Built in transparent blue over white and grey, the sparkling azure water in this scene by Sergeant Chipmunk looks incredibly inviting. The three watchtowers use fantastic color schemes and a not quite “legal” technique to create wonderful shapes, standing on rocks with nary a stud to be seen and dabs of color that bring life to the vibrant scene. But the stand-out feature for me is the organically curved sail made out of leaves.
Although Batman only builds in black (and sometimes very, very dark grey), I’m sure he’d appreciate this wonderful rainbow creation by Alanboar Cheung which depicts a small child dressed as Batman, dreaming of being the Dark Knight. The build has great details, including a redesigned Duckmobile, adorable brick-built characters, and rainbows and clouds reminiscent of Cloud Cuckoo Land.
In addition to many of the villains and sidekicks from the LEGO Batman Movie, Alanboar also included every wacky version of Batman from the new sets and from the Collectible Minifigure series. Can you spot them all?
I can’t seem to stop staring and admiring this build by Cecile Fritzvold for more than a few reasons. The clean lines and great color contrast make me wish this was a real alarm clock set on LEGO store shelves. Those pentagonal shields which you may recognize from the Nexo Knights series seem like they were made perfectly for this purpose! One thing is for sure, this had not better have a snooze alarm, because it’s only going to end up in pieces every morning. Which may not be such a bad idea after all – snoozing means a rebuild which means you gotta think twice before hitting that button!
Today we are fortunate enough to get the chance to explore the mind of Master Mech builder, Mark Neumann! Mark lives with his family in western Washington State and has been a prominent member of the Adult LEGO Fan community for many years. While being know primarily for his awesome Mechs, Mark has also planned and organized many collaborative builds as well as the first BrickCon. In addition to his other efforts, He also recently finished a massive Classic Space SHIP known by her call sign “LL-2016”. Without further ado, let’s dive in.
TBB: Hi Mark, glad to talk to you today! To kick things off, can you tell our readers a little bit about yourself?
Mark: Well, ok. Hiya. I have been an adult fan of LEGO since around the year 1999. That would have been when I was walking through a Fred Meyer with my (at the time) girlfriend and spotted something cool in the toy section. Star Wars LEGO. I could get a X-Wing, with Luke Skywalker! Yeah, I racked up some debt on the credit card that day.
Singaporean builder Kelvin Low has put together quite an impressive construction of an Atlas Mech from Titanfall. This mech has excellent greebling, making it visually interesting and full of detail. Greebling isn’t easy; it’s a matter of using the right parts to make it work both in design and color selection. This mech does a good job on both.
Nothing spells adventure quite like whitewater rafting. David Zambito captures the action of the scene with the dynamic water made of clear plates, and the minifigs’ facial expressions add to the immersion. The water really warrants further inspection, with the subtle breaks in the rapids, especially the top-most one. The landscaping around the river may be simple, but it works.
The background edited into the photo makes the whole thing look real, but LEGO purists may be disappointed by this decision. In the end, if it looks good, I think it was worth it.
We’re in the pipe, five by five, with Daniel Schlumpp‘s stunning UD-4L Cheyenne Dropship from the movie Aliens. Featuring fold-out missile pods, working front landing gear and a fold down ramp, this amazing replica looks like it could be coming around for a seven zero niner any minute.
Daniel designed his creation digitally first, and experimented with rendering it with this great night-time shot.
If you liked this UD-4L Cheyenne dropship, you might like these LEGO versions featured on The Brothers Brick previously:
The Brothers Brick publishes so many stories that we’re giving you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our Weekly Brick Report for the first week of February.
TBB SET NEWS & REVIEWS: What an insanely busy week with so many new sets revealed from BrickHeadz and Batman to Dimensions and beyond. But hey, we aren’t complaining!
TBB LEGO NEWS: LEGO has been busy too, celebrating a birthday, making waves in the business world, and launching a new social network for kids.
TBB INSTRUCTIONS & INTERVIWS: Cute ducks, impressive mechs and an interview with a builder of the strange and unique.
OTHER NEWS: There was a massive amount of LEGO news from other places around the web this week. Here are a few items we noticed and thought you might enjoy.
A couple builders share their love for LEGO and video games with scaled-up models of controllers from past and present. First, from Cecilie Fritzvold, is the sleek PlayStation 4 controller. Cecilie shows great attention to detail, creating the D-pad with fairly new 2×3 shield pieces in black spaced out slightly, and the centered speaker with the right number and arrangement of holes.
Chris Maddison takes us back 30 years before the PlayStation 4 with his classic Nintendo Entertainment System controller. Chris nails the colors and line work of the classic game pad, making it difficult to tell at first the model is made with LEGO bricks.
What happens when you don’t see what you like from LEGO’s official set releases? You build your own! Here’s Adeel Zubair‘s custom creation of Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 that would fit nicely in the upcoming LEGO BrickHeadz. You just gotta love those black beady eyes! Now, is anyone else up to the challenge of a dancing groot? I’m Groot! (Translation: Shut up and take my money!)
This retro computer work station by Ryan is a real blast from the past considering how far technology has come since those early and wild days of personal computers. This particular model is the Macintosh 128k – originally released as the Apple Macintosh – the company’s original personal computer. With some 4,500 bricks in its construction, this LEGO recreation must be as hefty as the real thing. But don’t let the computer steal the show, however. The 80s vibe is enhanced by the addition of a rolodex and clunky calculator which, alongside the 128k, won’t be found on any work station in the 21st Century – today’s bargain-level smartphone can do all this and so much more.
For younger readers who don’t remember such things, the slot on the front of the computer accepts 3.5-inch floppy disks (which, according to the U.S. Government Accountability Office, are still used to coordinate the operational functions of the nation’s nuclear forces. Doesn’t that make you feel comfortable?). The Apple logo and the friendly icon on the warming-up screen are great touches as well. Overall, a very accurate and rather nostalgic take on the 80s workdesk. The only thing missing is a can of Tab and the sweet, soothing sounds of Duran Duran.
LEGO model-building is rarely straightforward — often the simplest of ideas can become a nightmare to put together in the brick. Whilst the title of this brilliant boat model — Plain Sailing — would suggest city son suffered little difficulty putting it together, personally I’m not so sure. This creation has all the hallmarks of obsessive tweaking, rebuilding over and over to get it just right. I’m glad the builder persevered, as the result is fantastic — a sweet little brick-built boat, an impressive sail, and waves that could have come straight off a Hokusai woodblock print. Beautiful.
