We highlighted BobDeQuatre’s amazingly cool white space dragon ship back in 2014, and it struck us as a highly unique concept executed remarkably well. In the intervening years, we haven’t seen much of the space dragons theme, but now Bob is back with an overhaul of the Whitefang. Now bigger and badder, the ship retains its basic structure and curved shaped based on the dragons of Eastern mythology, but loses the obvious cockpit in favor of a more organic look.
A few days ago as I was reviewing The LEGO Ninjago Movie Collectible Minifigures, I mused about what Lloyd’s mother ever saw in Garmadon. Well, I didn’t have long to wait for the answer, as revealed in this new trailer. We also catch a quick glimpse of Ninjago’s biggest enemy yet—and it’s probably not what you expect. The LEGO Ninjago Movie arrives September 22, and will be accompanied by a full line of sets, including one of the largest LEGO sets ever, 70620 Ninjago City.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a72vtYb_RlQ
Transformers are among the toughest things to build in LEGO. Even if it’s not the movie kind, building something that transforms into a simple cube can be nearly as challenging. However, Milan Sekiz has done just that, and the result is super cool.
It’s common to sacrifice looks when building something functional, because there are so many limitations on which parts can be used in certain spots. But Milan has gotten the best of both worlds, making an awesome robot that can still transform into a perfect cube (plus the head and antenna).
When thinking about LEGO, bright primary colors quickly come to mind. So when someone builds a LEGO creation using only natural earth tones, like Maxim Baybakov has done with his lovely minifig-scale library, the creation almost doesn’t register as LEGO. The effect here is quite stunning. Just remove the minifigures and this wonderfully textured and detailed building looks like a photograph of a real place.
LEGO’s 2015 line of Architecture sets introduced a skyline format which has become quite popular amoung fan builders from Paris to Tokyo. Simon NH takes a brand new approach to creating skylines, building a one-of-a-kind evolution of construction. No matter how much building experience you have, each of these tiny structures features some crazy solutions, like the Colosseum’s walls built from light bluish gray 1×1 tiles with 1/2 circle (aka Stadium tiles).
One of the most famous rat rods is Rusty Slammington, the Supra-powered, rust coated, slammed BMW street rod. Unlike a hot rod, a rat rod will have a tarnished, unfinished look and is made to be driven rather than simply to be a pristine reproduction. This LEGO version of Rusty Slammington by Calin Bors is not adorned with decals and decoration, but instead manages to capture the unique shape and style of Rusty. The mixed palate of browns, black and dark orange is a perfect combination to represent the destroyed look.
There’s no need to be careful going over a speed hump with Rusty; just go for speed and let the frame rails produce the some street fireworks.
Until discovering this Asterix-like, mono-visioned, Eynar – Fear Of the Northern Seas – who looks like the winner in a madman competition – I had never heard of the old French comic Red Corsair. Oliver Becker found himself a little inspired, creating his interpretation of the Barbe Rouge.
I love his huge mustache and matted dreads with the Technic bush ends. The single eye, shapely nose and impressive set of teeth make this guy look like a fearsome creature. His Obelix-esque striped pants with complimenting shield and sword are fantastic. This one-eyed warrior certainly looks like the wrong guy to be charging towards in a fierce battle.
A MOCpages user known simply as Dee:] has made this incredible 1:2 scale recreation of a Tyrannosaurus rex skull, made almost entirely of technic pieces – around 2000 of them. The creation uses many techniques to capture complex anatomical angles with surgical precision, and the thin technic panel pieces mimic the natural look of cranial bones. The only thing that is not 100% accurate (besides the unavoidable pin holes in the panels) is the number of teeth, which the real dinosaur had much more of. The build is approximately 55cm long and 33cm wide, which is a bit less than half the size of the 150cm long original. Or maybe it’s actually a life-sized baby T-rex skull!
![Tyrannosaurus Rex Skull [1:2]](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/media.brothers-brick.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/4655473-o_1bl7rmhog1eaeradodusja3mc-3KjnKLptUdDd6w-thumbnail-full.jpg "Tyrannosaurus Rex Skull [1:2]")
I adore futuristic LEGO trains, but sadly it’s a very small niche that we rarely see. Fortunately builder Frost has broken tradition and created a wonderfully futuristic planetary express, complete with trans-green accents and lots of mechanical detailing. The model looks like it would be right at home jetting across the surface of a distant planet.
The builder has even incorporated power functions to propel the train and power 16 working LEDs.
It is understandable that the Lord of the Rings trilogy inspires more LEGO creations than its expanded lore collected in the Silmarillion, since the latter reads more like a textbook than a series of stories. But it is refreshing to see creations inspired by it nevertheless, even if the hand of builders has to be forced by contests such as the Middle Earth LEGO Olympics on MOCpages. This scene of the kinslaying at Alqualondë by John Snyder is one such refreshment, and it was indeed built for the aforementioned contest.
The builder has accompanied the build with a very informative description of the event, which I encourage more curious readers to explore.
The diorama features many interesting techniques and ideas, with high quality rocks and unique overgrowth. Coupling that with elegant architecture and a gorgeous Elven ship, John has brought a slice of elven history to life.
No, it’s not the tagline of a new superhero blockbuster, it’s Brian Kescenovitz‘s LEGO version of the day in July 1945 when humans created the world’s largest synthetic firework display ever seen, proving conclusively the destructive truth behind Einstein’s famous formula: Mass times the speed of light squared really does equal a whole lot of kinetic energy.
Brian’s chef-hatted mushroom cloud looks just like one of the old photographs of this event. The stunning lighting effect was achieved using a tight-beam flashlight shining straight down and shooting with a long 1.6 second exposure. I love how the miniature New Mexico mountains and blurred objects in the foreground give this micro-scale fulmination a real sense of magnitude.
Disclaimer: Playing with nuclear weapons is really a very silly idea.
Some creations rely on complicated techniques and difficult shapes to impress the viewer, while others make the connection by emotion. The strength of Tinkerbell in a lantern waiting for Peter by Jae Won Lee lies in the expressive posing of Tinkerbell in the center. The lantern’s details reward closer inspection, like the golden decorations or the seams between 1x6x5 window panels to look like wire mesh.
