Tag Archives: Birds

A beautiful pair of red-crowned cranes

If you’ve never seen a red-crowned crane, they are certainly a site to behold. Standing at 5 feet (1.5 meters) tall, with a wingspan of 7-8 feet, and weighing up to 25 Lbs (over 11 Kg), these endangered creatures are among the largest birds in the world. Their mating dance is also incredible! Native to East Asia, the sacred cranes have significant symbolism in Japanese tradition. They represent luck, longevity, and fidelity, and they often show up in art, like this elegant diorama by ggwingx.

The background and base are a perfect tribute to the homeland of these beautiful animals. But what really stands out is the terrific use of those white clamshells, and black and white feather pieces to really give them dimension. The legs, necks, and heads are also clever. Altogether it’s a great use of simple parts to make something that truly embodies the gracefulness of these creatures.

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TBB cover photo: April 2018

Spring is for the birds. Helping usher in spring for TBB’s cover photo this month is Gregory Coquelz’s excellent rendition of Pixar’s For the Birds that we featured back in February. Each time you visit us on our social pages, you can imagine the endless chatter of birds on an electric cable. Or, it might be the birds outside your window. We’ll leave that up to you to figure out.

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There cannot be two birds — on a one bird cable

Inspired by the Pixar short For the Birds, Gregory Coquelz has built this faithful recreation of the film’s unfriendly birds. The build captures the expression and character perfectly, thanks to minifig helmets used as eyelids and curved slopes as beaks. The addition of the electrical line and the slight gradient in the background make it almost like watching the cartoon.

A cuckoo clock so good it will drive you mad [Instructions]

If you’ve ever wanted for a masterfully crafted LEGO timepiece, Sven Franic has you covered with this immaculate cuckoo clock created for an exhibition contest. Sven will be displaying this in the LEGO House as part of the celebration of the 60th birthday of the LEGO brick. The hands point to the exact time when the patent for the LEGO brick was registered.

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Flitting hither and thither, the fantail always appears in a dither

The New Zealand fantail, or pīwakawaka in Te Reo (the language of the native Maori), is one of the cheekiest little birds you will ever meet. Beautifully recreated in LEGO by BrickMonkey MOCs, the fantail is known for its friendly ‘cheet cheet’ call and energetic flying antics. Smaller than a house sparrow, these audacious little guys flit around twittering and swooping within centimetres of your head if you find yourself outdoors in the native bush. The aptly named fantail is one of the most common and widely distributed native birds on the New Zealand mainland.

Somewhere over Australia, rainbow birds fly

The Rainbow Lorikeet is a species of parrot found in Australia — unmistakable with its bright red beak and colourful plumage. Gabriel Thomson has built this fantastic LEGO rendition, complete with a tree branch to perch upon, and a little avian friend, a Superb Wren. I love the bright blue plumage of the Wren, a display of colour designed to attract the ladies in real life. Both birds have been well-shaped to give an accurate, natural appearance — no mean feat with plastic bricks instead of feathers.

If you want to see this model ‘in the brick’, it is on display in LEGO House — the new LEGO experience over in Billund, Denmark.

Over the fields an eerie sound, as we hear the black birds cry

Crows are often attributed ominous and intimidating characteristics, but interestingly enough, this one by John Cheng would have none of that. While the head seems a bit large, the beak leaves no question as to what bird this build represents. John uses just enough specialized parts to give a clever build, while still incorporating lots of more traditional slopes. For a seemingly simple creation, the builder has achieved plenty of character and realism.

The chirping of the birds, announcing spring

I am not sure whether Geneva Durandlives in the southern hemisphere or not, but spring is starting for some people out there and this creation of a mother bird feeding its baby definitely captures the feelings of the season.

Geneva says the bird is some sort of lark, but she could not get the colours of the feathers accurate enough. There are some interesting part usages in the baby bird, but even more so the elephant tail/trunk pieces used as the nest (a requirement for the ABS building contest, for which this creation was built). I have mixed feelings about the tree though. On one hand, the leaves are, understandably, not perfect and the textures may be a bit too intense. On the other hand though, the very idea of building a segment of a tree in 1:1 scale and the complex shaping and angles involved are very impressive.

A LEGO scarlet macaw is within your clutch [Instructions]

Although the scarlet macaw is native to the humid evergreen forests of tropical South America, you may wish to take this opportunity to have your own as a desktop pet. There are definite advantages to owning the LEGO version designed by British builder Alan Mann; it will be a low maintenance and looks pretty without requiring too much grooming or feeding.

Alan has also provided an opportunity to enjoy the scarlet macaw in its natural habitat. The wild, open space of the forest is a much better place to see a real macaw, but your LEGO macaw will regress into a statue-like state and refuse to fly if released into the wild.

The coolest California condor I’ve ever seen

Living in southern California, I hear a lot about the California condor during my frequent visits to the San Diego Zoo and Safari Park. And rightly so, because in 1987 condors went extinct in the wild, with only twenty-two individuals remaining in captivity. With the help of the LA Zoo, these three institutions bred the condors in captivity and reintroduced them into the wild. Now their combined population is over 440. Aaron Newman has built a deceptively small version of the condor in LEGO bricks, and the result is wonderful.

The model makes perfect usage of the minifig fan piece, the seed part for the current round of the ABS Builder Challenge, along with many other assorted spike parts, and minifigure katanas.

Sweet, sweet nectar of the gods

Break out the red sugar water, because Forlorn Empire built the perfect bird feeder to attract every LEGO hummingbird in your neighborhood straight to your backyard! Not only does this tiny hanging feeder look just like the real thing, but it’s packed full of some incredible NPU including minifig components (hands and arms), buckets, and the perfect fake plastic yellow “flower” to show the birdos where to sip while they hover.

An exotic bird of a heavenly blue colour

There seems to be a persisting presence of bird builds in the LEGO community, more so than other animals. Now Paul Lee joins the fun with his recreation of a Hyacinth Macaw. It is one of my favourite kinds of parrots personally, but I never expected it to be the bird of choice for nearly anyone else. While the legs are simplistic (still realistic), the facial detail and feather texture more than make up for it.