Over the years, we’ve featured a number of great LEGO vehicles from the Alien franchise, from the ever-popular Cheyenne dropship & APC to the Sulaco and Nostromo. But I think Grantmasters is the first builder I’m aware of to tackle the massive ore refinery that the Nostromo is designed to haul through deep space. At this scale, the famous freighter is built from only eight pieces, but is still quite recognizable.
To round off our exploration of the rich LEGO repertoire of Letranger Absurde, here is a charming representation of Victorian dandy Algernon Moncrieff, from Oscar Wilde’s farcical play The Importance of Being Earnest. With larger character builds, it’s less common for builders to take the trouble to construct an entire scene, but this one comes fully furnished for the period (the Vermeer painting is an especially nice touch), while the casual posing and puff of brick-built smoke breathe life into the whole thing.
From the builder: “I’m quite fond of this one. Leaving aside the fact that it’s an update to my very first character build and based on the very first play I’ve ever read and fell in love with, I feel that I’ve accomplished some things here: making a detailed scene for my large scale figs that doesn’t feel like a cheap prop and managing a pretty natural pose (most of my previous chars just felt too wooden). I’ve also experimented a bit with photography; despite the loss in clarity and quality, I think the natural low light makes the scene feel more natural.”
The vast majority of builds we feature here are created using ‘traditional’ LEGO System pieces. But there is also a vibrant subculture of fan builders who work almost exclusively with Bionicle and other ‘constraction’ pieces. However, we at The Brothers Brick are old farts, and not tuned to their frequency. So it usually takes a builder to cross that divide to get our attention. Such is the case with this shamanic creation, skillfully conbrickstractificated (with an uncharacteristic lack of purple) by teen builder A Plastic Infinity, who cites the influence of Bionicle/System fusion master Nick Vas.
This week we’ve been exploring the works of versatile Romanian builder Letranger Absurde, whose love for antique objects and certain comedy horror movies appeared to collide in this LEGO version of the Necronomicon. Hail to the King, baby!
From the builder: “This is both a tribute to the comedy wonder that is The Evil Dead, and to Mihai Marius Mihu, the builder from my country whose work made me realize for the first time there’s more to LEGO than collecting sets. Klaatu Verata Necktie!”
Our next featured creation from Iron Builder veteran and history lover Letranger Absurde features lots of yummy dark brown and one particular example of nice part usage (can you spot it?).
From the builder: “This was built as a request; perfect opportunity for me to build an Arthurian themed MOC since I’ve always wanted to do one. The sword’s pretty much the same from the Witcher build I’ve done previously.”
Vince_Toulouse presents another piece of exotic dieselpunk technology with his latest transport bearing resemblance to a train. There are some old school elements at work including skateboard ramps and basketball hoops. My favorite portion is the generator in the mid-section, where I can already visualize the dark blue fins rotating. Check out more photos on Flickr.
Our second find from the hoard of Letranger Absurde is this cunningly crafted microscale homage to the book that first introduced the world to the concept of the alien invasion story, H. G. Well’s The War of the Worlds.
From the builder: “I’ve always been a fan of H. G. Wells’ fiction (one of the very first builds was a Time Machine / Star Wars crossover; it’s a complete mess, but that’s a different story!). So building this was always on my list. The dumbbell choice of part in Iron Builder was just the inspiration I needed to finally go ahead with it. I chose to take a more personal approach to the scene and not base it directly on any adaptation, but still wanted to keep a rather retro aesthetic for the tripod… unfortunately I’ve only had enough parts to make one.”
It’s just over three months to the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and the new LEGO sets are hardly the only things generating excitement. Like many of us, Burglarhobbit has been poring over every new frame of footage that the Empire has been doling out to loyal Star Wars fans. The result is this fantastically detailed diorama depicting the making of The Force Awakens, complete with a prop and costume shop, green screen, and cockpit on a motion base.
Take some time to pore over this great creation yourself and let us know what your favorite detail is in the comments.
You can watch the actual behind-the-scenes footage that inspired this great LEGO scene here:
Via BrickNerd.
Andrew Tate was feeling nostalgic for a time of full-service stations with an art-deco style, so he built this 30’s-inspired filling station. The curved corner window looks perfect for a classy old shop where the attendants would pump your fuel, wash your windows, and check your radiator, and Andrew says it was one of the inspirations for the model.
Welcome to Week of Wonders, a new irregular feature in which we spotlight previously overlooked creations by a particular builder that we admire. Each day we will highlight a different build, enhanced with exclusive commentary and insights from the builder themselves.
For this first WoW, we’ll be unearthing a hoard of treasures by prolific builder and TBB regular Letranger Absurde. And in the wake of the most recent wave of Star Wars mania, it seemed appropriate to begin with this perfect movie mashup. Somehow it just works. Spooky!
The Wonderful Jedi Master of Oz
From the builder: “I built this one for a mixed theme contest. Initially I wanted to use Jar Jar for the scarecrow (the only reason this build exists). But then I figured it would be out of place among Original Trilogy characters and replaced him with Han. The fun part is that this build was born from the idea of using Jar Jar as the brainless scarecrow and he didn’t even make the final cut; a fitting fate for such a wonderful character I suppose.”
The talented César Soares has been churning out one masterpiece after another, and his latest is a luxury beach-side residence featuring beautiful modern architectural design. I can’t decide which I’d like to do first: relax in the infinity edge pool, lounge on the balcony and enjoy the seaside view or go for a swim at the private beach. Check out more photos of the creation on Flickr.
They may only come in a few varieties, but LEGO’s Mixel eyes have triggered a surge in “character builds” over the past couple of years. And while I tend to use a Sharpie for my character’s eyes, Mixel eyes still offer many creative possibilities. Combined with some creative use of handlebar and wing pieces, this fully poseable drunk business man by Swiss builder Bricking Dave is probably the most entertaining example I’ve seen in a while. No office cubicle should be without one!
