Tag Archives: Bugs

A beetle with a bit of style

Japanese tiger beetles are one of the coolest bugs on the planet. Not only is this epic predator shrouded in a rainbow, but it also sprints the equivalent of a human ultramarathon every day. It’s one of the fastest-running critters out there. I certainly wouldn’t want to mess with those mandibles either. Takamichi Irie is known for his exceptional LEGO beetles, and this is one of his best. The body shape and mosaic-like exoskeleton really make it stand out and come to life.

Takamichi’s unique style involves the use of loads of minifigure hands. You have to wonder how he gets them. Does he have a hundred poor minifigs without hands, or does he get them in bulk? Maybe our past interview with him will shed a little light on his work.

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Spaceship or space slug?

As September comes to a close, I’m always amazed at what amazing new designs space builders can come up with. And while Ivan Martynov’s Larva Carrier is a digital model, it is still an impressive creation.

Spaceships offer so much for an inventive builder. The thought of an organic carrier type ship launching spacefaring larvae is equal parts wacky, creepy, and creative. The chosen colour scheme works great: dark tan and olive green seem totally grubby to me compared to the cleaner tan and gold of less organic parts of the ship. The giant worm on the bottom of the ship tie the concept together, but also makes me wonder if that’s some sort of queen space bug, and she lays eggs that hatch into the larvae that get launched?

Sleep tight, and don’t let the bed bugs bite

If you don’t really think about it, the nursery rhyme is harmless enough. But if you stop for a second to ponder, or maybe say it in a less sweet, sing-song tone, it becomes the stuff of nightmares. What if they really did come to bite in the middle of the night? And perhaps, as is the case with this poor fellow built by Water Snap, what if the bite mutates you? We’re not talking Spiderman here! I’m thinking more along the lines of The Metamorphosis, which the builder confirms in his description quoting protagonist Gregor Samsa. Yikes… But I digress. This giant LEGO bug employs some nice parts usage, and shaping. I particularly like the way it looks as if it’s sitting up in the bed, observing its altered limbs for the first time.

If you’d like to see more crawly critters, check out our insect archives.

Big ‘wig

One of the most prolific LEGO bug builders, Takamichi Irie, has presented us with another of his crawly critters. Now, even though I work with animals for a living and don’t mind the creatures that typically freak out other people, earwigs are not my favorite. There’s just something about how fast, erratic, and alien they are. And even though those pincers can’t really hurt a human, I’d rather not give them the chance.

Fun fact: earwigs do not crawl in your ears at night to lay their eggs; that’s just a myth. Their name is actually derived from the fact that their teeny tiny wings are shaped like human ears. YES, wings. It is extremely rare, but they can indeed fly. Nope, nope, double nope.

You can read our interview with Takamichi to learn more about how he builds his various creatures (not just bugs) and other epic creations.

All aboard the scuttle bus

Can lots of legs get you there faster? One species of centipede is nicknamed the cheetah of the desert, so maybe. I’d like to think that if I had a whole bunch of legs I could rest some while using the others, like the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland. Well this LEGO myriapod, built by Vince Toulouse, doesn’t really have that option. Its 36 pairs of Insectoid legs have places to go and people to carry!

To see more creatures with many legs, check out this this little cutie, or this centipede mech. For the bravest, take a look at a mech from your nightmares.

Connect the dots

The best LEGO builds are the ones that look the easiest. Sure, this ladybug by Pistash seems straightforward. There’s “generic” nice part usage like Maleficent hair for the mandibles, and balloon panels for the body. Very nice, but not particularly tricky. And then you notice those spots. Are they glued on? That doesn’t seem like a legal connection method… No, wait. Is that a little bit of exposed string? Those radar dishes are tied on! That’s the sort of lateral thinking that really highlights a creative build.

Springboard your adventure in this mechanical grasshopper

Hop around! Hop around! Hop up and up, and get down! In devising solutions for building robots, it’s sometimes best to start with examples found in nature. When Moko set out to build his latest LEGO mech, he looked to the springy grasshopper. Moko’s model is both an excellent representation of the insect and has just enough metallic bits to make it feel mechanical. Hopping power is provided by the legs’ robust hydraulic system, while the black pistol feet likely give it the ability to stick to nearly any surface.

Weird Galidor bugs lurk in the dark

Psst–Hello? Are you awake? So, I don’t want to alarm you or anything but Ben Tritschler just built this creepy crawler he calls Beast of the Dark 2. It has wings, antennae, crazy spines, and teeth like from one of those alien predator movies. Ben says it is venomous and hungry. Oh, and it totally makes use of a Galidor Ooni head, so…yeah. Make use of that information however you see fit. Like, who knows what other forms of weirdness lurks around here in the dark, right? The title “Beast of the Dark 2” implies there might be more than one of them. Like maybe a whole swarm? Well, anyway, I’m sure it’s no big deal. Forget I mentioned it. Go back to sleep. Good night.

This Collection Will Make Your Skin Crawl!!!

Afraid of bugs? Well, Sean and Steph Mayo aka Siercon and Coral have built some spectacular insects and you don’t have to worry about them crawling all over you. And, if you are not freaked out, check out the great building techniques used to create the superb detail in these creations.

There are 10 total and each with amazing detail. Check out their photo set to see them all.

LEGO entomology

I’m more into etymology than entomology, but I can still appreciate these lovely bugs by Peter Fendrik (pupipupi).

Check out the full photoset on Flickr for shots of the individual bugs in their beautiful black boxes. (This last sentence was brought to you by the letter B.)

Via The Living Brick.

Walking stick battle bug

The battle bugs theme has spawned some unique insect-based mechas. This stick insect inspired battle bug by Jordan Schwartz is among one of the more novel species in its class. The creation is as fragile as it looks, and I’m afraid it may collapse if I stare too hard at it. Nevertheless it is armed with three ventral rockets and one on the tail.

Ant

A very small insect, megasized by Jerac:

Take a closer look, if you’re not an insectophobe, and note the lovely antennae and the construction techniques Jerac used on the feet. Very nice.

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