What’s better than a cool LEGO VW Beetle? Two cool LEGO VW Beetles! That’s just what Flickr user RGB900 has served us up with. Although being largely the same in terms of construction, it’s a good example of how different colour combinations can convery different characters in builds. I get the feeling the white one is driven by your typical surfer dude or dudette – Beach Boys on the stereo, laidback driving style, not that fussed if they’re actually any good at surfing. The black one on the other hand is definitely driven by someone who wants to be the best surfer around. Probably playing heavy metal to drown out what is no doubt a very loud exhaust. And wishing they had a black surfboard to match their ride, no doubt. Lime green doesn’t strike me as a very cool colour, but then I wouldn’t know much about being cool…
Category Archives: Models
Honey, I shrunk the A-Team
Rod Gillies brings TV’s most successful soldiers of fortune to life with this microscale creation. Every child of the 80s knows this black and gray van with its striking red stripe. Even if you didn’t watch the show, the van adorned toy aisles and Halloween costumes and lunch boxes. Heck, even younger kids might know the van, thanks to it’s recent-ish inclusion in LEGO Dimensions. But Rod’s gone even smaller than LEGO did, and he’s accomplished it without needing to use a printed piece for the stripe. I love it when a MOC comes together.
A regal ruler of the skies
Looking for inspiration for what to do with your pick-a-brick stash of curved window frames? Look no further than this beautiful airship by Kai/Geneva featuring several of these window frames as the perfect curved fuselage. I’m also a big fan of the crisscrossed LEGO strings wrapped around the fabric envelope. The majestic airship also features some Bionicle blades to deter any passing pirate who thinks this ship is easy prey.
TIE Viper – obscure new Star Wars ship or genius mashup?
November is here again, and you know what that means—besides my favorite Starbucks holiday drink and turkey hangovers of all kinds. November is also a long-celebrated LEGO building challenge known as NoVVember, where builders pay homage to the Vic Viper, an iconic spaceship from the video game Gradius, by building a starship with all the signature details… two forward-facing prongs, two wings, and a fin. This entry by WyndGekko checks all the boxes and more, with a perfect mashup of viper and Star Wars, interpreting the viper as what could easily be an early prototype for the TIE interceptor. My only issue with this great build is that I didn’t think of it first.
A character that sticks with you
I’ve absolutely fallen in love with the new adhesive 8×8 plate available in some LEGO Dots sets. And while I haven’t been able to work it into one of my own builds yet, Eero Okkonen puts the new part to work in this swinging character suspended from the underside of a bookshelf. The sturdy swing design is impressive, not once relying on an unstable stud/antistud connection for the attached chains. And the character’s winged boots are dynamite, taking full advantage of a build without a bottom. But my favorite bit of the design has got to be her flowered sleeves. Each dark pink bloom pops against the jacket’s black background.
Splish splash, I was building a bath
When you think of the Victorian era, you might think of the glamour of steam trains, big mustaches, and even bigger tophats. What you might not think of is something we take for granted nowadays – the humble bathroom, still something of a luxury back then. Even the most well-to-do might only bathe once a month. And what better place to do so than in Marcin Otreba‘s stylish LEGO bathroom? The goldwork makes it look fit for royalty! Just make sure they don’t spot that two of their crowns have been used for a vase and light fitting base. The tiling could perhaps use a touch-up as well. Despite its opulent glamour, it feels lived-in, as if many a minifigure has washed here. In a way, that makes the build all the more impressive!
A boxy X-Wing precursor from a bygone age
If you’ve ever wondered what starfighters looked like in the days before “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away,” Alex Simion imagines one possibility with the non-canonical X1 Freedom Rebel Fighter. I love the rugged texture of this ship, trading in the typical sleekness of Star Wars fighters for something a bit more utilitarian. All the sharp corners and exposed mechanical panels definitely add to the implied age of the craft, and it feels reminiscent of the Millennium Falcon as a result. And check out those massive blasters on the front! I’d hate to be in front of this thing while over Alderaan.
And here’s a view of the back. I love all the mechanical texturing around the six engines. I can only imagine how fast this fella could go! This angle also highlights one of my favorite bits in the build: the pair of red friction cylinders on top of the craft. I love the pop of color amid so much gray and black, drawing the eye in to all the details surrounding them. And the technical connection to the two pairs of wings feels appropriate given all the other mechanisms on display. But where does the astromech droid go?
LEGO mosaic evolves
John Kupitz is on a LEGO speed run. We just covered his recent build based on The Legend of Zelda, and now he’s shocking us with this greebly mosaic of Pikachu, the default Pokémon mascot. Using a technique similar to his past Mario mosaic, John has taken a “gotta catch ‘em all” approach to the pieces used to create this pocket monster portrait – minifigures, tubing, flags, crabs, steering wheels, clips, bars, tiles, and hearts. It’s all here.
Did someone say charcuterie board...
Some LEGO fan creations we feature over at TBB, consist of hundreds of different little parts. Some creations are a bit less part intensive, but that doesn’t mean they are less clever. This creation by Isaac Wilder. is a great example. Isaac is known for his brick-built vehicles but sometimes draws inspiration from different sources. This time the inspiration might have come from the egg part or it might have come from a very nice charcuterie board enjoyed with friends over the weekend. I think we can all agree that the use of green eggs for grapes is absolutely perfect. Pairing it with a great flavoursome cheese is no more than logical.
Fall scene in the forest with fall colours
Jake Hansen drew inspiration from the fall colours for his latest LEGO creation and we need to say that it paid off. The little scene looks so peaceful. LEGO has been creating more and more bricks in new colours and at times I am struggling to identify which colours are used in fan creations. It appears this little house is created with three shades of nougat which are greatly accented by the dark orange base and the white and bright light orange leaves. The use of horns attached to the leaves of the tree instead of the base of the tree makes the tree itself look marvellous!
A bomb delight
LEGO spaceships come in a shapes and sizes, and yes, colors too. Red and white and lime green may be an unorthodox choice, but in this little bomber by Jonas Jensen looks mighty spiffy in the tri-tone scheme. There’s oodles of fantastic parts usages to ogle here, too, but the best might be the white 2×2 foam holder behind the lower wings.
Icy winter wonderland
One of my favorite things about the winter is the beauty of a peaceful snowy mountainside, and this LEGO build by -LittleJohn looks just the part. It took me a little while to grasp the scale of this mountain, but then I spied the castle perched up on the ledge above the glassy waterfall. The ramshackle techniques used on this build come together splendidly to create a magical moonlit river.