Flowers are a frequent subject of artists and photographers, capturing the many brilliant colors of nature. LEGO artists are no exception, as the many bright colors available can be combined with stunning results. Amado Canlas Pinlac has chosen a more monochrome palette for this model of baby blues. The curved bricks provide wonderfully textured petals and the white planter box is simple, yet effective in giving the model a sense of scale.
We’ve all been there. Maybe you’re on lunch break at your office where you don’t usually build LEGO. Or maybe you are like me and your brick separators can be in any one out of a number of tin boxes. Luckily Allyson Gail shows us how we can prepare for such disasters in her build – a twist on the old classic “break glass in case of emergency”.
The composition of this build is quite simple – mostly red LEGO bricks and some tiling at the top with large clear translucent windows to create the glass portion. Gail even includes a much needed brick-built hammer hanging off of a long chain element – to break the glass of course. Inside is the coveted original bluish-grey brick separator, the preferred separator of some builders and all the more reason why it should be tucked away safely for emergency use only! Thanks to Gail’s inspirational model, now you too can be prepared for a potential brick separating emergency.
A major problem with the diets of many folks these days is that they do not eat enough fresh fruits and vegetables, instead deriving too many of their calories from highly processed wheat, corn, and soy. There’s nothing wrong with wheat, corn, or soy, per se, but they don’t provide many of the vitamins and minerals necessary for human health. So consider this LEGO build by Barbara Hoel to be a public service announcement: eat your fruits and veggies! Your gut will thank you. Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming.
This still life is awash with bright colors, with red apples, green, dark red, and purple grapes, orange oranges, yellow pears, and perhaps a dark red plum. Yummy! Organic curves are hard to do in LEGO, but Barbara has done a great job sculpting them. And then there is the tablecloth beneath them all, with every shade of blue imaginable featured. Someone must have invested in some LEGO DOTS sets! If only the background were black velvet, this would look great surrounded by a gilded frame and hanging on the wall of my dining room, reminding me to eat my fruits and vegetables.
In my opinion, rats have earned an unfair reputation… maybe it started with the whole bubonic plague thing, or maybe it’s the fact that they have a tail that looks like a snake. Whatever the reason, I think that we can all agree that this rat by Felix Jaensch is anything but common. The subtle angle on the side of the face is a nice touch, and the underside of a round plate for ears, along with simple sloped parts for the hands and feet are simple but effective.
The Gibson Les Paul was one of the first mass-produced solid-body electric guitars. There are a lot of versions and editions, but this is the first time I’ve seen one made out of LEGO, at least at a 1:1 scale. Builder morimorilego has paid close attention to realism in this reproduction of the “Les Paul Standard”. The body is decked out in layers of red, orange, and yellow tile and brick, with the pickguard standing out in vibrant white. Golden dishes and transparent yellow 2×2 round brick are used for the control knobs, and the output jack is courtesy of a system wheel rim. Those details complement the work done in the neck and headstock, which help make this build feel like it’s ready to play.
Last weekend, Timofey Tkachev went to see his babushka. There is no place like a countryside cottage to spend long summer evenings, sipping hot tea, and enjoying a slice of a berry pie. But one doesn’t simply go to babushka empty-handed. Being a very talented LEGO builder, Timofey designed something exceptional: a full-sized replica of a traditional balalaika, a Russian stringed instrument. The brick-built design looks wonderful in its simplicity. The iconic triangular shape became possible thanks to the clever use of regular slope pieces. And thanks to the hues of LEGO colors, this balalaika looks almost exactly like a real one.
Kudos to Vera Senyuta for joining the tea party and taking her camera with her. We always love to see custom LEGO creations shot in beautiful settings. For a musical instrument like this one, there is no better background than a couple of birches in the evening sun.
The Fujifilm X100 Series is an iconic camera line, and builder John Huang has given it an equally iconic LEGO treatment. Curved slope tiles in grey and black give the housing clean edges and lines. A minifigure frying pan makes a great stand-in for the viewfinder selector switch, and a Technic gear forms the shutter speed dial.
