Tag Archives: Bust

This LEGO troll means serious business

Is it a coincidence that Steven Wayne Howard shared this spectacular LEGO troll bust on the same day that World of Warcraft unleashed The War Within? Even though Steven isn’t a WoW player, his Day-Glo-colored troll, Ves’Panak, has so much personality that it has me itching to roll a new Zandalari Troll of my own. Steven was inspired to create this troll in light royal blue after acquiring a copy of LEGO Creator Expert 10298 Vespa 125, and only parts from that set are used for the blue skin. NPU (Nice Parts Usage) abounds throughout the build, from the dragon wing mohawk, dino tail tusks, frog teeth, and Banshee wing torso. My favorite element has to be the dark grey skulls, accented with orange eyes, teeth, and tusks. Ves'Panak Troll Bust

This isn’t Steven’s first Horde-inspired fantasy bust, and hopefully, it won’t be his last. Perhaps a Tauren next?

Look to the skies and you might spy a dragon

Dragons are always cool, especially when they hang out at high altitudes among the clouds. Andreas Lenander delivers a LEGO bust of a bright red dragon with beautiful details and colors. He uses curving slopes to give the dragon the appearance of scales. You can see this to great effect on the dragon’s throat where the slopes serve this purpose most expertly. There’s some good use of gold pieces to give the dragon a regal look, especially on the whiskers! Because of the clever use of curving pieces, the whole build has a nice flow, like the wind is blowing past the dragon. The cloud base itself has some nice curvy lines to it, giving it a fluffy sort of appearance. You can take a closer look at this build by checking out the video Andreas released for it. He gives some of his own insights, while showing the build from different angles.

Sky dragon

Do not be alarmed. This is only a (man)drill.

LEGO builder Dan Ko has been producing a lot of small stuff lately but we’ve clearly been mighty impressed, by golly! He takes a couple of blue bike helmets, a red lightsaber handle, a Minifigure beard and a few other pieces to cleverly construct this mandrill bust. There is so much character and expression for such a small build. It’s part of what makes Dan’s work so impressive. This is only a LEGO mandrill but I’d still advise not to make eye contact, just in case. While trying to keep peace with this primate, you ought to back away (very slowly, and for the love of God, don’t show your teeth!) and check out the myriad of other neat little things Dan Ko has built lately.

Monkey business

This Hades bust from Disney’s Hercules goes the distance!

Inaccuracies aside, I absolutely adore the Greek mythology/gospel mashup that is Disney’s Hercules! And NS Brick Designs wows us with this LEGO bust of Hades, the movie’s big baddie. The use of slopes here is excellent, giving the character an appropriate gaunt look. And the god’s fiery hair is an exquisite mess of transparent orange. I love the use of the molded skull piece as the clip on his toga – a great touch often overlooked on the character. And finishing it up with the beautiful pop of yellow from the immortal’s brilliant eyes, I can almost hear James Woods’s voice screaming at me about wearing Herc’s merchandise.

Hades Says He's Fine

Rickard Söderberg hits all the right notes

A very talented LEGO builder by the name of Rickard Stensby finds inspiration in his own name. Well at least his first name, anyway. Meet Rickard Söderberg. Truth be told, I had to Wiki this one but he’s a famous Swedish opera singer and LGBTQ activist. Rickard (the LEGO builder) captures complex facial expressions quite well. I mean, just look at the tilt of Rickard’s (the opera singer) head and that mouth agape. I can almost hear him belting out notes the rest of us can only dream of. He looks ultra-fabulous with his great hair, earings and makeup. I just love those false lashes! Check out why we think Rickard (the LEGO builder) is one of the most expressive builders we know. This might be the best thing I’ve seen all day and I’ve seen a skater kid brag about how awesome he is, then go on to credit-card his gooch anyway.

Rickard Sjöberg

Beware the servants of the Goblin King

Busts have become ever-popular, and with them have come a wealth of fun ideas. Builders trying their hand at sculpting a character’s features with bricks are forced to try new things and innovate. This Goblin bust by builder Jnj_bricks was such a foray that was definitely successful. Texturing really helped this character come through, from the spikey, short hair to the boats used in his jacket. The knobbly, green skin translates well as a Goblin, as do the bright orange eyes which hold a mischievous light. The gold earrings and jutting jaw with sharp teeth add that extra bit of character emblematic of this trickster species in lore, old and new.

The Goblin

Quite a few techniques were used to achieve all the interesting angles and textures of this build. Though Jnj_bricks says this is a very different style for him, it’s clear it wasn’t too far out of his range.

