This colorful creation by Jake Hansen (Mountain Hobbit) jumped right out at me with the inviting use of colors that spellbind and luring me to a place where it’s mystical that I almost want to drive right into the canvas of LEGO bricks of which it’s sculpted with. The imagery is vertically split into three: the cool flowing blue of the waterfall streaming, the dark orange earth that paves the path to the hidden abode, and the muted green of the grass work in a perfect combination of something that seemed like it spun off an artist’s color wheel. The equally bright and random colors mushrooms fitted with various sizes of technic gears in tan bring the magical land to life.
Category Archives: Models
What are birds? We just don’t know.
Birds are an enigma, and this LEGO one by DOGOD Brick Design is no exception. Well, okay, we do know it’s a Taiwan blue magpie, the so-called “long tailed mountain lady.” And we can see that there’s some really nice naturalistic shaping happening. A combination of ball joints, hinges, and curved slopes allow for the wings to curve gracefully around the body. And the yellow 1×1 round plates make for a suitably mysterious (or just bird-brained) expression.
But beyond that? Total mystery.
If you want to try and figure out more about our brick-built avian friends, then you could always dig deeper into our archive of LEGO birds. Who knows what you might discover?
This House Is Full
San Francisco’s most famous painted lady on Broderick Street is the inspiration for this brick-built modular constructed by Cowie, a builder who generally tends to create modular buildings, some influenced by pop culture. Scenes and music from the opening credits of the popular sitcom “Full House” and its recent Netflix sequel “Fuller House” fill my head while looking at this beautiful architectural recreation. While this house is an actual residence in San Francisco that has undergone some remodeling since the television show aired (the door is currently forest green), Cowie stays true to the original image of the building from the 1980s by featuring a red door in her building.
The painted ladies are named such because they are Victorian houses that have been repainted in three or more colors which accentuate their architectural features, Cowie’s modular building accurately renders these features with her white brick-built columns and pilasters – hallmarks of Italianate-style Victorian houses. This LEGO creation definitely has the nostalgia factor built into it — it’s a real treat to be able to see such an iconic and memorable structure at a scale that both builders and minifigures can enjoy.
You have my sword. And you have my bow. And my... laser gun? [Video]
Ever wonder what you would pack for a trip across Middle-Earth? Tune in and find out in this hilarious new LEGO Lord of the Rings stop-motion animation by BrotherhoodWorkshop. Make sure to grab some popcorn while watching this incredible parody of the iconic scene from The Two Towers!
We arrive at Edoras with Gandalf the White, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli and it looks like the kingdom of Rohan has seen some better days. To top it off, the Three Hunters are having trouble bringing their weapons into the Golden Hall… but not to worry, Gandalf knows exactly how to play by the rules.
Watch “Take the Wizard’s Staff!!!” below.
TBB cover photo for August 2020: A station worth visiting
This month’s cover photo, from Pieter Dennison, is a model of the Dunedin Railway Station in New Zealand. From the tower to the topiary garden, this scene captures all the nuance found in the Dunedin Railway Station, reportedly, one of New Zealand’s most photographed buildings. If you’d like to learn more about this build, read our previous coverage of this LEGO Dunedin Railway Station that Pieter spent five years building.
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Just try not to sneeze on the pixie dust
I simply adore microscale castles, and microscale LEGO creations in general, too. There’s something about it, where even the slightest wrong choice in elements can ruin the whole composition, but the perfect usage of that one clever piece can make a masterpiece. Enter Markus Rollbühler, one of the world’s best LEGO master builders (seriously, check out his TBB rap sheet). His microscale fairytale castle and village are chock full of amazing and clever parts usages (and color, too; do I spy some sand red in there?).
While he’s used the party hats for tower roofs before, pairing them with cupcake liners is new. And there’s a mug in the tallest tower, Elves keys for the keep, wand sprues supporting book covers for the village houses, a katana holder for windmill blades, a roller skate as a cart being pulled by what looks like a non-production brown lever arm, a cupcake top as a haystack, and the list goes on. And don’t forget the unicorn horns balancing as trees. Even blinking near this thing must have the tiny denizens crying “Timber!”
