Tag Archives: Biocup

The Bio-Cup is one of the most popular building competitions in the LEGO community. This annual fan-run event focuses on builds that utilize Bionicle and Constraction elements.

All the best LEGO themes are found underground

What’s better than a LEGO build that evokes nostalgia for a past theme? A LEGO build that evokes nostalgia for two past themes! Flickr user Student Scissors submitted this creation in the Bio-Cup competition. As the name suggests, this competition uses parts from the Bionicle theme. That box is ticked here: there are plenty of ball joints, and what looks like a Kanohi mask on the figure on the right. But the minecart full of power crystals, the teal-yellow-brown-dark-grey colour combo, and that massive chrome drill… That sounds like Rock Raiders to me! Although come to think of it, the colour scheme of the bat (lime green with blue and orange highlights) is reminiscent of the Power Miners theme from 2009. So that’s actually three awesome themes from yesteryear in one!

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A fin-tastic knight of the sea

Take a trip with us down into the sea where we find a noble seahorse on a knightly quest in this wonderful LEGO scene by Mohamed Marei. Built for the Bio-Cup saltwater biome theme, the scene shows off the creativity of a great builder. The bright colors contrast nicely against the bronze look of the seahorse knight, bringing our attention to the central figure. Floating above the knight is an exquisite jellyfish, using an array of transparent pieces well. The framing of the scene is fluid and I can’t stop looking at it! As is intended in the Bio-Cup, this is one of those builds that pushes the use of LEGO as a medium to new levels. Also, can we acknowledge how nice the use of the stud shooter is for the mouth of the seahorse? It’s like it was meant for such a use all along.

Bartering in Bionicle

If it wasn’t clear from my past posts on Eero Okkonen, I am a huge fan of his LEGO character designs. But he’s really outdone himself with this entry into Round 1 of the 2023 Bio-Cup. Depicting a pair of traveling merchants and their packbeast, the trio immediately reminds me of the Jawas roving over the deserts of Tatooine in Star Wars. And despite their different coloration, I love the clear anatomical link between the two traders in the general shapes of their arms and legs. But nothing can beat the gaping maw of their companion, fashioned from a pair of Skirmix heads.

The majesty of the Biocup

We get through all sorts of superlatives to describe LEGO builds here at The Brothers Brick, but there’s surely only one way to describe MySnailEatsPizza‘s Children of the Mountain: majestic. Isn’t it just? It’s reminiscent of the way monarchs were painted in the middle ages. The framing coupled with the forced perspective mountains make this look truly epic. We don’t know who this character is, or what their purpose is, or where they’re going; but that’s not necessary. All we know is that they’re doing it in style.

How Anomalocaris, Opabinia, and the Cambrian Explosion changed my life

The broad range of wonderful LEGO creations built for events like the annual BioCup often spark odd memories of my own life experiences. This beautiful Anomalocaris by Care Creations reminded me of Stephen Jay Gould’s 1989 book Wonderful Life, which first introduced me to the panoply of fantastic lifeforms that emerged during the Cambrian Explosion over half a billion years ago. The book changed my view of how life emerged and evolved on our planet, as well as how scientific understanding itself evolves — both mind-blowing to a young missionary kid. One of the strengths of Bionicle is the system’s ability to reproduce organic shapes, enabling talented builders to create much more than Toa.

I love the minifigure hands on the ends of Anomalocaris’ tentacles, as well as all the smaller creatures the builder has included to give the impression of the early arthropod in its natural habitat.

If you enjoyed this ancient sea creature as much as I did, you’ll love these other Cambrian creatures, as well as this beautiful LEGO ammonite (though of course ammonites emerged about a hundred million years later).

