Stewart Lamb Cromar regularly delights us with his Fabuland creations. But his work has never made us this hungry before. To celebrate LEGO’s 90th anniversary, Stewart has crafted a layer cake large enough to be the party venue for these Fabuland mice. We can almost taste the numerous 1×1 round tiles acting as sprinkles, and the dozens of Unikitty tails subbing for piped icing…but, unfortunately, the mice are making us second guess having a slice. At least one of them is willing to vacuum up the crumbs.
Category Archives: Models
Not ‘alf bad for an Alfa
It can be a challenge to recreate the curvaceous, flowing lines of modern cars in LEGO’s angular format. The G Brix clearly enjoys a challenge, and if that wasn’t enough he’s chosen one of the prettiest cars to come out in recent years. No pressure, then! Luckily for us, they are a very talented builder, as evidenced by this Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm. The car is built to the same 8-wide standard as current Speed Champions sets, although with slightly more detail than might be expected from the official LEGO kits. Before we get to that, though… Let’s appreciate just how gorgeous this car is:
Lovely, isn’t it? Let’s take a look under the bonnet…
Dress to impress with this LEGO shogun armor
The balance of LEGO Technic and System parts in this ornate shogun design by Mohamed Marei shows some excellent prowess with the brick. Each piece seems to be specifically chosen to replicate the plated nature of ancient Japanese armor. The use of tread pieces here (large and small) is divine, both around the arms above the elbows and as the base of the warrior’s kusazuri (the plates draping over his thighs). And Mohamed has used nearly every type of gold 1×1 round plate in this build. There’s even one that isn’t actually a part, but a sprue for Ninjago weapons. It’s an ingenious choice, adding even more variety to the fairly monochromatic armor.
And I haven’t even started talking about my favorite part of the build: the kabuto, or helmet. If you haven’t been able to tell from my previous posts on here, I’m a sucker for a great brick-built face. And this mask, with the intricate details around the eyes and mouth, is truly exceptional! On the sides of the kabuto, you’ll find what has to be the best parts usage in the whole build. Those curves are made by an upside-down fairing from this Chima Speedorz set. You can better see how the part’s used in the side-view below.
Flamingos on the terrace
This creation by Noah really makes me want to go on a holiday. It reminds me of previous vacations to Spain, France, and Italy. Vacations where you would wake up by the sounds of the birds combined with the rays of the sun peaking through the curtains. Having breakfast on the terras while still having no plans for the rest of the day. That to me describes a perfect vacation day.
Noah’s latest creation exudes that same vibe. They also display some creative part usage when it comes to the terras chairs and the balcony railing. I love how the floor beneath the terras has an angled wall and the way Noah managed to incorporate the curved window into that same angled wall. Also, have you spotted the insect curtain on the door?
Bending time and space!
This LEGO spaceship is bending space itself! Or maybe that is just the brick bending technique that David Roberts used on this fantastic curvy racer. These massive engines look great with their colorful markings and smooth shaping. Brick bending is a difficult technique to work with at such a small scale and David pulled it off beautifully. I can imagine an entire racing series with this catamaran-styled ship full of high-speed action and incredible maneuverability. Always nice to see an uncommon technique used to great effect! If you want to check out what else can be achieved with brick bending take a look at the creations of Jeff Sanders, the brick bending specialist.
Hats off to this harsh landing
This hair-raising crash may have ruined Arodi Anderson’s ship but he’s survived to take revenge on those that wronged him. This scene by builder Mix the Brix makes use of some clever techniques to build a realistic desert scene on an alien world. Emerging from the wrecked starcraft, the pilot knows there’s no point looking back as the smoke rises into the barren skies above the dune sea. He’s more concerned about who shot him down.
Welcome back to the 60’s
Don’t block the TV my show’s about to start! Cecilie Fritzvold brings us this wonderful LEGO living room set straight out of the 1960’s. This would be amazing on its own but what makes it even more special is that it’s a direct recreation of the 1965 LEGO set 022-2 Doll Furniture. Even the table lamp, floor lamp, and flower pot jumped from the original set to this remastered version! The composition is simple yet cozy. Makes me want to relax and laugh along to a new episode of The Carol Burnett Show! You know, when missing it meant it was lost forever? I love the added touch of the vintage camera-style photo to really solidify the era in question.
Gundam grunt has a turn in the spotlight
Gundam mech designs are often covered in sharp angles, making it difficult to portray them in LEGO form. However, Derrick Li has done a fantastic job at recreating this GM mech from the Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt anime. Instead of going for a flat, plain visor, the green eye area protrudes out slightly in order to form a more circular shape for the head. The areas in dark turquoise are actually dark blue in the original design, but the color change in this model assists in accentuating the details of the torso.
The model also looks to be well articulated, and it comes equipped with a rifle and a beam saber. Macaroni pieces perfectly create the odd rounded feet of the mech.
The City of Brotherly...LEGO?
Once again displaying his mastery of the microscale LEGO arts, Rocco Buttliere heads to the City of Brotherly Love. The perfectly captured Philadelphia City Hall, still the world’s tallest occupied structure without steel supports at 548 feet tall, is a desktop-sized 10 inches tall here at 1:650 scale.
Come examine the fine details with us!
A cup of joe to go – at 10,000ft!
I love the nostalgia that surrounds Route 66, and Crises_crs shoots for the sky with this retrofitted reimagining of a Route 66 diner. The trucks parked as they are adds a depth of everyday realism to the build, and the repurposed vehicles really compliment the futuristic design, with hover conversion technology erupting below the trucks’ original frames. The diner itself has a nice amount of detail, with space allowing for the trucks to moor, and for the drivers to sit and rest. The adverts that homage the Route 66 of long ago is the perfect finishing touch.
This speedster lifts and separates
The cool thing about designing spaceships is that space travel is more or less in its infancy here on Earth so we can still dream up all sorts of wild and wacky designs. Take this LEGO “Comet” Speedster concept built by Marco De Bon for example. It is chock full of neat build techniques and complex angles. The forward dishes are Ninjago Spinners making the model tricky to balance according to the builder. Speedster implies speed but I imagine the forward mandibles can lift a payload magnetically while the aft section sports four Brick Separators, hence the lifts and separates reference in the title. I definitely wasn’t thinking of a retro bra ad when I thought up the title so don’t get that idea in your heads.
Rancor vs Skorpenek – Microscale battle between two miniature monsters
If you were as thrilled as I was to see the mighty rancor roar in the basement of Jabba’s palace in theaters when Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi premiered in 1983, despite the stop-motion effects that showed us something of its actual size, then you would probably enjoy the season 1 finale of the Disney+ show The Book of Boba Fett. Tim Goddard has recreated the scene in miniature, pitting a pair of newly canonized Skorpenek devastator droids against Boba Fett riding on the back of a raging rancor.
SPOILER ALERT The rancor not only wins, but more than a few parts get ripped off and shoved in places they were not meant to go.