One thing that Star Wars – and especially – the prequels, for their flaws – does really well is villains. One look at Darth Maul or the Emperor and there’s no doubting which side they’re on. But really, none of them looked as villainous as the skeletal General Grievous, whose likeness has been captured by Sakiya Watanabe (N.A.B.E_mocs). In builds where the cybernetic and natural collide, texture can be a useful tool to differentiate between the two, and this is a fantastic example. Grievous’ armour is almost entirely studless. It’s wonderfully organically shaped, too – a touch of irony therein, perhaps! In contrast, his fleshy bits (for want of a better phrase) are rougher. His esophagus (I think that’s what it is) is all studded plates, while the red eyes use anti-studs to perfectly accentuate their organic nature.
Tag Archives: Busts
“You’ve got red on you.”
Monty Python may be the first thing you think of when someone says ‘British comedy’, but for sheer pop-culture points, I reckon Edgar Wright’s Cornetto trilogy is not far behind. What makes me say that? Why, Trevor Pearson‘s LEGO Shaun of the Dead bust! This is, of course, the titular Shaun, the everyman appliance salesman turned zombie fighter played by Simon Pegg. Rather than realism, Trevor has gone for more of a caricature here, and it really works well. The hair is great, both the spiky rock-piece top and pointy beard, really emphasising the shape of Shaun’s head. All that’s missing is a bloody cricket bat… Or a red Strawberry Cornetto.
Trevor seems to have ghouls and giggles on his mind this Halloween season, as we also loved his Crypt Keeper tribute.
The movie Hellraiser is always a model of pain and pleasure
In each Iron Builder competition, two world-class LEGO builders go head-to-head creating models that highlight the assigned “seed part.” The summer 2024 match-up between Maxx Davidson and Jonah Shultz, featuring the baseball bat in metallic silver, has skewed decidedly wholesome, with cute animals, milkshakes, and cozy crafting themes. For his ninth entry, Maxx captures the twisted truth that fuels this venerable contest: pain and pleasure. The agony of being chained to making models at incredible speed without getting repetitive, and the ecstasy of finding the perfect use for that devilish seed part. Pinhead, Clive Barker’s horror icon, proves the perfect canvass for no less than 40 of those metallic bats. The sculpting of Pinhead’s pale-white face is top-notch. Now that Maxx has solved the Cenobite puzzle, he must be feeling pretty good right about now.
Be careful with this beautiful black panther bust
Sometimes, good art requires patience. You may have a painting like Monet’s composed of thousands of little dots, or you might make Rubik’s cube mosaics. Or you’re Dicken Liu, and have turned a selection of LEGO bars and hinges into a beautiful black panther bust. I cannot imagine how long this must have taken to line everything up! We’ve seen similar builds in more two-dimensional mosaic form, but this is the first I can remember being a free-standing model. There’s all sorts of parts hidden within, including snakes, brooms, laser rifles, fishing rods, handlebars and more. And while I can appreciate the time this design must have taken, am I the only one who kinda wants to crush it to see how it deforms…?
Chainsaw Man: the demon-hunting lumberjack’s superhero
The best thing about Japanese anime and manga has to be how absolutely bonkers it can be. One minute you could be watching a heart-wrenching coming-of-age film that will bring you close to tears, the next you’re reading about a man with a chainsaw head and limbs who hunts demons. This beautiful madness is captured superbly in LEGO form by DeRa. Although Denji – the titular Chainsaw Man – does have saws for arms too, we’re presented with just the head here. That does mean the scale can be upped and we get the fantastic detail like the teeth and, er, teeth. It’s somewhat reminiscent of the helmets and busts we’ve had in LEGO sets for the past few years. Except a tad more eye-catching. Just a little bit.
The very merriest of un-birthdays to you!
Hats off to LEGO builder Julius von Brunk for showcasing some mad skills with this Alice in Wonderland creation. The expression here conveys the perfect level of “manic,” thanks in large part to a liberal use of curved slopes and round tiles. But of course the best feature of any madcap milliner has got to be his hat, and Julius comes through with an exquisite chartreuse chapeau! The seamless integration of the 4×6 curved double-wedge is enviable, and the trademark “10/6” on its price sticker includes the ingenious use of some minifigure accessories to replicate the black numbers.
