Tag Archives: Animals

A mythical fox of a different kind

Can someone help me with a tech question? How do I set the parental controls so that my parents can’t watch Fox News? While The Brothers Brick IT team and I are working that out, I’d like to show you a fox of a different kind. This Kyuubi no Kitsune (Nine-tailed Fox) built by Jessica Farrell is a well-known character in Japanese folklore. Jessica tells us that this magical creature lives for an incredibly long time and grows a new tail for each century of spiritual training and wisdom. Upon gaining its ninth tail, the Kitsune has reached its full powers and its tails may begin to turn golden or white in color. Its natural form is that of an ordinary fox but the powerful Kitsune is able to shape-shift into other forms, particularly that of a beautiful young woman, and get up to all sorts of mischief!

She also tells us that this model is comprised of 4,304 elements and took three weeks to design and build. I am particularly fond of the intricate textured stones and the flowing brook. The entire setting instills a tranquil feeling for me and the Kitsune’s expression exudes wisdom. Now that is a Fox network I would watch!

This wouldn’t be the first time we were enchanted by Jessica’s mythical beings. Check out this dragon and an uncanny walking house.

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The cheese stands alone

We’ll soon return you to your regularly scheduled Baby Yoda or Star Wars spaceship or whatever you folks are demanding more of but first I wanted to show you this cute near life-sized rat built by Keiichi Kamei. The rats that occasionally invade my backyard are a bit bigger than this but his stance, his little ears, his bare tail and even his hands are all pretty spot on. I’d be more agreeable to sharing some cheese with them if they weren’t so invasive in real life.

This is not quite instructions but you can sort of reverse engineer your own with the help of this photo. Neat, right? We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

Woodlouse-bots, roll out!

Woodlice are terrestrial isopods and, among other nicknames, are affectionately known as “roly-poly pill bugs” for their ability to roll into a ball. Though this ability is a natural defense mechanism, Japanese builder Moko drew inspiration from the woodlouse for their latest LEGO mech. Moko’s mech emulates the woodlouse’s segmented body thanks to staggered round shell detail elements, which appeared in black in 2012 Hero Factory sets Black Phantom and Toxic Reapa. This black armor is also reminiscent of the crab-like Garthim from The Dark Crystal.

As an added bonus, Moko’s woodlouse mech rolls into a ball just like the real thing. While the real life woodlouse does this to protect itself, I think it’s safe to say this mechanical critter can also use it for quick getaways. Now, that’s using your exoskeleton!

Snowfox strikes an elegant pose

Winter is coming, and so LEGO fans throughout the northern hemisphere are turning to their collection of white elements and building scenes that capture the calm quiet of a winter wonderland blanketed in snow. In this case, a regal and watchful snow fox by John Cheng sits patiently on a snow-covered rock. Whether searching for their next meal, or standing guard over a litter of pups, the construction is both simple, and surprising. I love the use of tooth parts for the ruffled chest, and the many different slopes used to sculpt the long fluffy tail. A few accents in azure strike the perfect contrast to the white and black details.

What a cute wittle penguin!

Now, what have we here? Far from its habitat in Mecha Antarctica, Mitsuru Nikaido’s Mecha Penguin is here. But why is it here? Well, from a distance we can’t really tell now can we? Is it here to destroy its enemies? Or perhaps it wants to endear us for treats of little robotic pilchards. The way I see it, all evidence seems to indicate the former. Observe the creature’s razor-sharp beak and wings. Not something you’d quite want to cuddle up with. The glowing eyes may also be a clue to his intentions. Whatever the case, I think it best to keep our distance and hope he doesn’t see us.

Springboard your adventure in this mechanical grasshopper

Hop around! Hop around! Hop up and up, and get down! In devising solutions for building robots, it’s sometimes best to start with examples found in nature. When Moko set out to build his latest LEGO mech, he looked to the springy grasshopper. Moko’s model is both an excellent representation of the insect and has just enough metallic bits to make it feel mechanical. Hopping power is provided by the legs’ robust hydraulic system, while the black pistol feet likely give it the ability to stick to nearly any surface.

