Tag Archives: 1:1 Scale

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

And you thought stepping on them was painful

Most of us have a few brick separators lying around, but Gino Lohse takes things a step further by building a human-scale chainsaw that seems ready to take apart just about anything. Built for Iron Forge‘s April Tools monthly challenge, this 1:1 scale wonder isn’t based on a specific real-world inspiration. I think that makes it all the cooler, as there’s no question that this could be something you’d find on the shelves of a LEGO-universe hardware store. My favorite details are the modified 1×1 pate with clip/cheese slope teeth on the chain, the tires forming the handles, and the pull-cord starter. The photography deserves some recognition, too, as this is one model that really benefits from a “lifestyle” setting.

Cool additional fact: We learned about Gino’s creation on our Discord server. Head on over and join the discussion with fellow Brothers Brick fans! Or maybe seek some inspiration from other featured Iron Forge creations.

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A picture perfect LEGO camera

When it comes to recreating real-world objects out of LEGO, cameras are a popular subject. Ben Tritschler has created a great example that would feel at home at any high-end photography shop. There are plenty of clever part choices here including red rubber-band accents and a spider as a knob. But the thing that really “sells” this illusion for me is the string attaching the lens cap to the camera body.

This build also looks incredible from the back. Ben used a lot of printed elements from the 71374 Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) set to add plenty of realistic details.

Ben’s first version of this camera was self-limited to 101 parts as part of the RogueOlympics. If you’re interested in some great minimal-part-count creations, you should check out some of the other featured builds from that competition.

Life is like...something, something

There’s an old adage I’ve heard somewhere about life being like something or another but damned if I can remember it now. Sometimes the ol’ reptile brain is not as responsive as it used to be. Maybe it’ll come to me at some point. Anyway, for unrelated reasons, here’s a LEGO box of chocolates built by Kale Frost. It’s amazing that you can make LEGO look so tasty and decadent. The sheer variety of chocolate treats here can be written into some kind of clever analogy or another but I’ll leave the creative thinking to you. While you’re mulling that over, here are the other times we’ve been totally smitten by something Kale has built.

Some assembly required indeed

I was an avid model kit builder as a teenager and young adult. There’s one hobby that brought my model building days to an abrupt end and that involved the rediscovery of LEGO. Still, it’s neat to see a builder like Kale Frost illustrate the love for my old hobby with pieces from my newer one. The cutting mat, paint tubes, pencils, the Exacto blade, even the plastic parts on the sprue are all built from LEGO. With sanding, gluing, and painting there certainly were a lot of steps involved in building models. I still have a few kits in my art room closet. Perhaps this might inspire me to rediscover the hobby. If not, it at least provided fond memories of building models in the basement while listening to my parents’ Black Sabbath tapes. Yes, I said tapes! And Black Sabbath. And parents.

Jammin’ with an 80’s icon

There are very few things that are more “Classic 80’s” than the WALKMAN. When it came out, it was the birth of compact tech that allowed you to easily bring your music with you anywhere. We take it for granted today, but it was fairly novel at the time. Along with it came a new era of music. Digital recording allowed for electronic effects, which has shaped the majority of popular music today. LEGO builder Jarek Książczyk (Jerac) pays homage to one of the icons that started it all, with this excellent scale model of the Sony WALKMAN.

What makes this retro build most awesome is the fact that the player opens up to hold a “cassette.” Additionally, he snuck in some electronics to make it seem like it actually is functional.

While you’re here, check out some of Jerac’s other great builds, including Mando’s Razor Crest!

Brick’s Gambit

Nowadays, custom chess sets built from LEGO are not at all unusual. It is after all the most popular board game and can be played over and over again without getting boring. It has also recently experienced a surge in popularity following the Netflix series Queen’s Gambit. Being easy to build from LEGO, it is something many builders do at least once in their life. Here, Daniel Barwegen adds his own flair to the arsenal of stylised LEGO chess sets.

