For proponents of the art of LEGO character building like myself, LEGO’s new Brickheadz pattern is somewhat horrifying – from an aesthetic standpoint. But it looks like a lotta builders are jumping on the bandwagon and creating their own, so I guess these neckless, mouthless wonders are here to stay! Anyone who was around for the 2010 explosion of Angus MacLane’s (imho superior) Cubedudes probably knows how all this is going to play out. And while some builders have tried to counteract this movement with nicer templates, I decided to see how low I could go. And I think I may have succeeded…
Category Archives: LEGO
Duplo brick in critical but stable condition
You can almost smell the clinical environment and hear the beep… beep… beep of the heart monitor in this hospital-themed build by Finnish builder Eero Okkonen. The IV bag hanging from the drip stand seems to contain the infamously yellow vitamin B infusion with a tube leading down to a rather frail looking hand on the bed. The pulse oximeter is hooked up to a large monitoring machine with a glowing display. Additional details like the “Get Well Soon” card and a couple of bottles of tablets are a lovely touch.
What is particularly impressive about this build is the ingenuity of the part that Eero used as the screen display for the monitor — it’s actually the underside of the current seed part in this round of Iron Builder, namely the Duplo part Fire/Grass/Ice 1x4x2.
Where’s my pot of hunny?
I have to admit, when I first saw LEGO’s new BrickHeadz, I wasn’t so sure of it being a loveable theme. But once again the LEGO fan community has proven me wrong. How could you say no to these bright and colorful Winnie The Pooh characters by builder Bob Chai. He even extends this lovely build to include a themed base that spells out “POOH”. While the Pooh has a cute extended tummy, what tickles me is how Tigger is balancing on his signature tail bounce!
Carpet come baaaaack!!!
There’s a new round of Iron Builder competition now underway and Jonas Kramm is already getting amazing builds out there. His newest contribution to the brutal battle is an interesting one. It’s instantly recognizable as an Iron Builder challenge creation, but there is so much nice piece usage that it is hard to tell that the “seed part” (the piece which the duelling builders in the Iron Builder challenge are required to use in each build) is a Duplo grass piece. It could be the lip-stick piece! Or the black ponytail hair piece! But it’s not. It’s a wretched Duplo brick.
With all the unique part usage in this creation, it’s easy to miss subtle details that mark the difference between a good builder and a master builder. Jonas has used perfect tiny gaps between pieces on the unfortunate carpet rider’s turban to represent the folds and edges of the cloth. Attention to detail on all levels like this is one of the reasons why Jonas got invited to the Iron Builder challenge to begin with, and deservedly so.
Get a grip
Who knew LEGO brick separators could be so handy? Kevin Low turned his extra brick separators into claws for this swift-looking mecha. The flashy orange claws stand out as the key features of this creation, and the subtle use of orange pieces elsewhere ties the whole model together.
Court is in session. The verdict? Lovely
A Federal Constitutional Court building might not sound the most obvious inspiration for a LEGO creation. But the resulting microscale creation from Pascal Schmidt is just lovely. Designed by Paul Baumgarten, the original German building was one of the first truly modern court building, avoiding the traditional use of oppressive architecture designed to intimidate and impress. Pascal has perfectly captured the lighter, airy, Modernist feel of the structure. And those trees — fantastic.
Spaceship, Spaceship, Spaceship: A peek into the mind of British builder Jeremy Williams [Interview]
This week we got to sit down with British builder Jeremy Williams (aka “Bricking It”). He lives in Leicester with his wife and two young sons (ages 5 and 6). He travels frequently, consulting for accounting firms and training their accountants. However, I was able to catch him between road trips and pick his brain. Come explore the mind of a builder with me!
TBB: Hey Jeremy, can you tell us how you got into LEGO?
Jeremy: Sure – I got into LEGO as a kid, and Classic Space was my era. I spent every evening building and playing with spaceships! I also got slightly into Technic, but never Castle or City. I then abandoned LEGO as a teenager and only picked it up again six years ago after my first son was born. I figured I had an excuse again!
Minifigure scale Star Wars Imperial Shuttle Tydirium made from over 6000 LEGO bricks
Swiss builder Hannes Tscharner has crafted another Star Wars masterpiece, this time building his own UCS style model of the Imperial shuttle Tydirium from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. At 94cm wide and 102cm tall, the model stands larger than LEGO’s own 10212 Imperial Shuttle and contains more than twice as many pieces. It also features several play features including motorized folding wings, light-up engines, a full interior, and more.
See more photos of this huge shuttle, along with an action video!
The elegant flight of a fruit bat, emulated with LEGO
Kristal from JK Brickworks shares a lifelike build of a fruit bat in flight. Mind-blowing in its simplicity and elegance — the motion is powered by a single motor and cleverly-placed gears. Check out this amazing mechanical contraption in action…
In the video, Jason Allemann shares with us the detailed mechanics behind this creation (as a reminder, Jason is the other half of the duo behind the 21305 LEGO Ideas Maze). This model really brings truth to the saying “the only limit is your own imagination”. The only thing that could perhaps improve this model is a snip or two at a cape from 75111 Vader figure to give the wings some organic look and spread.
B is for Buy N Large, your very best friend
Everyone loves Buy N Large! Well, they think they do at least. Featured in many Pixar films and prominently in WALL•E, Lasse Deleuran has built this fantastic remote-controlled BNL LEGO semi-truck, complete with WALL•E and Eve. It’s not just the cab that moves – the hook-up to the trailer has an automatic coupling and decoupling mechanism!
You can watch the video below to see this great truck in action:
Floating guild for all of your administrative needs
Those who attended Brickslopes in 2015 may recognize this build from K.Kreations. Well, it’s finally been photographed and put online, so the rest of us can enjoy it! This fantastic floating rock plays home to a Guild House, combining some of the builder’s favorite things: castle, steampunk, and rocks. It’s a winning combination. I love the stonework on the side of the building, and the details on the tower are wonderful. There’s a lot going on in this creation, and all of it’s great.
A gentleman and his hotrod
I find hotrods to be rather elegant, and this beautiful example from Rachmat Guntur is no exception. The engine is eye-catching, and I imagine quite loud. The grill is full of delicious chrome, as are those fantastic rims. I love the bright yellow rear body. Even the minifig looks ready to go with a smart scarf and appropriate head gear, because he can’t arrive to wherever he’s going with windblown hair!