LEGO’s Nexo Knights line has brought us some great new pieces and some cool recolored parts, but aside from a few isolated examples, the theme hasn’t sparked a wave of fan-built creations. This recon outpost model from Henry F. stood out as a result. This scene captures all the elements which excite me about Nexo — a perfect blend of medieval castle and hi-tech, the bright color scheme, and the robots. I like the asymmetry of the base, with the composition balanced out around the shield at the center, giving the image a focal point.
The texture in the castle wall is really well done, with attractive splashes of blue to break up all that light grey. It contrasts nicely with the brown and green of the terrain. Where the contrast isn’t working quite as well is with the figures — they’re a little lost in amongst that stonework. Maybe next time the minfigs should be some of the non-grey ones?
Category Archives: Models
Charming medieval cottage
A few weeks back, Graham Gidman wowed us with his LEGO barrel-riding scene from The Hobbit. Now he brings us this wonderful little diorama. The stonework on the cottage walls is fabulous, and the curved roof with its spattering of studs makes for a lovely shape.
The smooth flow of the roof is reflected in the curve of the fence, and the whole thing sits on a nicely-built landscape base making effective use of multiple shades of green and earth tones. There’s some lovely touches of detail on show too — check out the little log pile under the cottage’s eaves. The only thing which doesn’t quite work for me is the continuation of the round stonework up into the chimneystack. However, that’s nit-picking — overall, this is a cracking piece of building.
Steampunk biplane takes to the air
This steampunk aircraft from Andreas Lenander has a smart white and gold aesthetic — a pleasant change from the genre’s usual hackneyed brown and grey color schemes. Beyond the colors, the smooth curves of the air intake on the nose work nicely, and those gold props look great. Couple a good model with an interesting low-angle POV and some decent photo-editing and you’ve got a steampunk LEGO flying machine which I wouldn’t mind taking out for a spin.
Echo Base, this is Rogue Two... I’ve found them!
Let’s play a simple game: How fast can you count all LEGO sets that contain a model of a T-47 snowspeeder? Well the problem is that there are too many snowspeeders — not only in official sets, but also built by a huge number of talented fans. And each time I see a new iteration of this iconic spacecraft, I tell myself “It can’t get any better, this is perfect!”. But somehow Brickdoctor made his own snowspeeder too outstanding to be mistaken for any other build.
It’s not the choice of pieces or the shape of the speeder, but its awesome wings that make it so cool. Bricks placed with their studs not on top (a technique commonly referred to as SNOT) doesn’t make the wings look heavy, but tiny gaps between the pieces create a stunning pattern as if the speeder is covered with reflective armour plates. If you’re interested in how this T-47 looks inside like, visit the builder’s Flickr stream.
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire recreated in LEGO, chapter by chapter
Thorsten Bonsch has been hard at work all month recreating scene after gorgeous scene from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in LEGO. Each build is packed with interesting details and clever building techniques. For example, the stone fireplace in Chapter 19 was assembled using 1×2 tiles connected by minifig hands. To see how he accomplished tricks like this and enjoy other behind-the-scenes photos, check out Thorsten’s Twitter page. All the finished scenes are also on Flickr.
And in case you missed them, here are similar LEGO versions of chapters from the first three Harry Potter books. Expecto patronum!
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by Marvel V.
- Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by Markus Rollbuhler
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by Kevin Wollert
Here are some of our favorite scenes from this latest Goblet of Fire collection:
Click here to see more of our favorites
“This most beautiful SYSTEM” – Isaac Newton in LEGO
One of the wonderful things about the LEGO system is that you can build things at many different scales, in immeasurable combinations, much like the mind-blowing complexity of the universe itself. VAkkron has built this lifelike, instantly recognizable bust of the great physicist and mathematician Sir Isaac Newton, with his flowing hair and distinctive chin.
Click through to see a LEGO orrery and Newton’s life in microscale
Modern architecture gets prettier and prettier (and smaller)
Paul Wellington‘s latest microscale building uses the still relatively new Mixel joint piece to create a fabulous pattern effect. Sometimes I think repeated elements like this can be overdone in microscale buildings — cool techniques but failing to capture the feel of real world architecture. That’s not the case here. I could totally see Paul’s building sitting downtown in any modern city.
Of course, Paul doesn’t need this building to show up in your city. He’s got a LEGO one all of his own that he’s been adding to over time. I’d heartily recommend a visit to his photostream for lots of pictures of his brick-built metropolis — current piece count sitting at around 19,000 parts!
Microscale space racer is a stickered beauty
Luc Byard uses all-official LEGO stickers to bring an impressive level of texture and depth to this microscale space racer. The choice of stickers, mostly featuring thin-line detailing, coupled with some decent macro photography turn this model into one of those creations which, on first inspection at least, appears much bigger than it really is.
This thing just looks mean. I love it. Luc describes this creation as what happens when you cross a Spitfire with a muscle-car, strap it to a massive engine and send it into space. Sounds pretty cool to me. Where can I buy one? I wanna race.
Hefty futuristic ride is ready to roll out
There’s an effective mix of Technic pieces and regular LEGO bricks, coupled with smart color-blocking in this interesting vehicle from chumuhou. That’s a battery box lurking behind the cab there, and from the looks of it, those front wheels are motorized. I’d love to see a video of this bad boy in action. The visible suspension springs and cogs on this rig lend it a chunky sense of functionality, and the icing on the cake is the rear ball wheel, fashioned from Death Star halves.
Titanfall 2’s LEGO Ronin Titan online, signal when ready
Titanfall still is one of the most fun and intense gaming experiences I’ve had, and every titan I drop in to battle feels like the first. It should be no surprise that I am also hyped for the sequel. Several new titan types have been designed for Titanfall 2, and of the titans revealed thus far, the sword-wielding Ronin Titan stood out to me as a good idea for a LEGO build. There were a couple challenges in this approximately 8-hour build.
The alien overlord — a cold face and colder soul
Mihai Marius Mihu is one of my favorite builders, best known for his beautifully creepy surrealist nightmares, and I’m still not convinced he’s not Guillermo del Toro’s LEGO builder alter ego. However, this latest creation seems to channel a bit of H.R Giger. The alien visage is enshrouded in flowing bands of some unfathomable otherworldly technology, and the the lines transition smoothly from detail to curved plane, stylistically much like Giger’s most famous creation, the Alien.
Thanks, but no tanks
If I were a tank, I’d be scared as heck of this LEGO anti-tank droid. Droids are supposed to be cute: think R2-D2 or Johnny #5. This one ain’t cute. It’s creepy. And menacing. Those long legs remind me of insects and spiders, and I bet those Wolverine claws make an awful skittering noise when it walks. Plus, it has a gun that can destroy a tank! Well-lit, in front of a white background, this contraption could evince a much lighter industrial tone. But Marco Marozzi has chosen to use the nightmare lights instead, and the tanks are rolling out as fast as their treads can carry them.
