I’ll share a fun fact with you. Most of my LEGO collection is relegated to my LEGO room downstairs under the guise that– no one wants to see your Star Wars spaceships or whatever. However, some of the few LEGO sets that have made it to the main floor (you know, where nice civilized people hang out) are from the Botanical line. Famed builder Ian Hou has used parts from that botanical line to create this lovely ornate jewelry box. I’m in awe of the flowery filigree adorning this creation. While my LEGO room is admitttedly cluttered with paraphenelia too lowbrow for polite company, this box just might be fine enough to occupy one of the upper floor bedrooms (gasp!) in which no LEGO currently resides.
Category Archives: Models
Clean, mean, flying machine
Back from a small hiatus, Blake Foster brings us this beautiful LEGO spaceship! Color blocking is on point in this ship, with subtle reds and yellows peaking out of the black, white, and light grey. The dark zzure takes this that much further and ties the whole build together.
We do back this Dewback
As LEGO’s Jurassic Park sets start making more use of brick-built dinosaurs, I think it’s high-time other themes starting following suit. Shaun Sheepa shows us the way for what is arguably LEGO’s most popular license, Star Wars. Shaun has created a number of creatures from a galaxy far, far away, and this latest Dewback creation is an excellent example of what’s possible. The trusty steed for the Stormtrooper stationed on Tatooine is rendered here in a near-perfect shape and scale. The spindly legs in particular are a much better match for its onscreen counterpart than any of the unique molds of the creature LEGO has produced thus far. Give us all these parts in olive green, and we’d build a whole scouting patrol’s worth.
We all live in an iron (builder) submarine
LEGO expert Jake Hansen dives deep into the his Iron Builder duel with this Ponyo inspired submarine! His signature color mastery and clean lines abound in this build. The teal tentacle parts create a sense of motion as seaweed waving in the currents over the brick built sea floor. The seed part for Iron Builder this round is the red cockpit part used here as fins. Keep an eye out for more builds using this seed part in the coming weeks as the Iron Builder round progresses!
Music to the ears and eyes
I don’t know about you, but if someone said the phrase “the Muse of Song” to me, I would have assumed they were talking about a pseudo-prog-rock band from England. Kitkat1414, who is clearly much more learned than me, has instead taken inspiration from this phrase of Greek literature to create a stunner of a build entitled “the Sweet Sound of Blossom”. The sculpting here is terrific (particularly the piano – look at the pedals!), but it’s the use of colour that stands out to me. Building solid blocks of white is a bold choice as it can be difficult to pick out details, but the green and blue hues of the surrounding foliage give enough contrast to the build without being too overbearing. What does draw the eye are the muse’s dark red hair and her dress made from teal (which as we all know, is the best LEGO colour). These serve to pull the viewer into Euterpe herself, while the focus is gradually drawn away by the creeping vines and plants. In fact, the whole composition of this piece just hits all the right notes! (I’m here all week, try the fish…)
Vintage Deltron spice wine
If there were ever two themes that do not go together it has to be Belville and Star Wars. Both are worlds apart from each other. Still Eyrezer managed to use a part that is quintessential for the Belville theme. It is the wall corner and it is used to build a wine rack in a wine cellar. I love the creative use of this part. The thing that stands out the most to me is how this big brightly coloured part blends in with the background of the creation. When thinking about Star Wars sets, I mostly think of white, grey, black and tan bricks. It is nice to see that there is even a place for big brightly coloured parts in this universe.
This fly guy is a one cool samurai
It would probably not be a good idea to swat insects in front of this character! Sandro Quattrini has created this unique looking build of a humanoid fly in samurai clothing. There are some fantastic details in the design such as a statuette trophy at the centre of the chest, moustache pieces portraying defined muscles and a castle helmet at the end of the torso. Large plant pieces form the bands around the arms which are primarily made up of inversed tire pieces. The tips of the fingers and toes use minifigure hands to provide the character with an extra hairy feel. Things might be the other way around if you confronted this fly, most likely you’d be the one buzzing off!
