Charlie Jones has given construction equipment a futuristic upgrade with this digital build of a quadrupedal excavator. While the main arm looks to be largely stationary, there’s no doubt we’d still have tons of fun making this mech stomp around the sandbox. In the hierarchy of toy vehicles, tank treads beat wheels, but robot legs beat tank treads any day of the week.
There are some who will argue that Bionicle is the greatest thing LEGO ever did. I certainly had a few in my childhood, but I would counter that one of LEGO’s best ideas of the early 21st century was the portable X-pod line. If you can’t decide, then do like Ben and combine the two into a seriously cool warrior. It was all inspired by a realisation that many of the Technic panels in this year’s 42134 Monster Truck Megalodon are the same medium blue as the X-pod covers in 4339 Aqua Pod from 2005, which coincidentally had a shark as its main model. Sharks, therefore, are a common theme in this model – from the teeth on the torso to the tails coming off each leg. Even its name, Hybodus, is an ancient prehistoric shark. So naturally, the shoulder-mounted missile pods would make it fit right in with the underwater Toa Mahri line from 2007!
Just as on the ocean today, in the far future, surely the most common sort of large spaceship will be the container ship. This magnificent LEGO vessel by Perry β is a take on what that could look like. Just as now, it seems that intermodal containers are the go-to box for sending your goods across the galaxy, and in my opinion, they’re really the star of this show, even though they’re just simple 1×2-stud boxes in a multitude of colors. The ship itself is fantastic too, with a nice mix of smooth surfaces and intricate details.
When it comes to iconic rock stars, there are few as easily recognizable Elvis, Freddie Mercury, and Michael Jackson. And now, talented builder Dan Ko has taken those memorable personas and transformed them into miniature LEGO statues. These tiny titans combine instant name-recognition with very clever part usage. For example, check out the ingots forming Elvis’ sideburns, the yellow handlebars in Freddie’s jacket, and the white croissants as Mike’s arms – clever stuff!
If you’re interested in building your own set of these, instructions will be available for purchase starting October 15th as part of 2022’s Creations for Charity drive. But while you wait, be sure to check out our archives for more musical goodness!
Any good engineer will tell you that scale models are a great way to test out grand ideas in a safer and cheaper environment. For some LEGO builders, though, scale models are just an excuse to flex your engineering muscles. This bridge by Clemens Schneider is a great little microscale build in its own right. It’s an attractive design with some nifty microscale vehicles, including what appears to be a police chase! What I am most impressed by however is the engineering behind it, which was meticulously planned out.
The valley and the gentle curve of the bridge are already accomplished by bending rows of bricks, exploiting the tolerances that are built in to LEGO bricks. But those flex tubes aren’t just for show! They actually work as a real cable-stayed bridge would. The schematic below shows some of Clemens’ thinking for this clever little build. The outer pair of cables are tensioned together with string (yes, it’s LEGO string), and the tension which can be adjusted to slightly alter the shape of the bridge. The green links have metal train axles in them (still LEGO!), the friction of which further helps to support the bridge. I’m seriously impressed by the thought that went into this!
This pair of brilliant binoculars by Tom de Kesel takes standard tires and treads and gives them new life. The treads obviously form the neck strap, but it turns out that rubber tires turned inside out produce perfect lens casings. One remaining tire does duty as the focus wheel to add the finishing touch to this perfectly rendered prop replica.
No, this isn’t a LEGO version of Admiral Ackbar dressed up for Halloween. It’s Ug’thozeth, an enforcer demon by brick builder extraordinaire Bart De Dobbelaer. I love the shaping of the squid-like head, and excellent color choice of pale yellow-green for the barbs protruding from its beak and eyes. Its armor is fierce and sharp, full of picks and points galore. Subtle details like the net piece as chainmail drive home just how well equipped our brute here is. But the most befitting aspect of its kit has got to be the enormous mace it wields with both claws. A symphony of black Technic textures, the club is as intricate as it is deadly – a weapon perfectly-suited for this diabolic ruffian!
Drawing inspiration from author Xavier Liras and illustrator Alexander Shatohin, builder Andrea Lattanzio shares a tense moment as the Guardian of the Abyss lowers himself into the jaws of the mythical wolf, Fenrir. There are great details throughout this immersive LEGO scene, as well as some innovative building techniques. I particularly like the shaping of the olive-green fir tree, the use of cloth elements for roof patches, and the use of a minifigure accessory molding sprue for the doorknob. The wolf emerging from the mists is also worth a close look, with a yellow gear-shift base for an eye and a maw full of pointy teeth.
We’ve featured several great building-centric scenes from Andrea in the past. Why not check them out?
We love it when a LEGO building looks a little but quirky. This creation by Andrew Tate features a cooperage. Funny thing about this building is that it looks similar to the products that are made there. The round roof was realised by laying tan garage doors over a half round frame creating round roofs. The roof makes the building look like it is actually covered with two half barrels. Talk about a great marketing strategy! They’ve got everything you might need: barrels, tuns, tubs and more.
Straight from the 1970’s, Jason Cichon provides us a LEGO-built gaming machine with a bit of extra character. I’m immediately transported back to my grandpa’s basement, playing games via 8″ floppy on his revived IBM. The standard tan casing I remember is brought back here in this build, now sculpted into an anthropomorphic visage complete with an 8-bit face. I love the plate work used in the monitor’s simple smile, and the washed out baby blue panel on the body of the computer-bot. But the highlights for me are the bright joystick hands on this retro gaming steward. The red and orange color palette feels perfect for the products of the age, and the use of carrot parts for the sticks themselves is inspired. Now, if you’ll excuse me, they need me back on the Oregon Trail.
We all love a bit of LEGO nostalgia every now and then and this build by Lars Barstad really hits the soft spot. It’s got a nod to the yellow LEGO castle from way back when, and then there is the Black Falcon king for the generations after the yellow castle. The posing of the minifigures is great and the little baby with the helmet on is too cute. The miniature castle is amazingly well done. It looks like the yellow castle but it also looks like a theatre backdrop. Of course the amazingly brick build heavy curtains also really help to set the scene.
We’ve been watching Christophe Pujaletplaa’s LEGO Microville grow for a while now. We featured it first in 2019, and then revisited progress about a year later. But Christophe wasn’t done, and it’s time to take a stroll through this tiny metropolis and see what’s happening today.
Dip into the diminutive downtown below…
