There are no limits when it comes to the fantastical creations that can be created from the wide range of LEGO elements. A recent favourite of mine is Jayfa’s model of Rygas the Basilisk. The colour palette is visually striking, and the part selection is outstanding. While it might seem obvious to use a 4×7 wing piece on a bird, it’s rather ingenious to use it as the side of the belly rather that actually on the wing! When it comes to plumage being recreated, other techniques include the connection of a dinosaur tail piece to a small horn and the cacophonic positioning of Hero Factory flame elements.
However, my absolute favourite aspect of this creation is its posture, especially the feet. Not satisfied to duplicate a single design of a foot, Jayfa has designed two separate positions for the feet in a way that really brings the beast to life. It’s not just standing there, but what is it doing? Is it dancing or ready to pounce? Couple that with the look on its face, and I think anyone challenging this monster is in for a bad time.
Tag Archives: Birds
A flock of freaky feathered friends
Who is more curious, the flock of crazy LEGO birds or the bemused kitty? Whatever the answer Morlon Empire’s build has me grinning from ear to ear. Working from a single seed part, in this case a banana that doubles as a beak, he’s created an expressive feathered character. They look fabulous en masse with their necks craning at different angles. Morlon deserves a feather in his cap for creating such an amusing scene from such a simple idea and only a handful of bricks.
A bird that looks majestic in miniature
For those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere, Spring is finally here. In observance of the season, Jarema has built a small, yet elegant-looking LEGO bird returning from the tropics. It doubles as an excellent case study in how just a few parts can go a long way in modeling a subject that is instantly recognizable. Coupled with the tilted beak, black wings staggered above white wings imply we are birdwatching from beneath the clouds.
Meanwhile, the placement of each element is carefully calculated. Red crowbars make for excellent feet stretched out in flight, and the mechanical arm doubles nicely as a neck. I particularly love how the minifigure epaulette has been used to form the bird’s belly. It looks like it could hold a fish or two!
A Legendary bird of ice and snow
It’s amazing how some things never go out of style. They’re timeless. Like the Beatles, denim, and bubblegum. Underwear (thank goodness)… Harry Potter… LEGO! And Pokémon. Articuno, one of three Legendary birds, was born into the Pokémon universe in 1996 with 150 other First Generation creatures (like Pikachu, Charmander, and Squirtle), and is still popular today with Pokémon Go. This beautiful build by mk bricks is a nod to the famous bird. The layering of parts to create an icy feathered appearance is well-achieved here. It’s not all that easy to avoid making these kind of builds look blocky and repetitious, but not here! And perhaps the coolest (pun intended) part is the most obvious. The bending technique to shape the iconic tail looks great! It really could not have been better accomplished.
If you like Pokemon, also check out other articles about Oddish, Charizard, Eevee, and a build-your-own Bulbasaur.
A collection of New Zealand’s most famous birds
New Zealand has some of the most interesting fauna in the world, with many of their animals not found anywhere else in the world. While on holiday there, Patrick B. was so enamored by the birds that he decided to recreate them in LEGO. The results are lovely! This collection showcases the Kea, Pukeko, Kakapo, and the iconic Kiwi. I have to say, that last one is pretty adorable in LEGO form. Here in Seattle where I live, we have a pair of gorgeous Keas at Woodland Park Zoo. These endangered mountainous creatures are quite intelligent and always busy. They’re one of my favorite birds, and nicely done here.
Back in 2013, Thomas Poulsom also did a couple of these New Zealand birds (and a badger). And a bit more recently, we’ve featured an article about another LEGO build of the critically endangered Kakapo. It’s a parrot unlike any other in the world! Check it out, and then learn more about what you can do to help them.
Discovering the lost bird of paradise
Last year, the LEGO Group launched an Indiegogo crowdsourcing campaign for LEGO Forma. With LEGO Forma sets shipping this year, it was only a matter of time until someone incorporated the skins into a custom LEGO model. Aaron Newman took fish fins and turned them into the wings of a colorful, magical bird. If you didn’t know they were from LEGO Forma, you just might think they were made for this build.
