LEGO builder Sandro Quattrini has been knocking it out of the park with their character builds of late (check out our Sandro Quattrini archives). The newest addition to the roster is a heroic-looking black panther, although this one hails from Rome rather than Wakanda. I guess technically that means we should use its Latin name, Panthera Pardus. For a static build, it’s phenomenally dynamic thanks to the aggressive stance, roaring head, and the swaying belt tassels. (Tassels doesn’t feel like the right word for something so militaristic… Reader, answers on a postcard if you know the proper name!) These use microphones and dumbbell weights for the detailing, and this centurion’s equipment features plenty more clever highlights. The shield makes use of a Ninjago hat and — perhaps ironically — swords, while the armour chestplate is broken up with a Speed Champions hubcap and minifigure shields. Armour with shields on it? Nothing is getting through that!

If we’re going to talk about clever parts use, though, we need to talk about that head. The shaping is simply stunning! There’s loads to enjoy here, but I do like the solution for the ears, which involves a tyre squeezed over a headpiece from a Star Wars battle pack. Alongside the mean eyes and those fearsome jaws, it gives this particular panther heaps of personality.