Tag Archives: Aaron Newman

LEGO’s saviours rise once again

Originally hitting store shelves in Europe in 2000, and then rolled out to North America in 2001, the LEGO Bionicle theme played a key role in hauling the company out of its financial woes of the late 1990s and helped to build the foundation of the all-conquering toy company LEGO has become. Aaron Newman pays tribute to the original lineup of figures released under the theme, but he’s done it with a twist — these are all built with classic System bricks. The six Toa Knight figures are nicely done, immediately recognisable to anyone with even a passing acquaintance with the originals. Kopaka, the Toa of Ice, was always my favourite, and I love how Aaron has captured his iconic mask. The presentation of the models is spot-on too, well-photographed and then just a touch of special effects to give a hint of the elemental powers at play.

LEGO Bionicle brick-built versions

Ancient Aliens

I’m not saying it was aliens–but it was aliens! Builders Aaron Newman and Tristan Cain teamed up to build a close encounter of the ancient kind. Cleverly named “Parthenonsense,” the scene depicts a microscale Greek-inspired city being visited by a red “chariot of the gods.” The city itself is enjoyable to look at, with curved walls, a bridge, and buildings of varying heights. I particularly enjoy the UFO, which has a self-sustaining habitat under its dome. The beam of light over the lighthouse is a nice touch, almost as if the spacecraft is engaging in oneupmanship with its terrestrial subjects.

First Contact

To learn more about the model, visit Aaron’s personal blog post on “Parthenonsense.”

This terrifying LEGO Demogorgon is here to watch Stranger Things Season 3 with you

What’s the perfect LEGO accompaniment to binge-watching Stranger Things Season 3 today? Of course, it’s building the incredible official LEGO set of 75810 The Upside Down. But you should also check out this amazingly terrifying Demogorgon from expert builder Aaron Newman. Built in a large scale, it captures the otherworldly horror perfectly, with its gangly limbs and menacing flower head.

Demogorgon

If you like this, be sure to read our interview with Aaron Newman. Want to see more LEGO Stranger Things? Check out these other incredible LEGO models:
75810 The Upside Down [Review]
LEGO Chief Hopper’s Cabin
LEGO Stranger Things Minifigures
LEGO Stranger Things BrickHeadz
LEGO Stranger Things Miniland Figures

This monochrome medieval city is anything but bleak

While many LEGO castle builders use at least some shade of gray somewhere in their medieval fortifications, many try to push themselves outside this monochrome palette if possible. On the other hand, sometimes using self-imposed constraints can unlock new levels of creativity. In the case of this microscale village by Aaron Newman, complete with cathedral and an impressive keep, the inspiration came from the task of building a prize for a castle building contest where the use of gray is prohibited. So, whoever wins this prize will still get the benefit of a little gray in an otherwise colorful world.

Medieval City

One of my favorite details about this model are the many angled walls, which reflect a great many real-life castles and ruins around the world. One more missable detail is the sideways bricks that flank the entrance to the cathedral. For the round towers, Aaron borrowed a technique from a previous microscale castle of his featured here on TBB.

You’re going to need stronger herbicides

This latest LEGO creation by master builder Aaron Newman is the stuff of nightmares for those who enjoy perfectly manicured lawns and neatly tended gardens. If that is you, stock up on a few 50-gallon drums of your preferred herbicide, or else dial your lawn service’s emergency line immediately! Inspired by the manticore of classical mythology, Aaron’s “planticore” is part flower, part root, part weed, and fully territorial. Stay away from the dandelion head that’s reminiscent of the lion that formed part of the manticore, as well as the many blooms at the tail that effectively evoke the scorpion stinger. The aggressively-posed beast is joined by a swarm of brick-built bees and fierce female faeries to ruin your country club’s casual croquet tournament.

