Batten down the hatches! Sullivan R has constructed this unusual build of a floating cloud creature. The lopsided design is an interesting style providing the model with a unique appearance. A zamor sphere is used to represent the eye and is held in place by an inverted tire. Round dishes are clumped together forming cloud-like features over armour plates and long claw pieces. Jagged lightning bolts are used to great effect, adding an electrical flair to the model. Below the monster, a ship is having a rough time on the open sea which is made out of translucent claw pieces.
Category Archives: Models
The LEGO boar of Erymanthos
Don’t let the weapons sticking out of the creature’s side, Hercules really is trying to take him in alive. This June seems ripe with Kaiju-inspired creations and Builder MySnailEatsPizza has added their own to the mix. Based on the fourth of Hercules’ twelve labors, this massive boar terrorizes the villages and forests surrounding Mount Erymanthos. A brick-built snout and face blends in with Technic and Bionicle pieces in the body. A smattering of bones of those that have fallen before it compliment its numerous, massive tusks.
Pig out on some more pictures below!
A look back in time outside the walls of Alexandria
I’m really digging this serene view of LEGO Alexandria by builder Jesse van den Oetelaar! Employing forced perspective, a micro version of the ancient city’s walls can be seen on the other side of Lake Mareotis (modern-day Lake Mariout in Egypt). I like how the micro greenery around the wall looks to be a miniaturized version of the flora we see in the foreground. The reed design front-and-center is wonderful, employing wands and paintbrushes to add variety to the verdant patch. Even though it’s tucked away to the right, the designs on the sandstone building are intricate and fit right in with the medieval setting. And the water flowing out of the fountain is some especially nice parts usage. But my favorite part of the scene is the subtle texture added to the water’s surface with the occasional bare stud. It adds motion to the build without disrupting the serenity of the view.
Cthulhu himself cowers before the Outer Gods
HP Lovecraft’s work has been the inspiration for many a LEGO builder over the years, as evidenced by the glut of incredible builds we’ve featured over the years. Woomy World is the latest to enter this particular pantheon with this doozy of a build inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos. Specifically, this is an Outer God – essentially the bad guys of the Mythos, and some of the most powerful. And you thought Cthulhu himself was bad! He’s got nothing on these guys. Anyway, this mythical being looks typically Lovecraftian – any being with four eyes, four arms and tentacles is bound to be pretty powerful. Aside from the arms and head, this is about as far from humanoid as you can get. There’s even a little alien within this alien in the form of a Bionicle Kraata, forming what I guess is a tongue in those vertical jaws.
So, what? It could just be your average super-powerful extra-terrestrial, right? Well, what elevates this being from a mere inhabitant of the cosmos to an all-seeing deity has to be that ring around its head. This is one of the most unusual parts uses I’ve seen – it’s the ring from a LEGO Star Wars clock! It’s so inspired, I wonder if Woomy themselves might also be more than a mere mortal…
An organic spaceship fresh off the vine
It’s always cool when a someone builds something that looks so organic, so alive, out of LEGO. This alien spaceship by Titolian doesn’t disappoint! There are some unique curves on this build, making great use of the tentacle and horn pieces. The long tentacles, or maybe bones, break up the ship’s sections through visual lines. The cockpit of the spaceship reminds me of a predator warrior mask from the Predator franchise with that broad canopy and orange piping details. Some of my favorite parts of the ship are the circular thrusters on the wings. I just really like how they’re almost detached, as if they’re suspended by emitters in the surrounding tentacle structures. These sorts of design choices are interesting, because they push builders in their creativity to suspend but also support the elements.
A strange new horror emerges
A huge looming shadow envelopes a city as squirming tentacles rise from the earth, while a floating monstrosity transforms all in its wake into a dark and twisted land. Or at least that’s what we can assume is happening in this awesome build created by Ivan Martynov. The main model features an odd humanoid body surrounded by a variety of cable and tube parts. One of the protruding lower sections of the creature is actually a sled piece from the Life on Mars sets. Several of the structures on the ground are cleverly made up of old Znap pieces with hints of colour wedged in between. It also seems this new overlord will always be watching with its many gleaming red eyes.