Feeling cute. Might growl later-idk

I’m more than one-hundred articles into this gig and I’m still finding things to go absolutely gaga over. My case in point, these adorable animals as rendered by Instagram user Legotruman. It is so hard to pick a favorite so we’ve constructed a composite image showcasing most of the animal renders here. My heart melts when I look at each of these portraits, which totally wreaks havoc on my hard-edged, devil-may-care image, let me tell you.

Click here to watch a grown man gush like a kindergartner

Get your octopus on

We all have LEGO rooms or at the very least a designated work-space to build our creations. One LEGO space I’d love to see is that of Mitsuru Nikaido. Sometimes it’s satisfying to have “a thing” and Mitsuru’s “thing” is white animal mechs with dark gray interspersed throughout. If Mitsuru is the type of builder who keeps most of his creations, I bet I’d be treated with a menagerie of intricate animal mechs peering at me from his shelves. This octopus is his newest and among my favorites thus far. Whether it be for a flared fender, hot-air balloon or, in this case, an octopus head, this tapered piece is a godsend. This wily cephalopod is certainly brimming with character. Be sure to check out some of his previously featured friends including a frog, a crocodile, and a locust and crane creature double-feature.

The woodland knight oversees all

Prolific LEGO builders scatter our desktops with inspiration constantly, showing us more with each coming build. Miro Dudas has been doing such for me for quite a while, with his Woodland Creatures Collection. His newest accomplishment, simply titled Buck, brings another to said collection, leaving me wanting this on my shelf too. The regal stag is such a strong animal, in muscle and stance as the king of the forest.

Dudas’ rendition, though heavily inspired by Joe Perez’s impressive Stag from earlier this year, stands on its own accord. The reddish brown coat with tufts of white are nice adjustments to his inspiration but it’s those antlers, made predominantly from small bony appendages and mechanical arms, that bring this build into a realistic zone. I don’t know about anyone else but when I first saw this, I instantly wanted to see two of them standing off with horns locked..

If you’re more sci-fi inclined, maybe check out Miro Dudas’ fury little Wicket..

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.

Now this is something to howl about!

I have a confession to make. I was that kid in high school who wore wolf t-shirts. You know, the one with the wolves howling at the moon, or the one with the wolf looking right out at you? I had wolf posters on my walls, and I even sponsored a wolf in a nature preserve for a while. Was I cool? Heck no. Did I like wolves? Heck yes. I also played with LEGO bricks during high school, so, yeah, I was not part of the “in” crowd. But my lifelong love of wolves has continued, though I no longer wear wolf t-shirts, and my love of little plastic bricks continues also. Which brings me to this build by Simon NH. It combines the two loves of my childhood, and in a beautiful way, to boot.

I love the wings used for the cheek fur of the wolf’s face, and the different spiky bits around the underside capture a fluffy feel well. The stunning color transition from dark grey on the top, down through light grey, dark tan, tan, and ending in white, is magnificent and makes the whole thing seem organic in a way that transcends the medium. The base, too, is exceptional, with a frozen river with a glass panel ice sheet, plenty of snow, and a delightful spiky evergreen made with different colors of flower stems. What I love about Simon’s builds is the way he manages to blend the LEGO palette like an impressionistic watercolor and the different textures of bricks like masterful impasto. It is not just LEGO, it is art. All it lacks is a moon for the wolf to howl at, and a screen print for me to put on a t-shirt to be cool again. Wolf shirts are cool again, right?

And don’t miss Simon’s incredible LEGO grizzly bear in the same style that we featured yesterday!

Fishing with a greebly grizzly

Salmon swimming upstream brings all the bears to the yard…er river. It also inspired Simon NH‘s latest LEGO build, depicting a brown grizzly fishing for dinner. What makes this bear unique is the diverse range of parts and colors used to sculpt its body and represent how things in nature are more complex than meets the eye. Simon’s bear features ears comprised of a minifigure hood on the left and female hair on the right, while a minifigure shooter and snowshoes form its iconic muzzle. The scene is also set with some fantastic landscaping, from the rippling waterfall to the rocky terrain with splashes of greenery. It’s truly a GRRiffic build!

If you’d like to see Simon’s build in person and happen to be passing through Denmark, it will be on display in the Masterpiece Gallery at the LEGO House.

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