Tag Archives: alex_mocs

Killer Zodiac collaboration from a constellation of AFOL stars

What’s better than seeing your star sign in LEGO? How about all twelve zodiac signs stunningly assembled by some of the brightest stars in the building community?

Two years ago, builder Woomy World created a zodiac-themed “Libra Dragon” for the BioCup competition. Fellow builder Ezreel was inspired and pitched a collaboration for all 12 Zodiac signs to the community. Those invited to participate could claim their own star sign or swap if they had a strong idea, and soon the list was full. But with so many builds to coordinate and busy lives and creative blocks complicating things, some folk dropped out, others came on board, and time was ticking by. Finally, a deadline was set, and the final lineup of builders set to work on their chosen sign. To maintain thematic cohesion, the group agreed that every Zodiac sign would be depicted as a creature, which for some signs meant some creative interpretations were necessary.

Now, nearly two years in the making, the Zodiac Collaboration makes its debut!

Read on to see all 12 Zodiac signs in LEGO!

A boatload of gluttony

Meet Gourmand; he’s a demon so gluttonous, he needs a throne made of the front half of a boat. He’s also the newest LEGO creation by alex_mocs built for Biocup and their Nine Circles of Hell competition. Just in case you didn’t read the fine print because you’re too busy winning the Nathan’s Hotdog Competitive Eating Contest for the sixteenth time, Joey Chestnut, this demon represents the deadly sin of Gluttony. If you like what you see, then open a pint of ice cream, toss out the lid, and hunker down to feast on our Alex_mocs archives.

Gourmand

The Tarakava and its rider

Originally depicted by LEGO as a “Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robot”-esque Bionicle creature, the Tarakava gets a serious overhaul here by alex_mocs. Losing the treads and bopping arms, the creature now sports a raptor-like design, while maintaining the startling lizard visage. I love how the builder leaned into some of the printed parts and stickers from the Jungle Dragon Ninjago set, as well as the seamless integration of Technic and System LEGO parts, both in the mount and rider. But the details in the reins and saddle are what really set this build apart.

If two saws are better than one, what about four

At first glance, it might be easy to miss the scale of this cutting edge bot by alex_ mocs, but take a closer look, and you’ll notice the large Technic panels used for shielding on the arms. While the saw-hands are certainly the most dangerous part of this bot, The ball-grabbing parts used for the upper legs are one of the coolest parts used, in my opinion. Heck, pretty much every part used on the legs of this beast contributes to a very practical structure, like the various small connectors used to create pistons along the back of each leg.

Twin Saw

Take a trip to this peaceful floating platform

In this mystical scene by Alex_mocs, a tree wraps around an elevated structure. The shadowy figure of a deer stands next to a wide chalice with a wing piece sprouting from the bowl. The smooth shape of the deer’s body is formed of rubber bands, closely slotted together. A stud shooter represents the creature’s neck and the head is actually a droid torso piece. The stairs also have an interesting build with a staggered construction created by placing plates sideways.

Tranquility

We all live in a yellow...well, you know the rest.

This Subnautic™ Research Drone by Alex_Mocs finds new uses for Galidor, DUPLO, and Scala elements in a brilliant underwater vessel. The Galidor upper legs (and sweet looking Technic and System-built lower legs) slot through the portholes of a DUPLO submarine hull. On the underside is a collection pot that made from (I think) a Scala water cooler. Add to that with a seabed full of twisting organic shapes and a wealth of aquatic life, and you have the makings of a very grim and gritty “Finding Nemo” reboot.

Subnautic™ Research Drone

Is everything better under the sea? Is that a joke that we’ve relied on once too often? Check out our submarine tag and start counting the callbacks!

Play that funky music, squid-frog

Sometimes y’all are a bit messed up. It’s unsettling and maybe someone ought to check in on your well-being. But as I’m jibing to the same dissonant tune, I’m right there with you and could probably also use a wellness check from time to time. Take this high-flutin’ LEGO creature built by Alex_mocs, for example. You can only imagine what hellish deities that this thing might summon. He calls this piece, The Call of Uūl but maybe you ought to send Uūl back to whatever unfathomable realm from which it came. Just say you butt-dialed it. Wrong number. However, since it’s here I like all the dinosaur parts used and the creative way those dark red tree leaves are stacked in such a way to denote alien coral or maybe some of that non-Euclidian geometry we’ve heard so much about.