A blockbuster Classic Space ship
It all comes full circle. Builder Dana Knudson pays homage to the Classic Space theme with this recolored adaptation of the XL-15 Spaceship from Disney-Pixar’s Lightyear. Director Angus MacLane is an ecstatic fan of LEGO and, like many AFOLs, falls into the space-nerd camp. In fact while working on the designs and story of Lightyear he frequently turned to his bricks to sketch out the concepts, even choosing to make the canopies for all the ships yellow just so LEGO would be forced to make a new yellow canopy again. So it was destined that we would eventually see the ships from that film adapted with Classic Space regalia as Dana Knudson has done here. Much of the ship is practically the same as the XL-15 but Dana did have to come up with a SNOT brick and cheese slope solution near the pilot’s seat. Since the roof tiles used in the original design aren’t (yet) available in blue, Dana had to come up with a different way to mimic their structure.
Not a technically new design but a satisfying homage worth celebrating none the less, I know we can expect more space-themed redesigns of this iconic ship.
Need anything from the store?
At long last, builder Letranger Absurde has returned after an 18 month break from LEGO. And what better way to jump back onto the scene than with this beautiful Japanese store! Letranger adeptly uses textures here to emulate paneling on the wooden walls and tiled roofs. This helps to break up the mostly two-toned building, providing depth and character. Speaking of character, I love the pair of fences flanking the store. Without looking completely ramshackle, these dividers still add a hand-crafted feel to the setting. Lay on top of that other excellent details like the power pole in the background, the exquisite sign above the storefront, and the darling cart of produce in back, and I suddenly feel like going on a shopping spree.
And if Letranger Absurde is a new name for you, check out all their prior builds featured on TBB.
A monstrous mole makes mischief
Joss Woodyard puts a mammalian twist on kaiju with Molethra. No mere garden pest, this giant beast has risen up from the subterranean depths to wreck untold havoc. Joss has done an amazing job of layering the stylized wing pieces to create a furry texture. And the damaged microscale city street does a perfect job of conveying the monster’s massive size.
This butcher stand brings home the bacon
Dan Ko has packed a lot of detail into this 12×12 vignette of a medieval butcher’s stand. Inverting the tiles in the awning lets the anti-studs add a pop of texture, and the use of a few 1×1 round plates amongst the round tiles on the ground help give a sense of rough and uneven cobblestone. But the most interesting technique is the way the minifigure roller skates are holding the bars in the underside crevices of the 10×2 brick being used as the butcher’s workspace. It’s details like that which can pack a small build with a smorgasbord of visual intrigue.
This fairground ride needs more than a spring-cleaning
Pan Noda brings us to this derelict fair and its Ferris wheel in this eerie LEGO scene. Maybe I’ve been watching too much Stranger Things, but this build really called out to me! I really like how Pan has shown nature reclaiming this abandoned ride through the use of generous and well-placed vegetation pieces. As age and neglect have taken hold, we see parts of the Ferris wheel’s structure have broken off, adding to the suspense of the build. Around the base of the ride and the gondolas, we see the vestiges of the vibrant colour that once populated the fairground alongside a well placed Crayon costume piece. This serves as now-forgotten signage and I love this call out to a happier time included by Pan.
And did I mention its haunted? I’ll let you count the ghouls…
This Hawkins Lab set is straight hellfire
Vol. 2 of Stranger Things Season 4 drops this coming Friday, and to celebrate KaijuBuildz has crafted a Hawkins Labs suitable for creating mysterious happenings in your own LEGO Town. This digital build does an impressive job of recreating the TV location’s unique wired windows, and the rooftop is loaded with 80s era communications equipment.
Inside you’ll find plenty of details from the show – the Rainbow Room, the sensory deprivation tank, and even a portal to the Upside Down. We’d love to see LEGO release something similar to this to pair with set 75810.