Chinese city walls were built for defense, to protect towns and cities in China. Part of those walls included towers and gates which typically served as entry points. This particular Gate Tower built by Prince Jiang is astounding in size and amazing in architecture. I’m always in awe of how a structure meant to be a defence mechanism can also be made to look so appealing even in real life structures you see around historic China.
On the fateful night of April 14th, 1912, the RMS Titanic steamed into an iceberg in the North Atlantic, resulting in one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history. Discovered on the ocean floor by Dr. Robert Ballard, immortalized by James Cameron in the 1997 film of the same name, the historic ship has now been created using about 125,000 LEGO pieces by Ben Macleod. I have seen a couple of LEGO versions of the Titanic, But Ben’s is the first I have seen with a full interior of every deck.
Taking approximately 2,000 hours over 3 years, the dimensions of this thing are amazing, at a length of 9 feet 7 inches (2.9 meters or 364 studs) a width of 1 foot 8 inches (0.5 meters or 62 studs) and a height of 2 feet 8 inches (0.8 meters or 84 studs). It is currently on display at “Wax World of the Stars” in Cavendish, Canada.
CrashHelmets seems to be relatively new to the LEGO hobby. But his latest build, the Asp Explorer from the game Elite: Dangerous, makes be believe otherwise. The builder has managed to skillfully integrate some rather complex angles, making this ship a spot-on representation of the one in the game. Don’t overlook the excellent color blocking either, as subtle splashes of white and orange complete this build’s aesthetic.
Master LEGO shipwright Arjan Oude Kotte continues to impress with his latest watercraft, a highly detailed American harbor tug that would look at home on Elliot Bay here in Seattle or on the Hudson River in New York. A sliding door opens into the detailed wheelhouse, with an engine under the stack.
Arjan’s tugboat looks beautiful as a model displayed on a stand, but the lower hull is removable for inclusion in a display like this lovely harbor scene full of maritime charm.
Check out Arjan’s photoset on Flickr for more interior and breakdown shots.
The Jedha ambush scene in Rogue One has proven to be a popular subject for LEGO Star Wars builders, with some excellent scenes by builders such as Dunedain98 and Graham Gidman. Now, German builder Boba-1980 has built a rather substantial version of this pivotal scene, with uniquely “Star Wars-y” buildings surrounding the action in the square itself.
My favorite building is the one left of the arch with the balcony, populated by some ill-fated partisans. The builder has achieved the curve of the balconies by combining 1×1 round bricks with regular bricks.
There are realistic details throughout the diorama, including inset sections of walls that look like sections of plaster have flaked off in the ancient city.
There was a (perhaps deservedly?) forgotten LEGO Castle theme from the early 2000s called Knight’s Kingdom with large figures, which introduced many specialized parts that appear to be hard to use other than for their apparently intended purpouse. You would expect me to reveal a surprisingly innovative use of such elements in the newest creation by Russian LEGO builder Red, but the real surprise is how elegantly the builder used the said pieces simply for their intended purpose, which is often a risky move among highly critical LEGO builders. On the other hand, there are many imaginative techniques throughout the build, which reward a viewer inspecting it closely. The best part, however, must be the figure’s menacing general shape, which gives a strong impression of a very muscular man in impenetrable armor, and yet keeping a strange sense of elegance – a perfect combination for a knight.
Tickling the ivories is clearly a hobby for alanboar. Combine that with a love of ABS and you have this beautiful full-size, 88-key soft-touch piano keyboard which he has meticulously reconstructed out of around 5,000 LEGO elements. At first glance, you may be forgiven for thinking this was real — as it looks much like a genuine, life-size, real piano keyboard. Measuring 1.4m by 30cm (4.5 feet by 12 inches) this amazing replica is even playable! My favorite feature is how Alan has customized it with his own name emblazoned across the top. A beautiful piece of equipment that would not look amiss set up on stage with a world-famous keyboardist and supporting band.
This classic hot rod, built by Andrea Lattanzio, doesn’t have a bright red or racing green paint job, but a rather more drab shade of tan. Officially known as Cordoba Tan, it was a colour used almost exclusively by Ford, and the actual vehicle depicted is a 1932 Ford Deuce 3 Window Coupé. The hot rod is awesome, but for me the background workshop with its vintage details draws the whole image together. I love the vintage Coca-Cola bottle vending machine, the palate with Esso oil spilling onto the floor, and the retro radio on the window sill.
This particular Deuce was built in California and shipped to Japan where its new owner lives. Takehito Yamato contacted the Walden Speed Shop in Pomona, California, to order a traditional hot rod. Andrea has also captured this hot rod’s details in LEGO as you can see from the broken-down view showing the red Chevy ZZ383 with aluminium heads in all its glory.
We’ve seen plenty of great LEGO TARDIS models over the years, including the rather excellent LEGO Ideas 21304 Doctor Who set released at the end of 2015. Prior to the official set, most builders focused on creating great police boxes, rather than the detailed interiors that generally vary from Doctor to Doctor. Inthert corrects this oversight with the main console room of the 11th Doctor’s TARDIS, including the white interior of the front door and the sloped walls with circular openings.
The console itself is lovely, with various controls that only the Doctor and a few experienced companions understand how to operate. The floor is built from trans-clear plates, and various walkways lead off to other parts of the vessel’s enormous interior.
My only complaint is that the scene feels a bit quiet, so I’ll just assume that the Doctor is off on an adventure with Amy and Rory.
The LEGO Ninjago Movie and the new 2017 Ninjago sets that will accompany the film are set to release this September. To tide ourselves over until then, let’s take a look at Set 70623: Destiny’s Shadow which was released earlier this year.
The set retails for $29.99 and has 360 pieces. Considering the $0.10 per piece pricing many LEGO fans have come to expect, Destiny’s Shadow actually comes in below the expected price range. Additionally, the set currently has a 4.8 out of 5 stars review on Amazon (courtesy of five, yes five, total reviewers who either bought the set for their son or their grandson). Not bad!
Read the full review of 70623 Destiny’s Shadow after the jump
Where other builders might only use a single shade of green, we’ve come to count on the fact that Sergeant Chipmunk uses at least three, and to great effect. Chipmunk’s most recent creation cleverly utilizes several unusual and vibrant LEGO colors to create a tropical paradise. I particularly love the combination of dark green and azure on the ship sails. In addition to the use of color, this pirate scene also has a great sense of movement and action. Look closely and you’ll see that one of the sailors lost his hat (and quite possibly, his life).
While it’s always going to be hard to top the massive 20,000-brick diorama of The Last of Us by Tim Schwalfenberg that we featured earlier this year, the post-apocalyptic video game is so full of atmosphere that I’m glad to see other LEGO builders tackle the haunting game. Christophe captures the protagonists as they approach a dilapidated building. Foliage cascades from an upper floor, with broken glass hanging from windows. My favorite detail is the air conditioning unit on the second floor.
I do wonder what kind of interior Christophe has included in his build, because one of the only shots other than the one above is of Ellie’s guitar sitting silent in an empty room.
