Four million years ago, a young dock worker named Orion Pax lived on the planet Cybertron. At the start of the great Cybertronian War, Orion Pax nearly died after an attack by the evil Megatron. Thankfully, he was re-built into the powerful Optimus Prime by an ancient robot known as Alpha Trion. Now you can dispense with Alpha Trion and build a fully transformable Optimus Prime of your very own, thanks to this tutorial by Tiago Catarino.
Click here to check out the instructions
I’m not much of a modern gamer. Somewhere around the release of the Playstation 2, I stopped trying to keep up with the latest video games. Nowadays, Dr. Mario on my NES Classic is all the virtual thrill I need. But one of the last major video game phenomenons before I bowed out was Final Fantasy VII, and I have an intense love of it. Not as intense a love as Brick Ninja, as evidenced by the fact that he built a life-sized replica of Cloud Strife’s Buster Sword and I didn’t.
Six feet long and over a foot wide, this majestic build floods me with some late 90s nostalgia. (Even though it’s technically based on the sword’s appearance in the recent FF7 Remake.) Brick Ninja has done an amazing job getting the angles of the blade just right. Check out the video below of the builder himself wielding the sword to get a better sense of its weight and stability. It’s such an impractical weapon, but that’s part of what makes it so cool. And when your name is as awesome as “Cloud Strife,” your weapons need to be cool.
This low-riding LEGO landspeeder by SweStar has all the stylings you need for a sweet Star Wars ride, from a big scoop up front to smooth engine nacelles and an orange windscreen. The color scheme is particularly intriguing here because it’s the oddest of combos and yet it works somehow, combining a sand green body with lavender and magenta stripes, and sand blue and bright light orange highlights. The best just might be that plush cockpit though, which uses macaroni pieces and a car hood to give it a comfy and curvacious interior.
While many of us are vaccinated, the Delta variant of the Covid-19 virus is circling the globe faster than a bean burrito through a dachshund. Trust me, you do not want to get in the crosshairs of the virus or a woozy dachshund, so in anticipation of maybe hunkering down indoors again, we have a LEGO model by Kosmas Santosa that should take you back to a simpler time. This brings back fond memories of making mixed tapes for that special someone in high school. It’s like the soundtrack to a time when all we had to worry about was the Cold War, MX missiles, and acid rain. Soothing, right?
If you too would like to be whisked away to a simpler time you can build your own audio cassette tape. Check out the video to see how.
When you think of Star Wars, I bet your mind goes first to the Millennium Falcon and X-Wings. But that franchise has brought us just as many beloved weird creatures as it has spaceships. I mean, who doesn’t love a tauntaun? Or a rancor? And my house is full of plush porgs. But one Star Wars creature that doesn’t seem to get enough love is the varactyl, a reptavian creature from the planet Utapau. Koen Zwanenburg is attempting to make up for that with this excellent rendition of Boga, the varactyl mount that helped Obi-Wan chase down General Grievous in Episode III.
Koen began the build inspired by the NINJAGO Jungle Dragon set, and kept modifying until the results looked enough like Obi-Wan’s helpful steed. Personally, I’d never have guessed this model started as anything other than an attempt at a varactyl. The stance is a perfect match for the movie character, and the use of blue and green plant plates does a fantastic job of replicating Boga’s feathered back. In fact, the only varactyl detail that this build lacks is the lizard’s trademark cry. And, really, it’s better for it.
The Lamborghini Countach is what I imagine when I think of Lamborghini. The trendsetter of the “Italian wedge” cars that are still the golden standard to this day, and the original 80s supercar before the 1980s. Builder Barneius Industries painstakingly recreated the Countach LP-5000, which was a popular variant produced in 1985, making it a true 80s supercar. This small, yet detailed build is in current LEGO Speed Champions scale, which is also minifigure compatible. Barneius carefully selected 325 pieces to best represent all the angles and fine details of this supercar.
A minifigure can fit in the driver seat, as configured by the windscreen piece from the Ferrari F8 Tributo set. Barneius also uses custom stickers for some of the details of the Countach, such as the iconic wheel rims. This isn’t different from official Speed Champions sets using stickers for headlights, racing decals, and everything in between. Seeing an 80s icon built from LEGO pieces makes me appreciate its more angular nature. As many curved pieces, LEGO has introduced, they can’t exactly nail some of the more recent supercars.
