Tag Archives: Animals

Parts of a feather will flock together

I’m sure I read a piece of wisdom on this website a few years ago that read: “for a great LEGO creation, you don’t need a lot of pieces – you just need a lot of one piece”. Having had a look through Azurekingfisher‘s photostream, I wonder if they might have said it themselves. They are clearly a big fan of the classic leaf element, which sees a lot of use in their collection. It’s done everything from mosaics to planets. Another frequent use is as avian feathers, often with spectacular results – none more so than this stunning bird! I love creations like this that use the inherent mechanical properties of LEGO parts to creative effect. Since the plastic is quite thin in places on this bit of foliage, it can be gently flexed into a curve, at odds with LEGO’s inherent grid-based nature. In this case, the part repetition also makes it visually appealing. Especially in pink! I’m not sure if it’s based on a particular type of bird – to me, it’s reminiscent of a phoenix. Which, for a build this majestic, is entirely appropriate!

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Ask and you shall receive a hedgehog

Not too long ago, LEGO builder Hejjo Demkowicz asked his Instagram friends to come up with ideas for him to build. Soon after they suggested a hedgehog and now we’re all better off for it. I mean, who can resist that cute little face? Asking friends for creative suggestions is such a neat thing as people (who are not your own self) will think of the darndest things. It’s a test of your meddle to successfully come up with what they suggest. Sometimes they can be doozies! This looks to be the start of what might be a long string of suggestions from Hejjo’s friends. With ideas this good, we look forward to whatever else Hejjo might have in store.

Oh man, what a mandrill!

The talented Sandro Quattrini returns with another fascinating creation, this time in the form of a humanoid primate. The mandril is bursting with personality through its eye-catching colour scheme and stocky proportions. Within the face is a fantastic variation of parts; blue flippers are placed along the nose, headdresses represent ears, and a wig (used on the revolutionary soldier minifigure) portrays the white beard at the chin. The binoculars almost look real with a microphone holding the optical instrument together. Buttons of the walkie-talkie are created by placing rollerskates sideways and the stylish boots feature fur lined hood pieces as the main toe sections. But beware, it appears as though this mandrill could be quite the hunter, as the creature comes armed with a deadly-looking rifle.

OMG! This pupper doggo is toats adorbz!

This latest LEGO build by Andreas Lenander is just so dog-gone good! Using outward-facing studs gives his darling cockapoo’s fur the breed’s typical floof-iness. Add to that the textures from slopes, various tooth parts, tan ingots, and rock-textured pieces, and this puppy looks downright cuddly! But I think the best part of this build is no walks at 6:00 AM, no begging for food, and no accidents on the rug.

Sweetly a squirrel sleeps

I’ll admit I only have a few Bionicle LEGO pieces and, for reasons unknown to me, I’m often stumped as to what to do with them. But clearly Arcticpine is a master at building with Bionicle as evidenced by this darling little sleeping squirrel. This woodland creature is just a precious sight to behold. Maybe it’s just my dark and creepy sensibilities talking here but it doesn’t hurt that the entire form looks to me like a human heart. More to love, right? If you adore this as much as I do then take a gander at other impressive Bionicle creations on TBB built by builders who have a better understanding for how to use the odd niche pieces than I do.

I’d like to present this mighty pleasant pheasant

I have a real soft spot for birds, especially those built out of LEGO. Matt Goldberg has come up with a beauty of a build that is sure to ruffle a few feathers! Speaking of feathers, these are quite tricky to depict in LEGO due to their unique texture — they’re sort of like fluffy scales. Matt has used a plethora of parts to pull off the plumage here, from Hero Factory armour to minifigure arms. The tail feathers are the most spectacular of the lot, mainly using tentacle and horn pieces to great effect. Also present in the tail – and the wings, for that matter – are flexible pieces from 80012 Monkey King Warrior Mech. It’s a smart use of these pieces that I’ve only seen used in a small handful of builds. Not only that, it’s functional as well; you might be forgiven for thinking this bird can’t surely stand up on those two tiny legs, and, well, it can’t. The tail serves to conceal the structure to hold this phenomenal pheasant to the equally well-presented base. Very cunning!

Parading a parachute in the park

Sometimes, all it takes is one LEGO element to spark an entire creation into life. Ted Andes provides us with a brilliant example of this, with a charming scene of a walk in the park that was borne of a desire to use the orange parachute in a creation. Said parachute finds a new purpose as the dog-walker’s dress, but that is not where the clever parts use stops! Dark red wing pieces are used for her hair, and a slew of minifigure whips are used as a very convincing low fence. Also of note is the butterfly, which is made of, er, a butterfly piece – albeit one intended for use on minifigures. Ted certainly manages to make using such unusual pieces look like a walk in the park!

Harbinger of spring beckons forth flowers of LEGO

Now, I know we’ve already seen a lot of builds on here from Patrick Biggs. But you have to admit, the guy has definitely mastered the antlered LEGO beast. And his most recent, the Spirit of Spring, is no exception. As in his past work, Patrick displays his prowess with tooth and tail pieces in shaping this fauna of choice. They’re used everywhere: in the face, torso, feet, legs, and antlers. But I’m especially impressed by his use of this very awkward tail part for shaping the Spirit’s tail. I’ve never seen such flow with such a clunky piece! Now if you’ll excuse me, I feel the urge to step outside and into the sun.

Animal: a hurricane of rhythm

Using only 101 parts, Mark van der Maarel has produced his version of everyone’s favorite drummer, and it absolutely rocks! I don’t know if I’ve seen someone evoke Muppet fur with so few LEGO pieces before. And his part usage skills go well beyond the feather plumes. The sausages as fingers, the elastic bands on Animal’s wrists, even the choice of the bulbous eye pieces are spot-on. Contrasting that with the clean lines of a black T-shirt, it definitely evokes the controlled chaos that is Animal playing his drums.

What a great place to observe nature

Take a moment to relax, with this idyllic scene. Built by Sergeant Chipmunk, the model depicts a lush grassy area with a stream running through it. The bridge has a great arc in its form, possibly created by having a flexible tube through the 1×1 headlight pieces. Draw your attention to the birdhouse and you might see it has a particularly interesting construction. The roof is made up of two book halves and the main body of the birdhouse is a basket with a green duck sticking its head through the handle.

A sequel to the “Chromalagous” dragon

If you have no knowledge of “Chromalagous” by awesome LEGO designer, Wes Talbott, stop right now and check it out. It’s one of my most favorite builds of all time! Now, if you’re familiar with that build, you might see similarities to this one. Wes hopes to create a rainbow of dragon busts at a slightly smaller scale to that of their predecessor – starting with this Red Chromatic Dragon. As with the last one, this dragon’s shaping is gorgeous and organic. It’s also inspired by D&D.

I’m a huge fan of the shape of the horns in particular, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the collection looks like! Stay tuned for more, but while you wait, check out some other builds of dragons. We’ve also created content surrounding some of Wes’ official designs for you to discover. For example, take a peek at the 21325 Medieval Blacksmith review and the modular 10270 Bookshop designer video.

Frogs on candlestick pond

There really aren’t enough candlesticks in the world. Well, LEGO candles, anyway. They’re so useful! Take this wonderful build by Eli Willsea, for example. It uses over 50 of them to create the look of bulrushes. Excellent execution! But that’s not the only excellent parts usage here. I love how he used those 1×2 hinge plates to create adorable frog eyes and the center of the waterlily. Those flies and that incredible tongue are awesome too!

If you like these techniques, check out more builds by Eli (AKA Forlorn Empire). Also, if frogs are your thing, we even have a collection of builds that feature frogs!