Few modern brands are more iconic than LEGO, but McDonald’s is certainly one of them. And with so many new LEGO elements coming out over the years, the building techniques used by builders and set designers alike to create unconventional curves and connection points continue to amaze and inspire. Just one look at this model of the golden arches by Aiden.Builds has my mouth watering for a sausage breakfast sandwich or an Oreo McFlurry. The gentle curves of the arches are made with a surprising amount of straight pieces, and the scale of the build is at first glance deceptively small.
Category Archives: Models
Go tell it to the crocodile-riding tribe
Sometimes intergalactic news is so good you have to visit other planets to tell the crocodile-riding tribes about it. What exactly this good news is, LEGO builder Oliver Barrell did not specify but the news delivery system seems to be a sweet spaceship based on a Pterosaur. That’s pretty much the mode of transport I’d pick. It demonstrates the awkward wings-folded gait the Pterosaur likely had when not in the air. Oliver tells us there is no Photoshop trickery here; the model is real, precariously balanced, and fragile. I mean, just look at that ragged, trailing edge of the wings- and the cockpit! That’s brilliant stuff, right there.
When ‘Trash Talking’ isn’t rude
The truth is, I would have probably shared this post just for the pun. But to do so would have skipped over ABrickDreamer’s great use of color, part usage and cartooning. Somehow, I think the personalities in each face match the bin style perfectly, with Mario warp pipes and a goomba face getting recycled. With the prompt of “trash,” the build comes in at the maximum 101 parts for the 2025 Rogue Olympics.
The Botanical Garden gets a modular makeover with charm to spare
LEGO releases one new modular set a year, but every so often there’s a set that is modular-adjacent that fans of the line wish could better integrate with their collection. The Chinese New Year restaurant, French Cafe, and especially 2023’s lovely Friends Botanical Garden (which predated the minifig scale Botanical Garden which is even more modular-adjacent). Modular builder Melanie found a solution to integrate the Friends garden into her city by turning the conservatory a two-story corner unit using a design by MingBrick. I adore the park bench and cherry blossom tree at the base of the stairs adding a parklet at street level that fits perfectly with the sidewalk aesthetic of other modulars.
LEGO builders join forces for some greebley goodness
Do you know what greebling is? I’ll tell you: it’s a mish-mash of tiny mechanical details that serve little-to-no purpose other than making something look suitably futuristic. It’s a favourite technique of LEGO sci-fi builders, particularly in Star Wars-adjacent or -inspired builds. And these mechanical mounts from Red Impala and Zakarion are masterclasses in the technique! First, we have K-Drak and his steed Zeet, as built by Red Impala. You may have seen his work before – he’s a frequent fixture in our Minifigure Monday round-ups. The figure here is suitably attired, which, together with its ostrich-looking mount, really drives home the fact these guys live in the desert.
As for Zak, he made Oros and Gazelle here – and this thing seems to be made almost entirely of greebles! I’m a sucker for sand-red, so that’s what I’m drawn to here. Of course it would be a sand-based colour, being a desert mount. It also appears to draw inspiration from birds like ostriches or emus, but it’s interesting to see how two different builders can take the concept in wildly different directions!
A good dog, a not-so-good vegetable, and some great LEGO word-play
I don’t really know why broccoli gets so much shade. Its cousin cauliflower would be more deserving: it doesn’t really taste of anything, it’s easy to overcook and it disintegrates when you try and eat it. I much prefer LEGO pun-meister Maxx Davidson‘s take on it. Cauliflower? No, collie-flower! This adorable collie looks delighted to be sporting a sunflower on its head. I love the inquisitive nature of those tooth-element ears. What a good dog. And I will begrudgingly admit that the brick-built vegetable next to it is very nicely done, too. I still wouldn’t eat it though.
Join our haunted tour of this epic LEGO lair for New Orleans vampires
Jeff Chapman has carved out a place in the LEGO builder scene with a bloody knife, specializing in the macabre with a historical twist. While most of his creations so far have centered around Salem, for his latest build, Jeff travels south to New Orleans, another American city brimming with haunted history. Like his New England builds, Jeff bases his model on a real-world location, in this case an iconic corner building on Royal Street that was home to the legendary Jacques St Germain, the French Quarter vampire!
Jeff’s models are always best experienced via narrated tour of history and build process on his Spooky Brixx YouTube channel, which you can watch here. Or skip down to a photo gallery for more pics of this haunted masterpiece.
This LEGO Book of Boba Fett is an excellent read
Star Wars fans may have scratched their heads at Disney+’s choice of names for a show about one of the galaxy’s most notorious bounty hunters, but Les Foutch took it as a challenge and built a LEGO book to capture iconic moments from the show in miniature vignettes. With so many action-packed scenes from the show to choose from, it took two volumes to fit it all. The results are a cool tribute to the show and must have been a lot of fun to build as well!
Read on to crack open the over and peek inside the Book of Boba Fett
A worthy watery tribute to a great LEGO theme
While LEGO Star Wars may have brought me back to buying LEGO sets regularly, the Atlantis theme from 2010-2011 was one of the first themes where I bought every set that came out. It was a perfect mix of submarines and sci-fi. By the look of this awesome homage to one of the most memorable sets in the theme, by Edge of Bricks is as big a fan as I am.
This reboot of LEGO Atlantis 8061 Gateway of the Squid is a substantial upgrade of the original but retains all of the classic elements, including a cage made of squid bones (which is cool, even if squids don’t have any bones). The base is packed with great undersea flora and fauna, including a garden of green hot dog elements and glow-in-the-dark crowns as anemones.
“Even the greatest LEGO builders are forgotten someday”
At first glance, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End looks like a pretty standard D&D-infused anime adventure, but all it takes is one episode to know you’ve found something special. The beloved series about friendship and loss and the passing of time is told from the point of view of Frieren, an elf who ages much slower than her former questing companions. Joffre Zheng pays tribute to the heroes who slew the Demon King in LEGO form. From left to right, Fern, Stark, Frieren, Heiter, Himmel, and Eisen are lovingly recreated in the Miniland style, each proportioned to match the anime and manga. I especially like the way Joffre captures Heiter’s signature pose, hand on chest. It’s a beautiful ode to a series that reminds us that no matter how much time we have left, friendship matters.
You will be assimilated
What do you make of this new LEGO creation by Jarek Książczyk? Is it merely a neat piece of abstract art or is there something more sinister afoot? Is it an infected cell? The fungus responsible for jock itch? Maybe it’s a sentient planet from another dimension? Perhaps some unnamable Lovecraftian horror? Commenters on Jarek’s flickr page have lots of theories stewing with no confirmation from the builder. A common notion among the comments is it’s both beautiful and unsettling. If you look close, there are some amazing textures created; my favorite detail just might be the black tendrils extending just beyond the frame. What I imagine this to be is some sort of Invasion of the Body Snatchers situation going on; by the time you’ve admired its shape, you will have already been taken over and replicated for reasons known only to alien space plants. What do you think it is?
How to step up your stair game in microscale [Building Techniques]
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim is famous for dropping players into a world and letting them walk anywhere the eye can see. To help players navigate, the designers use landmarks that can be seen from far away like Markarth Guard Tower, recreated here in LEGO microscale by Isaac Snyder. Fans of the game will recognize it thanks to the orange dome, but microscale builders might want to cast their gaze lower at the steps where Isaac finds a clever means of adding 5 risers at just over a stud’s width using nested panels. The configuration only allows for the top panel to have a SNOT connection, but by boxing in the stairs, friction gets the job done.