Blackbeard was the devil incarnate
As wild and fanciful as they were, there is some truth to all those Pirates of the Caribbean movies. On Stranger Tides featured Blackbeard the Pirate as the main antagonist and, as famed LEGO builder Oliver Becker already knows, that menacing portrayal played by Ian McShane was based on a real person. Edward Teach was an English pirate known for carrying seven muskets and would light fuses in his hair before battle, surrounding him in smoke and thus giving him an otherworldly, ghostly appearance. Oliver had portrayed that nicely with this bust. With his bug eyes and jagged teeth he also looks like a particularly ravenous deep-sea angler. He’s a fiendish fellow indeed! His flagship was called “Queen Anne’s Revenge”, also showcased nicely here in miniature form.
Bringing back the classic Boba bust
While the LEGO Star Wars helmet series has been terrific, I also enjoy builds of a smaller scale accomplishing the same thing. Builder George Panteleon provides an excellent example of this scale with his classic take on Boba Fett. The dark green coloration stands out here, especially next to the bits of white and red trim. And I love the shaping, utilizing an array of slopes and curves to get the Mandalorian helmet just right. But the best detail for me has got to be the perfect use of handlebars to create the hexagonal pattern on Boba’s chest. It’s the perfect part for the job.
This LEGO bust isn’t trolling
LEGO’s given us lots of science fiction busts of Stormtroopers and comic book characters, but how about a fantasy creature? This amazing sculpture by Ghalad is epically awesome and exactly the sort of crazy fantasy sculpture I’d love to build. From the impressive tusks to the teal warpaint, the model is expertly realized, and the large plinth with a skull and crossbones just sets the mood. It’s also possibly the best use of the 1×1 tooth plates that I’ve ever seen–they’re being used as the teeth, but the scale feels spot on to give this troll a disdainful growl.
General Ko-nobi! You are a bold one.
Dan Ko has been bold enough to create a bust of everyone’s favourite rheumatic cyborg. Much like Darth Maul, General Grievous is one of those villains that just oozes evil but was perhaps under-used on the big screen. Nevertheless, Dan has perfectly captured the essence of Grievous. The combination of the reptilian eyes with those wedge slopes is so perfect! The lightsabers that he famously collects (General Grievous, that is, not Dan) around the base are also a nice touch. Even villains need a hobby, I suppose. I guess it’s more exciting than collecting stamps.
“Compared To Clouseau, Attila The Hun Was A Red Cross Volunteer!”
I wasn’t prepared for the rush of memories evoked by this sharp Inspector Clouseau bust built by Rickard Stensby. As a kid, my dad was fully committed to making sure I was exposed to all kinds of great comedy. I think it’s the strongest bond we share, even now that we live on opposite sides of the US. So to see this build, with finely-trimmed mustache and trademark trilby hat, I was immediately transported back 20 or so years to when we watched Return of the Pink Panther together, and how dazzled I was by the brilliant character acting of Peter Sellers. Rickard captures the Inspector’s perplexed look perfectly here through the expert application of tan curves and slopes. And I don’t understand why the clerk at the front desk doesn’t understand him. Clouseau clearly asked for a “rewm!”
Ghalad Grommash the Bust
Much like orcs, some builders get attention by just existing. While Orcs face any number of judgments about their character and culture due to their appearance, builders like Steven Howard garner a fandom by making intensely detailed models. A spaceship and figure crafting legend, Steven is an accomplished builder with a seeming ability to perfectly render his ideas into LEGO models. This bust, loosely based on Grommash Hellscream from World of Warcraft, is somewhat of a first for Steven, since he usually crafts full bodies for his characters too. Not that he doesn’t plan on trying to build one eventually, once he can get ahold of all the parts. After all, this orc’s head is not small by any since. I’d wager this whole build is probably bigger than the upcoming Mighty Bowser and it packs a bigger visual punch to show it.