One lucky amphibian has found froggy paradise in this LEGO build by Roanoke Handybuck! With a serene tree, gentle waterfalls and plenty of sunny rocks to sit on, what more could a little frog ask for? All that said, that tree might be more surreal than serene; its leaves are made of minecraft zombie heads! As for the water, the spray at the bottom of the waterfall is made from croissants and the ripples around the rocks are made from official LEGO rubber bands. Finally, the entrance-way to this peaceful pond owes its angular shape to cheese slopes and the 1×2 grated slope. Now that this frog has found the best pond around, do you think they’ll find a friend here too?
Category Archives: LEGO
LEGO Echo Base is under attack!
As loud thuds reverberate through the halls of the Rebel base, with icy LEGO studs raining down on the faction within, it must mean that the Empire has arrived. Hypolite Bricks depicts the scene brick by brick in this excellent Star Wars vignette. Featuring a detailed AT-ST and a cutout of the Rebel base underneath, the armaments are quite detailed. But I absolutely adore the inclusion of some light aqua patches. This additional pop of color may not be able to hold off the Empire, but it might give the transports a little more time to get away while the snowtroopers stare in awe.
And if you’re looking for more The Empire Strikes Back action, Abe’s got a video on his YouTube channel showing the construction process and even more hidden details. Be sure to give it a watch!
Draconis Wisteria is a garden-variety dragon with a twist
As we cross the halfway point of 2024, Joss Ivanwood (jayfa_mocs) continues his Year of the Dragon LEGO celebration with his sixth offering: Draconis Wisteria. June’s dragon is a tribute to the flowering wisteria vine. The idea first came to Joss at the start of the year, but it took until now for the vision to fully come together and the results truly soar. Joss excels at organic shaping in his builds, especially when liberated by the chaotic outgrowths of roots and vines, as he demonstrated with his orchid-inspired Demogorgon. The model masterfully incorporates a lot of snaking brown parts that you would expect with the theme, and a few parts you might not, like a hairpiece for upper maw, and golden One Ring eyes. This dragon is such a perfect execution of a concept that just feels right. I can imagine the majestic beast nesting on a pergola, draping its wings to create a lavender canopy and perfectly camouflaging itself in plain sight.
With six months remaining, I can’t wait to see what other imaginative spins on the dragon Joss has in store for LEGO fans.
Two new LEGO sets for July 2024 now available for purchase [News]
While the LEGO release calendar can get a little muddy over the summer months with some sets available in Europe with others waiting until later, there’s a pair of wonderful LEGO Icons sets that just hit store shelves in the US and Canada that are worth taking for a spin. To get immediate early access to LEGO Icons 10337 Lamborghini Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole and LEGO Icons 10338 Bumblebee in North America, you’ll need to be a LEGO Insider. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait until July 4th. Check out more pictures of these new sets below. And beyond that, you can see the full offerings from LEGO for your appropriate region here: US | CAN | UK.
Check out these new sets and offers below!
This LEGO barrel ride is making quite a splash
Riding down a river on a barrel may not be the most efficient way to travel, but ABrickDreamer manages to make it look like a pretty fun ride in this vignette which reminds me of the iconic barrel ride from The Hobbit without the angry elves taking pot-shots. The builder made excellent use of multiple transparent power effects and other elements for the splashing water, and that waterwheel really packs in the details at such a small scale.
Sailing the seven highways with Top Gear
For a show that was ostensibly about cars, it’s sometimes easy to forget just how much fooling around featured on British TV show Top Gear. Some of their challenges stick in the mind more than others, though, and LEGO builder Nard Verbong has re-visited possibly one of the most iconic in brick form. In 2006, Clarkson, Hammond and May were tasked with turning everyday cars into sea-worthy vessels. Predictably, the results were equal parts wacky, funny, ambitious and, frankly, pretty rubbish. But the designs were all very different, and the most successful (or least unsuccessful) was James May’s Triump Herald. The car model on its own here is superb, but the sailing accessories really make it.
Take a look at the other vessels after the jump!
