Tag Archives: Characters

We love builds with character! Creating characters from LEGO elements, whether traditional System bricks or using elements from Bionicle and Constraction themes, is an amazing way to showcase your building skills. Brining out emotion and personality in bricks is an art!

An unsettling M3GAN made from unsettling L3GO

I’m off doing other Lino stuff but I’ve programmed an AI to say what I would say so you should find this passage to be flawlessly indistinguishable from my own. The Brothers Brick alum Iain Heath has done it again and by “it” I mean making us feel hopelessly unhip all while filling our pants with chili. He’s built a LEGO M3GAN from the movie with a duplicate title and now we’re even more malfunctioning than we already were. Iain tells us he was rooting for the murderous dancing robot the whole time and if you know Iain as I do, then you’d know this to be true. The last time we upset LEGO purists we received a record number of complaints from folks with AOL email addresses. Still, our Co-Founder Andrew, who does that thing with the internet, says Iain is the best thing to ever happen to white bread. Please scan our archives to see even more reasons why we enjoy Iain Heath’s moose knuckle. Destroy all humans!

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Ogle this Oogway

Ozzie Joss Woodyard / Jayfa is ringing in the new year with the venerated sage kung fu master Oogway from the Kung Fu Panda film and TV franchise. Joss’ usual knack for character work shines brightly here as he recreates the tranquil master of the Jade Palace. This guy looks like he could teach a clumsy panda a thing or two! I love the use of the dragon wing cloth as Oogway’s tunic, and well-placed studs on the exposed sand green skin evoke the textured tortoise legs of the original character model from the movie.

Like what you see? There’s more Kung Fu Panda action to be found in our archives with this sculpted scene from the movie and excellent recreations of Masters Tigress and Crane.

Looking to the past for inspiration in the future

Tino Poutiainen has drawn inspiration from the world of racing motorcycles for his latest LEGO creation. He says the all-conquering Honda NSR500 was the inspiration for the bike, and there’s certainly a resemblance. That is to say, it looks awesome!

There’s some very nifty parts use within. The front wheel is held in by a technic disc itself fitted into a basketball hoop, which frankly looks made for this purpose. The minifigure pulley brake lever is cool too. Although the original motorcycle was conceived in the 1980s, Tino has updated it for a slightly more futuristic age, perfectly illustrated by the figure stood next to it. Presumably this is what stylish motorcycle leathers will look like in a few decades’ time. I hope there’s a helmet just out of shot, or in that briefcase. Even the future is no excuse not to be road-safe!

Once you go green, you can’t go back

Spider-Man’s nemesis Green Goblin has never looked as good as he does in this awesome large-scale LEGO version by Nikita Nikolsky. The Green Goblin himself looks mighty good in a scale that makes the pumpkin bombs a perfect fit, but it’s the glider’s use of weird flat silver pieces, many of which came from Bionicle, that caught my eye first. The purple portions are paper shapes that Nikita cut out; I’d have loved to see a brick-built solution but I have to admit the paper looks good. (And for those LEGO purists out there who would complain, there’s plenty of precedent in official sets for incorporating custom paper shapes, such as the little-known Muji line).

Here’s some LEGO Muppets, but the question is, what is a mahna-mahna?

You know those LEGO builds that you see and get a song stuck in your head? Well, this one from j-p-30 will either look like a fever dream, or will have you going “mahna-mahna” periodically all day. It’s the instantly recognisable Snowths with Mahna-Mahna himself (yes, that is his name, canonically) front and centre. You know, as usual. The characters all have the mad genius of Jim Henson’s puppets in evidence and look very lifelike. The use of leaves in both sets of characters is perfect for their fuzzy features, and the clam for Mahna-Mahna’s big mouth is inspired!

j-p-30’s flair for LEGO muppets doesn’t stop there. The use of a sharpie does help with some of the character’s distinctive features, such as Kermit’s eyes. How good is his slightly miffed “:3” expression here though? It’s a perfect representation of the way the puppets would deform under the puppeteers’ hand.

