Growing up doesn’t necessarily have to mean giving up what you’ve grown to enjoy over the years. Vir-a-cocha captures the essence of this sentiment with a picturesque LEGO beach scene. While the figure’s white hair suggests he’s older, he looks to be living the best years of his life. The old man’s muscular physique indicates he’s in good health and ready to take to the waves, and he has pulled up to the beach in a classic yellow and black 1970s Dodge Challenger. Each build is well-executed, and I especially enjoy the the man’s flowery Hawaiian shirt. Of course, the image wouldn’t be complete without the colorful background and real sand!
Category Archives: Models
New York’s elevated park the High Line comes alive in bricks
If you have ever been to the Lower West Side of Manhattan, you have probably seen the High Line yourself — a 1.5-mile stretch of elevated park and greenway built on a former spur of the New York Central Railroad. In this detailed model by BKNY Bricks this scenic park comes to life in an interesting split scene that shows the stark contrast between the dilapidated track as it was prior to its transformation to a colorful and restful place.
In addition to some quite lovely trees and vegetation, there are some great surrounding buildings as well. I particularly like the lone tree in the lower right area, which has a blocky trunk. I really like the way the builder used bricks both in the buildings, as actual bricks with clearly visible seams, but as paving stones in the street as well.
Take a ride on a flash of green and orange
Swoosh! This flash of lime green has become one of my favorite LEGO speeders of all time. Builder SharkMassacre used an orange and green color pattern that is uncommon for most LEGO models, yet fits perfectly into his speeder bike. I admire the level of detail that makes the bike look like it has working components, particularly the fuel hose that connects to the engine. While not minifigure scale, the bike clearly gives the image that anyone can reach into the picture, sit down, step on the gas and zoom away.
Robot rumble in microcity Meribia!
Italy’s extremely prolific Marco de Bon is ready to rumble! His latest creation pits two big bots against each other with an entire LEGO microscale city playing backdrop to their battle.
The black and gray bot is clearly the aggressor, roughing up the skyscrapers while the dark blue Midnight Ranger seems to be avoiding toppling any buildings, planting its feet carefully along the streets. There’s a great energy and enormity of scale on display.
Rats and spiders and snakes, oh my!
This terrifying vignette by Victor has a lot of phobias on display: arachnaphobia, ophidiophobia and even musophobia! It is titled “Nightmare” and that is quite an apt description. Waking up in a room of creepy critters is pretty high up there on my list of nightmarish scenarios.
The spiders, rats and snakes dominate this little model but it’s the room with its furniture and details that are really the stars of the show. All the furniture is expertly done and gives the room a modern feel. The black and white cabinet on the left with its doors of varying sizes, the white bedside table and the plant stand are particular stand outs. The lamp in the corner is also nicely crafted. The bed is a terrific little build with some creative parts use to make the rumpled blankets and give the illusion that the minifigs are tucked not-so-safely in their bed.
Then there are the little subtle details. The phone charger is a brilliant touch along with the above-bed light switches and glasses on the brown bedside table. They really make the room feel lived in. The use of Olaf’s buttons tile to make an electrical outlet is particularly inspired. The printed tiles used to make the rug have been used in quite a few Star Wars and Nexo Knight’s sets, and the repetition of it makes the perfect floor covering. The attention to detail even extends to the bedhead on the sitting minifigure.
Good luck trying not to think about this as you’re falling asleep tonight. In the immortal words of Elvira, “Unpleasant dreams!”
Weird Galidor bugs lurk in the dark
Psst–Hello? Are you awake? So, I don’t want to alarm you or anything but Ben Tritschler just built this creepy crawler he calls Beast of the Dark 2. It has wings, antennae, crazy spines, and teeth like from one of those alien predator movies. Ben says it is venomous and hungry. Oh, and it totally makes use of a Galidor Ooni head, so…yeah. Make use of that information however you see fit. Like, who knows what other forms of weirdness lurks around here in the dark, right? The title “Beast of the Dark 2” implies there might be more than one of them. Like maybe a whole swarm? Well, anyway, I’m sure it’s no big deal. Forget I mentioned it. Go back to sleep. Good night.
Open the gates!
Builder Louis of Nutwood packs a lot of story in a small space in this snow-covered castle scene. This is part 8 of a wonderful ongoing series by Louis, and not only is it visually interesting, but there’s a written component that accompanies each part of the heroes’ journey.
