Tag Archives: Canada

Nova Scotia’s beloved Bluenose in LEGO

No boat has stirred a nation’s pride like Canada’s Bluenose. Built in 1921, the Nova Scotia-based fishing and racing schooner won the International Fisherman’s Cup in its maiden year, and 17 years later came out of retirement to win its last-ever competition in a nailbiter of a grudge match. Builder Moptoptrevpays tribute with a detailed model in LEGO of the ship, or rather its replica successor, the Bluenose II, which sails to this day as Nova Scotia’s ambassador of the seas. moptoptrev does a great job shaping the schooner’s hull in dark red and matching the original’s rigging.

Lego Bluenose

It’s a lovely ship – no wonder it inspired “Canada’s finest stamp” — also commemorated in LEGO!

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Collecting Canada’s finest stamp

LEGO builder Philippe Moisan demonstrates some serious mosaic chops with the Canadian Bluenose postage stamp. If you see one of these affixed to your post, you can consider yourself lucky. The stamp was first issued in 1929 and depicts a fishing schooner called Bluenose. It has been called “Canada’s Finest Stamp” and is a favorite among collectors. One individual stamp can garner quite a bit of money but a complete sheet of 100 had auctioned for for US $52,580 in 2017! Even barring its history and value, this LEGO mosaic is chock full of exquisite detail and textures evoking the hand-painted blue tiles popular in many Mediterranean countries. It was built for a contest going on over at QuéLUG, making it a lovely Canadian creation indeed.

Bluenose stamp

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Couple of hosers here, eh?

Good day, and welcome to the Great White North! Here we’ve got a beautiful LEGO BrickHeadz build by Josephine Monterosso featuring our favorite fictional Canadian brothers, Bob and Doug McKenzie. Played by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas respectively, the duo were featured on the Canadian SCTV in the 80’s, as well as the feature film Strange Brew. And Josephine does a great job of recreating their countenances in this blocky medium. I love the 1×2 jumper plate used for their mouths, locked in a heated discussion about long underwear and back bacon. Then there’s the ingenious use of the minifig pom-pom for the top of Doug’s tuque, and tires as his earmuffs. But my absolute favorite detail has to be the angled plates used for their jacket collars! It’s so fitting given Brickheadz dimensions. And, well, if you disagree, you can take off, eh!

Brickheadz - Bob and Doug McKenzie - Strange Brew (1983)

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Destroy the environment with more efficiency, eh

LEGO builder Titolian brings you the formidable LumberMech M-3000. In his own words, this mech is “the finest piece of logging equipment to ever come from the forestry mechsperts of Northern Canada, this behemoth comes equipped with every tool needed to level acres upon acres of natural beauty. Its innovative internal engine runs entirely on maple syrup, making it one of the first tools that actively destroys its own fuel source. We didn’t think that one through…” Thankfully this would be the first and only time anyone has thought up a short-sighted solution to a difficult problem in the history of the world so we should be in the clear, right? It’s easy to forgive clearcutting on such a colossal scale when it’s done in an awesome plaid shirt. I mean, look at it! I’m smitten! We’ve been charmed by this builder’s work before. Check out what I mean here.

The LumberMech M-3000

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O Canada

Your hair and shoes look fabulous and you have just the perfect ensemble for a night on the town, but what can a Canadian-Italian girl do to accessorize? Thankfully Deborah Higdon has your solution with this LEGO-made purse. The clasp and even the strap are all LEGO elements. The Canadian maple leaf design is blazoned on one side while the Italian flag adorns the other. Both flags are comprised of 1 x 1 round tiles that can be changed out to go with any event, in this case Italian culture week.

2019 - lego canada/italy purse

Still need your ensemble for that special gala night? Deborah has you covered there with this totally wearable LEGO dress. She uses a technique she calls “Fa-brick” to make all her wearable LEGO creations. In an adult builder’s world heavily laden with castles, mechs and spaceships, it is refreshing to see someone rewrite the rules for what LEGO can be.

2017 - lego canada day dress and purse

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BrickCan 2019, Canada’s largest LEGO exhibition, is this weekend in Vancouver [News]

Canada’s largest and premier LEGO exhibition, BrickCan, is coming to Vancouver, British Columbia this weekend, May 4 – 5. Builders from all over the world will gather at the River Rock Theater to showcase hundreds of amazing LEGO creations. There will be activities for kids of all ages including play areas, prizes, and food, and they can even help create a giant LEGO mosaic. Vendors will also be selling minifigures, rare LEGO sets, LEGO-themed jewelry, custom gifts, and more. 

Tickets are $15 each (kids 3 and under are free) and are available online. The show floor is open for 2-hour time blocks throughout each day, and tickets have sold out in the past so you will want to get your tickets ahead of time.

Last year, Sarah von Innerebner won BrickCan’s People’s Choice award with her stunning library from Disney’s Beauty & The Beast that we featured on The Brother Brick. What will win at the show this weekend? Come to BrickCan and vote yourself to help chose the winning creation.

The Brothers Brick a proud sponsor of BrickCan. 

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Perpetually skiing through the Canadian snow [Video]

There are certain building styles you can spot miles away; maybe even… Cross Country? With every creation it becomes more and more clear that Jason and Krystal of JK Brickworks are the king and queen of kinetic sculptures. Jason’s latest model, this Canadian Cross Country Skier, uses slightly similar techniques to past builds, like Sisyphus, but is still unique. This time we have a really interesting crank-shaft mechanism providing natural movement.

As always, this build is mesmerizing, polished, and genius. Personally, I’m quite jealous of Jason’s ability to see just how to make things move so smoothly. Anyone who has tried to build similar sculptures knows it’s not that easy. And even though I’m sure there were a few iterations, this outcome is a sure medal winner. Check out the video to see just how it’s done!

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Build your own city of tomorrow

Who hasn’t taken LEGO to school in their lunchbox before? Simon Liu received a cool Build your city of Tomorrow lunchbox as part of LEGO Canada’s celebration of Canada’s 150th birthday. Simon was then inspired to build his futuristic version of Toronto inside the lunchbox! I love that future microscale Toronto features plenty of greenery throughout the city, including on the roofs of skyscrapers, but the highlight for me is the little tube transportation system. However, I don’t know how much luck Simon’s going to have transporting his miniature city in the lunchbox without losing the top of the CN Tower.

City of Tomorrow

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