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.
Tag Archives: 1:1 Scale
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!
Start your Halloween weekend with Tales from the Crypt
It’s Friday before Halloween, and all good ghouls and ghosts are starting their haunts. Can you hear it now? The creaking iron door, the thunder clashing? Can you see the dusty, dilapidated mansion? I can. It’s time for Tales from the Crypt. Jason Allemann has given us a spooky Halloween version of his pop-up book, with an appropriately spooky gate inside. Step inside, if you dare!
Can I get both of these in a size 9, please?
Life-size LEGO creations are the best, especially when the subject matter is an everyday, mundane item. Like a shoe! These two pieces of LEGO footwear by Felix Jaensch are great! The red high-top Chuck certainly looks like the real deal at first glance and the black pump is sheer sexiness.
Like a real Converse shoe, this LEGO one has those little breathable holes at the arch of the foot, a shiny white top cap, and it even looks a little collapsed in on itself thanks to a few expertly placed hinge pieces. Check out this other view to see how the front of the shoe is even a little wider than the rest.
And of course, in addition to your everyday kicks, you need a basic pair of high heels (for those nights out on the town). This shoe looks a bit uncomfortable, but I guess that is true of nearly any high heel, so I say, well done.
Here comes the bride!
Taiwanese builder James Zhan has built this lovely LEGO version of a bridal bouquet. He doesn’t give any details but it has a customized brick or sticker that says “Adam”, followed by another name that I can’t quite make out. I’m thinking he may have built this for an actual wedding. If so, it’s a really nice touch and those brick-built flowers are incredible.
Sweet, delicious LEGO cherry pie
My grandmother was quite the baker. Her farm produced tons of fresh fruit, and fruit pies were a particular specialty. There were never leftovers. Her crust, in particular, was divine. You know what her secret was?
She followed the recipe.
W. Navarre clearly did not follow a recipe, and this pie is good enough to eat. I particularly love the translucent red for the delicious cherry filling. The cross-hatch pie crust on top is perfect, and looks appropriately tender and sinking into the pie, just like it should be. The build feels like it just came fresh from the oven, which can be a tricky thing to convey.
Lock and load a LEGO Counter Strike P90 Asiimov
The FN P90 is a deceptively difficult design to replicate with LEGO bricks, and adding the Asiimov skin from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive complicates it further. Bryce Dempsey has accomplished this task to striking results. The color blocking of the futuristic Asiimov skin was built well especially along the grip and buttstock of the weapon, as well as clever usage of two mudguard pieces on the front sight.
Bryce’s replica also has a few functions such as a removable magazine, sliding charging handle, and working trigger, which are demonstrated in the video below.
A sound blast from the past
If you like retro music production, you will love this half-size LEGO reproduction of an MPC2000 XL, a 16-bit sampler and rhythm machine from the 1990’s by Arran Hearn. The MPC2000 XL is a straight classic in the hip-hop industry that is still widely used today, and Arran has captured its chunky looks, retro styling and all the buttons, knobs and sliders in this fantastic build.
This LEGO sampler also has a play feature, as the floppy disc is fully ejectable from the disc drive. But sadly it will not turn you into a hip-hop star.
LEGO Othello board
LEGO is a good medium for recreating board games, and over the years we’ve covered brick-built versions of everything from Clue, to Settlers of Catan, and everything in between. Not to mention a plethora of LEGO chess sets, both historical and themed. Now jtheels has recreated one of my personal favorites, Othello. Not only is the LEGO version completely playable and accurate in every detail, the builder has even used it to recreate the original game’s box art!
Egg on toast
There’s that moment in Hayao Miyazaki’s Castle in the Sky when Pazu shares the simplest of meals with Sheeta: A single piece of toast with a fried egg. This might also be the simplest LEGO food sculpture by nobu_tary that we’ve featured, but it’s no less excellent with its simplicity. The toast itself uses some interesting studs-out building techniques in multiple colors, and the egg itself has multiple levels with an orange yolk — not merely a flat white disc with a yellow radar dish stuck onto it. Now I’m hungry…
Wearable LEGO ODST helmet from Halo is ready for a combat drop
Ever since I had the chance at Brickworld Chicago 2011 to wear my good friend Ben’s LEGO Master Chief helmet, I wanted to construct a helmet myself. It was far more difficult to build than I expected, and was nothing like building other 1:1 scale builds. I’ve attempted this project before – first time in late 2011, and second in mid 2015, both failing. Finally, in 2016, I found a frame solution that worked well, and now I can present a wearable LEGO ODST helmet from the Halo series.
See more photos of my LEGO ODST helmet