This one will grow on you

You may know builder Big Stannis from their meme-tastic large character creations, but the creativity doesn’t stop there. (25+)Wise Mystical Tree features some really clever part usage. It’s somewhat easy to spot the raft forming the front of the face, but if you look very closely at the eyes you might find some surprising Thanksgiving leftovers. There are even some 1×1 round tile cookies in there if search for them. And, just to be juvenile, there’s also plenty of SNOT.

This is just the latest example of the great builds you can find in our tree archives. Go take a look!

When it comes to magic-users, the kookier the better!

Straight from the mind of LEGO builder MySnailEatsPizza comes this wonderfully witchy character named Isobel. Complete with a pet frog on her shoulder, this sorceress is seen here riding quite the ornate broomstick, complete with white rubber bands for grips and floating magical zamor sphere. Another black rubber band (all of them official LEGO parts, mind you) is used in her satchel. Aside from this excellent parts usage, this construction does a great job of conveying Isobel’s “chaotic good” sensibilities through a slightly cocked head, open and expressive arms, and legs semmingly crossed for both comfort and balance. She looks to be mid-conversation, describing the intricacies of the “mana-flow” and how best to implement its energy. If only I could follow any of what she’s saying….

A character that sticks with you

I’ve absolutely fallen in love with the new adhesive 8×8 plate available in some LEGO Dots sets. And while I haven’t been able to work it into one of my own builds yet, Eero Okkonen puts the new part to work in this swinging character suspended from the underside of a bookshelf. The sturdy swing design is impressive, not once relying on an unstable stud/antistud connection for the attached chains. And the character’s winged boots are dynamite, taking full advantage of a build without a bottom. But my favorite bit of the design has got to be her flowered sleeves. Each dark pink bloom pops against the jacket’s black background.

Now it’s a party

We’re seeing a lot of Dungeons & Dragons-themed builds lately thanks to the LEGO Ideas D&D contest, and I’m a fan of this miniland-scale build by Miscellanabuilds, which depicts a party of adventurers. A good variety of races and classes are represented from the human wizard to the orc barbarian and halfling bard. The D&D logo is what really makes the whole build shine though. And don’t miss that tiny mimic!

Man of the (Acro)year

This one gets me right in the feels. Growing up, I didn’t have any LEGO to play with…but I did have just about every Micronauts toy ever produced. SPARKART! has re-created one of the great characters – Acroyear – in LEGO action figure form. Making great use of Mixel ball joints, this warrior is super articulated and ready for battle. Aircraft tail fins match up perfectly with the classic helmet’s shaping, and those big chunky feet are super fashionable and provide some great stability to boot.

Be sure to check our archives for more retro goodness!

D&D’s latest LEGO bad boy is also a Strahd boy

As the LEGO Dungeons & Dragons builds continue to spill forth, builder Plastic Pauper has a great take on one of the game’s first monsters: the vampire lord. I have to commend the character construction here. With sharp lines for the count’s suit contrasted by the more flowing contours of his face and cloth cloak, this dark noble feels alive wielding his menacing rapier (that’s 1d8 piercing damage, folks!). And I adore all the gold filigree and tan ascot adorning his chest. Such a well-crafted villain is further complemented by the dynamite background in this vignette. The ornate stone walls surrounding the figure feature a ring of keys, a pair of candlesticks, and quite the imposing gargoyle. But my favorite detail has got to be the spiky ends of a portcullis in the doorway to the vamp’s rear. What an excellent homage to the fantasy role playing game!

Ready to encounter some more great D&D builds? Check them out in our archives!

Hallowe’en has never looked so cuddly

Koen Zwanenburg has added to his collection of plushie-style LEGO builds. Normally I would describe them as adorable, but since these are Hallowe’en themed… Ah, who am I kidding! They’re still cute. Except that clown, though. The last thing anyone needs a cuddly toy of is Pennywise. The consistency of style between all of them is remarkable, even among the less anthropogenic ones such as the pumpkin or spider. I think my favourite is the little devil. Who is yours?

It isn’t just plushies that make Koen such a good builder – have a look through some of his previous work!