Tag Archives: Animals

Yellowfin: does what it says on the tin

LEGO spaceships sometimes get named after animals. Perhaps a creature insired the ship in question, or maybe it’s just a name like mantis that just sounds cool. Chris Perron has taken the name of a yellowfin tuna and used it in quite a literal sense with this colourful craft. It certainly bears more than a passing resemblance to a fish. The colour gradient on the fins stands out, but I love how the colour blocking goes even further to get the fish appearance across. If you squint, the trans-red cockpit looks like the gaping mouth of a fish, with the white its lower jaw. Of course the big dishes on the side look like eyes. I might be reading too much into this – perhaps Chris just wanted to make ship with yellow fins. It can’t be a coincidence though can it?

Yellowfin_Front1_2400_100

Nothing beats a good barn find

Redverse tells us that this is just a “regular barn owl” construction that’s been lying around not doing much until the picture was taken. It speaks to the quality of this particular builder that this is considered a throwaway piece! The upturned pyramid is an inspired choice for the beak. The wings use a relatively rare tan cockpit part which has only appeared in one set from back in 2001. In car nerd circles, finding a rare car in a barn is known as a “barn find”, so being a barn owl, this build fits right in!

Barn owl

Flexigon cat and mouse games

I tend to love LEGO creations that have a lot of different little parts used to create the most intricate details. This creation by Michael Kanemoto does not fit that brief at all. If my count is correct, they feature no more than 20 different pieces. Most of these pieces were only used several times.

Flexigon Cat and Mouse

Michael uses two of these pieces in abundance — the leaves and carrot tops. These two hero ingredients get used to create the main body of the cat and the mouse. The leaves do a wonderful job mimicking the texture of fur on both animals. Although the cat is truly amazing, the mouse is what really gets me going. It is so cute, so small and yet so detailed. I wouldn’t mind having this one on display for a really long time. Just look at those whiskers and those cute beady eyes!

Flexigon Mouse

New arrivals in the steampunk insectarium

It’s been a while since we’ve checked in on Caleb Flutur‘s collection of insect automatons, so let’s see what he’s been up to! First up is this amazing butterfly, which is absolutely chock-a-block with inventive parts use. Two sizes of whip are used as antennae, with barrels and golden flowers forming the thorax. What really completes the look are the wings. These are made from canvas pieces from 75148 Encounter on Jakku and really look the part.

Butterfly 2

Step into the insectarium for more new creepy-crawlies!

Go for the gold!

Sure we love massive spaceships and huge LEGO dioramas here at The Brothers Brick. But sometimes you’ve gotta appreciate the little things in life. Like this goldfish built by Kashim K, for example. It has just enough pieces to make it interesting; plus it makes use of a Brick Separator so that’s fun. What clever things have you done with your Brick Separators lately? We now return you to your regularly scheduled spaceships and huge LEGO dioramas.

4.10. Goldfish

Do not be alarmed. This is only a (man)drill.

LEGO builder Dan Ko has been producing a lot of small stuff lately but we’ve clearly been mighty impressed, by golly! He takes a couple of blue bike helmets, a red lightsaber handle, a Minifigure beard and a few other pieces to cleverly construct this mandrill bust. There is so much character and expression for such a small build. It’s part of what makes Dan’s work so impressive. This is only a LEGO mandrill but I’d still advise not to make eye contact, just in case. While trying to keep peace with this primate, you ought to back away (very slowly, and for the love of God, don’t show your teeth!) and check out the myriad of other neat little things Dan Ko has built lately.

Monkey business

Even reptiles are cute when they’re asking for belly rubs

Occasionally we come across builds on this site that gives us audible reactions, such as a gasp or going ‘wow’. Every now and then though that reaction will be an ‘awww’, as is the case with this adorable gecko by Jesse Åhlgren. Its organic shape makes great use of Bionicle and Hero Factory parts, such as the Rahkshi back covers for the belly.