Living room of an Iron Builder
It’s always such a joy following the Iron Builder‘s duels as each entry deserves careful attention. One of Joe‘s first builds was this lovely modern living room. His use of the red windscreen seed part is superb! It’s used to create a variety of objects including couch pillows, drapes, a hot air balloon, and a dress. The rest of the build proves why he is competing at this level. I especially like the glass coffee table in the center of the room! And don’t look too closely or you might just discover an odd portrait of Woody on that wall. Wish Joe well in his fight for the Iron Builder crown!
Fabuland Ganesha doesn’t judge you
We’re used to being in awe and maybe a bit flabbergasted by the wild and wonderful LEGO creations of Ivan Martynov. But this time we’re like; is that even LEGO? It’s a computer render, as it turns out, but still a neat concept. Here we see Elton Elephant as Ganesha, the Hindu god of beginnings and the patron of intellectuals, bankers, scribes, and authors. He’s one of those cool, laidback dieties who doesn’t judge your shortcomings because he himself isn’t without folly. I, on the other hand, can be judgemental, at times. I am forever furrowing my brow at the antics of others. If you’d rather we didn’t shake our heads with quiet condemnation at how you treat others then quit acting like an entitled high-and-mighty brat, Karen! (Wow, that escalated fast.) While you’re clamoring to reach my manager, why not take a gander at some other Fabuland creations built by totally fabulous grown-ass adults.
Couple of hosers here, eh?
Good day, and welcome to the Great White North! Here we’ve got a beautiful LEGO BrickHeadz build by Josephine Monterosso featuring our favorite fictional Canadian brothers, Bob and Doug McKenzie. Played by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas respectively, the duo were featured on the Canadian SCTV in the 80’s, as well as the feature film Strange Brew. And Josephine does a great job of recreating their countenances in this blocky medium. I love the 1×2 jumper plate used for their mouths, locked in a heated discussion about long underwear and back bacon. Then there’s the ingenious use of the minifig pom-pom for the top of Doug’s tuque, and tires as his earmuffs. But my absolute favorite detail has to be the angled plates used for their jacket collars! It’s so fitting given Brickheadz dimensions. And, well, if you disagree, you can take off, eh!
This starship has a snake in its boot! (Probably)
I love Iron Builder! It usually means job security for us here at TBB, loads of awesome LEGO entertainment for you, and stress, horror, and depravity for the poor sods who have to build for it. Take this pointy starship built by Joe (jnj_bricks) for example. It’s pretty neat in its own right, but knowing full well you gotta crank out a bunch of quality builds in short order while your competitor does the same gives me heart palpitations just thinking about it. As per the rules of Iron Builder, you gotta cleverly use a seed part or another. We’re supposed to be impressed by Joe’s use of the required hexagonal blabitty-blah but I’m more smitten with the hidden Woody figure from Toy Story. Can you spot it?
This Roman temple is straight fire!
Behold, the sacred fire of Vesta! So long as it burns, Rome’s safety and prosperity is assured. Builder Antonio Cerretti uses LEGO to show us how this temple may have looked in its prime. The Temple of Vesta once stood in the Roman Forum at the heart of the ancient city. Dedicated to Vesta — the Roman goddess of hearth, home, and family — it stood for many centuries until it was permanently dismantled in the mid-16th century. We know what it may have looked like from coins and artwork, and here Antonio gives us a marvelous recreation built from LEGO! The temple’s adornments strike with their vibrancy, reminding us that the ancient world was filled with color. Clipped together, barbs and cow horns make up the details on the capitals of the Corinthian columns. Further up, light grey minifigure handcuffs give definition to the blue frieze between the columns and roof. Peer through the open entrance to see the sacred fire, burning brightly to keep the darkness at bay.
The temple’s interior showcases the sacred fire and more wonderful columns. Clever usage of croissants make up the capitals of what appear to be ionic columns set into the curved wall. Then, we have the eternal fire in the center of the enclosure! A light brick is cleverly buried beneath loose translucent LEGO studs, giving the fire its warm glow. Simple flame pieces stick out from the embers like the reaching arms of a healthy fire. Undoubtedly, this build gives us a splendid glimpse into an aspect of ancient Rome, grounding the past in the present.












