Tag Archives: 1:1 Scale

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

Grab a bite to eat at the Potion Shoppe

You feel that? That’s your sudden desire for a picnic lunch. A second ago you didn’t feel it but now you do. You may or may not want these particular food items, but you do want food now. That is the power of suggestion and it just goes to show how suggestive LEGO can be. In this life-sized food arrangement, builder Little John sculpts strawberries using these red wedges. The quarter cheese wheel, even the knife and cutting board evoke memories of healthful weekend lunches on the patio. The carrot uses much larger wedges in orange, these plant bits and green hoses for the stalks. My favorite item on this menu is the fried chicken drumsticks.

Like what you see so far? It turns out this is merely one element of a much larger collaborative immersive experience called the Potion Shoppe that was on display at Brickworld in Chicago. Bon appétit!

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

The cutest creature of the underground – Krtek

Readers from eastern Europe will instantly recognize this adorable critter from the Czech cartoon Krtek (which means “little mole” in Czech). Having read books and seen cartoons of Krtek’s adventures throughout my childhood, I never thought to see the character built out of LEGO. But when I saw this perfect recreation by Eero Okkonen, I went full “aww-mode”.

The pose on the image is so iconic that one would hardly notice this is LEGO, were it not for a jagged edge here and there. Curved pieces capture the character’s shape very well, but my favourite parts are the red nose and the three long hairs on the mole’s head. As a master character builder, Eero has explored many different source materials and themes, but none quite as iconic as this one. Thanks for the nostalgia trip, Eero!

Every piece is useful in chess and in LEGO

If you love strategy games, it is likely that you enjoy chess, one of the oldest strategy games out there. When I was in high school, a group of friends and I got together to play chess every Friday, but I must admit that I showed up mostly for the Twizzlers and chips and salsa. Judging by his excellent LEGO rendition of a chessboard, Chris Maddison seems like the kind of guy who would have shown up to show people up with skillful moves and clever endgame strategies.

This is a very handsome and elegant board and set of pieces, with virtually no studs showing except for the eyes and throats of the knights. The anti-studs at the top of the rooks look great, but my favorite piece is the king, with a simple yet effective cross atop his crown. The SNOT (studs not on top) board looks perfect for playing; I could easily see myself being checkmated in three moves on it. Perhaps it is time for me to dust off my old chess set and start playing again; or better yet, I could build myself one like Chris.

This Crossy Road-inspired claw machine will grab you

If you’ve spent any time in arcades, you’ve likely been tempted by those crane games where you can win a handful of candy (or sometimes bigger prizes). H.Y. Leung has taken that temptation to the extreme by making their own working version from LEGO bricks.

The base of this build is 80×64 studs (roughly 64×51 centimeters); pretty close to 1:1 scale to a real-world crane game. The arm design comes from LEGO set 42043, the Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3245, with a modified claw. The first control on the left side rotates the arm left and right, moving it through a 200-degree arc. The next three switches handle positioning of the boom and outrigger and opening and closing the claw. To the right of the controls is a slot that accepts tokens, and a switch to activate a pneumatically-controlled horizontal security bar, intended to keep people from reaching up and into the game when it’s not in use.

This claw-machine creation incorporates just a touch of non-LEGO parts in the custom plexiglass, external air compressor, and edible treats. I personally would have liked to see this machine filled with LEGO parts, but I suspect bulk candy is a lot cheaper to refill it with.

Speaking of arcade games, the colors are inspired by the prize machine in the mobile game Crossy Road. Not familiar with that machine? Happily, H.Y. has also recreated a LEGO version to add some context. I like the inversion of the red/yellow styling between the two games.

A beautiful bonsai built from bulk-bought bricks

André Pinto‘s build took me by surprise. I said to myself, “That’s a nice LEGO bonsai tree photographed on a nice piece of antique furniture.” Part of that is true; it is a nice LEGO bonsai tree. But part of it is false, too, because a closer look revealed that the table and the rug were also made entirely from LEGO. André says that there are 5,000 pieces in the build, but 85% of them are the limited selection that comes from the Pick-a-Brick walls in LEGO retail stores. The large amounts of somewhat odd pieces comes together for a stunning build.

The sand green telescopes form a lovely border around the edge of the table, and the copious yellow click hinges provide a surprisingly realistic rug texture beneath. The white flowers still attached to the sprue drape elegantly from the branches of the tree. The details that deceived me, however, are the reflective surface of the table with small petals on it, and the finely crafted legs, with cross supports, beneath it. What a clever use of bulk parts!