The Maestro is ready to drop some ‘bows

While I haven’t been plotting any LEGO villainy in the opening round of this year’s Bio-Cup, I have been working with brown Bionicle bits as of late for my own malicious machinations. So let me tell you, Ted Andes was employing quite the limited part palette when he took on a violin-themed evil-doer, Il Maestro Di Violino. The shape he’s managed here is excellent, and the incorporation of the Kakama Kanohi mask is perfect. For a “last minute entry,” this feels like a well-planned symphony of parts. It immediately conveys “violin” and “villain” with just one glance.

A platypus? A... LEGO platypus?

*gasp* PERRY the LEGO platypus?! That’s right, the intrepid Agent P and his erstwhile nemesis Dr. Doofenshmirtz are the subject of Tino Poutiainen‘s latest build. The devious doctor’s latest scheme is taking aim at the LEGO Character and Creature Building System (CCBS) line! This machine, dubbed the Systeminator, will reduce all your glorious Bionicle and Hero Factory pieces to mere studs. Poor Perry here is the first victim. Is this how Tino is planning to eliminate the competition in the 2023 Bio-Cup, for which this is built? Is that even legal? I’m not sure the regulations accounted for this eventuality. Can we get a ruling on this? Like, quickly? Perry’s in danger!

A villain who’s darkest when alight

Each year, the Bio-Cup competition brings forth some of them most inspired LEGO character creations in the business. Case in point, check out the Ghostlight Sovereign by Eann (Miscellanabuilds). Looking like some kind of Lumiere from the Mirror Universe, this waxen wight elicits some superb spookiness from the eerie blue glow of its candles. The real work done in this build doesn’t come from any part made of plastic, though. The use of LEGO-official cloth pieces, whether in the cape adding volume to the figure or the tattered rags in place of legs, somehow simultaneously add and subtract “weight” from the Sovereign, showing it to be of two worlds.

And if you’d like to see more from Bio-Cups of yesteryear, you can check them out in our archives.

An upgrade every computer should have.

When a program on your PC stops responding, there’s only one hero who can save the day: The Task Manager. Ivan Martynov has personified the Task Manager in battle against a monstrous glitch in this fantastic Bio-Cup entry. The scene works especially well thanks to a terrific trio of pop-up browser windows, which the bug is crawling through. The full build is an action-packed reminder to save your work often.

A hero in danger needs to maintain perspective

The insect-themed Captain Flywing tries to evade the terrifying tongue of Mr. Tad the Toad in a comic cover-worthy LEGO build by Nikita Nikolsky. The dramatic perspective achieved in this shot is due not just to the angle of the photograph, but the size certain elements were built at. Captain Flywing’s head and left hand are built to a larger scale than his right hand or his legs. But when viewed from the proper angle, it creates the illusion of a perfectly proportioned crime fighter in a dynamic action shot.

The bloodcurdling Bloodsmith is bloody brilliant.

I’ve learned so much about the cardiovascular system lately. First it turns out that oxygen is hauled around by tiny men on motorbikes, and now buttloaf_builds reveals where blood comes from – the Bloodsmith! This Bio-Cup entry makes extra eerie use of minifigure crowbars as spindly fingers on his four hands. And the golden tubing gives just the right pop of color without distracting from the deadly red and black. This is definitely a science lesson that’s gonna keep me up at night.

In order to finish first, you first must finish (building)

Calling a build for a contest ‘First Place’ could be seen as a tad arrogant. But I think we can let it slide in Vohdoff‘s case given the quality of this latest Bio-Cup effort. It’s a build so smooth I had to triple-check it was indeed made of Bionicle pieces, let alone regular LEGO! All the panels are so seamlessly blended – I bet this thing cuts through the air like butter. The bike itself is very Akira-esque. It bears a resemblance to modern high-performance motorcycles you might see on the road, but there are just enough unusual elements to give it a near-future sci-fi aesthetic. The same could be said for the rider in their chunky leathers. Take the head, for instance: it comes from a K-2SO buildable figure, which could imply a mechanical pilot. But it looks just human enough that it could equally be a futuristic helmet suitable for high-speed riding. Either way, they have good taste in machinery!