A toy-like tower showcases tremendous LEGO technique
Pan Noda has only been active sharing original LEGO creations for a few short years, but they’ve quickly cementented themselves as one of the most exciting builders around. Pan Noda’s creations are united by a love of texture, patterns, verticality and liminal spaces. Their latest work, simply titled “Castle of building blocks,” is an architectural wonder existing in limbo between earth and sky, childhood and sophistication. The red slope rooftops evoke a nostalgia for the earliest LEGO buildings, only these are weathered from age with a rash of studs popping out. The red door (taken from Isabelle’s House Visit) and poofy brick-built clouds evoke a safe Nintendo childhood, in contrast to the pokey brown technic frame (building on a technique from another of their vertical marvels) that almost says “Don’t touch!” Once again, Noda floors us with a towering achievement in LEGO artistry.
There will be blood (and relaxation!)
We all need to unwind and blow off some steam sometimes. And if someone’s form of recreation involves bleeding a caged victim to make a nice little wading pool, who am I to judge? MihaÅ‚ Ch‘s creepy vampire pleasure den imagines such a scenario in LEGO. The scene itself makes my stomach crawl a little, but I can distract myself from the visceral reminder of my own fragile mortality by checking out those cool building techniques. I love the way simple 1×2 bricks are stacked at slight angles to make the columns, and the trans-red antenna stands in for the steady drip-drip-drip of the victim’s blood into a viscous pool below. I hope that poor victim gets out soon, but it doesn’t look good.
Massive LEGO spaceship is over 5 feet long
Canadian LEGO builder Jean-Philippe Leroux has built a massive LEGO spaceship with a suitably impressive name! The Empress took over 24,000 parts to build and weighs over 43 pounds. If you like sci-fi bits and bobs, The Empress has it in spades; so let’s look at the engines back to front. For sports fans its got minifig skis and snowboards. For the handy-folk there’s saws. After the robot arms, there’s stud shooters and the old 1×8 bar. Finally, towards the front, there are robot binoculars and zipline handles. And that’s just the engines!
Chinese lake in LEGO brings memories to life
Earlier this summer, our old friend Nannan Zhang recreated a the quintessential American playground of the sort he’s experienced as a new father. For his latest LEGO achievement, Nannan draws on his childhood memories of growing up in China in the 90s to create “A park from yesteryear.” Even though it’s an amalgam and not a recreation of a specific park, the traditional architecture, weeping willows, lotus plants on jade water, and swan boats make Nannan’s memories so specific and tangible.
Nannan pulls his usual magic trick of making clever technique look effortless. The hexagonal pavilion, where older residents share snacks and gossip, is a lovely build on its own. The balls stacked on rollers skates make for excellent decorative elements, and the heart tiles in the eaves are a great detail. One of my favorite techniques is seen along the bottom of the railing where curved slopes fit neatly under window arches, adding a subtle texture to the stonework. The cotton candy machine is a very clever and instantly recognizable mini build. I also admire the attention paid to the lotus plants, with leaves popping from the water at angles, and some flowers and leaves aloft on long stems, differentiating them from lilly pads. But the stars of the show are the swan boats, which hold a secret…
A triple transformer that’s too tiny to transform? Try again...
In his review of 10338 Transformers Bumblebee, Kyle mentioned that the yellow Autobot’s large size was likely down to the transformation requirement in LEGO form. Clearly, Grantmasters read this and took it as a challenge. He, too, has created a LEGO Transformer. And this one is tiny! It depicts Blitzwing, a Decepticon with as many personalities as he has transformations (three). He is depicted the way he appeared in the animated series rather than in the 2018 Bumblebee film, which results in a snazzy purple-and-tan colour scheme.
But is he too tiny to transform? No! Now he can’t do all three transformations – even for a builder of Grant’s skill, that’s almost attempting the impossible. But still, being able to transition Blitzwing between his jet and robot forms is seriously impressive at this small scale!
A Star Wars palace fit for an evil emperor
The Emperor’s personal residence hasn’t appeared in any of the films (well, unless you count its prior incarnation as the Jedi Temple, according to current canon), but it still looms large in Star Wars lore. A little forced perspective helps it loom even larger in this great LEGO diorama by r_t_zan, where its appearance is inspired by its classic Legends description. The build concentrates its minifig-scale details up front and lets the eye drift toward the rear, where its forbidding spires reach for the stars. Other than a statue, we never see the Emperor himself, and the build is all the better for it—Palpatine’s air of mystery is preserved as we imagine which of those lofty spires might house his evil presence.