A long, long time ago in Modesto, California a legend was born

I’ll admit a great deal of our bread and butter comes from LEGO Star Wars creations or sets. Or so they tell me. No one handed me any actual bread or butter but I hear it somehow greases the wheels of how this whole The Brothers Brick shindig works and it’s because y’all love Star Wars so much. It all started with George Lucas who inspired two or three generations while also creating Jar-Jar Binks and Watto. No one is perfect. This LEGO bust by Jannis Mavrostomos is pretty perfect, however. The resemblance to the legendary filmmaker is uncanny. The nose, ears, lips, glasses, even the checkered shirt and collar make use of some nifty parts and build techniques. A quick perusal through our archives proves Jannis is an up-and-coming builder we should be on the lookout for.

Beelzebub says never mind the bollocks

What happens when you’re a demon from Hades but still love Dead Kennedys, The Buzzcocks, and The Sex Pistols? Well, that makes you a punk rock devil and that is precisely what Steven Wayne Howard has built with LEGO. The eyes are eyeball-printed minifigure heads situated within space helmets and are bricked upsidedown. It makes for some great expressions! This builder has dazzled us before with some neat build techniques including one recently. Check out what I mean in our archives.

Punk Rock Devil

I like Pinocchio and I can not lie

Actually, I lied a little but I don’t feel my nose growing just yet so I think I’m in the clear. If I were to rank the things I like I would have to concur with Sir Mix-a-Lot and place my affinity for big butts in a tier higher than that of Pinocchio. But, BUTT still this LEGO Pinocchio bust (not butt) by Rokan Cheung is (you other brothers can’t deny) pretty legit. His little pal Jimminy Cricket has got it going on, too. I like it enough to at least check out what else Rokan has done and I’m pretty impressed, I must say. Here’s a few other busts we featured earlier including a Toy Story pair by this same builder.

Pinocchio in LEGO Helmet style!!

THIS IS SPAAAAAARTA!!!!!!!!

I’m normally a stickler for proper grammar and punctuation but as anyone giving away a box of old shoes on Craiglist can attest, sometimes you really gotta yell to get your point across. That means all-caps and lots of exclaimation points. You can forgive my yelling when it comes to this LEGO Leonidas of Sparta bust built by George Panteleon. Any mention of Leonidas or Sparta pretty much brings out the wrestling voice in everyone. George’s LEGO building skills are worthy of all the excitement anyway. Click here to see what I mean. If after that you’re not climbing to the top of Mt. Olypmus and yelling the praises of George’s skills then maybe, just maybe, you don’t have a pulse.

Leonidas of Sparta

This LEGO Donald Duck hides a full Disney recording studio

Donald Duck, Disney’s angry but lovable waterfowl, may be a bit in the shadow of Mickey Mouse, but he’s still got plenty of fans, such as LEGO builder Ian Hou. Ian’s latest build is a huge bust of Donald sporting his iconic sailor’s uniform and cap, and it’s a lovely bit of building to get the duck’s shape down so well, even including a slight coloration to Donald’s eyes thanks to some carefully chosen aqua elements.

nEO_IMG_DOGOD_Donald_05

But turn the bust around and you’ll discover that Donald’s got a secret: a full recording studio for Disney voice actor Clarance Charles “Ducky” Nash, who voiced the duck’s mad rantings. It’s quite a feat to fit such a lovely detailed interior inside Donald’s head without compromising his looks!

nEO_IMG_DOGOD_Donald_004

Relax. On this slime pool, everybody’s an outlaw.

The wealth of characters from the Star Wars universe is almost never-ending and fans of the animated series are sure to recognize this infamous villain. An icon of the Clone Wars series, Cad Bane proved a formidable foe to Obi-wan and Anakin on a multitude of occasions. Respected by fellow bounty hunters and often employed by the Sith, this rough and tough fighter knew his way through the galaxy from the swamps of Nal Hutta to the underbelly of Coruscant. Immortalized here in brick form by Magnus W, this digital build uses some clever parts usage to achieve an uncanny likeness of Bane. Stand-out pieces are the pirate hats on either side of his chest as well as the Minifigure hoods used as his shoulders. Hinged bricks, angled slope tiles, and modified plates make up most of his jacket. The blue Magnus used in Bane’s face perfectly contrasts with the bright red eyes peeking out from the shadow of his iconic broad-rimmed hat. The satisfying color blocking does well mimicking the character’s design.

Cad Bane Bust

The rear of the bust holds a few extra details and reveals how the head was modeled. A mix of modified bars, hinges, and inverted plates allowed Magnus to attach Bane’s eyes and hat to the inverted pieces in his neck, jaw, and nose. The hose attached to the angled bars with studs not only works perfectly as his breathing apparatus but also forms the core of the connection between the top and bottom of his head. The bricks laid on their sides for the base are also a satisfying way to mount this fantastic bust.

Cad Bane Bust (Back)

Though much smaller than the helmet busts the LEGO Group released in the last year or so this model would still make a great addition to any LEGO Star Wars collection.