The imagery of nature reclaiming things is one that pervades all forms of art. Andreas Lenander has used his talents as a LEGO builder (and, indeed, as an artist) to bring us this latest take on the subject. This is an instance where repeated use of a single part really adds to a build. In this instance, the many olive green leaf parts give the effect of hundreds of little plants growing everywhere, while the vines made from whips drive home the overgrown aspect of the build.
LEGO or not, nothing screams Easter like baby chicks and ovoid objects. Andreas Lenander smashes the two together to create an avian friend that’s an absolute unit! The sculpting of its yellow egg of a body is spot-on, deftly applying all kinds of curved slopes to emulate a tangle of feathers. Two comically small wings stick out to either side, tipped with leaf parts in orange. And I love the pop of feathers sticking out the top of the bird’s head. But most notably, I just can’t get over that derpy face that would feel right at home in the Angry Birds franchise. It’s a great use of one of my favorite parts for character creation: the white technic ball with an eye print. Happy Easter, everyone!
Last month I wrote about Andreas Lenander’s desert port, and now he’s already back with another waterfront LEGO medieval build. This one seems to be more inspired by Venice, but it’s every bit as wonderful, absolutely chock full of great techniques and little details. For instance, don’t miss the black wands, still attached to their sprue, that are used as the bars on the top windows, or the dark tan skates that are used as details throughout, from the roofline to the inside of the main arches.
TBB regular Andreas Lenander takes us to a desert port of commerce, and while it’s a lovely LEGO scene at first glance, the details bear close examination. There are obvious points of excellence like the stonework that just has the right amount of weathering or the gently curving hull of the trading vessel, but I’ve got my eye on those beautiful palm trees, which might be the best LEGO palms I’ve ever seen. And of course, let’s not leave out that beautiful blue domed roof on the tower made with tails.
No stranger to excellent LEGO bricksmanship, Andreas Lenander travels back to southern Mexico in the 1500s for his latest build. For the Aztecs of that time, feathers were of great importance and were frequently used to make intricate headwear such as this. Birds were seen as beasts of great power, were central in the story of the founding of Tenochtitlan, and were a part of their belief in rebirth after death. It’s no wonder that Lenander goes to great lengths to use a variety of feather parts in this headdress. The shaping is astounding, and pairs perfectly with the golden filigree and tri-leaf pieces used throughout.
What’s the biggest problem with exploring icy terrain? Ice melts. Thankfully, Andreas Lenander has devised a solution to hot lights shining on the cold terrain. This Nocturnal Ice Rover uses state of the art illumination technology (i.e glow-in-the-dark 1×2 plates) to light the way. Unfortunately, glow-in-the-dark tech only lasts so long, which keeps the exploration missions brief.
But while you’re waiting for the lights to recharge, you can check out the video below where Andreas walks you through the full vehicle specs.
Febrovery is usually a time for LEGO builders to break out their biggest and best tire pieces. But Andreas Lenander has a knack for approaching the theme just a little differently. Last year, Andreas wowed us with an impressive set of bubble wheels, and this year it’s a rover with brick-built wheels, using a technique I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. Round 1×2 plates and many curved arc tiles blend beautifully to craft a set of hollow wheels for a rover that’s so cool it barely needs any central vehicle parts at all.
Dragons are always cool, especially when they hang out at high altitudes among the clouds. Andreas Lenander delivers a LEGO bust of a bright red dragon with beautiful details and colors. He uses curving slopes to give the dragon the appearance of scales. You can see this to great effect on the dragon’s throat where the slopes serve this purpose most expertly. There’s some good use of gold pieces to give the dragon a regal look, especially on the whiskers! Because of the clever use of curving pieces, the whole build has a nice flow, like the wind is blowing past the dragon. The cloud base itself has some nice curvy lines to it, giving it a fluffy sort of appearance. You can take a closer look at this build by checking out the video Andreas released for it. He gives some of his own insights, while showing the build from different angles.
While this palatial LEGO waterfront property built by Andreas Lenander boasts fabulous natural light, and a glorious open floor plan, it is listed on Zillow as abandoned. It is also brimming with lion cubs, which could explain how the Abandoned Temple of Shibl Al’Asad may have become abandoned. I mean, seriously, it is now one helluva cat box and I don’t think Shibl Al’Asad will be coming back for it anytime soon. Still, I can’t help loving the impressive build techniques, palm trees, and dense vegetation. It seems to be an oasis amid a barren desert wasteland. Also, among all the feline chicanery and canoodling, there is a bovine calf hidden in plain sight. Can you spot it?
Texture is the name of the game in this blacksmith scene by LEGO Master Andreas Lenander. We can see the worn stone of the walls of the smithy, the rough grain of the wood beams holding up the room’s roof, and a floor cobbled with round tiles of various sizes. Small details like the chains hanging from the ceiling and the tools leaning up against the walls add to the vignette. But Tashk’il is the star of the show, slowly manipulating hot steel with his smithing hammer. The work on the figure is impressive, relying heavily on the 1×2 ingot tile and the 1×1 plate with bar to properly express the muscle and concentration being applied to that sword.
There are LEGO pieces that are very much a one-trick pony, those pieces so unique that you’d be hard-pressed to use them any other way. It was then great to come across this fantastic build by Andreas Lenander
Using the Jabba figure as a base, Andreas has fashioned a magnificent microscale palace set amongst rolling hills and cloudy mountains. The detail in this palatial build is brilliant and is reminiscent of St Basil’s Cathedral with its colourful spires reaching for the sky. Moving away from the palace, the plateau this building sits upon is decorated with well-placed (and balanced!) surrounding vegetation. The figures printing adds additional detail to the grassy terrain it portrays along with the alien head adding further detail here moving away from this inspired us of Jabba, the Swedish Lego Masters alumni, has used a wealth of parts to add subtle detail that is to be found and enjoyed here.
Now, I’m off to brush off my Galidor pieces to see what I can make from this…
Melting bricks is a truly charming genre. It’s exactly on the border of casual LEGO building and art. And just like an artist, Andreas Lenander paints the new scene with just a touch of colours and a pair of mysterious figures. Is a first contact? Are they from the same universe? And what will happen next? From time to time we need a LEGO creation that leaves us with more questions than answers, and this is exactly one.
