First announced as a forthcoming set nearly a year ago, LEGO is finally taking the wraps off its newest crowd-sourced kit, 21311 Voltron. Based on both the iconic 1980s animated television show of the same name and its subsequent modern-day reboot by DreamWorks, the set will feature five robotic lions who can combine into the super robot Voltron. With 2,321 pieces, the massive mech will be the largest Ideas set to date, easily outpacing the Old Fishing Store and NASA Apollo Saturn V. The set will be on sale briefly at San Diego Comic-Con next month, then will be available to LEGO VIP members beginning July 23, before being widely available August 1. Voltron will retail for $179.99 USD.
Tag Archives: Anime
It’s over 9,000!
While the piece count for this Dragon Ball Z creation by Moko might not numerically match Vegeta’s most famous quote, our enthusiasm level for this LEGO rendition of his Great Ape form certainly does. The face is a knockout, with a great use of minifigure arms to define the eyes and a strategic use of anti-studs to add texture to the ears and nostrils. The rest of the model is full of subtly impressive techniques, like the dinosaur tails to add definition to the shoulder’s edges, the tail made out of tires, and the inverted and slightly angled pectorals.
Be sure to visit Moko’s blog for additional photos of this phenomenal creation.
Posable Arale and Gatchan figures are super cute
Arale Norimaki is a fictional character from the Dr. Slump manga series, created by Akira Toriyama. Arale is a robot girl who is strong, energetic and a bit naive. This playful model by LEGO 7 — which also features two Gatchan, or Gajira Norimaki — is a wonderful tribute to these unique characters, who make an occasional appearance on the popular anime Dragon Ball from the same creator.
One of my favorite details is the use of a white rubber band wrapped around Arale’s ankles as a rumpled sock. The simple construction of her gloved hands, made from only 6 parts each is another nice touch. On the Gatchan, an inverted yellow chair forms a bib for this critter who is known to eat just about anything.
LEGO 7 has tweaked the model just a bit to give us a very dynamic and especially playful scene.
Blaze the stars in the Space Battleship Yamato
Resurrected from its ocean grave after an apocalyptic event in the year 2199, Japan’s famous WWII battleship became an unlikely spaceship in the classic anime Star Blazers. Builder marchetti36 has masterfully recreated it in microscale, giving it a nifty display base and a fleet of smaller craft.
Despite the relatively small scale, there are lots of great touches of detail. One of the best is the design for the space battleship’s bridge, which consist of trans-neon green 1×1 plates turned sideways and set on an angle.
Aggretsuko: Twenty five, single, Scorpio, blood type A
Say hello to Aggretsuko (アグレッシブ烈子), the latest character from the creators of Hello Kitty. By day, this red panda is a gentle and kind accountant, doing the best she can in a job she loathes. But by night, she blows off steam by shedding the cutesy look for that of a raging death-metal karaoke enthusiast!
Originally aired as a series of shorts on Japanese television, the adventures of Retsuko have finally arrived on Western shores in the form of a Netflix original series. Taking inspiration from this unexpectedly kawaii take on the modern condition, I decided to try and capture Retsuko’s struggle using LEGO bricks:
Click here to see LEGO Retsuko with all her accompanying accessories
Delivering the cuteness
Studio Ghibli’s animated movies are a constant source of inspiration to LEGO builders, and Kiki’s Delivery Service is no exception. Here’s the film’s feline duo, Jiji and Lily, re-created in the brick by car_mp. The curves of the cats’ bodies are nicely done, particularly the studs-out section depicting Lily’s neck fur. But as with other cartoon-themed creations, it’s the addition of the large Mixel eye tiles which injects a bunch of character and fun.
Porco Rosso’s racing plane takes to the skies
We’ve featured half a dozen or so Savoia S.21 flying boat from Porco Rosso over the years, but it remains one of my favorite LEGO aircraft whenever I run across a new version. This latest incarnation of the racing plane from the 1992 Hayao Miyazaki film is brought to us by Volker Brodkorb. The airplane’s huge engine mounted forward of the cockpit makes this plane instantly recognizable, as do the striping on the angled wings.
Volker uses curved slopes attached studs out to achieve the sloping shape of the boat-plane’s hull, and the pop of yellow on the front of the propeller is a lovely touch.
Mary and the Witch’s Flower
Mary and the Witch’s Flower is the first feature from Studio Ponoc, an anime production house formed from the ashes of the legendary Studio Ghibli. Based on the Mary Stewart book The Little Broomstick and directed by the very accomplished Hiromasa Yonebayashi (including his directorial debut with The Secret World of Arrietty), this movie easily matches the charm of any Miyazaki production. I enjoyed it immensely, and even listened to the soundtrack while building this LEGO version of Mary on her broomstick:
The above layout takes inspiration from the pivotal scene where Mary first takes flight on her broomstick. Observant readers will notice the inclusion of Tib the cat, a few Fly-by-Night seeds, and a background made entirely from LEGO bricks.
Simon and Lagann fit perfectly as BrickHeadz
It has become very popular among LEGO builders to create pop culture characters inspired by LEGO BrickHeadz. This particular pair by toothdominoes is from an anime called Gurren Lagann, which features humans living underground, teaming up with mechs to battle oppressors living on the surface. Simon and his mech Lagann stand ready to face the forces of evil.
And such a perfect fit!
Fun fact: The eyes on the mech were custom made by the creator.
Kaneda’s motorcycle was smaller than you thought
We’ve seen many LEGO versions of Kaneda’s red motorcycle from Akira, but they’re often larger-scale models like the beauty we saw last year. At the other end of the size spectrum, Grantmasters‘ latest creation is a tiny microscale version of the iconic bike. Grant has used the perfect combination of red pieces for this little masterpiece, although purists may quibble that most of them seem to be balanced atop each other rather than attached. Nice work on the figure too. Overall this passes the “microscale test” — ie. is it immediately recognisable? There’s no doubting that. All together now… “Kaaaannnedaaaa!”
Chihiro’s journey: A LEGO tribute to Spirited Away
They say that Disney movies touch the heart, but Studio Ghibli films touch the soul. None more so than the Miyazaki classic Spirited Away. I’ve modelled the works of this legendary Japanese animator in LEGO before, but on the 15th anniversary of its US release I figured it was time to take a deeper dive into this particular masterpiece:
Spirited Away remains unrivalled for its blend of the spiritual, realistic, fantastic, and human. In balancing all of those realms, Miyazaki was the master. No surprise then that this movie won the Oscar for best animated film and remains Japan’s highest grossing movie to date.
Click to see more Spirited Away scenes
Lynn MinMay, Macross space celebrity [Instructions]
Lynn MinMay from the Robotech/Macross anime series is brought to life by SPARKART! in a modified Brickheadz doll. The styling emphasises the head over other features, with her eyes capturing that genuine anime sparkle. Below you’ll find the parts list and instruction guide to build your very own singing space celebrity.
Click for parts and instructions