Tag Archives: 1:1 Scale

Lifesize props that will have you asking “Is it LEGO?”

The strength of family

Early last year, I wrote an article about a pair of LEGO meerkats and mentioned the species’ vigilance and protectiveness. And it’s true, these little guys are one of the most family-oriented animals in the world. It’s the job of every member to take a fearless rotation as babysitter or sentry, and when there’s danger they act as one “mob” to defend themselves. Quite impressive! When I saw this build by Felix Jaensch, I swore I had seen it before. But maybe that’s just because he’s such an incredible artist of lifelike LEGO art.

While these guys are certainly impressive, I wouldn’t even say this is his best build. We’ve featured many more, including a rabbit, macaque, red panda, hamster, kestrel, and blue and gold macaw.

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How about a life-sized Britten V-1000 motorcycle?

What are you doing with your time? If you answered anything other than building a life-sized motorcycle out of LEGO then let me stop you now. Because Australian builder Ryan McNaught and his team has done just that. Cool, right? It’s probably way cooler than whatever the hell you’re doing right now. But before you go wallowing into a swirling cesspool of self-doubt and despair, let me point out that Ryan is a LEGO Certified Professional. He does this kind of stuff for a living, so that is why he builds such cool things. Toyco in Auckland asked them to build something special for their big store event and this is the result. Ryan tells us that “The Britten V-1000 motorcycle is not only a record-breaking piece of revolutionary engineering, but it is also a Kiwi icon and a testament to the vision of a single man.” Wow, I guess not being tied down to anyone-in-particular has its benefits. So now you can feel less sad about your lonely, uncool existence. See, it’s a post with a positive message!

While you’re mulling that over, here is a close-up of just some of the engine and organic exhaust pipes in detail. Toyco is holding a local contest to guess the exact amount of LEGO pieces this motorcycle contains. That figure is still confidential but based on this close-up I’m going to take a well-educated guess and state 42 pieces. Come on, Ryan, am I even close? You can tell me!

Wood you like to see this fire truck?

Replicas are a dangerous business. Sometimes they look too good, and people mistake them for the real thing (I think of the elder Dr. Jones breaking a “Ming Dynasty” vase in The Last Crusade), but sometimes they are horribly disappointing (see most full-size car replicas). But when the replica is made in a different medium than the original, it is easy to tell it apart from the real one while still looking good. This lovely fire engine by Jens Ohrndorf is a striking example. Made to imitate a classic wooden toy, it checks all the boxes: simple figures that slot into place; a moving ladder; the wheels really spin; and it is red. But it’s not wood, but genuine ABS plastic LEGO bricks. With nary a stud showing, it is exceptionally clean, and a casual observer could be forgiven for thinking it something else but LEGO. That’s the point. It’s a replica. And an exceptionally good one at that.

Clicking together a snapshot

Is there a contest I’m missing or are cameras the popular true-to-life choice for LEGO artists right now? Lately we’ve had a few camera builds, and they’re all too awesome to pass up. This Nikon FG, built by Ming Jin is one that has caught our eye. There is something about the marriage of LEGO and a camera body that works so well. Just enough blockiness and curves at the same time.

You can check out those other cameras I mentioned by viewing our LEGO camera archives.

Get a little brick in your bite with this LEGO sushi

A regular on our pages, LEGO builder Eero Okkonen brings us this delicious-looking spread of sushi, made entirely from brick. From the windscreen used as an ultrathin slice of salmon for nigiri, to the Ninjago sail used as a napkin, everything looks spot on. My favorite feature, though, is how the studs on the white plates work perfectly to imitate the lumpy texture of the vinegared rice.

The toys that made us loopy

Builder Joe Klang is once again creating realistic LEGO models and this time he has his sights on the classic Etch-A-Sketch toy. My own foray into the Etch-A-Sketch arts was short-lived as I found it frustrating. I could draw, that was no problem, but applying my skill to the screen yielded nothing more complex than a wobbly smiley face. To add further insult to my own deflated ego, there are people who are quite good at it. I’m not sure how Joe fares as an Etch-A-Sketch artist but as a LEGO builder, he is top-notch. The complex lettering both on the red frame and old-school LEGO logo on the screen is a testament to his amazing abilities. We were all equally enamoured with his recent and realistic LEGO camera and Atari 2600.