Adding further context to the model, Aaron created a scene in which explorers discover the majestic bird. Looking at the team members, at least one can’t handle all the colors.
A graceful companion for a wizard of refined taste
The wizarding world of J. K. Rowling has been generating quite a lot of interest in the LEGO community recently, in large part thanks to the recent revival of the official Harry Potter LEGO theme. There have been many amazing creations and many contests dedicated to it (such as our own Microscale Magic contest), showing how popular the universe of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts is among LEGO fans. Revan New‘s latest creation is the winning entry to a contest on bricker.ru, the goal of which was to create a magical animal that does not exist in the books and movies, but very well could.
The builder has obviously succeeded in making an animal that looks coherent with the fantasy of J. K. Rowling’s universe, but it is much more than that. The head of the bird is an intense mix of rounded parts representing feathers and the body is full of wedge plates and slopes to get this same effect of feathers and colour patterns. A nice little detail is translucent fins used as tail feathers, giving the bird a truly magical feel. But Revan New does not stop there. He adds a little stand for his wavebird complete with velvet and a magic wand.
Take a dive into the ocean of creativity with this colorful birdy [Intructions]
You’ll never know when the next wave of creativity will hit your mind. Our good old friend, colleague, and founder of Brickset.com, Huw Millington gave rein to his imagination as he was reviewing the latest LEGO Creator polybag, 30545 Fish Free Builds. Along with an exotic fish shoal Huw even came up with a couple of fancy birds. This grumpy birdie, which has something in common with Zazu from The Lion King, has instantly captured the hearts of the Brothers Brick team.
Now, we suggest our readers to join the fun and build your own version of Huw’s bird! Here is a short building guide for you to start with, but go ahead and build it the way you like it! Put it on a branch of a tropical tree, or make it sing with its beak wide open. And don’t forget to share your creations with us!
Birds of a feather that click together
This trio of 1:10 scale avian models by Luis Peña utilise unexpected elements in some unique ways. Take for example the humble LEGO macaroni tube. Here it’s reimagined as the elegant neck of a blushing pink flamingo.
Who’s a pretty boy?
This gorgeous and extremely lifelike yellow-crested cockatoo by Timofey Tkachev shows off some expert sculpting techniques. Building a feathered friend from LEGO bricks isn’t easy, especially when you want to capture the variety of textures in its plumage. Timofey has opted for a clever counterpoint between a patchwork of angled slopes for the breast and smooth Technic panels for the wings. In addition, little highlights have been added through the use of specialist elements: a croissant, banana, dinosaur tail and others pieces are all hidden away in the model, each adding to its crisp detailed finish.
Immersed in a world of magic
I must admit that animals often catch my eye by themselves, but this immersive group of builds by Sven Franic is even better. It’s easily recognizable as Hedwig and a collection of Harry Potter’s possessions. But what impresses me the most is the exceptional attention to detail and unique use of parts. Take the ink-spill or the black hotdog wick on the candlestick, for example.
The conical hat from LEGO Ninjago sets was an excellent way to finish off the handle of the wand. Additionally, the 6-stud shooter and gold wheel were a great solution for the lamp filament. I admire the body-shaping for Hedwig, as it’s not an easy feat to produce nice feathers on a bird looking straight on, let alone from the side.
Sven is not a stranger to building birds. Back in June he produced a pretty epic toucan. You could even build your very own cuckoo clock bird using Sven’s excellent instructions!
Bricks in the hand are worth four builds of birds [Instructions]
If your LEGO city is situated by the seas, here are four complementary birds that could be residents of the local shores. Tammo S creates a few feathery friends from a lesser black-backed gull, a parrot/finch, a common redshank and a royal tern. They’re tiny enough for a quick build, so start looking in your bin of parts and give them a go! My favourite is the proud parrot – what’s yours?
