Tag Archives: 1:1 Scale

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

Blast from the past with the 80’s Boombox

The boombox (aka “Ghetto Blaster”) that graced every music lover’s shoulders is an indisputable icon of the 80’s. Jimmy Fortel‘s mastery in capturing the essence of this historical music making machine takes the bass beat up 10 notches and would burst our eye-drums, if we had any.

The beauty of this creation lies in the clean lines and construction without a visible LEGO stud, from the equalizer, to the radio antenna, to the inserted cassette tape, and the depressed Play button. If you close your eyes hard enough, you can almost hear the sound of Michael Jackson’s Beat It pumping from those speakers, taking you back to a time when loud music in public streets was all the rage.

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LEGO Rubik’s Cube is more than meets the eye

This LEGO Rubik’s Cube constructed by Joe Perez is fully functional — but not in the way you would expect.

Click to see this Rubik’s Cube’s hidden secret

LEGO Star Wars Death Trooper helmet is fully wearable

Director Krennic’s Death Troopers are as intimidating as they look in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. This elite armor design comes to life in LEGO bricks with a wearable helmet constructed by YouTuber Spencer Hubert. Spencer utilizes techniques I used on my LEGO Halo helmet for the dome on top, and the results are instantly recognizable. See an overview of the helmet and Spencer himself trying it on in this video.

Assist your Titan in the present and past with a LEGO Titanfall 2 Alternator

Titanfall 2 added several new weapons to its line-up of futuristic firearms, and my favorites are the multi-barreled weapons like the Alternator for their uniqueness. My LEGO replica of the Alternator started with the grip and mag well, as this area was the most difficult to build for two reasons: First, I wanted the letter “A” shape the body, mag well, and grip form to be spot on. Second, the mag well is sand blue on the in-game model, which has a limited selection of LEGO elements to work with. Considering these limitations, I think my solutions work well for the look of the submachine gun in-game.

Though I favor the insanely fast pace and competitive nature of Titanfall 2 multiplayer, its single player mode was a pleasant surprise, and its middle mission “Effect and Cause” is an instant classic. When you retrieve this device and slip it on your left hand, the prompt “Press A to time travel” caught me off guard. Several other players have praised this level, and after building a wearable helmet I wanted to build more wearable objects in full size, so I thought this time travel device would be a fun build.

The Alternator SMG model has a moving trigger, sliding ambidextrous charging handle, and removable magazine. See all these functions demonstrated with some time traveling effects in the following two minute video.

Designing on the fly

W. Navarre has fun with some red plates and tiles. The result is an incredibly smart yet utterly simple fly swatter. Some may say that this build isn’t practical, but I will disagree. Of course you can swat a fly with it–but probably only one.

Track the Xenomorphs hunting you down with a LEGO Aliens Motion Tracker

The Alien franchise is home to some of the greatest sci-fi tech on screen, one of which is the bulky handheld motion tracker. Builder W. Navarre replicated this classic prop in 1:1 scale with LEGO bricks, and it is incredibly detailed throughout. Small details such as wires of varying thicknesses, screw holes, and side key pad with slightly spaced out keys make his replica believable.

My favorite detail of course is the readout screen itself, with a mosaic of cheese slopes representing the distances from the tracker… or the aliens in the room with you. Remember to look up.

Fan builds epic guitar out of LEGO Star Wars Millennium Falcon

What could be more awesome than a guitar made of LEGO? How about a guitar made of a LEGO Star Wars Millennium Falcon! Korean Builder Kkaebok turned his LEGO set of Han Solo’s infamous space freighter into a radical guitar, with everything but the strings made of LEGO. Plus, the cockpit and interior light up for extra cool points. Let’s be honest: who doesn’t want a guitar made of a LEGO Millennium Falcon?

Click through to learn more about this cool LEGO Star Wars model

Amazing LEGO braiding machine weaves 5 strands into rope [Video]

Ingenious LEGO builders are always creating amazingly complex machines to do cool tasks — just check out this automated Christmas cookie decorating machine! Braiding rope is a fairly straightforward task for a human, but it’s complex for a machine because it requires strands to be passed underneath each other. It’s mesmerizing to watch Nico71‘s braiding machine pass three of the shuttles back and forth between the rotating spindles to interweave the 5 strands.

An ancient instrument of war: LEGO exotic Khvostov rifle from Destiny

Although Destiny at this point is just over two years old, many players feel nostalgic for the first rifle your Guardian acquires in his or her adventure, the Khvostov 7G-02. A cracked reflex sight and custom attachments made this generic AR-15-like rifle special and one that told a story. In a bit of fan service from Destiny’s developers, one can, put simply, backtrack the first mission in a special quest to obtain an exotic version of the Khvostov (designated Khvostov 7G-0X) with wood furnishings and a repaired reflex sight.

I was inspired by this mission as it reminded me of what made me enjoy Destiny in the beginning. This, combined with a desire to build something that looked like a real firearm and to finally construct something life size with wooden components, led to the construction of my LEGO Khvostov 7G-0X. The build measures over 40 inches long, weighs 5.5 pounds, and has some working components including a removable magazine, moving trigger, and sliding charging handle. I also constructed two sights: the repaired reflex sight, and the original cracked reflex sight.

Watch a 360º view of the LEGO Khvostov and view its functions in action in the following video.

See more photos of this replica on my Flickr.

You definitely don’t want to step on this LEGO model

Milan CMadge is on a roll. We’ve only just featured his fabulous LEGO camera and then he comes out with this brilliant cactus model. The color choices here are superb — the olive green offering a smart contrast to the bright blue of the tub. The plant shaping is pretty cool, but don’t miss the use of loose 1×1 round plates for the soil. I’m not normally a fan of models you couldn’t turn upside down, but this seems an appropriate and effective use of the loose brick technique. I want one of these for my desk at work. I think I could cope with the amount of maintenance and care it would require.

Back when a press photographer needed a camera, not a smartphone

It’s time to put your smartphone camera back into your pocket and embrace the wonder of the Graflex Speed Graphic camera. Back in the 1960s, Graflex cameras were the standard camera used by press photographers (before some were renamed paparazzi). Milan CMadge has built a LEGO version of this famous camera that is remarkably accurate compared to the real thing.

The method of building the flash housing is particularly clever, as Milan has used 3mm flexible hose to shape the reflector and a couple of curved cockpits for the bulb. Interesting bit of trivia now: the 3-cell Graflex flashgun was modified and used as the prop for Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber in Star Wars: A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.

Take aim with the Saboteur 66 Ultra Wave Equaliser

Grantmasters has recreated Greg Broadmore’s Saboteur 66 in LEGO form and it’s beautiful. The builder uses a variety of subtle techniques to maintain the elegance and sleek design of the original. I want one of these sitting on a shelf in my LEGO room!