Plastic never looked so tasty

Over the years, LEGO has shipped its little plastic pieces in many unconventionally shaped packaging, as any Bionicle fan well knows. When the newly released LEGO Dots arrived in stores in a multi-compartment tray with a clear lid, it was bound to show up in a model sometime. And that time is now, as nobu_tary has built this delicious bento box filled with colorful and tasty looking morsels.

Say, “Cheese slope!”

It is an almost surreal experience for me to see a picture of a camera. My brain thinks, “But how did they take the picture if the camera is in the picture?” Of course, I eventually realize there is more than one camera in the world, but it takes my brain longer than it should to get to that conclusion. It’s a bit slow. To make matters worse, sometimes talented builders like Sheo. craft a detailed camera lookalike out of LEGO bricks. Then my brain has the extra step of realizing that it is not even a picture of a camera taken with another camera and that only one camera was involved in the production of the image. It’s hard being a brain sometimes. This Canon EOS 5D is a spot-on replica, lovingly crafted in 1:1 scale, complete with the image of the LEGO build that the camera just photographed on the screen on the back.

It’s got everything a camera could need, from a removable battery to the various SD cards, as well as the ports for your remote and the cable to upload pictures to your computer (it doesn’t include the remote or cables, sadly, but you can get those on Amazon, I’m sure). The only thing that is not LEGO is the strap, and I’m not sure how that could have been done in purist LEGO style short of braiding countless official strings together. And who has time for that? Custom stickers do wonders here, giving it the authentic Canon feel. Don’t miss the tire embedded in the back for some controls, and some rubber bits for tracks are perfect buttons. All things considered, it’s an amazing reproduction of a camera. Now I want to see a full-size picture of the MOC on the camera’s screen. I bet it’s cool, too. And less confusing for my brain.

A twist on deepfake images

More and more these days, I worry about the truth of what I see online. From deepfakes to bot accounts, it feels like nothing can really be trusted anymore. And then…and then…people like Joe Klang make me start doubting reality itself. I mean, look at this Leica M camera. Except it’s not a camera at all, is it? Of course not. It’s made out of LEGO bricks.

It’s the creative part usage that makes this model so realistic. Minifigure weapons connect a length of chain serving as a perfect camera strap, with small rubber tires cinching things up nicely. An X-Pod lid doubles as a lens cap, and a variety of 1×1 tiles mimic the camera housing with just the right level of texture.

At least I know I can take a break from this madness and go and play some classic Atari games. (Or maybe not…)

Fine dining at its toughest

The meat may be a bit difficult to chew, but this meal still gets top marks. Builder Pistash took extra care in preparing a dish that is entirely LEGO, down to the dinnerware itself. Fun techniques include swords for fork tines, pink afro hair for raspberries, and stacked bottles for the wine glass stem. And if you’re wondering about a couple of the less obvious elements, the napkin is made from the cloth “picnic blanket” found in 10242 Mini Cooper set, while the broccoli is a retro LEGO tree. Compliments to the chef!

At BrickCon last October, the Brothers Brick led a fan-collaborative “Brick Banquet” that turned out to be a big hit. You can see that original article along with other impressive food models in our food archives.

The pitfalls of realistic building

There’s a danger to building realistic LEGO creations in that there is a chance writers like us could pass it up. While seeking out inspiration for articles, my thought process went as follows, LEGO build; cool. Another LEGO build, our readers will like that one; cool. Someone selling their old Atari, maybe? Pffft, whatever, move on. LEGO creation; cool. Wait, go back. Was that? Holy shnikies, that’s LEGO! That reaction is courtesy of Joe Klang and every bit of this stellar Atari 2600 is genuine LEGO. The Atari logo is comprised of 1×2 curved slopes, the chrome jack is a harpoon piece and even the rubber bands are LEGO. Notoriously spotty quality control with brown works in Joe’s favor here as it replicates woodgrain nicely. Even the Pitfall box art with its 8-bit graphics are well played indeed!

LEGO unveils life-size D-O droid from Star Wars at Toy Fair New York, available in April [News]

LEGO has revealed the latest life-size LEGO Star Wars brick-built figure: the droid D-O from Star Wars: Rise of Skywalker. Live from the show floor at 2020 Toy Fair New York, we have close-up images of the upcoming UCS-like set, 75278 D-O, which includes 519 pieces and will retail for US $69.99 starting on April 19th ahead of the “May the Fourth” Star Wars holiday.

D-O comes hot on the heels of the newly announced LEGO Star Wars sets based on The Mandalorian revealed earlier this week.

Click to take a closer look at D-O