Tag Archives: Characters

Cad, the Bane of his bounties

Anyone else excited for the Bad Batch to return on Wednesday? I know I sure am. Bounty hunter Cad Bane made a surprise appearance in the show’s first season, and just in time for the third and final one, Flickr builder gGh0st has come up with a superb rendition of the Duros. He’s even got his trusty, sassy sidekick Todo! The semi-circular jumper plates are great choices for the droid’s eyes/face. There’s loads of clever parts use, but I would question Bane’s choice of fitting a thermal detonator to his wrist. In his line of work, that’s surely asking for trouble…

Cad Bane & Todo

Flexing one’s musical LEGO muscles

I recently got my hands on a bunch 0f LEGO flex tubes, but I’m still figuring out what to make with them. Perhaps I should take inspiration from Eero Okkonen? This stylish keyboard player makes great use of them. Said tubes are used as the wiring for the PA system and keyboard, but Eero also shows off his braiding skills by using them as hair. It looks great! And the nice parts use doesn’t stop there. A pair of red fences are cleverly inserted into some Technic quarter-circle gears to make an on-stage monitor. Meanwhile, some Dots pendants are the perfect size for some earrings!

Mathilda Crawatt

Intrepid LEGO reporter looking to branch out

The first thing I noticed about this wonderful LEGO Shoot the Bullet scene by Sweeps was the nice part usage (NPU) found close at hand. The 3 prong plant element makes a perfect hand for this chibi-style character named Aya Shameimaru (of Touhou Project fame). But the NPU doesn’t stop there. The ground is nicely textured with painters palettes and a nice bit of fall foliage. The recent new curved transparent bar in back is the perfect part to raise the character off the ground.

Real or Fake: Reporter Aya Shameimaru

Never practice turning people into frogs in the mirror

Witches are known for, among other things, flying around on broomsticks and turning people into frogs. F.S. Leinad‘s LEGO witch has certainly got the former nailed – this particular broomstick uses some minifigure hair to mimic the bristles flapping in the wind. As for turning people into frogs… Well, her spell seems to have backfired somewhat. Her nose, hat, hands, and feet have all transformed into tiny amphibians! She’s probably not very happy about it, but surely even the grumpiest of witches can appreciate some Nice Parts Usage.

Witch

Christmas is for caterpillars, too!

What do you think of when it comes to festive animals, either in real life or in LEGO form? Reindeer are a given. Turkeys are probably up there too. How about insects? If your answer to that is yes, either you’re getting 21342 The Insect Collection as a Christmas present, or you’re Nathan Hake. His charming caterpillar is braving the cold for some winter fun! Much like Nathan, this caterpillar is quite the sculptor – a smorgasbord of slopes and curved slopes on their sides make for a very convincing snow butterfly. Having an extra pair of hands clearly comes in, well, handy!

Clive the Christmas Caterpillar

Be sure to check out a 360° view of Clive on Nathan’s Flickr page. And Merry Christmas!

Briiiiiiicks... Briiiicks!

The stereotype for zombies is that they wander aimlessly, looking for brains. But Dan Ko‘s is a little different. If you listen closely, you’ll find that some of them aren’t actually looking for brains, but for bricks. It seems even AFOLs aren’t safe from the zombie apocalypse. Brains are no good! Zombified Fans of LEGO (ZFOLs) need bricks to fill their heads with. This one has turned to a pink roller skate, which by coincidence does look a bit like a regular brain. All the better to blend in with the horde of the undead!

Zombiiiies!

A LEGO character creation with explosive potential

Ever since a History of Science class my freshman year of college, I’ve read so many books on the history and discovery of radiation. But nowhere in those pages covering everything from the Curies to Chernobyl did I ever come across a scientist like the one depicted in this LEGO bust by Steven Wayne Howard. With the clever implementation of the Ninjago Spinjitzu canopy, we’re able to see all the nuclear reactors sticking out of this mad scientist’s cranium. An array of creature wings make up his wild facial hair, and his sinister visage is driven home with that skeletal bowtie. And the whole thing sits on a plinth that is, quite frankly, the bomb. The whole thing is downright maniacal, and gives me the chills!

The Nuclear Madman

Broken LEGO always turns me Inside Out with anger!

The rage I feel for LEGO bricks from the brittle brown era is something I’ve felt time and time again. But thanks to Nikita Filatov and their depiction of Anger of Inside Out-fame, I’ve got a much better idea of what’s going on inside my head. I can almost hear the voice of Lewis Black ranting about ABS integrity and how he should’ve used dark tan instead! Probably not the best time to tell him that LEGO discontinued trans-neon orange….

VignWeek 2023 | Disney | Anger

Don’t fall asleep looking at this build – you’ll feel rather sheepish

Character master Oliver Becker has crafted this charming scene of a shepherd and his flock (of, er, one sheep). Now this might sound odd, but I’m actually glad there’s only one sheep here. Not because I’m ovinophobic, but because if I started counting sheep, I’d surely fall asleep and miss the rest of this great build! The sheep is very good, chewing away on the grass, with its spindly legs. (Well it’s chewing with its mouth, but you know what I mean.) And any build that uses X-pod covers is a good one in my book. But the shepherd is where the whimsy really comes into this scene. He’s a great caricature, using inverted arch pieces twice – in his boots and for his face. He’s quite rotund though. Maybe that’s where the rest of his flock went…

Couting The Sheep

MC Vespa; full-time DJ, part-time pretty boy

Clever LEGO builder Dan Ko graces the pages of The Brothers Brick once again and this time he drops MC Vespa. He’s got cool shoes, a radical haircut, and a face like a Vespa. No seriously, it is a Vespa! The part can be found in the Friends Heartlake City Bakery. Check out that doofus grin! It has more than a few of us at TBB headquarters chuckling at this very nice parts usage. Please peruse our Dan Ko archives to learn why we think Dan is the king of NPU while you, on the other hand, just sort of loaf on the couch.

MC Vespa

Honey, I supersized the minifigs

I really like the “maxi-fig” concept that has been doing the rounds lately. It can be as simple as LEGO’s own 40649 Up-Scaled LEGO Minifigure set, or you can use it as a template to let your creativity run wild. Kristel Whitaker has done just that with this dandy pair of Day-of-the-Dead themed figs. They’re named Catrina and Skellie, and don’t they just look brilliant! I love the repeated use of yellow flowers and dark pink leaves on Catrina’s dress especially. It looks just like the intricate embroidery typical of this style of outfit. Skellie’s, er, skeleton is also nicely done with a mixture of SNOT (studs not on top) and tiled building.

Catrina and Skellie

Hopefully this format will blow up in a big way! Speaking of big – why not see what else the talented LEGO community has up-scaled?

All the best LEGO themes are found underground

What’s better than a LEGO build that evokes nostalgia for a past theme? A LEGO build that evokes nostalgia for two past themes! Flickr user Student Scissors submitted this creation in the Bio-Cup competition. As the name suggests, this competition uses parts from the Bionicle theme. That box is ticked here: there are plenty of ball joints, and what looks like a Kanohi mask on the figure on the right. But the minecart full of power crystals, the teal-yellow-brown-dark-grey colour combo, and that massive chrome drill… That sounds like Rock Raiders to me! Although come to think of it, the colour scheme of the bat (lime green with blue and orange highlights) is reminiscent of the Power Miners theme from 2009. So that’s actually three awesome themes from yesteryear in one!

Curious Caving Critters