The Planticore

Aaron is well-known in the LEGO community for both his creature builds and his dynamic minifigure poses, and he does not disappoint in either category here. I am personally quite partial to the various Elves hairpieces on his faeries, and the way he uses legs taken off of the hips for more natural stances takes them to the next level. Don’t miss the pink afro minidoll hair as a clever clover blossom, either. The croquet wicket, with the DUPLO ball on its way through, sets the small scale of the build beautifully, and the editing effects with the grass and sky lend it a wonderful outdoor atmosphere. I suspect that I have several stray planticores roaming about in my own yard, judging by the weeds and chaos I see out there; or maybe I am just too busy trying to build LEGO like Aaron to prune and mow…

Sauron looks pleased with his creation

Sauron, the evil creator of the One Ring at the center of the Lord of the Rings books and movies spends the majority of his screen time as nothing more than a giant flaming eye at the top of his dark tower of Barad-dûr, he does make a brief appearance at the beginning of the film version of The Fellowship of the Ring, in the physical form of a towering spike-armored figure with a mighty mace, which he uses to lay waste to countless enemies. Aaron Newman has built an amazing model of Sauron poised at the edge of a lava flow, holding up his creation, perhaps just after pouring his cruelty, his malice, and his will to dominate all life into the One Ring.

Sauron, Dark Lord of Mordor

The distinct helmet and armor feature some of the new blades found in many of the Ninjago sets released last year, as well as a very nice ragged cape made from a couple of large capes. I am especially glad that Aaron chose to build his model in gray rather than black, as it would have been much more difficult to see all those great details.

Discovering the lost bird of paradise

Last year, the LEGO Group launched an Indiegogo crowdsourcing campaign for LEGO Forma. With LEGO Forma sets shipping this year, it was only a matter of time until someone incorporated the skins into a custom LEGO model. Aaron Newman took fish fins and turned them into the wings of a colorful, magical bird. If you didn’t know they were from LEGO Forma, you just might think they were made for this build.

The Enormous Bird of Paradise

Adding further context to the model, Aaron created a scene in which explorers discover the majestic bird. Looking at the team members, at least one can’t handle all the colors.

Encounter in the Jungle

Itty-bitty servants of Darkness

Although JRR Tolkien primarily created his Middle-Earth fantasy world as a place for his invented languages to exist, his populating of that world with an array of fantastical creatures was a key element in the enduring appeal of The Hobbit and The Lord Of The Rings. Aaron Newman brings us fantastic microscale LEGO models depicting the movie versions of 3 of Tolkien’s most famous “big beasts” — the Balrog, the Nazgul’s Fell Beast, and an armoured Mumakil.

LEGO Balrog Nazgul Mumakil

The Balrog looks great, with it’s flaming whip and broad wingspan. I particularly like how Aaron has captured the creature’s distinctive face in a tight selection of pieces. The Mumakil is brilliant, poised to stomp and tusk-sweep its way through a swathe of eensy-weensy Rohirrim. But the highlight of the show has to be Nazgul on his Fell Beast. A clever parts selection has managed to produce a sinuous and reptilian effect, perfectly capturing how the movie trilogy Fell Beasts seemed to slither through the air. Now we need appropriately scaled microscale backdrops for all 3 models — come on Aaron, get to work.

Microscale tribute to the Tale of the Three Brothers

Prolific model builder Aaron Newman is back with another foray into the (LEGO) Wizarding World.

The Tale of the Three (Little) Brothers

This microscale scene is itself an homage to builder Aaron’s own minifigure scale Tale of the Three Brothers from back in April of this year. The pieces Aaron’s chosen to replicate his own work in a smaller scale are spot-on: bullwhips replacing flex tubing, statuettes replacing minifigures, and perhaps the funniest and most appropriate detail is the microscale Elderwand represented by a minifig-scale wand now grasped by the formerly-larger-than-life figure of Death.

I suppose the only question I’m left with is whether Aaron will attempt this scene in yet another scale in the future?

This LEGO model was built as an entry for TBB’s Microscale Magic contest. Coverage on TBB of an entry will not be taken into consideration during judging, and will have no effect on its ability to win, either positively or negatively.