In other news, Lamborghini just announced a brand new iteration of the Countach to celebrate its 50th anniversary. I wonder if Barneius timed his build to coincide with the reveal…
Check out a few more builds of the Countach we have featured! If you want other Lamborghinis, we have plenty more!
A great LEGO model is not just about building techniques or choosing the perfect part. Lighting and composition are equally important. And sometimes the unexpected little things make the biggest impact. In this skyline by Geneva Durand which is made up of a collection of mostly distinct individual elements, along with just a few small builds, the lighting is one of the best parts, as it fills the city with a sort of golden hour vibe.
I do want to give props for a few very nice parts usages. First, the bridge is made up of ice 2 axes clasped in the middle by a single Minifig hand. A roller skate perfectly fits a brick at the top and a tile at the bottom on the left edge. and right next to that is a large tooth/claw element that reminds me of that famous London skyscraper, The Shard. But my favorite part by far is the vintage sci-fi ray gun.
Had 1saac W. presented us with one LEGO 1953 Hudson Hornet we’d be impressed enough, by golly! Because with copious chrome and classic curves like that, what’s not to love, really? But then he went on to show us, courtesy of digital editing, what the same car could look like in blue and now we’re all tickled pink. Or purple, rather. Because red and blue make purple, not pink. That’s just straight-up art school science 101. Plus it allowed me to think up a Dr. Suess-inspired title for this article and that’s a win/win for everybody. Speaking of win/win, hit the link to check out the other times we were totally tickled pink, or whatever color, by 1saac’s stuff.
This minifig-scale LEGO ship, The Charlemagne, was built by Brick Duvel over a period of 2-3 years, and it’s a massive 150 studs from bow to stern, translating to a scale 177 feet long. Months were spent on the rigging alone, and the proof is in the pudding with this gorgeous model. Unlike many LEGO ships, the rigging is extensive, taut, and tied down well.
Click to see more details including the interior!
Based on the main character Razputin (Raz) of the platformer video game Psychonauts, in which a young boy with growing mental powers enters the minds of other characters to unlock clues and gain allies in his effort to stop an evil plot, this model by Titolian is spot-on. The character has a Tim Burton or Coraline vibe, with his large head and spindly but fairly pose-able limbs. He stands poised atop a brain with a door, which is inspired by the games promotional material. His goggles are made from the large Minions set, and that’s not the only part from the Minions theme. The flat mouth is made from two tiles from the Minions BrickHeadz
The wealth of characters from the Star Wars universe is almost never-ending and fans of the animated series are sure to recognize this infamous villain. An icon of the Clone Wars series, Cad Bane proved a formidable foe to Obi-wan and Anakin on a multitude of occasions. Respected by fellow bounty hunters and often employed by the Sith, this rough and tough fighter knew his way through the galaxy from the swamps of Nal Hutta to the underbelly of Coruscant. Immortalized here in brick form by Magnus W, this digital build uses some clever parts usage to achieve an uncanny likeness of Bane. Stand-out pieces are the pirate hats on either side of his chest as well as the Minifigure hoods used as his shoulders. Hinged bricks, angled slope tiles, and modified plates make up most of his jacket. The blue Magnus used in Bane’s face perfectly contrasts with the bright red eyes peeking out from the shadow of his iconic broad-rimmed hat. The satisfying color blocking does well mimicking the character’s design.
The rear of the bust holds a few extra details and reveals how the head was modeled. A mix of modified bars, hinges, and inverted plates allowed Magnus to attach Bane’s eyes and hat to the inverted pieces in his neck, jaw, and nose. The hose attached to the angled bars with studs not only works perfectly as his breathing apparatus but also forms the core of the connection between the top and bottom of his head. The bricks laid on their sides for the base are also a satisfying way to mount this fantastic bust.
Though much smaller than the helmet busts the LEGO Group released in the last year or so this model would still make a great addition to any LEGO Star Wars collection.
Simon Liu has a history of building mech-style creations with unconventional operators. When he saw the Frog Mario upgrade from LEGO’s Super Mario Bros. line, he knew pretty immediately that he wanted to use the hat in such a creation. But instead of a sci-fi type mech, the creative process took him in the direction of a fairy tale frog prince in shining armor.
The final result is both adorable and imposing. This regal frog is ready to leap into battle with armor that looks custom made for his amphibian anatomy, thanks in large part to the ample use of Overwatch Reinhardt shoulder pieces.
Hopefully it provides enough protection that he won’t croak in battle.