Tag Archives: Andreas Lenander

Guns? Check. Rotors? Check. All systems go!

Sometimes the inspiration for a LEGO build comes from the builder’s head, or from some media franchise, or from some particular piece that suggests a creation just by its shape. Sometimes it is all of those, as this build by Andreas Lenander demonstrates. The build was begun by thinking about the rim from the Harley Davidson Fat Boy, which led to thinking about the airships from Avatar, which led to a very cool, very capable-looking heavy gunship. A couple of these bad boys cresting the ridge, launching missiles from the under-wing batteries, spraying lead from the nose mounted gatling gun, would be sure to send the enemy running in fright. It is like a combination of the A-10 Warthog and the AH-64 Apache, and I love it.

Besides the rims, the build uses some of the grenade tips that I associate with newer Batman sets as its missiles, stuck into Technic pins and then stuck into the underside of bricks. It is a simple connection, though slightly “illegal“, but it is a great one to remember when trying to reverse stud direction. The Technic axle connector on the nose looks great, too, with the four notches giving the impression of multiple barrels on the machine gun. It is a bit light on greebling, despite what one might expect from a sci-fi build, but I think it is more appropriate to make it look smooth and professionally engineered, rather than cobbled together. After all, if you want to take down some Na’vi with your military-industrial complex, you have to look sharp and pack a big punch.

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This tiny temple towers above the sea

As Andreas Lenander’s Temple of Qa’te demonstrates, you don’t need a ton of LEGO bricks to create a big world. Despite it’s tiny size, Andreas’ diorama has a lot of activity, from the sailing ship and waves in the sea to the temple mounted high atop a cliff. There is some clever microscale parts usage here, including white claws for the ship’s sales and plant stems with 3 leaves representing palm trees. The greenery and architectural style of the temple give off a Mediterranean/Middle Eastern vibe, making it the perfect destination for tourists escaping the winter chills.

A curious building in complicated times.

Steampunk is always a favorite subject for many LEGO fan creators, allowing builders to combine Victorian-era architecture with science fiction to build fantastical worlds with their own rules. This residential workshop for a family of watchmakers by Andreas Lenander features some nice architectural details, like the windows, which make use of white flower elements between round bricks. The white tooth part is great both as part of the window and as an accent in the divider between floors, which was common in Victorian residential buildings. And don’t miss the unicorn horn used as a door handle. Also, bonus points for using Dumbledore’s beard and hair for the whimsical proprietor on the roof.

Loading on the power

LEGO mech suits generally come in one of two varieties — combat hulks clad in armour plating, or civilian-role rigs, stripped back to their mechanical bones. Andreas Lenander‘s Powerloader Exo Suit is a great example of the latter style — its frame festooned in greebles and mechanical-looking details. All-grey creations can lack impact, but the impressive depth of texture more than makes up for the lack of colour. There’s an obvious nod to Peter Reid’s classic Exo Suit design, but Andreas makes this version all his own with cogs broadening the shoulders, and a fearsome pair of toothed grippers for moving stuff around. Although this isn’t a military mech, you get the impression it wouldn’t do too badly if things turned nasty in the cargo bay.

I was lucky enough to see this model “in the brick” as Andreas and I installed models in the LEGO House Masterpiece Gallery. It looks even more impressive than in these photos, and if you make it to Billund this summer, I’d recommend you seek this out for a closer viewing.

Try to understand the gravity of the situation

Classic Space seems to be in a boom recently, probably due to the recent re-release of classic space minifigures in the 70841 Benny’s Space Squad set. This gives us quite a few opportunities to share amazing Classic Space builds to share here on the Brothers Brick, including scenes, rovers and mecha. A big fan of Classic Space, Andreas Lenander gives us an immersive piece of action in this beautifully lit all-LEGO scene titled “Gravity failure at Epsilon IV.” It uses the brand-new pink classic spacesuit.

Click to explore more areas of the Epsilon IV base

Neo-classic space drill inspection

Whilst the spacecraft of the classic LEGO space theme seem to grab the nostalgic limelight, for some of us the lunar rovers were the real stars. Maybe Andreas Lenander is trying to make this point, and if he is what better way than through this magnificent Neo-Classic Space Drilling Rover. It’s certainly got my classic space pulse racing. Although it sticks faithfully to the grey and blue colour scheme, its forms and shape speak to a more realistic post-NASA near future. There’s phenomenal part usage too, just look at the way the old rails form the drill casing, and the Jurassic World gyrosphere looks as if it were designed to be a moon buggy cab. To complete the scene Andrea signs off with a troop of new pink astronauts, from Benny’s Space Squad, scouring the variegated planet surface for its precious mineral reserves.

Bizarre crowd gathers in the bazaar

There are a wealth of details worth checking out in Andreas Lenander‘s latest LEGO creation — a busy marketplace in a Middle-East-inspired fantasy city — not least its unusual inhabitants. The city walls feature some nice little touches to break up the expanse of tan, and the detailing around the arch is spot-on. The towers provide a nice backdrop to the action, and the white one has some lovely texturing which delivers the impression of mosaics or elaborate carved screens. Below, the market itself is brimming with people and animals, creating a sense of activity and movement. You can’t look at this without finding yourself waiting on a big fight breaking out!

There are a huge variety of minifigures amidst the hustle and bustle of the marketplace. The mixing of figures from different LEGO themes can sometimes jar, but here it simply adds to the sense of a wider fantasy world and the bazaar as a melting pot of cultures and races…

Water you talking about?

Sweden’s Andreas Lenander latest LEGO creation is a terrifying canoe ride right over the edge of a waterfall. These minifigures certainly appear as though they’re on an adventure they’re not likely to forget. I think what strikes me the most about this diorama is the palpable dynamic energy of the rushing water, free-floating figures, and tipping canoe as the river crests the edge of the cliff.

You could argue that there’s nothing particularly innovative about the techniques on display, but what Andreas has achieved here with a few simple, repetitive pieces is really remarkable. It’s a strong exhibit of how purposeful prop placement (the minifigs, canoe, water) over background noise (plants, splashing water, textured rocks) can achieve a visually interesting composition.

This was the winning entry in Swebrick‘s head-to-head elimination AFOL-vs-AFOL contest, which for 2018 was based on Adventure. We’ve also featured Andreas here recently for his lifelike cigarette smoking in an ashtray and earlier this summer with his Titan starfighter.

A magical little windmill

This innovative building technique for windmill sails is simply magic! Magic wands that is. Andreas Lenander leaves some of the new wand pieces from the Harry Potter Collectible Minifigures attached to their plastic sprue and takes full advantage of their interesting shape. Beyond the smart parts-usage for the sails, the mill itself has a decent level of texture for such a small model, and is set within a nice little landscape — suggestive of a wider world around the building. This wouldn’t look out of place in a medieval real-time strategy game. And anything which reminds me of The Settlers is a good thing in my book.