Behold a ship worthy of a Sith apprentice as Kirk Haksever completes his path to the Dark Side with Star Wars: Force Unleashed’s Rogue Shadow. There is much more to discover within the studless LEGO bulkheads of the spacecraft which boasts a fully recreated minifigure-scale interior layout in this masterful build effort.
Explore more of Starkiller’s Rogue Shadow after the break
So…anyone else finding that self-isolation has lead to needing to let a notch or two out on your belt? It can’t be just me, as this LEGO Grimlock by Andreas Lenander seems to have put on a few ounces as well. Personally, this cute and cuddly version of the leader of the Dinobots feels like an upgrade. I like the highly-articulated tail, the use of ingots to break up the the curved slopes, and those cute little arms.
At least he’s venturing outside, based on those flowers. I should probably do that, too.
LEGO mechs come in all shapes and sizes. From stompy to stealthy, from massive to minuscule, and everything in between. This 6-legged mech by Oscar Cederwall was inspired by the latest craze in mech-building, which comes in the form of a design constraint introduced by Andrew Lee where the mech must be shorter than 9 bricks.
This mech stands on its own, with some great part usages, including a number of minifig cabinet doors attached by inserting the handle into various parts. The leg joint made up of the tops of a turntable provides great details, and don’t miss the blue Modulex elements as supply crates. I do appreciate the subtle inclusion of a 9-brick radio tower, and I really like the base made with a variety of sloped and curved bricks built sideways.
I don’t know much about Bionicle, but I know what I like and I really like this incredibly colorful LEGO figure by Patrick Biggs. Bionicle builders are a special breed. They have a mastery of the human figure and how to create realistically articulated joints. This is not a skill I possess myself so I am often in awe of these builders’ work. The story here is that the characters of Tahu and Ikir have united their powers to bring an end to Makuta’s plans for the Mask of Control. Yes, Bionicle lore is incredibly deep.
The first thing you see when you view this figure is the fantastic color scheme. The limited palette of red, gold, and dark azure is quite striking and draws you in immediately. Interestingly the figure is somehow both bulky and yet extremely elegant at the same time. The wings are stunning and have a pseudo-Art Deco/Egyptian feel to them. The pose is full of action and the downward-pointing swords create a nice balance to the upward-pointing wings. Speaking of balance, the symmetry at work here is terrific and the raised knee adds that perfect bit of asymmetry to keep it from becoming too much of the same thing. It’s exceptionally well done and transcends the Bionicle form to give us something you might see hanging in an art gallery.
As this LEGO model by Moko demonstrates, there are three things needed to be a sleek, stealthy assassin. Tight black outfit; check. Awesome hair; check. The ability to get into cool Spider-Man poses; check, check, and check. Not on the list is copious amounts of chrome accessories but this assassin does bling beautifully. With her chrome macaroni headset and the radar dishes on her boots I’d see this android assassin slinking across rooftops from a mile away. I’d hear the schick of her razor claws across my throat and still be mesmerized by her shiny bits as I fade out of existence. What a beautiful way to go! In another stroke of brilliance, her skirt is made from an inside-out rubber tire. It turns out, this wouldn’t be the first time we were mesmerized by Moko’s mechanized creations.
Gifted LEGO wizard Timofey Tkachev is a master of character work both large and small. If you’re not familiar, we interviewed him a couple years back. Last summer he shared an 80th anniversary Batman bust and now he’s the delivered the Caped Crusader’s most famous archnemesis, Joker. He even left a calling card.
It’s an arresting model, clearly modeled after Heath Ledger’s take from 2008’s The Dark Knight complete with smudged makeup and that oh-so-striking smile. This particular wicked grin is made up of crowbars and horns. The shocks of hair are, of course, a bounty of olive-colored limb elements.
Need more of the Clown Prince of Crime in your life? Be sure to check out Vincent’s recent Joker film take and George Paneteleon’s animated series-inspired rendition.
With a global lockdown in full swing, it’s a sure bet that most of us are seeing more of our TV screens lately. Heikki M. has presented his TV and living space. Here we see a clean, brightly-lit, nicely-appointed modern space with a flat-screen TV, wood flooring, and a handsome accent wall. The stereo system and the low entertainment center are both meticulous in style and design. What is it doing being featured here on The Brothers Brick? Can you spot the LEGO? It took me a minute.
It would seem Heikki is quite adept at building interior spaces.
2020 has been a whirlwind so far. It started off with Australia on fire, then the Coronavirus shuttered the entire globe indoors, the stock market took us to a time when I had other haircut choices and now we have murder hornets. And it’s only May. If this LEGO creation by Eric T is any indicator we’ll be seeing man-eating plants later this month followed closely by taser sharks and then slaughter rabbits. All kidding aside though, this toothy plant is pretty neat. Eric tells us it comes from a Japanese anime called Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? I imagine it would depend on the dungeon. Dungeon Girls…either that’s a cult pulp movie or the forecast for June.
Once, long long ago, I nearly got fired from my job at Toys R Us. Someone had called in asking if we had Playmobil sets. I thought they meant LEGO. My TRU did not stock Playmobil. When they got to the store, they were NOT happy. I have since learned my lesson. Playmobil is a very different toy line. And then Miro Dudas comes along and makes me question everything all over again. Dangit.
Built as an entry for the Iron Forge contest, this masterful bit of deception uses the minfigure wrench as a key piece. That part creates the distinctive shape of the figure’s hands, as well as appearing as the hands of the clock. You also have to appreciate the 1:1 scale artist tools. I particularly like the use of the 4×4 round plate with hole to form the rim of the open paint jar. I also like the compass – the use of a minifig rapier for the pointy end is pretty neat.
It’s a very nice creation. Even if it does make my head hurt a little.
Whenever LEGO releases another wave of the Collectible Minifigures theme, I always look forward to what builders will come up with to contextualize them. Usually we’ll get some some cool vignettes, but occasionally we’ll get some great companion builds as well. The Super Warrior from Series 20 certainly inspired Stu Pace. Taking cues from the figure’s design and style, the Hyperzord Ultra-Rex is completely ready to fight off some giant, rubbery monsters!
Beyond just looking cool, the dragon has some fun part usage, too. Check out the microphones that make up the missiles, and the tassle for chin whiskers. There’s even a roller skate as part of that huge arm gun.
Whatever this knock-off Power Rangers show is called, I’m ready to binge watch it.
There are always some people in the LEGO community who insist that certain pieces are worthless. Maybe it is the Big Ugly Rock Pieces (or BURPs); maybe it is the Juniors airplane; or maybe it is the ubiquitous stud shooter. The latter is much derided by those who wish their Star Wars battle packs came with normal blasters, rather than the huge and ugly things whose sole purpose is to lose studs behind the couch. Kids love ’em, at least. But perhaps the stud shooters are not so useless after all; PaulvilleMOCs shows us how elegant the part can be as a drill, for example, with a wand as the drill bit. Add in a circular saw and a sander, and you have a set of power tools perfect for a job site. This was built for the Iron Forge competition, where the stud shooter is the seed part; so expect to see some more studly builds in the days to come!
If you have two battle-damaged B-wings in a fight, lug them back to base — put those droids to work and make a C-wing out of them! A couple of years back, I made a list of vehicles that could have been taken out of a page of the Star Wars movies, and I think after a long hunt, this C-wing by Tino Poutiainen would fit right in there up with the rest of them. I love a smooth ship with clean lines and just a hint of LEGO studs spread in the right places. What makes this ship a little unique is its parts usage at the shield generator made up of minifigure legs.
