is to dance! Laurene Johnsone brings us a little-seen side of the life on an Imperial soldier — the ballet classes.

I like the four clone troopers practising their pointe, but all eyes in the studio are surely on the central pair practising their Swan Lake. This is wonderfully daft — I love it.

Sleek space carrier is ready for battle

Apparently this is SweStar‘s first attempt at a SHIP (a LEGO spaceship exceeding 100 studs in length). It’s a hell of a debut — nice shaping, sharp color blocking, and some smart greebly details. I particularly like the color choices for the striping — the muted sand blue and sand green make for an interesting change from the brighter stripes which seem to have become the staple design choice on brick-built capital ships.

The bridge towards the rear looks fantastic with that raked section beneath, and whilst it’s not bristling with weaponry, the guns it does display look pretty hefty. The trapezoidal cross-section somehow makes the whole thing look both sleek and mean. Check out this view of the bow…

Firefly – the defense choice of the next generation

Horcik Designs looks set to be the premier air defense contractor of the 21st century. The Firefly is their latest UCAV (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle) and it’s available for purchase now from all good arms dealers.

I love this model’s chunky near-future realism. The white color scheme lends it a certain “astronaut chic” and the restrained use of custom stickers adds nice touches of detail. The rotor assemblies and control surfaces are spot-on, and those guns — brilliant. The builder has also provided a multi-angle composite shot which reveals more of the detail, but also shows a rather haphazard approach to maintenance. Hammers? I doubt that’ll make it into the Firefly’s sales brochure.

Imperial boarders attack the Tantive IV

CozzD has built the iconic corridor sequence from the opening of Star Wars: A New Hope. Whilst LEGO Star Wars creations often feature the exterior of the iconic spaceships, it makes a pleasant change to see other scenes depicted in the brick. The corridor of the Tantive IV blockade runner is captured perfectly, as is the sense of rising tension as the rebels prepare to repel Imperial boarders.

The attention to detail on the wall shaping is great, as is the work around the airlock door.

To cap it all, CozzD has gone to town with some special effects for the boarding sequence. Check out the Stormtroopers bursting through the door…

Flee this encounter? Yes please

Karf Oolhu proves once again he’s the master of combining random parts to create models that manage to be somehow both funny and sinister. This peculiar skeletal figure lurches from the darkness, tentacles and wings poking out of its robe, an obsidian dagger strapped at its waist. Karf says we need to submit to it. Personally I’m going to run away instead.

Mechanical automaton is ready to roll

Vince Toulouse brings us this excellent automaton — ready to roll out on its single wheel and come to the rescue of any malfunctioning contraption.

The retro-futurism of the design here is just awesome — slick and smooth, yet unmistakably “old-timey” in its sci-fi. The color scheme is spot-on and the greebles strike that balance of believability and character essential in good steam- or dieselpunk building. The red-tinted goggles are a masterstroke, lending a wonderful dash of personality. Lastly, this is one of those models which looks as good from the rear as it does from the front. Great stuff.

About Rod

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