Who needs an island in the sea when you can have your own private enclave in the sky? This splendid floating homestead was built by -Littlejohn and his brother Isaac for InnovaLUG’s collaborative display at Brickworld. While this size of the islands may be small, the builders packed a lot of detail into each one. I love the idea of subsistence farming above the clouds, which is made even more exciting through the use of bright and cheery colors. The little house completes the scene quite nicely; it looks so quaint and inviting that I wouldn’t mind living there!
Category Archives: Models
Don’t let out a sound, and run for your life
Builder Heikki M. is known for creating very realistic settings of rooms paired with clever photography angles. However, this blood-chilling scene sent a tingle down my spine after one look. A door slightly ajar and a trail of splatter across the floor tiles leaves room for anyone’s imagination to run wild. The visual cues of the grandfather clock past midnight which seems to be missing a pendulum gives it an eerie timestamp of the event taking place.
Heikki reassures us that the fake blood is leftover from the last Halloween’s party, but I’m more concerned if the stains are going to come off!
Like a fish outta water
Mammals aren’t the only creatures that want to explore environments that are clearly designed to kill them, and this bold fish adventurer is going where no fish has gone before, with the help of a shiny brass mech suit. Built by Andrew Lee, this clawed fish suit is basically an exercise in using the available inventory of pearl gold elements, which is a pretty limited offering, pulling from Hero Factory, the few basic elements that are available, and a variety of minifigure accessories.
Drop in and set Frontier worlds ablaze
The fun, fast-paced action of Titanfall 2 multiplayer is what hooks me in, but with my latest LEGO Titan I wanted to show appreciation for its well crafted single player campaign. To make a Titan build unique to campaign styling, I chose to build Kane’s Scorch Titan, the first boss Jack Cooper and BT-7274 fight in the campaign. Kane was like a stereotypical multiplayer gamer: overconfident, calling his opponents “scrub,” and easily defeated.
See more of Nick’s awesome Titanfall mech
LEGO Nexo Knights meets Warhammer 40k
Although I have never played the tabletop games, I have always admired the aesthetic of the Warhammer 40k universe, particularly the vibrantly colored hardsuits and tanks. Simon Crocker has created an excellent Warhammer-Nexo Knights mashup with his razorback tank, which is based on a heavily armored variant of the Rhino APC from the Warhammer games.
Although the build may initially appear straightforward, closer inspection reveals the complex shaping and techniques used to make the front and back of the APC look so smooth, and to achieve the light bluish gray accents in just the perfect places. Although I overlooked it at first, the use of dark bluish gray panel pieces sticking out by 1/2 plates distance on the front viewports of the tank is particularly clever. As a finishing touch, custom stickers are used to add the fine details and make it especially accurate to the source material.
Tiny castle wins the prize
This tiny castle by -soccerkid6 was built as a prize for a castle building contest but stands on its own merits as a great microscale model. Many different red elements make great roofs, and I love the ice-cream cones inverted under that long hall. The rockwork is also interesting, with lots of techniques normally found on much larger builds, such as the uneven base and sideways bricks.
And in case you are wondering what it looks like from the back–I know I was.
Sculpting an elegant monochrome unicorn
As we all know, building with LEGO isn’t just about creating cool things, it’s also a fantastic art medium. Not only that, it’s a wonderful outlet for self-expression. One builder and incredible artist, Ekow Nimako, is a master of gorgeous monochrome sculptures. This white unicorn is just one of his many creations.
It turns out that he has built a similar piece in almost all black. Also, it sounds like he is considering building a large-scale version of this creation, with a child on its back. If he does, I’m sure it will be incredible! Ekow has many amazing builds, so keep an eye out for future coverage!
Clean and simple microscale castle is packed with charm
When it comes to building a great microscale castle, there is something beautiful in the simple choices, color, angled walls, round or square towers, a bridge. This lovely castle scene by Henjin_Quilones has many of these simple choices that add up to an enchanting build.
One of my favorite features is the use of inverted 2×2 round bricks, with windows at the top made with the gaps on the underside of the bricks and plates. A few well-placed gears are another nice detail. The grooved bricks used as stairs was a surprising feature. I also really love the smooth walls topped with slopes, and the very few windows placed very thoughtfully.
Besides the castle itself, there are other areas of the scene worth noticing, like the small village and docks, the watchtower on the far side of the bridge, and the detailed landscaping.
Daisy daisy, give me some LEGO do
LEGO, with its cuboid forms, can be a tricky medium in which to attempt organic shapes. Ольга Родионова has done a lovely job with these daisies though — beautiful white petals surrounding a glorious sun-yellow core. Nice work with the green clamshells underneath too. The depth of focus on the photography is excellent, creating a nice sense of scale, and adding immensely to the model’s presentation.
Worlds collide in this clever theme park mashup [Video]
If there really was a theme park with cloned dinosaurs, who do you think would own and operate it? Considering Walt Disney Parks is the world’s largest theme park company and Disney has a history of purchasing competitors, it’s not a huge stretch to imagine a T-Rex sporting Mickey Mouse ears. Paul Hollingsworth and his team at Digital Wizards Studios explore this hypothetical scenario in their clever brickfilm, Jurassic Disney World.
Paul and team have done a great job integrating official sets such as Cinderella’s Castle and the Jurassic World gyrospheres with custom builds like Jurassic Park jeeps and a bubblegum tank for Minnie Mouse. Every scene is densely packed with clever gags, impressive animation, and easter eggs (such as a brief cameo by a mutant dinosaur from the short-lived Dino Attack theme). Be sure to watch it twice to appreciate the finer details.
Fill your tank up at this 1960s Italian gas station
What has six legs, barks, and has a lot of gas? The answer, of course, is this lovely 1960s AGIP gas station built by Norton74. AGIP was founded in Italy back in 1926, and the company’s mascot is an unusual looking six-legged fire-breathing dog. For this model, Norton74 drew inspiration from his childhood memories of classic AGIP gas stations, and the results are spectacular. The structure’s rounded walls and sloping roof are not only characteristic of the period being represented; they also add a visual interest that really makes this model “pop.” Other fun details include a pair of slick looking gas pumps, utility poles, and even a cute dealer display for Pirelli tires. Finishing off the entire scene is a sharp looking yellow AGIP tanker truck.
But wait; there’s more. Flipping the gas station around reveals a fun backyard junkyard, which is something you would almost expect to see behind the real deal. Someone had better lift that oil drum upright, though!
Bite-Sized Defender of the Universe
While the 2,300-piece LEGO Ideas Voltron takes the big stage with its recent reveal, we couldn’t help but also notice this tiny little BrickHeadz version by curtydc. With emphasis on the signature headpiece and the primary colors for the rest of the body parts, they make it instantly recognisable. The introduction of the Round 1×1 Quarter Tiles back in 2016 has given a smaller builds like these more detailing.