I was immediately drawn to the uniquely spindly pieces with the wide bases. Some pieces like the king and queen continue the design to their crowns, which are sharp and angular, and even the horse-heads of the knights include teeth and gears. I love that the pieces appear easy to grip, like straws and pencils, rather than not having enough space between neighbouring pieces. The textures on the rooks are also well done without being overbearing.

And yes, we’ve noticed that some pieces are not in their correct squares. And so has the builder. That’s the beauty of LEGO and chess – you can easily move the pieces back to their correct place without ruining the game.

Check out more life-sized builds of things other than chess sets!

Only the worthy can build this LEGO Thor’s Hammer

Truly, LEGO builder car_mp must be worthy, because this life-size version of Mjolnir, Thor’s Hammer, looks ready to demolish some dark elves or maybe just pin Thanos to the ground. Although it’s not a complex technique, the stacked brown and grey elements look great for the banded leather handle, while the smoothly tiled hammerhead itself seems to have the proper heft. Indeed, no doubt most of the 765-piece model’s complex building techniques are hidden deep within because it’s no small feat to get such a large weight to stay on the handle like that and not immediately fall off. The builder notes that it can be hefted, but does require some care.

A flower is worth a thousand bricks

LEGO may have released an official Flower Bouquet set now, but that doesn’t mean they’ve got a monopoly on great-looking life-sized flowers made out of plastic bricks. This beautiful orchid by James Zhan shows that there are a lot more possibilities waiting to be explored. This one comes in a lovely 2×2 brick vase (something the official set lacked) and isn’t just cut flowers but instead the whole orchid plant. Look closely and you’ll even spot some bamboo stakes that help hold the flowers aloft. And my favorite detail is the succulent planted at the base, a common accompaniment to potted orchids.

Biting hard into this bar of chocolate may land you a visit to the dentist

I had to do a second take as I was scrolling the LEGO channels on Flickr on this one, did someone accidentally drop a non-LEGO creation into the feed? Upon closer inspection, I was pleasantly surprised to see a familiar builder, nobu_tary and an actual 1:1 scale of a chocolate bar. Without the tooth elements in silver, I’d probably need to take a third look just to make sure. I got to admit, the chocolatey 2×4 Flat Tile can make one salivate especially when it looks quite delicious at this angle and lighting. I think what does the trick is smooth bite formed by the inverted arch brick paired with a 1×2 flat tile. Then again, how is a bite ever this smooth? I’ve been fooled nevertheless.

This 6.5-feet-long LEGO Technic Velociraptor Skeleton isn’t something you’d want to be chased by

It seems to be impossible to be a LEGO fan and not like dinosaurs. With LEGO Ideas 21320 Dinosaur Fossils and LEGO 75936 Jurassic Park: T. rex Rampage, it’s so easy to add an ancient creature to your home collection. But no matter how cool a set can be, it’s often the fans who design the most impressive models. Meet this enormous 6.5-feet-long, life-sized velociraptor skeleton designed by Damian Thomas.

Click here to take a closer look at this impressive skeleton…

Beautiful blossoms in memoriam of a loved one

It’s the season of all things flora with LEGO and while typically we think of happy thoughts when we see such cheer and beauty in nature around us, sometimes they also represent sorrow and sadness. Every build has a story behind it, and this lovely creation by John Cheng was built with love in memoriam of a beloved sister that’s dearly missed. The soft yellow tones of the anthers are made with simple round plates, while the white petals and olive green shrubbery offer a very peaceful and warm feel.

Is it time for a LEGO duet?

In late 2020, LEGO released a LEGO grand piano in the Ideas line of their products, but you know what would go great with a LEGO Piano? A LEGO violin of course, and CK Ho on flickr crafted a beautiful brick-built violin for music fans to enjoy.

Unlike the piano, the violin is notably a curvy instrument, therefore the notion of a brick-built violin already presents a challenge in shaping the form of such an object with LEGO bricks. This builder smartly utilizes reddish brown brick arches in order to create the curving body of a violin with LEGO. The rest of the violin’s corpus is comprised of reddish-brown bricks, plates, and tiles arranged by way of the SNOT (studs not on top) technique.

Click to see more of this LEGO violin