Tag Archives: Bart De Dobbelaer

Remnants of a lost world

I am quite confident when it comes to my LEGO part identifying. Quite confident until I stumble across another wonderful creation by Bart de Dobbelaer. Lego produced quite a few themes that are compatible with the system but are not minifigure scale or use standard bricks. No LEGO theme is off limit for Bart. We are looking at the ruins of a once magnificent civilization that is now reclaimed by nature.

The aerial roots of the trees look like they are gathering water and storing it in transparent sacks but that’s just my interpretation. These parts come from the LEGO clikits line.The boat in this creation uses a Ben 10 torso which works perfectly for a futuristic floating vessel. Or is it just a piece of floating scrap metal? Whatever it is, it works perfectly. I like how you can identify the piece because of its reflection. And reflection is what makes this creation go from big to massive. The use of dark orange bricks to represent rust and decay works perfectly as a complementary colour with the blue lighting. The cute blue critters with their yellow eyes also match the surroundings perfectly.

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Something old, something new, something golden, something transparent light blue

Something just clicks in Sundown at Pheron 4Y — an eerie landscape from Bart De Dobbelaer. It might just be the Clikits rings and bracelets in the towers, but I think it’s more about the moody atmosphere and quality building. But there sure are a lot of vintage transparent light-blue Clikits parts in there if you really squint. My favorite usage has to be the Clikits beads in the golden Ninjago-hilt topped spires. Speaking of gold elements, there are a lot of interesting ones there, too. From minifigure weapons to Knights-Kingdom era shoulder armor, Bart has once again shown that imagination is the only limiting factor when it comes to finding ways to incorporate supposedly “single purpose” parts.

This isn’t the first amazing landscape that Bart has shared. Be sure to check out their other featured builds!

And up from the ground came some bubblin’....well, I’m not sure exactly.

It’s a science fiction trope most of us are familiar with – the rumblings under the ground subside for just a moment. Then, suddenly, there’s an eruption and not only do you have have to deal with a an outflow of lava, but also the emergence of some truly terrifying underworld creatures. Bart De Dobbelaer captures just such an event in this stunning creation, aptly named Emergence. The beasts include some unusual part choices, including one of my absolute favorites elements – the X-Pod container. But obviously they’re just part of the scene. The spewing lava is captured by a wealth of transparent orange elements, including Dimensions base discs. The techno-organic vent provides a great contrast to the mayhem elsewhere, while still adding a great deal of mechanical texture. And then Bart had to go and add lighting effects. Because if you’re going to build at this scale, you might as well go all in.

If you want some great contrasting color to this build, check out another of Bart’s creations: Trace Initiated. Or maybe just peruse some great Sci-Fi builds from creators from around the globe.

Crushing it in cross-species cross-fit training

Restrictions on many of our usual weekend activities are finally starting to lift as more and more people around the world get their vaccination shots. But what do you do if cross-fit gyms just don’t come in your size? Improvise! Bart De Dobbelaer demonstrates the importance of using a spotter when lifting weights, or in this case, an exceedingly large caterpillar. It might be hard to tell, with so many black parts, but all three of the ants are quite expressive, including the poor fellow trapped beneath his living dumbbell.

Everyone has their own demons

I do not need to tell you guys that LEGO is a lovely medium to express your emotions. We quite often see creations being made to celebrate special times in a person’s life. Bart de Dobbelaer however shows us LEGO can also be used to express the harder times in life. In this creation, a single white figure is battling their inner demons. The demons look really quite bizarre and scary. The Hidden Side eyes gets used for the demons eyes. This isn’t a far stretch but it is very fitting and creepy looking. Not using white on the demons but going with yellowish-green further adds to the contrast between the demon and the white figure. At first, I thought the mutant T-Rex head or jaw was used for the jaw of the monster but upon further inspection, this is not the case. The jaw doesn’t open horizontally but vertically which for some reason freaks me the hell out. Thank god our hero is equipped with a big weapon to fight this three-headed monster.

A long walk to the nearest gas station

Master of eerie landscapes Bart De Dobbelaer returns with Marooned of CZ-57. As usual there are tons of great building techniques and details to enjoy, but the standout feature this time has to be the golden lake made from Ninjago dragon wings. Or maybe it’s those curves in the the ruins. Or the dark orange plant life. No, wait, it’s the gold and green insectoid life forms. Yes, definitely the bugs. Unless you’re counting that great life-pod build. Oh, well…I guess it’s all pretty nifty.

