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.
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.
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.
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.
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…)
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.
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 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
Love it or hate it, LEGO occasionally changes up their color palette. Personally, I’m in favor of having more color options. Okay, maybe I’m still bitter about the replacement of “grey” with “bluish grey” back in 2004. But otherwise, I’m good with it. If nothing else, it gives builders a reason to go back and tweak previous creations with an updated look. Bruce Lowell, for example, has applied a new skin to his 2012 version of Mr. Potato Head.
While the older version’s body was perfectly adequate in dark tan, this new iteration uses medium nougat brick. This shade is a lot closer to the colors used by Playskool, and makes Bruce’s tribute even closer to the real thing. There are also improvements to the arms and hands, making use of new pieces like the 1×1 round tile with connection that was first introduced in 2015.
I never thought I’d be happy to see nougat on a potato. Live and learn.
Continuing our series of behind-the-scenes articles about LEGO Masters, we chatted with Brick Artist Nathan Sawaya in his California studio about how he built all the props for the show, what kind of deadlines he faced, and working with LEGO as a creative medium.
The first half of our interview (conducted jointly with Brickset) focuses on his work with LEGO Masters and serving as their “brick artist in residence.” The second half discusses his personal views on LEGO as a whole, his traveling LEGO installation “Art of the Brick,” and how he went from an NYC lawyer to an LA artist.
Read our interview with LEGO Masters brick artist in residence Nathan Sawaya
Have your co-workers or classmates been goofing off or gone on vacation too long and you’re ready to play some pranks on them when they return? How about replacing all their desk tools with LEGO versions, like these nifty replicas by Chungpo Cheng? With a glue stick, hole punch, and pen, Chungpo has all the things a teacher or accountant could want (don’t ask what an accountant uses a glue stick for).
And in case that’s not enough, try out these scissors, eraser, pencil sharpener, and retractable box cutter. Although each build is simple technically, they all look the part perfectly. There are even pencil shavings in the sharpener box!
Entering a new decade has left me feeling nostalgic for my youth and, since I group up in the ’90s, I was amused when I saw Qian Yj’s LEGO version of an early cellphone. Back then, such phones were such phones were nicknamed bricks due to their tremendous size. This particular model is about as close to a 1:1 replica as you can get, as illustrated by this image of Qian Yj holding the brick in-hand. His replica looks spot-on, from the numbered buttons to the thick antenna protruding from the top. Lime green tiles form the screen and are a perfect choice given the then-state-of-the-art LCD technology.