Easter’s symbol of fertility

Whether you’re religious or not, Easter is a great time to recognize the breath of fresh air that is springtime. The flowers are blooming and baby animals are coming into the world. Rabbits, well known for their prolific ability to procreate, are the adorable mascots of the season. The candy-filled eggs (also a symbol of fertility) are a pretty cool bonus too. Although it doesn’t come with eggs, Felix Jaensch’s latest build sits amongst the best LEGO bunnies around. Most are sitting or standing, but laying down makes this one catch your eye. Realistic as always, it is more proof that he certainly has a keen eye for organic shapes!

If you can’t get enough builds for the occasion, this cartoon-ish bunny is full of character!

Gotta hand it to this brick artist

Hands up if you love this LEGO model! Australian artist Kale Frost is a master at handcrafted LEGO models of varying scales and this time he’s constructed a little scene full of 1:1 scale items. Although this scene was posted as a tease for a future creation, we felt this work stood on its own for the composition of the modeled artist’s hand, paintbrushes with all sorts of neat tips including a cheerleader’s pompom and rare dark green broom, pen and pencil, the spiral-bound notepad using Nakia’s chakram rings.

Hands down the biggest mystery to me here is the inclusion of the crayon girl costume collectible minifig. What’s her role? Is she one of the artist’s tools come to life? Maybe Kale’s next creation will lead us by the hand and explain it to us.

If Kale’s name sounds familiar, his handiwork has been featured on TBB several times in the past covering a broad range of styles and subjects. I’m keen on his roadside diner and microscale castle diorama.

The best pancake toppings? More pancakes!

I could have pancakes smothered in syrup for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and then some in between as well. With such a healthy diet, it may not be long before I need to pay a visit to the dentist though. But having a bite out of this will require immediate attention! If I end up with any broken teeth, the only person I’m going to blame is builder LittleJohn! The use of those minifigure caps for blueberries are wonderful, but that sliced orange with transparent cheese slopes takes the (pan)cake for me! Knowing that not everyone is a fan of pancakes, you may want to know that chef LittleJohn can cook up a few other breakfast dishes. Try some of these other delicious savory foods, including waffles, or eggs and tomato.

Bringing LEGO to life with a handsome macaque

It takes a great deal more skill to sculpt with basic LEGO bricks than you might think. The ability to produce organic curves from rectangular bricks is awe-inspiring, and strikes envy in those of us who are always searching for that perfect shape. Upon seeing this life-size Rhesus macaque, I knew it had to be the work of Felix Jaensch, who is a master of the art. I must say, it really could not have been done better!

Adult males like this one (just in case you weren’t sure if it’s a male) are about 18-25in long and weigh an average of about 16-19lbs. They have an expressive face, which is perfectly captured here. Additionally, the lovely use of a select few slopes gives the fluffier bits texture and character, and the minifigure hand to finish the nose is genius!

Rhesus macaques are probably the most commonly known macaques in the world. That’s partly because these monkeys have a massive home range in central and southern Asia, and are invasive in several other places in the world. They’re also widely studied and used in research due to their high level of intelligence and fairly close physiological relation to humans. It was a study of their blood that led to our understanding of the Rh blood-typing system we use today!

If you like Felix’s style, check out some of the other life-size animals we’ve featured, like his Red Panda, Macaw, Rabbit, or American Kestrel.

This LEGO bubble wand is super slick with parts that stick

At first glance, it is easy to mistake this LEGO re-creation of a bubble wand by Anthony SÉJOURNÉ as the real thing. It certainly looks the part, complete with a simple bottle and bubbles made from a variety of transparent domes, radar dishes, and cockpit canopies. Comprised of approximately 21 elements, this is the perfect creation for the start of spring.

Life-sized Thanos Infinity Gauntlet will make half your LEGO collection disappear

While the LEGO company works to find sustainable ways to produce their plastic products in a world with limited resources, Brickatecture knew there was only one way to save the world of LEGO — or at least, he was the only one with the will to act. He has gone to extreme measures and spent three months over the last year building a marvelous weapon. Judging by the Infinity Gauntlet’s size, it gives him the power to make at least half of his own LEGO collection disappear. Now it is perfectly balanced, as all things should be.

The build is quite accurate to the famous weapon from Avengers: Infinity War, as well as an amazing creation on its own. The shaping is very clean and bold using large polygons to construct the complex non-rectangular shapes while keeping it wearable, and the smaller curves of the palm and fingers are done using curved slopes at different angles.

And if you’re still not awed by its might, take note that Thanos’ glove weighs 4.2 lbs and contains more than 2,000 pieces. And it cost him… everything.

Type your next LEGO order on this Underwood brand typewriter

Building replicas of real-world objects is a common theme with LEGO creators, and while they span the range of size, from larger than life to microscale, creating 1:1 scale models like this Underwood typewriter by Jonas Kramm is a true art form. This model of the classic typewriter fits a standard 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper. There is so much attention to detail in this model, but I especially love the two gold tiles used as the attachment point for the typewriter’s case. If I close my eyes, I can almost hear the clickety-click-clack of the keys.