Tag Archives: Aaron Van Cleave

Falcon and the winter Toa

LEGO builder Aaron Van Cleave tells us that this is Kualus, Toa Hagah of Ice and wears the Kanohi Mask of Rahi Control. Consider yourselves informed! I like the overall shape of this character, the sword, shield and the doodads going on in the chest area. Its feather plume is also not without its charms but my favorite detail has to be the black hawk companion. It would fit in perfectly on the hood of a 1979 Trans-Am!

Toa Kualus

Where’s your mother, little one?

This piece by Tino Poutiainen is titled “where’s your mother, little one?” Little one’s mother, as it turns out, is right behind our protagonist. She’s the size of a St. Bernard and has razor sharp tentacles, but let’s not spoil that little surprise. I’m not sure if that’s malicious intent or motherly pride in her giant bugged-out eyes, but I, for one, would like to see how it all turns out. Despite how this debacle may unfold, what we are witnessing here is an endearing act of kindness. Tino is participating in sort of a Secret Santa creation exchange in which he has built something for Aaron Van Cleave who tends to hide little frogs into much of his work. We’ve done our research and the story pans out.

Where`s your mother, little one?

But can we have square lily pads? You betcha! Bob Ross, who was the very personification of endearing acts of kindness, says so. In your world you can have anything you want. There are no mistakes in your world, only happy little accidents. Let’s go crazy and build some happy square lily pads right in there, shall we? Yeah, that’s great!

And another thing to stress out over: Bobbit Worms!

I was just researching bobbit worms for reasons having nothing to do with LEGO when I saw this LEGO version by Aaron Van Cleave turn up (for reasons having everything to do with LEGO) and I thought; what serendipity! Although serendipity usually involves a chance meeting with a good friend or discovering someone else likes burnt orange as much as you do. It rarely involves bobbit worms. Yet here we are. The bobbit worm (Eunice aphroditois) is a creature ranging from about 4 inches (10cm) to 9.81 ft (299cm) long and inhabits burrows that it creates on the ocean floor. It bursts out of the sand to hunt its prey with terrifying speed. As if that’s not scary enough, Aaron’s version is much bigger and robotic because apparently that is what the world needs now. There is excellent part usage here and the roiling, explosive sand effect he created is accurate. I know this already because…serendipity.

Rebel Nature: Robo Bobbit

Cerulean crustacean

Crabs are amazing creatures, and they have a broader appeal than their more sinister-looking arachnid cousins. This colorful creature by Aaron Van Cleave makes great use of some contraction (constructible action) figure parts from the short-lived Ben 10 theme, including this leg section and a leg cover with scales used in the big claw. An assortment of round white elements make for perfect barnacles, and the unicorn horns provide a spiny defense mechanism.

Tide's Blessing