Eastwood’s lucky day
There’s never a shortage of Back to the Future and Back to the Future Part II nostalgia. However, for the 30th anniversary of Back to the Future Part III, the 1990 film gets its due respect in a LEGO remake of Doc Brown’s timely rescue of Marty McFly from Biff Tannen and his goons. Brick Grayson is the creator of this memorable western scene. The Hill Valley Courthouse (1885) is shown under construction with a wooden scaffold covering the facade. The Biff minifigure is holding the rope, while Marty (a.k.a. Eastwood), hangs at the other end. Standing near the top left of the construction site is what seems to be Marty’s great-great-grandfather Seamus McFly, wearing a derby hat. The Marty McFly from the future is wisely sourced using the cowboy torso from the series 18 CMF, along with the addition of pink arms to contrast the maroon-colored pants. The printed fringe shirt worn by Marty McFly also lines up pretty close to the LEGO version.
Check out Brick Grayson’s previous BTTF III scene from Marty’s wild west escape.
Here is New York City, from a brick’s eye view
The view of New York City from the street level comes with a mixed bag of emotions: excitement, curiosity, and for some natives and tourists, claustrophobia. The beauty of its skyline however, when observed from a bird’s eye view, can turn the metropolis into a piece of art like a LEGO sculpture. A new brick-built model of Manhattan, designed by Axcit is awe-inspiring in its overall scale of 144 cm (56 in) long, down to the details of the many landmarks he was able to fit in the model. In a Reddit post of his masterpiece, Axcit drew hundreds of comments. Between compliments and requests for building instructions, what took the cake were the differing opinions on its authenticity, flying like a typical New York debate of where to get the best pizza (sans NY accent).
Click here to continue reading
A bold and daring trio of Art Nouveau buildings
Come see the latest Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) additions on the New Century City Block III. Each unique in its color, flair, and technique, Eero Okkonen has spent two years working on the buildings, drawing inspiration from real-life buildings and researching how the Art Nouveau movement has found its way into Finnish architecture. I’d say it was two years well-spent!
Click here to have a detailed tour of the block..!
Sleek yellow starfighter once flown by Anakin
The Nubian N-1 starfighter seen in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace wasn’t the only yellow starfighter that Anakin ever flew, but it was the first. In this model by Kit Bricksto there are a few nice details worth pointing out. First, there is the subtly angled area between the main fuselage and the wings, which matches up quite nicely with the canopy. Cheese slopes are used to create a near-circular engine, a very close match to the on-screen inspiration. Lastly, the shaping of the pointed rear of the craft is a great alternative to more common large sloped parts.
Edwina Scissorhands and I would have totally been besties!
The film Edward Scissorhands inspired a generation of teens to tease their hair, put on black lipstick, listen to Bauhaus and sulk about pretending that their very touch brings pain to anyone who would love them due to their horrible affliction of having scissorhands. Or something. I have to admit, the untouchable, artsy sullen bad-boy image was quite appealing to me as a young man. But what if you dig the look and also happen to be female? Letranger Absurde has you covered with this Edwina Scissorhands LEGO creation. She has all the sullen gothy put-upon misguidedness as her male counterpart excpet she’s wearing an awesome skirt. We would have totally been besties when I was eighteen!
Now that I’m middle-aged and with Bauhaus still frequenting my current Pandora playlist not much has changed, other than I’m paunchier than I used to be and my days having hair to tease is long gone. Frankly, I’m not sure if I could pull off the whole outfit anymore either. But do you like the idea of a paunchy, balding Edward Scissorhands wannabe? Soak it in, ladies and gents! Or not. Whatevs! Just check out the archives.
This little tractor has a lot of pull
This microscale LEGO tractor by BrickJonas could possibly be accused of hot-dogging it. Or should I have let that sort of pun skate on by? Either way, there’s some really nice part usage here, and the tricky connection that holds the front end on is also really clever. This much detail in just 25 pieces? It’s exhausting to think about.
If you’re in for the long haul, check out our tractor archives for more!