If you like this build, check our archives for more great environments from Bart. And then continue on to do more exploring with great creations from other Space enthusiasts. You didn’t have anything else pressing to do today, right?

The unknown horror

Sometimes you don’t have to understand exactly what you’re looking at to appreciate how awesome it is, and how well-built it is. This LEGO creation by Bart De Dobbelaer is called the Glarburg Horror, and I think it fits into that category. Bart’s written a short story on this Lovecraftian monstrosity, but I’m afraid I’m still no closer to figuring it out. Nevertheless, I like the repetitious use of elements on the “creature” to create an unnerving texture. Meanwhile, the broken stone columns have an almost technological feeling, while the whole scene is subtly overgrown with sickly black shoots made mostly of connected droid arms.

There’s more than a trace of creativity here.

The creator of this nightmarish image, Bart De Dobbelaer, has combined cinematic inspiration from Hackers and Tron Legacy with 22 meters of EL wire in Trace initiated – a chilling image of cyberspace done right. I’m not sure exactly what’s happening here, but it doesn’t seem to be good news. Is the creepy central figure reaching out with a red data probe to track a hacker? Or is the trace running the other direction? Could this be a friendly cyber guardian about to be compromised by the outside world? We may never be sure. Where’s Flynn when you need him?? Either way, though, it sure is a spectacular scene.

At that glorious greebling makes me want to break out my collection of tiny parts and get to building myself. And I’m pretty sure I still have some light kits around here somewhere…

Life in the pink

Well now, what is this all about? Bart De Dobbelaer presents us with this striking LEGO scene and, through a mission log, humorously illustrates that space travel can be at times exciting but also mind-numbingly dull. I’m smitten by the overall composition, the greebly space-cube, the pink alien vegetation, even the shadowed planet in the distance. The light from within is a spectacular touch! Bart calls this scene La Vie en Rose.

If you are to do some space travel anytime soon, I advise bringing a soundtrack. Might I suggest Édith Piaf or Lady Gaga? I suppose even this breathtaking image can seem dull if that is all you had to look at for months or even years on end. It might be best that you scroll on and peruse some other stuff before the space-madness settles in. But before you do, check out these articles to make your space journey a bit more interesting.

Don’t step into the Shimmer

Bart de Dobbelaer’s latest creation just might be inspired by the movie ‘Annihilation’. In the movie, a team of scientists volunteer to join a research expedition into the Shimmer. The Shimmer is an anomalous iridescent electromagnetic field that appears to be expanding at a rapid pace.

Bart’s creation reminds me of the scene where the team steps through the iridescent electromagnetic field and see the inside of the Shimmer for the first time. They stumble upon all sorts of mutated animal hybrids and a variety of beautiful vegetation. I love the two brown columns on each side of the Shimmer. I have no idea how they are constructed but they look amazing. The contrast between both worlds couldn’t be any bigger. The real world is dark and brown and muddy where the world inside the Shimmer is bright and filled with white and gold alien-like creatures.

Princess Baba Yaga

We all love a story with a strong female lead, and the princess in Bart de Dobbelaer’s latest LEGO creation is no damsel in distress, and she is definitely not in need of a knight in shining armor to be her savior. She is in control of her own happy ending! Poor prince charming never saw this coming. The tower on legs reminds me of the old Baba Yaga story, and you know over here at The Brothers Brick we all love buildings on stilts (there seem to be a lot going around lately). The triangular base is a very nice touch to this creation. The brown color of the Bionicle parts used for the legs and the spiked vine further add to the uprooted look of the tower. Also for the category Nice Piece Usage I would like to nominate the vehicle base used as a balcony.

It’s right behind us, isn’t it?

A step into the portal should have been the beginning of an adventure on another world. Instead, it was the expedition into a nightmare. Or at least that’s what builder Bart de Dobbelaer would have you believe with his newest LEGO model.

Not only are these intrepid explorers unaware of the monstrosity behind them, but they’re also in the dark about the fabulous building job on Bart’s creation! This landscape is truly unearthly, with black spiky plants pushing their way out of the ground and forgotten stone arches pointing to dangers left and right. The monster itself is a clever use of ancient Bionicle pieces. I like the wheels around the eye sockets as a gruesome bone-like skeletal superstructure. Very frightening. Very cool.

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