Blue Gecko

Reptiles do give me the creeps a bit but there’s just something about geckos that makes them really cute. Perhaps it’s their almost comically-oversized toe pads, recreated here with ball joints. For this build I think it’s the tongue sticking out though. It’s a simple addition – just one part – but it gives this little lizard oodles of character. And if you’re not convinced that geckos are cute, then just look at this last picture of it asking for a tickle!

Blue Gecko

Itsy bitsy mechano-spider will exterminate all bugs in your home

When it comes to weird mechanical mashups, Caleb Flutur seems to have the market cornered. Fresh off the back of his addition to Sodor’s territorial defense , he has gone in an altogether different direction with this pair of steampunk insects. A lot of steampunk builds like to accentuate the use of, well, steam, but I like the focus on the electromechanical here. After all, that was one of the great advancements of the Victorian era. The clockwork fly makes ingenious use of a pair of window panes as wings. Meanwhile, the spider has a great whopping filament bulb forming its thorax (another Victorian bright idea). I normally think spiders get a bad rap since they eat all sorts of annoying bugs, but this is one arachnid I’d rather not have hanging around my house…

Spider and Fly

Caleb says this is the first of a few steampunk creatures in the pipeline, so we’ll be keeping a beady eye out for more! In the meantime, why not whet your appetite in our steampunk archives?

These pirates are feeling a little crabby

Behold the mighty Hermit ship, constructed of LEGO by Thomas Jenkins! What happens with a bunch of little crabs team up with a giant hermit crab with a ship for a home? They all turn to pirating the seas, gathering all the goodies they can in their claws and stowing it away in the ship. They make use of the old ship’s stores to outfit themselves, and they roam the ocean floor looking for their next haul. The build before us here is adorable and colorful, giving a sense of whimsical adventure. Good usage of Bionicle and Hero Factory parts give the hermit crab form. The ship makes use of Technic parts for the bowsprit, and some nice slopes for the curving bits of the keel. The crabs make use of pirate tools, though the one atop the forepeak makes use of some scissors to cut opponents down to size.

The biggest issue with stowing loot in a broken ship? The cargo hold doesn’t exactly hold anything, as seen with the treasure chest being left behind. From this angle we can better see the details of the broken ship. Meanwhile, life in the sea continues as the pirates pass by. Fish swim around the coral and another crab goes about its life instead of joining the buccaneering crew.

This bunny burns rubber.

Tim Goddard is known for his marvelous mechs and spectacular spaceships. But it’s important to branch out and flex your creative muscles every so often. That’s why we’re so enamored with this racing rabbit. Tim’s done an amazing job of capturing the animal in motion and creating a sense of speed in this static model.

Hare today, gone tomorrow.

Hot dog! These are some good sausage dogs

As much as I consider myself a dog person, I do think there’s a certain size of dog that is a bit too small for me. Nothing against them (or their owners) – it’s just personal preference. We all know that all doggos are good doggos, after all. That said, I do have two exceptions: puppies (because, you know, puppies!) and sausage dogs, or Dachsunds. In particular, these delightful Dachsunds built by daisy brick. The smooth-haired variant on the left was actually built some four months ago, with the long-haired companion the most recent addition to the family. They are a perfect complement to each other! Despite their similarities, Daisy has done a great job at differentiating the two breeds by switching up the way the fur is built. And do I spy some poseability in those little legs? Perhaps they can recreate the adorable waddle of their real-world counterparts!

dachshunds long haired and smooth haired

Got your goat right here

LEGO has released a lot of great minifigure-scaled animals over the years, but one of the rarest is the humble goat. Released in only one set,  2011’s 7189 Mill Village Raid, it currently commands an aftermarket price that is frankly kind of silly.  Richard Young (IamKritch) has a suggestion – why pay high prices for a single piece when you can make a giant brick-built version for a fraction of the cost? Built for the  “Going Big” category of the Summer Joust competition, this oversized darling makes great use of curved slopes to accurately mimic shaping of its smaller counterparts. We just hope it’s friendly.

A Large Goat

Want more goats? Sure, we all do. No kidding, go check our archives. Or maybe opt for a recently released set with slightly smaller brick-built alternatives.