The Call of Uūl

While Alex doesn’t cite his inspiration per se I believe it may come from this and if that is the case then I’m totally jibing to your crazy tune and you seem to be just the kind of person I’d love to have a beer with. But let me pick the soundtrack though, OK?

A robot built with robot parts, how fitting

When you are looking for the perfect part for your next LEGO robot, look no further than these parts from the LEGO Mindstorms NXT theme. Motors and sensors make the perfect robotic details in this somewhat creepy bot by alex_ mocs that would give the Terminator a run for its money. The spines on its back also remind me of something from the game Horizon Zero Dawn. But if I had to choose my favorite part use, it would be the long bendy neck made from radar dishes

Mobile Sensor Unit: N-XT

If you need to start a fire, this robot may be able to give you a hand

This fiery machine was built by Alex_mocs and uses a variation of unusual parts. To begin with, the head is represented by part of a midak skyblaster from the Bionicle theme. The main weapon of this robot is the flamethrower on one of its arms which appears to use a spring from a shock absorber piece. Tyres cover up some of the exposed sections of the joints, making the build feel all the more complete. What about the odd cloth piece around the neck? It is actually a sail piece of the Silent Mary ship from the Pirates of the Caribbean set.

D-A MK I

From the video, you can see the model has a fuel tank on its back which is portrayed by the storage section of the midak skyblaster.


If this build wasn’t strange enough for you, we have plenty of articles relating to weird robots, which can be viewed here.

Never make light of a Lizard’s bloodline

Though the Bionicle and Hero Factory lines died a while ago, plenty of fans still covet and horde the pieces that LEGO provided us during those golden ages. Nonetheless, builders hold onto the parts to provide some unique and specific detail to their character models. I had a chat with Alex_mocs about their build process for this model, Dawnpike Azaria, inspired by the Lizards in the game, Divinity: Original Sin. Alex challenged himself to sculpt a more feminine reptilian character saying that he hadn’t seen “many feminine coded dragon characters built from LEGO.” Thus, he had fun sculpting a lizard-like head with that energy in mind. He certainly did well, utilizing dragon wings, vines, and various other decorative elements to capture the frills and horns common to this character’s people. Though the color palette limited his piece choices, Alex made great use of them throughout Azaria’s figure. Her armor and jeweled necklace are wonderful details that work well to fill in the gaps that some pieces leave. Alex also found that gold hoops fit snugly around some rubber tires which made it possible for them to be stacked and hold their position. He used this technique in the neck, tail, and ankles. Meanwhile, Alex admitted to using a paperclip in the gold hose around her waist to help her chainmail skirt hold its shape.

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This tree is deer to me.

Have you seen the film Annihilation? It’s one of my favorites; a great mix of storytelling and really gorgeous (if disquieting) visuals. alex-mocs has perfectly captured the eerie beauty of biologic mutation seen there with their creation The Shimmer.  There’s some very creative work in the base, with animal-oriented LEGO elements melded seamlessly into the greenery. The star of the show, though, is the central tree/deer creature. My favorite touch is the Bionicle ball-joint connector that forms the mouth. You can almost hear the sound this being is making, but is it a cry of pain or celebration? Like most things in the Shimmer, it’s really hard to say for sure.

The Shimmer

The biologic themes of this creation are very apt, considering this was an entry to the Bio-Cup challenge. Check out our archives for more featured builds inspired by that contest!

Just some light reading

Alex’s latest LEGO creation is nightmare fuel and not only because it looks scary. This reminds me very much of the series Hannibal. In the show, a stag man-creature appears to the main character. It is a reference to the Wendigo. A Wendigo is a mythological creature or evil which originates from the folklore of the First Nation. It is often said to be a malevolent spirit which possesses human beings and invokes feelings of insatiable hunger. Is has a desire to cannibalize other humans. I am not sure what Alex’s inspiration for this creation was, but this is what it invokes for me. So as if that is not nightmare fuel enough I felt it necessary to look up some of the parts for you. With Bionicle and Hero Factory not being my field of expertise, it took quite a while. The head itself is a true work of art using only two pieces. The Hero Factory Witch Doctor was used for the lower part of the face. The top part was realized using the Bionicle Mask Iden. One of the best things about this creation is the small peekaboo the ribs give you. You can see the internal organs right through them. I love how even a touch of pink can’t make this thing look cute.

The Cursed