The decorations on these LEGO gingerbread treats are strictly-speaking more “placed” than “built”, but it creates a mouthwatering image all the same. Cecilie Fritzvold‘s simple little arrangement is by no means the most complex LEGO model we’ve ever featured, but it’s a brilliant creation all the same. Those white claw parts are spot on as icing, and “boat stud” tiles have never looked tastier!
This xylophone built by Pistash looks just like the real instrument some of us have grown up with. Although the brick-built version probably sounds different, it still has all the vibrant colors of this traditional toy. It’s shown that LEGO has really come up with a diverse palette that makes wonderful creations like this possible.
I think Dwalin Forkbeard has made the unluckiest BrickLink order of all time… but somehow he has put the dozens of Friends puppies to good use as popcorn… Or as Dwalin calls it, pup-corn? The creation is simple, but there is some subtle complexity in the lettering and angled cup walls. Couple that with excellent composition and photography and you have yourself quite the picture to look at.
Artisan Bricks brings back fond memories of happy times when nobody cared about graphic cards in their game consoles and the joy of wining was so sweet and simple. This very neat copy of a pocket Tetris game is a very simple built, but I really love the colourful shapes built with 1×1 plates, which look exactly like those back in 90’s.
A year on from building a remarkably accurate LEGO version of a vintage camera, Milan CMadge does it again with this excellent rendition of a Leica III. The model features brilliant shaping around the top with all those buttons and dials, and nice intricate bits of detail, particularly around the lens.
What might not be immediately apparent from the first photo is the scale of this creation — it’s absolutely enormous! The large-scale allows for the use of black quarter-circle tiles in the creation of the realistic texturing around the camera’s body. To give you a clear idea of quite how big this thing is, check out this fun image…
I am not sure whether Geneva Durandlives in the southern hemisphere or not, but spring is starting for some people out there and this creation of a mother bird feeding its baby definitely captures the feelings of the season.
Geneva says the bird is some sort of lark, but she could not get the colours of the feathers accurate enough. There are some interesting part usages in the baby bird, but even more so the elephant tail/trunk pieces used as the nest (a requirement for the ABS building contest, for which this creation was built). I have mixed feelings about the tree though. On one hand, the leaves are, understandably, not perfect and the textures may be a bit too intense. On the other hand though, the very idea of building a segment of a tree in 1:1 scale and the complex shaping and angles involved are very impressive.
As a LEGO weapon builder myself, I know how difficult it is to construct a gun model that fires projectiles and manages to look the part. However, YouTuber Snyzer_Tech makes it look easy with his functional Desert Eagle replica. Though it looks a bit flashy in custom-painted gold, his magazine-fed, brick-shooting handgun is impressive in both form and function. Watch Snyzer light up some brick-built targets in this slick two-minute video.
Lego Admiral continues his impressive series of wearable LEGO helmets with a build of bounty hunter Jango Fett’s helmet from Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. The builder continues to refine his techniques since constructing his Darth Vader helmet replica, nailing the dome shape on top, the iconic T-shaped visor slot, and indented cheek plating. The fold-down rangefinder is a nice touch.
Lego Admiral shows the Mandalorian helmet is not only screen accurate in the bricks, but is also wearable.
The possibility of mimicking literally any material or texture with plastic LEGO bricks never ceases to amaze me. This extremely appetising chocolate cake by Kai NRG/Geneva features just a handful of curved slopes in reddish brown colour and is fairly simple, but the decorations are a little confectionery masterpiece. Elegantly shaped elephant tail/trunk pieces, which the sweet cream on top of the cake is made of, look almost edible.
While today’s kids have rad smartphone-controlled quadrotors to play with, there’s something nostalgic about a simple, old school R/C car. Arran Hearn induces such nostalgia with a LEGO R/C racing buggy and radio transmitter pair. Bright colors, excellent proportions, a clever parts usage for the antenna, and just the right amount of detail in the body and shock absorbers makes Arran’s R/C buggy pop.
The detail on the bulky radio transmitter is incredibly lifelike. A quick glance and one would think it could control the buggy above.
Recently, my favorite entry in the Call of Duty franchise — Black Ops II — was added to Xbox One backwards compatibility. I picked up Treyarch Studios’s 2012 vision of combat in 2025 again, and felt inspired to build my favorite rifle in the game: the M8A1, a rifle based on the real H&K XM8.
In addition to being inspired by the design of the gun itself, I was motivated to build by the color scheme. Most of the rifle in game is tan, but its carry handle has a subtle bronze color. I showed this color difference with two LEGO colors: tan, and medium dark flesh. The latter color is fairly limited in parts selection, which made its implementation a fun challenge.
Working features on the LEGO M8A1 include a moving trigger, removable curved magazine, and a sliding ambidextrous charging handle. The tactical rail on the carry handle can attach a LEGO reflex sight that projects a red aiming dot onto a window piece. I show and discuss these functions, as well as a few techniques used to achieve the detail on the weapon, in this four minute video.
See more photos of the M8A1 on my Flickr, or check out other LEGO Black Ops weapons we have featured, such as the PDW-57 SMG and KRM-262 shotgun.
The Force is strong with Lego Admiral and his life size, wearable LEGO Darth Vader helmet. The detailed features of the iconic face mask and breather are captured well with the bricks, as is the smooth paneled shaping of the dome.
See more photos of LEGO Admiral’s helmet on Flickr, and learn a technique for constructing your own LEGO helmet with a Halo ODST helmet breakdown.