Wire loop games are a common sight at carnivals. Sad Brick has combined this classic childhood staple with another, namely LEGO. Sitting on top of a very clean base is the loop itself with the hoop taking centre stage as a very clever little build. It even uses the official LEGO rope and winch as the wire. Next to that for a little added flair is a bit of circuitry, mostly for show, that makes good use of gold chrome pieces and transparent pieces.
As every schoolchild knows, Maria Skłodowska-Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and the only person to win one in two different fields (Physics in 1903 and Chemistry in 1911). Sadly, this Polish-French luminary of science died young due to her work understanding the nature of radiation. Polish builder Crises_CRS has captured Madame Curie in her laboratory, surrounded by the equipment she used to discover Polonium and Radium.
The Polish LEGO club Zbudujmy is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Poland’s independence this year with a series of LEGO creations. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what’s in store from this very talented community of builders.
In its own rights, the 42054 CLAAS XERION 5000 TRAC VC tractor amazes with its sturdy yet functional design. That said, the essence of the tractor is actually doing things, performing work, getting business done. In this spirit, Brick Wall used the CLAAS Xerion tractor model as a platform for some fantastic—and practical—attachments.
Need your lawn mowed? Take a look at this functional, real lawn mower attachment, each blade powered by two motors working in parallel. (In all seriousness, don’t try this at home: those are real razor blades.)
CLick here to see a trench digger and hay baler in action
Once in a while you’ll come across a LEGO build that you need to stare at for a few seconds to realise that it’s actually made out of bricks. This selection of audio gear by Quy Chau is the best example in a while. There’s so many clever uses of parts and great scaling that it’s impossible to pick a standout, but the use of various automotive pieces does it for me. Wheels are used here for speakers, dials and subwoofers, and a steering wheel piece makes the best earphone cups I have ever seen.
If you’re confused by the name of this build on Flickr, “Moog Sub Phatty”, it’s the synthesizer which sits in the middle of this scene. This is, of course, also a phenomenal build. Those dials are regular Technic friction pins with grey bars through them — a really simple technique that adds a lot to the build. Finally, the keys do depress, but they don’t pop back up.
There’s always a splash of grandeur in detail with buildings from ages long ago. Perhaps inspired by a flashback of an oriental abode, this build by Jennifer Lee has transported us to ancient times. The home is adorned and detailed with red and gold. Red, in Chinese culture, is a symbol of good luck, joy, and happiness, while yellow or gold, in this case, is considered the most beautiful and prestigious colour.
See more details and photos of this Asian home
The Tournament of Roses Parade is a fun event held annually in Pasadena, California on New Years Day. Bill Vollbrecht has built a LEGO model representing the typical parade float that can be seen during the parade. This particular float has an underwater theme with a shapely red and yellow octopus taking centre stage with tentacles reaching across the rest of the build. There’s a lot going on down on the sea bed, with divers finding buried treasure and a couple of mer-folk waving to their adoring crowd and Poseidon sitting on his golden throne. My favourite aspect of this build, other than the octopus itself, is the use of colour – I imagine the real parade floats are just as eye-catching.
It’s no wonder that “darling it’s better, down where it’s wetter” in such a colourful, fun-filled environment.
Castle was one of the earliest themes introduced by LEGO back in 1978. The theme no longer continues, but fan builders have maintained a strong alliance with this favourite topic to display their creative talents. Sunder59 has built a microscale castle complete with gatehouse and stone fortifications surrounding the town. This is a digital model and has the advantage of using parts that are not officially LEGO parts at present. Despite this, I really like this model and it could easily be built in real bricks with a few small changes.
A closer look at the castle reveals some of the parts that are not currently part of LEGO’s inventory. I spotted three parts in colours that don’t exist yet; dark blue lipstick on the top of one tower, the reddish brown 1 x 1 bricks with studs on 2 adjacent sides and the Technic sprocket on the main tower.
How do you feel about us highlighting digital builds and renders? In a digital age, more and more people share their work online and the renders are improving all the time – is it cheating to use parts that don’t exist yet in those colours, or just part of the advantages of building this way?
Somehow all the best LEGO creations designed by fans from South Korea are either huge jaw-dropping mechs or tiny adorable animals. This time it’s a pack of extremely good shiba puppers by CK HO. There are so many touches that make these models instantly recognizable, but I can’t help admiring their square pointy noses.
The idea of this model is so simple that you can build one yourself and make it any color you like! Moreover, you can easily customize you shiba by changing its eyes, ears or the shape of its muzzle. Click the link below to find the complete step-by-step building guide.
Click here for building instructions
2018 is the Year of the Dog, so I’ve been enjoying all the extra LEGO creations inspired by our canine best friends. There are even couple new dog-themed LEGO sets, like 30542 Cute Pug and the upcoming 40235 Year of the Dog, which seems to depict a Shiba Inu. Taiwanese builder ZiO Chao has captured the quirky personality of the miniature dachshund with this black and tan beauty.
ZiO has built an unmodified male dachshund, as this view of his business end illustrates. That tail looks ready for the show ring!
(Title shamelessly borrowed from one of my favorite new T-shirts, courtesy artist Gemma Correll.)
With microscale building, a simple part choice can make all the difference. This church by Jens Ohrndorf is a great example of just the right detail; from the gold pyramids at the edge of the roof, to the repeated dome designs of the belltower. The gray trim is made by offset tiles, and the lovely curved roof details are a nice touch. Speaking of the roof, the different slope parts used for shingles give the model a weathered look.
The U.S.S. Planet Express Ship is the delivery vehicle for Planet Express Delivery Service in the animated TV series Futurama. In keeping with the creator’s other animated characters, the space ship has a distinctive ‘Matt Groening overbite’. Aido K has managed to make an instantly recognisable LEGO version of the ship using a mix of System and Duplo parts. The key part that captures the shape of the ship is the large Duplo airplane fuselage, and the builder has managed to add in all the other features using LEGO bricks to make this fantastic creation.
If you know your Duplo parts, then you may be confused about the build above – the upper fuselage part is only available in red. Aido explains the magical appearance of his ship – the build is actually red with a blue stripe and and blue lights and he altered the colour hues in the photograph to achieve a green and red ship! Thanks to Aido for sending the original image as it is a beautiful build in red, let alone after some photo-manipulation to re-colour in green.
Star Wars fans who wish to purchase 2018 sets should be aware that Amazon.com have 20% discount on selected Star Wars 2018 sets. If you are uncertain about which set to buy, we have already reviewed 75202 The Last Jedi: Defense of Crait and 75201 First Order AT-ST.
The following sets are showing 20% discount when purchased from Amazon.com:
75197 First Order Specialists Battle Pack $11.99 (RRP $14.99)
75198 Tatooine Battle Pack $11.99(RRP $14.99)
75199 General Grievous’ Combat Speeder $23.99 (RRP $29.99)
75201 First Order AT-ST $31.99 (RRP $39.99)
75202 Defense of Crait $67.99 (RRP $84.99)