Tag Archives: Andreas Lenander

It’s time to boost and blast some aliens with this fighter

Inspired by the Vic Viper ship from the Gradius games, Andreas Lenander has created his own starship named the Valkyrie VV. The fighter has a striking appearance with its bold colours and prominent angles. There are some great details around the engines where space blasters have been used to represent mechanical elements. The wings are connected via angled handle pieces and roller skate pieces are used in silver to portray grill sections in the front wings. The cockpit is where Andreas started from and he has used a windscreen which was commonly featured in some classic airport and space sets.

Valkyrie VV

In the video below, Andreas talks through the build and also shows us some different angles and details of the model.

What’s tiny and cute and stomps around on 3 legs?

What’s tiny and cute and stomps around on 3 legs? The Niffler, of course! Provided he’s piloting this unusual LEGO mech by Andreas Lenander, that is. The adorable little creature from the Wizarding World is surely up to something cute, and when was the last time you saw a 3-legged mech with claw hands? The bit of bright foliage in the background is also the perfect accompaniment to this build. It’s amazing how just adding a touch of scenery like that can give a whole new dimension to a quick build like this mech.

MECHtober - Niffler I

Harvesting honey on Epsilon IV

What is the most valuable resource in the deep space? Fuel? Galaxy credits? How about honey? According to this cute vignette by Andreas Lenander, you won’t be able to harvest honey so far from Earth without a cube element from LEGO VIDIYO sets. Indeed, the piece looks awesome inside this hangar with its semi-transparent effect. I know the clutch power of LEGO bricks is great, but I’d better seal the edges with some spare stickers… just in case.

Harvesting honey on Epsilon IV

That is one smooth SHIP you have there sir

September is quickly coming to an end, and you know what that means… pumpkin spice (the spice must flow). But it also means an end to one of the most challenging and rewarding LEGO monthly build contests. That epic challenge known to many as SHIPtember. SHIP in this case stands for seriously huge investment in parts, as demonstrated by this tall boy by Andreas Lenander. One of the hallmarks of a great ship is its greebles, those seemingly random bits and bobs. Andreas uses them sparingly to spice up the large top section.

SS New horizon - L21

There are lots of subtle curves throughout the build like the small repeated section on the lower sides, and the long smoothed out front section. I also like the tangle of black pipes leading to the main thruster, but I think my favorite part is the large eye-like orange ring on the side. Another nice part usage is the bit of straight roller coaster track used to attach an assortment of sensors.

A long journey arrives at a most tranquil place

They say that the journey is what matters more than the destination, and that is certainly true for this weary traveler who has reached a gate in his long journey towards a distant temple in this tranquil scene by Andreas Lenander. The walls have a slightly weather-worn look using a few tan plates and even a few ingot pieces mixed in with white. The many black roof areas are accented with several angled black tiles. Two tall trees made with flexible brown tubes are a very nice touch.

Reaching the gate...

Cubes used to make cubist art. Seems legit to me

Art may be a very subjective topic, but Andreas Lenander knows the subject quite well. In a delightfully meta take on “Cubism”, they have incorporated LEGO DOTS cubes into the walls of a swanky art museum. The designs in the framed art are also quite lovely, showing the versatility of both Andreas and the DOTS tiles themselves. And that great bench and plant don’t exactly hurt the realism, either. This seems like a great place to stop and contemplate perspective issues and maybe enjoy a pricy beverage from the cafe. (Hey, the arts need to fund themselves sometimes.)

Cubist art museum

This build was inspired by design by Ryan Howerter, showing once again that great artists can build on each other’s successes. If you’re looking for your own sources of inspiration, might I suggest a stroll through our art tag?

Never trust a cube-shaped bot

There are so many ways to give your LEGO bot a character, and one of them is through the shape of its head. For instance, you can build a very menacing-looking bot with a sphere-shaped head or put a really intimidating one with a triangle on his shoulders. Meanwhile, Andreas Lenander chooses another very terrifying option and designs his bots to carry cube-shaped heads. There’s plenty of ways to make LEGO bricks look scary, but these robots have to be my number one pick. Just look at their creepy laser eyes..!

Cube-bots BN-1 and BN-2

A bridge too fantastic

Bridges are primarily about function. Whether it’s rope, or wood, or stone, or steel; it needs to connect point A to point B and hold your weight. If it does that, it’s a pretty great bridge, no matter how ugly it is. But Andreas Lenander doesn’t settle for anything so basic. The bridge at the centerpiece of his latest build is about function and form.

Journey to the temple

By building up two towers of 1×1 plates with vertical clips, connecting them with bars, and then bending the resulting structure, Andreas has devised a bridge that looks right at home in the serene wilderness surrounding it. And there’s some pretty clever technique in that wilderness, as well. In particular, the minifigure whips twisted together make for realistically gnarled tree trunks. All in all, it’s the kind of locale you’d want to stroll slowly through, holding a loved one’s hand. Or trek through on your way to a mystic temple. Whichever is more your speed.

Is LEGO a cottage industry?

What do you do when you’re already a great builder, but want to challenge yourself? Do Andreas Lenander has done, and create an amazing cottage using the most questionable construction techniques you can think of. They really don’t make them like they used to.  While Andreas has drawn inspiration from other great builders including Grantmaster and Ralf Langer, each dodgy construction features updates and tweaks to make this build truly unique.

Agineus cottage

Get away from it all and ponder the meaning of life

Builder Andreas Lenander gives us a place to ponder the imponderables at the Jaz’ira Monastery. This secluded island getaway has it all, including great building techniques, intricate details, and even an elusive LEGO goat. There’s also wallpaper from Wayne Manor in the tower, suggesting this island may hold some dark secrets. Or that Andreas just like making use of unusual parts and liked the pattern. Who are we to say? What we can say, though, is that the detailing on the roof tiles is stellar, and the teal and gold accents on the second tower are equally elegant. I also like the disconnected splash of transparent blue 1×2 tile around the base – sometimes you don’t need to attach everything to make a scene feel connected.

Jaz'ira Monastery

This creation was inspired by the monastery category in this year’s Summer Joust event. Check out other great builds we’ve featured from that competition!

The peaceful garden temple

LEGO builds are often quite small-scale compared to minifigures, with buildings occupying the equivalent space of a car, and castles the size of houses. Here builder Andreas Lenander has flipped that script on its head with a temple gazebo scene in a garden that’s the size of many LEGO castles. Unsurprisingly for Andreas, there are lots of lovely details, too, though one of the best might be the minifigure katana holders that make the hanging lanterns on either side of the gazebo.

Asia - Shizuka temple

Flames amongst the ocean

Myleth Dorei is under attack by a vicious dragon. His terrible flame breath has bisected the island, cutting off the small fishing village from the castle with a trail of charred forest. Will the islanders survive this brutal attack? Only builder Andreas Lenander knows for sure. Andreas has done an excellent job at rendering a complex story in a small space with this microscale vignette. It’s full of lots of clever details, like using some Harry Potter wands still connected to a spur as the castle gate. And the dragon is effectively rendered in very few pieces, so that it’s light enough to be suspended in the sky by the fire that its breathing. But my favorite detail is the hollow space in the center, covered with trans-clear plates that allow the light from an iPhone to shine upwards, creating a true sense of a raging inferno.

Dragon attack on Myleth Dorei