It’s rare that I find LEGO Halo builds which deliberately stray from an exact replica of the source material. That’s one reason why I like what Stephan Niehoff created with his mash-up of Halo’s iconic Scorpion tank and LEGO’s own Blacktron II theme. Another reason: the mash-up works beautifully.
Stephan has also been working other Blacktron II creations, such as this great spaceship landing pad. See his Blacktron II series and more pictures of Scorpion II in this album.
New York based musician and LEGO builder Andy Grobengieser recently began creating miniature versions of iconic music synthesizer keyboards, starting with the classic Mini Moog, and his latest collection showcases four models that any synth geek should immediately recognize: the Korg MS-20, Roland Jupiter-8, Yamaha DX7, and Nord Stage.
The MS-20 holds particularly fond memories for me as it was one of the first synths I ever owned. It first went into production in 1978, but like many vintage synths it remains popular and is still used by electronic musicians to this day (although good luck finding one at a reasonable price!). It’s crazy patch bay was inspired by the Moog Modular, which Andy has also lovingly recreated in LEGO:
Most of these instruments herald from a “golden age” of synthesizers, and each had it’s own unique sound. Of course, no two synth enthusiasts would ever completely agree on which models had the greatest influence on the sound of 70s and 80s music. But I felt that Andy’s collection was missing one significant entry, a device that brought the term “sampling” into everyday use, and was central to work of cutting-edge artists like Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush. I present to you… the Fairlight CMI!
As builder Andrew Somers mentioned, he had fun building multiple variant models of the same SUV frame. I have to say, it’s fun to see how many variations he can crank out. Check out his police, civilian, off-roading, and military versions in this fantastic lineup. Which one is your style?
Let uncle Clinton tell you a story: In fourth grade my school put on a play focused around traveling the world, and my input was drawing and painting the flags and insignia of the various countries. Do you know how difficult it is to create an accurate, full size Indian flag with fourth grade art supplies and no artistic talent?
Anyway, I now have a deep appreciation for symbols like that, and it’s why I appreciate this build from “kofi” even more. From Vorarlberg to Burgenland, the builder has created the coat of arms for each of the nine states in the federation of Austria. Zoom right in on this one and appreciate all the detailing pulled off at this small scale.
Monsterbrick has posted a whole series of lovable big-headed racers using parts from the latest large-scale “constraction figures“. First-up we have a cracking Jango Fett who could have driven straight out of a new Mario Kart-style Star Wars racer (now there’s a game I’d snap up tomorrow)…
Other than the big-headed bounty hunter, my favorite of the lot is probably this supercute creation. Cap has never looked so adorable…
There’s not a whole load of complicated building techniques going on here, these are just pure good fun. I highly recommend you check out Monsterbrick’s Flickr stream to see the entire series.
This isn’t the first time someone has mixed the constraction heads with regular LEGO System scale bricks. Check out this Jangbricks video on YouTube.
LEGO has been creating official versions of F1 cars for years now, but none of them have even come close to the elegance of these four from builder Noah_L.
From left to right you’ll find: Maserati 250F Tipo 2, McLaren MP4/6, Ferrari F2007 and finally a Ferrari SF15-T. If you need any more F1 beauty, Noah_L is in the process of building “at least one F1 car from each decade since the first F1 season (1950)”. I can’t wait.
Having been around for almost two decades and being one of the most popular LEGO themes means there’s no shortage of walkers stumbling around…Star Wars ones that is. Blacktron however, which debuted 29 years ago, is just stomping in now–and the wait was well worth it:
The BT-HIW, Blacktron Heavy Invasion Walker, is a glorious black and transparent-yellow sight to behold. Built by Rat Dude, this impressive walker manages to balance not only itself, but that classic space feel many builders strive for.
Li Li (lisqr) has been exploring building with angles on his own blog and he utilises one technique in this latest build, Spectrum. By off-setting the far end of each level of brick, Li Li has created an ingenious twisting sculpture that displays the visual spectrum in LEGO colours.
This is a lovely work of art and crosses the line between LEGO creation, art and science in a beautiful fashion. The birds eye view show the spectrum of colours in all their splendour.
Today is Chinese New Year, celebrated around the world by people from many different countries. According to the Chinese Zodiac, this is now the Year of the Monkey, so LEGO builders have been posting a plethora of simian creations in honor of our cousins.
Many of the LEGO models feature Sun Wukong, the Monkey King hero of the Chinese epic Journey to the West (and its many adaptations for film and TV). Donna Liem puts the iconic hero astride a cloud in the sky.
Click through for more monkey madness!
Remember Set 4183 based on the Isla Cruces scene from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest? Well, W. Navarre revamped it and it is glorious! The crumbling stonework and rickety water wheel are perfect. As is that large circular window above the door. The bell tower even has a complete staircase and bell on the inside!
Check out more photos on Flickr.
Inspired by the new Nexo Knights theme, Milan Sekiz has created a scene that, like the Nexo Knights theme itself, is half castle, half space, and complete awesomeness. The swirling portal door is beautifully designed and the premise of the build, the Nexo Knights’ firsts steps into a fantastical new world, is inspired.
Check out more photos on Flickr.
Gary Davis is well known for his love of all things Gerry Anderson, and his latest creations are a blast from the ‘future’. Back in 1975 a new British TV show called Space:1999 was aired, following the exploits of the inhabitants of Moonbase Alpha after the moon breaks orbit and goes wandering in space. I have to admit that before looking into more depth at the show, I thought Gary had designed a new LEGO theme; what a great idea, a new theme of retro space called Space:1999!
Above we have a rescue Eagle on the launchpad, which you can compare to one from the original television series. Gary has added some nice lighting to ensure launchpad Health & Safety rules are obeyed. The orange is a lovely contrast colour here, but the greebled pad details are my favourite part.
Have a look at these screenshots from the original TV series showing Eagle on the launch pad, a Hawk from the episode War Games and a close-up of Rescue Eagle taking off. Gary’s attention to detail, shaping and SNOT skills all work to create really accurate LEGO models of the original TV models of Eagle, Hawk and Rescue Eagle.
All the greeble-tastic details can be seen in Gary’s Space:1999 Album on Flickr.