As nice as those details are, the viewfinder on this one is really a cut above. It’s also cool to see the lens housing rotated and sitting at a tilted angle; it makes this feel even more like a functional piece of camera equipment. I’m just loving all these 1:1 scale LEGO cameras lately, but this one makes me particularly happy.
LEGO has unveiled a brief video and photos of a real Ducati Panigale V4 R motorcycle with a Technic exterior. The hybrid model is meant to celebrate the European launch of the 42107 Technic Ducati Panigale V4 R. The motorcycle’s exterior was created by LEGO Certified Professional Riccardo Zangelmi, who had never built with Technic elements professionally before this project. The final model weighs 400 pounds (180 kg) including the motorcycle innards, is composed of 15,000 bricks, and took 400 hours to build. Unlike other life-size models, this LEGO Ducati exterior has no glue and was created by hand and not using 3D modeling software.
42107 Technic Ducati Panigale V4 R currently retails for 54.99 GBP and will sell for $69.99 USD | 99.99 CAD when it launches in the Americas on August 1st. (Editor’s note: The press release below states that the set will cost $59.99 USD but we have independently verified with LEGO that the price will actually be $69.99 USD which is consistent with the price displayed on the LEGO Store Online.)
See more photos and video of the life-size LEGO Technic Ducati Panigale V4 R motorcycle
I’ll admit I’ve always been a bit of a pessimist. 2020 hasn’t exactly done much to curb that point of view. And maybe I’m just being alarmist. But it sure feels like MSIndustries creating weaponry for penguins is a bad idea. Oh, sure, from a LEGO standpoint this is a great thing. The “Penguin Ice Pistol” is sized perfectly for a flipper, and has great retro sci-fi styling. The “Penguin Communicator” has a great cheese-slope mosaic display and some unusual part usage including Brickheadz glasses and a push bumper. And that pouch of fish may be just a display piece (considering the parts aren’t actually connected) but it’s clever and packed full of protein.
So I’ll try and be optimistic about things. Maybe it’ll be a good thing to welcome our new Penguin Overlords. And if not, well, their weapons are made of LEGO so they’ll be easy to take apart, at least.
I came across this interesting YouTube video by Dillon Sharlet that showcases a pendulum clock that’s been running for more than a year, and more recently, it’s starting to stop unexpectedly. He documents this video to tear apart his build to investigate which parts have worn out over time, but before that, gives a brief description of how it works and a closer look at the clock escapement design and mechanism.
Hungry? Grab your chopsticks and get tucked in to Anakin Skywalker 2012‘s LEGO sushi. Brought to your table in a classic serving boat, there are all kinds of sushi delights to enjoy. This looks like a complete feast, with the palette of bright LEGO colors making for an appetizing spread — and who’d have thought shiny black tiles (normally so difficult to photograph well) would look so good as the gleaming seaweed wraps on the maki rolls. The serving boat is excellent, too, with a smattering of discolored tan bricks included to create the impression of a well-used piece of serving ware. And if you’re thirsty, there’s nothing better than a flask of sake to share with a friend. Presented all together, this is one tasty piece of LEGO building.
![[LEGO] Sushi Ship](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/49940367078_5a48a7f1c2_z.jpg)
Ah, love is in the air! In India, it’s the tail end of the breeding season for the ring-necked parakeets. These sweet birds are busy raising this year’s youngsters, and looking good while doing it! Leave it to Felix Jaensch to immortalize a pair in LEGO. Many times over, we’ve seen gorgeous animals from Felix, but they continue to impress us. For me, I think I’m most appreciative of the fact that he can show us the same bird in twenty different poses, and they’ll all look great. The realism is exceptional.
While you’re here, I definitely recommend taking a look at Felix’s other animals. We’ve featured many of his creations, but in the spirit of this avian duo, how about some birds? To list a few, check out a magpie, a blue and gold macaw, a kestrel, and even another parrot with a baby (plus a toucan for good measure).