Lego Fjotten continues to be one of the most interesting builders in the steampunk genre. Hot on the heels (wheels?) of his recent LEGO steampunk creations comes this cracking little hot air balloon. There are great details on display here — particularly the use of droid arms for an effective basket texture, and the mechanical boiler elements are simple yet believable. However, it’s the clean composition of the image and the cobbled base which elevate this model out of the steampunk norms. Plus, I love how the builder isn’t using the “same-old same-old” minifigs which constantly seem to show up in steampunk creations. Long may this builder’s refreshing foray into the genre continue.
Category Archives: Models
Life’s a LEGO beach
Michael Jasper has pulled off a difficult trick with this image. I’m not normally a fan of minifigs and models appearing in the natural environment in photos. Having real foliage or objects tends to destroy any impression of scale within the models, making it obvious how small they really are. However, this beach scene is enhanced by the sandy setting. It obviously helps that the beach chair model is a sweet little build, and don’t miss Michael’s inspired parts-usage for the bikini top…
Edit: This relaxing scene is actually 10 years old, and it happens to be the very first LEGO creation not built by founder Andrew blogged here on The Brothers Brick! We’ll call this post a “classic rewind.”
Discworld’s Lu-Tze brought to life in LEGO
Eero Okkonen (Pate-Keetongu) continues his series of LEGO characters from Terry Pratchett’s Discworld. This time round we’ve got an awesome rendition of Lu-Tze the fighting monk. Check out all the fabulous details in this model — the moustache and beard, the knot on the belt, the use of a snake as cigarette smoke, and the split-toe sandals. This is character-building at its absolute finest.
Spider robot creeps out of your nightmares
David Steeves has created a fabulous “spider drone”. The legs and various greebly bits give this a wonderful steamy/dieselpunk feel, and the smart use of the net across the “eye” makes for a frankly brilliant Bioshock-esque porthole effect. To top it all, the spider’s body is made from a large rubber LEGO wheel turned inside-out. All-in-all, an excellently creepy and clanky model with smart parts-usage — good stuff.
Can’t find Pikachu in Pokemon Go? Just build one with LEGO!
Chris Maddison has brought everyone’s favorite new game to the brick with this adorable Pokemon Go Pikachu and Poke Ball. This reality is even more augmented than usual though, with the scenery and even the phone being made of bricks!
Like LEGO Pokemon? Check out these other great brick-built Pokemon creations.
LEGO Ash and Pikachu by Combee!
Rapidash by Mike Nieves
Arcanine by Mike Nieves
Scizor by Mike Nieves
LEGO Pikachu by zkdlalsxm
Charizard by Zane Houston
LEGO Pokemon Group by Carson Hart
LEGO Pikachu Superman by Greed
Mecha aid: not for the faint of heart
Builder Shadowgear6335 says this Medic mech is a ruthless, profiteering healer for hire. Nevertheless, you may still pray to cross paths with her on the battlefield, since she’ll save your bacon; she’ll just charge you an arm and a leg for it — perhaps literally, if you’re delinquent on payment. On another note, this a fantastic blending of Hero Factory pieces and System bricks, and the Hero Factory H logos are put to great use.
The ultimate muscle car: The Ford GT
If you ask me, the Ford GT is the coolest modern day American sports car, and probably one of my favorite American cars of all time. Based on the legendary Ford GT40 LeMans racecar of the 1960s, the GT looks like nothing else on the road. It can be difficult to capture the car’s squat curves at such a small scale with LEGO, but this version by George Panteleon is instantly recognizable.
Cleaning up the world with LEGO Mini Wall-E
We have featured many, many versions of Wall-E over the years, including Angus MacLane‘s success on Ideas, resulting in 21303 Wall-E. To say we’re big fans of this adorable little robot might just be an understatement.
It’s no surprise that we found tastenmann77‘s mini-Wall-e to be perfectly adorable. I particularly love how expressive the eye bits still manage to be at this tiny scale! It’s completely recognizable.
The future is groovy with the Volkswagen Spacebeetle and Spacebus
Priovit70 has seen into the future and it is groovy and filled with awesome hovering vehicles like this adorable spacebeetle. It keeps the classic lines and still manages to keep up with the latest models from those other spacecar makers. Or, if you prefer more room, you’re welcome to cruise about in your VW Spacebus.
Even better, other companies have caught up to and integrated some sweet sweet AI to take care of autopilot. So sit back, relax, and enjoy your voyage to Miller’s planet with those towering waves for some sweet surfing.
A Volkswagen Beetle to fit all of your Friends
Have you ever sat in the backseat of a VW Beetle? They’re very very small. Tyler Sky has captured the cramped nature and nostalgia for this classic car with his latest offering: a Friends mini-doll scale version of 10252 VW Beetle, which we recently reviewed.
What makes this adorable little Bug particularly wonderful is details: the roof comes off, and you can take a peek both at the trunk and the engine. I love the tiny red cooler strapped to the top!
The lazy days of summer
Often it’s the small things in life that are the sweetest. Sometimes that means the mundane activities of a peaceful life, and sometimes it means the small but brilliant work of a creative mind. Or best yet, combine them both, as in this lovely vignette by Grantmasters entitled “Weekend Chores.” The lawnmower made of rebreathers, a 1×1 round plate, and a twisted rubber band is ingenious, but my favorite detail is the tire swing made of a simple minifig wrench.
A Board Game of High Kings
I’ve never heard of the ancient board game Ard Ri (more commonly known as Tafl or Hnefatafl), but this beautiful LEGO version built by Dan Harris and his girlfriend Dot makes me want to learn how to play. One of the oldest games in the world, Ard Ri (which means “High King” in Gaelic) was a Scottish variant of tafl played on a 9×9 board. Dan built the board structure and the stunning figurines that look like they were hand carved from ivory and wood. Dot built the incredible cheese slope mosaic which serves as the game’s board. I love the ship silhouettes and the intricate scrollwork and dragon head surrounding the king’s seat.
The rules of the game are pretty straightforward. Using 8 soldiers to protect his king, the defending player must move the King from its starting place at the center of the board to one of the four corners. If the King reaches a corner, he escapes and wins the game. The opposing player, of course, must use his 16 soldiers to stop the King from escaping. All game pieces move horizontally or vertically through any number of unoccupied squares (like a Rook piece in chess) and pieces are captured by “sandwiching” an opposing player’s piece between two of your own. (I like to imagine that each of the victorious soldiers on either side of a captured piece grabs one of the captured soldier’s elbows and politely, but firmly, escorts him off of the board in the fashion of two mall security guards escorting an obnoxious teenager out of a store.) To capture the king, you must surround him on all four sides (two security guards per elbow). The game ends when the King either escapes or his captured.