One of the first articles I got to write about LEGO for TBB featured a brick built owl. It is safe to say that from that point on, brick built owls have a spot in my heart. After seeing this little cutie by Eli Willsea, I knew I just had to feature it. This forest critter has eyes that stare right in the deepest of your soul with their pitch black pupils and the vibrant yellow irises made out of lever bases. The only feathery parts that are used are the LEGO Chima wings around the eyes. For the most part curved slopes are used to build this animals body and wings. I would however like to highlight one special feature of this amazing build and that are the owls feet and talons. These are made with hotdog buns and black sausages.
Category Archives: Models
See you, space elephant
Ah, Banthas. Glorious space creatures. Portrayed by elephants during the filming of Star Wars (1977) they serve as mounts for the fearsome Tusken Raiders, natives of Tatooine. And now they are ridden by a certain helmeted fan-favourite character, minus the helmet (and the character that never was.) This small desert diorama by KevFett2011 (no relation) showcases a scene from the first episode of new Star Wars series The Book of Boba Fett.
Click to read more about this build (includes spoilers for The Book of Boba Fett)
What day is it? This puzzle has the answer.
After noticing a daily puzzle calendar, Aukbricks wanted one for themselves. But there wasn’t one to be found in any nearby stores. The solution was simple – build one out of LEGO!
By arranging the colorful tiles in various configurations, you can leave the date, month, and day of the week displayed for any day of the year. Figuring out the exact configuration makes for a complicated way to start your morning, but it’s also an excellent excuse to procrastinate the start of the workday. “I’ll be there in a minute, boss…I just need to update my calendar.”
A designer purse that will be all the rage next season.
LEGO is a medium that can bring anything you can imagine to life, from far away planets to mystical realms. But builders like Timofey Tkachev know that it’s often just as impressive to recreate the real world in LEGO form. Timofey has created a handbag from LEGO bricks that you could understandably mistake for the real thing.
Keep reading to get a peek at what’s inside!
Things are spiraling out of control for Spider-Man!
Lego_nuts has recreated this stunning scene from Spider-man: No Way Home. The world appears to spin as Spider-Man is chased by Dr Strange through a mirror dimension. The city has a great colour scheme, with hints of green and orange providing the city with a vibrant look. An interesting technique is featured on one of the buildings in the bottom left of the picture, where 1×1 plates have been used to represent window frames.
And how is the smooth curve of the city created? Train tracks! You can see the full build in the video below to learn more.
Embark to Episolon IV
Looking like one of those miniature models used in Star Wars, this space base is full of clever parts usage. Builder Andreas Lenander was challenged to use the tap piece as much as possible and inspiration launched him right into space. It’s hard to tell exactly what he imagined for each piece of hardware. Nonetheless, the part lends itself well to pipes and supports. The domes use halves of the Christmas baubles (with their telltale white dots) to hold in all that bright green foliage. As for that craggy landscape, Andreas achieved it by laying bricks on their side as closely together as possible within the limits of the round border he created. It all comes together in a lovely sci-fi scene, complete with a tiny rover.
A “painted” tiger that prowls right off the canvas
Tigers are one of the most impressive animals in all of the animal kingdom. Regal, mysterious, intense… They inspire a plethora of bold descriptors. In Chinese culture, the tiger symbolizes power, fearsomeness, and majesty. This beautiful LEGO-ized “ink” sketch by Dad’s Bricks couldn’t convey that majesty any better. The multidimensional artwork truly comes off the “canvas” to bring this animal to life.
What’s more, is that this piece isn’t even the whole artwork. Upon completion, the tiger is given an exceptional mountainous background with vibrant pops of color in the plant-life. The forced perspective and depth are truly inspiring. I’m particularly fond of the wing elements used to fill out those fuzzy cheeks.
If you like this style of 3D paintings, check out some unique “sketches” by Tobias Munzert, as well at the official LEGO Brick Sketches (Star Wars, DC Comics, and Disney). And if you’re a fan of these big cats, we have plenty of them in our tiger-themed builds and animal archives too!
Pushing the envelope with the YF-22
I keep a few folders on my computer, as well as a paper folder, with pictures and drawings of possible future LEGO projects. That paper folder has held a three-view drawing of a USAF F-22 Raptor fighter for at least ten years now. The drawing included a few measurements, for how large it would be if I were to build it LEGO. The reason it was in its folder for so long is that I could never figure out how to actually build it. However, I am still learning new tricks. Furthermore, LEGO keeps coming up with elements that make previously impossible things possible.
Now, I didn’t actually build the F-22. Other people have done admirable jobs on that (notably Corvin Stichert and Lennart Cort). I wanted something different, so instead, I built the YF-22 prototype. This won the “Advanced Tactical Fighter” competition in 1991, to replace the USAF’s F-15 fighters. The F-22 Raptor is its production version. The jet’s design really pushed the envelope, with low observability (“stealth”) combined with high speed and high agility. And building it, I feel I pushed the envelope too.
I’d respect Batman more if he drove a car like this
We’re still waiting for the release of the next Batman movie, but we’ve already seen LEGO release some tie-in sets like the 42127 The Batman Batmobile. That’s a pretty decent set, but Nico71 has taken things even further into a totally awesome and new direction. Nicolas has rebuilt the core kit into a T-Bucket hot rod!
Also be sure to watch their great video that goes into more detail, including showing off the working V8 engine, light effects, and other customization options!
Click here to watch the video!
Red rally shark
The Dakar Rally ended on January 14th and Audi made an impressive debut of the futuristic RS Q E-tron. In celebration of the annual event, builder Martin Josh Vala has created a series of his own rally car ideas. The Shark T1+ is the eighth in the collection and is loosely based on the SRT Rally Team’s car. With some help on the suspension from his friend Dariusz Sędziak, this model is ready to hit the track. Its sleek body and high front end ensure a fighting chance against the competitors.
Release the TIE fighters!
Well, those are a different kind of TIE fighters… Dan Ko built the most striking microscale spaceship for a Space Jam contest. I’m in love with it, and that may or may not be because of the teal – my favourite colour. The colour scheme with the purple highlights somehow feels like it belongs in an established universe. Whether it be LEGO Classic Space, or any sci-fi franchise, this carrier appears to swoosh straight out of it. The part usage is also worth noting – teal coloured brick separators and the little bow ties that represent the tiny starfighters.
Want to see more builds with teal? I sure do! We have a whole collection of them here!
Beware this gilded monster of the deep
Everyone in the village knows not to sail too close to the undersea cavern that Apahir calls home…but today they got careless. Joseph Zawada has crafted a kinetic scene of a gilded leviathan making the fishermen pay for trespassing in his realm. Joseph has long been inspired by the gold adorned enemies in the video game Bayonetta, and he used Brickscalibur as a way to finally scratch that itch with a beast of his own. The result is a monster that’s beautiful to behold, but terrifying to see up close.