In this chapter, a pair of weary travelers, one in dire circumstances, arrive at Svalg Keep to seek help from its residents. The castle is nicely sculpted and I really like the way it seems to spill off of the confines of the base. The small wooden structures are a fitting addition and do a great job of breaking up the mostly gray and white color palette of the castle. Adding more color to the proceedings are the snow-laden trees utilizing fall colors on their branches. It can be hard to work in a limited number of colors, but Louis excels at it here.
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Like the opening chapter of a great seafaring novel
“The sea, she’s like a lady. You dance with her you dance by her lead otherwise she chew ye up and swallow ye whole.” How do you like my grizzled sea captain impersonation? Needs work? Yeah, you’re probably right. I was just channeling Ahab, Nemo, and a bit of Quint from Jaws who, as it turned out, needed a “bigga boat.” This historic LEGO harbor scene by Vaionaut has all the quaint charm of Amity without the danger. Upon further inspection, the cannons, soldiers, pirates, and other details do suggest danger and intrigue–though likely not shark related. Everything from the expertly crafted curved wall, to the granite sailing ship model, to the intricate detailing on the rooftops is a treat to behold. My favorite feature is the hanging sailor-capped albatross totem bearing a close resemblance to Donald Duck.
This is like the opening chapter of a great seafaring adventure novel with each page leaving me wanting more. As it turns out, there is a bit more as this was part of a collaborative pirate build presented at Bricking Bavaria and can be seen at Rogue Bricks. Though if you click there, be sure to brush up on your German. All the German I know, I’ve learned from Rammstein, which, like my sea captain impersonations, has proven to be unhelpful while traveling abroad.
Curiosity killed the Porg
In the opening scene of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Luke famously chucks his old lightsaber off a cliff like a week-old burrito, and thanks to a not-quite-canon “deleted scene” from the Blu-ray, we now know what happened to the weapon after being discovered by the Ahch-To’s most adorable inhabitants, who just might be too innocent for their own good. Of course, every memorable moment in Star Wars deserves to be immortalized in LEGO, and that’s where builder Takamichi Irie comes in, with an excellent recreation utilizing the official life-size LEGO Porg set.
This jelly is totally my jam
I have two things to brighten your day. One is a recipe for jelly cookies. The other is this creation by Djokson called Umi the Jelly. Her hobbies include drifting aimlessly and tending to her coral garden which, truth be told, would reduce stress if most of us spent our days doing the same. She seems quite at peace drifting among the colorful reef. Her tendrils, translucent flowing limbs, even the choice of background color all comprise a rather tranquil composition. This jelly creature is totally my jam or um…jelly, as it were. See, I told you this would brighten your day!
A LEGO Los Angeles City Hall that is small yet towers tall
Bruce Lowell is a native of Los Angeles, which is one of the reasons he built this 1:200 scale LEGO model of Los Angeles City Hall. For Bruce, the model was a labor of love, having gone through multiple iterations since 2014. The finished product is richly detailed with architectural embellishments, a brick-built flag draped down the right side of the building, and dozens of tiny trees. Everything looks beautiful, and this is further enhanced by the natural background used in Bruce’s photography. In fact, I think it would make for a picture-perfect postcard.
See more details of this LEGO replica of Los Angeles City Hall
Airship! Airship! Airship!
I’m a big fan of finding new ways of integrating large LEGO pieces creatively. Peter Ilmrud does this adeptly in his Steampunk Airship. His skill with smaller LEGO pieces cannot be overlooked (for example the smoke billowing out of the top), and this would be a fantastic creation even if it didn’t have an abundance of large elements, but it’s those big pieces that make you say “oh cool, I haven’t seen one of those used like that before” or, if you’re steeped in the LEGO fan lexicon, “NPU” (Nice Part Use).
Let’s dive in and examine some of the parts used nicely here. The obvious examples are the planets – Bespin specifically – used for the balloons. Another easily noticeable piece is the dragon head fittingly used as a figure head. Further examination reveals well-integrated use of a Ninjago Airjitzu propeller, hero factory blades, and 4 Juniors boat bows used to support the wing propellers. The final example of great parts use I’d like to point out are the inside-out tires used in the the smokestack. Take a look at the images of different angles Peter’s posted and see what other cool building techniques he’s used on his airship.