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!

One stylish looking character with great uses of LEGO cloth pieces

This regal character, created by Eero Okkonen, has an awesome aesthetic. Several cloth pieces from the Volkswagen T2 Camper Van set, are included in this build, mainly the orange roof section (used for the turban) and the curtains (representing frills at the shoulders). The dark red and brown colours of the outfit contrast nicely against the vivid white at the gloves and legs. The top of the boots feature Belville saddle pieces which creates realistic looking textures. Eero has a wonderful talent for constructing fascinating characters with this model being another prime example of his inventive techniques.

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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.

Not just any Mega Man knockoff...

Folks, we here at TBB have got to admit that LEGO builder Sandro Quattrini is a character-creating machine. He churns out constructed personas so fast that it’s hard to keep up! The latest one is this spaceman-looking chum with a blaster for an arm (no relation to a certain Capcom hero). The contrasts at work here are wonderful. Smooth, sleek white casing with the occasional exposure of rough, mechanical interior channels both Eve and Wall-E at the same time. And the posable hinges developed here are absolute magic! Amid all that, my favorite part has got to be Robo-Kid’s robo-kicks. I mean, it’s not every day you see such splendid use of the minifig Scout Trooper helmet!

Cats are royalty, no matter where you are

This LEGO build by Vohdoff of a laborer ferrying a whimsical feline beast shows that even in a fantasy realm, cats are still royalty. I suspect the cat in question here may draw some of its inspiration from Japanese Kitsune with their many tails. Whatever its origins, though, this creature is gorgeously sculpted from mostly Bionicle elements. Meanwhile, the servant also has an otherworldly visage, and a magnificent gold collar to match the cat’s eyes.

You dirty swine, I’ll have you sweating like a pig!

Sometimes you come across a LEGO build and it hits everything you look for in a build; fun, story, and some great part usage. Here, MySnailEatsPizza has put together a fantastic vignette of a lie detector test, except with Pigs as the characters in this amusing scene. Injecting a spot of the absurd into the scene and why not? The characterization and emotion in this scene are told through the fantastic positioning of four half-eye tiles capturing so much through nothing more than perfect placement.

There’s some excellent detail that has been added to this build from the lie detector to the pig’s wonderful construction and the subjects sweat evident around his chair.
I could wax lyrical all day about this build but sometimes you just need to pull up a chair and enjoy the scene (but maybe not these chairs!)

A dastardly duo of freaky-deaky bots

In a LEGO world of massive castles and spaceships sometimes it’s refreshing to see little things that are well built. Take this duo of odd little bots created by the enigmatic R 194, for example. First, we see the very expressive Spear Soldier.

Next, we have my personal favorite, the Highway Disturber. It’s like a mythical creature with its unicorn horn.

What is the purpose of these two? Why does the spear soldier look so sad? How does Highway Disturber disturb the highway, exactly? The builder offers no explanation so these little bots propose more questions than answers. Pretty cray-cray, right? Sometimes ya just gotta stop asking questions and go with it.

The hell-ridin’ Hemogoblin within all of us

If my Instagram stream is any indicator, anyone with a plunging neckline or pimples to pop can be an internet influencer. But it takes a special kind of genius to be as influential as LEGO builder Eero Okkonen. With his amazing characters, he has most certainly influenced dozens of other builders, all without resorting to even a hint of cleavage. Here we see Hemogoblin, who hauls oxygen along the Aorta Highway on his badass dirtbike. Oh, and it turns out he lives inside each of us and is actually helpful. So, yeah. To see this genius at work, check out our Eero Okkonen archives; the guy is super-prolific and you won’t be disappointed. As for me, I haven’t built anything in a while and have to resort to cheap, lurid gimmicks to hold any shred of influence I may still have. Time for me to put on a skimpy top, pop some zits and watch the profits roll in!

LEGO Arcana Number Nine

When I first saw this model, I had to do a double-take. It didn’t register as LEGO at first but the second glance proceeded to blow my mind. Builder Ted Andes created this fantastic model for a big competition between builders that happens most summers nowadays. Inspired by the ninth card in the Major Arcana of the Tarot, The Hermit, this model utilizes a slew of old and new pieces from the System and Technic alike. Light nougat hands hold key objects from The Rider-Waite Tarot Deck’s version of the Hermit art. Candlesticks in dark tan make a simplistic staff that fits perfectly with the hands. The other arm lifts up a lantern made with slim black wedge belt wheels linked with bars and studs as the frame while two oppositely oriented triangular clips create a light flare effect to match the card. Spiky Hero Factory armor in white is inverted as a beard that consumes the Hermit’s face while his hood is made of a large Chima Gorilla head. A clever camera angle hides the gold and mouth details of the mask just enough to sell the hood effect. A fabric cloak hides most of the inner structure of the figure which is mounted on a raised mountain baseplate that mostly showed up in Bionicle sets.

The meaning of this card within the Tarot is somewhat clear. It is a time to look within and identify those things about yourself that may need reexamined. Sometimes the answers to life’s questions lie inside and only through introspection will they be revealed. Similarly, Ted Andes has presented a magical model that hides the secrets to some of its construction behind that dark robe and black Technic panels.

Cthulhu himself cowers before the Outer Gods

HP Lovecraft’s work has been the inspiration for many a LEGO builder over the years, as evidenced by the glut of incredible builds we’ve featured over the years. Woomy World is the latest to enter this particular pantheon with this doozy of a build inspired by the Cthulhu Mythos. Specifically, this is an Outer God – essentially the bad guys of the Mythos, and some of the most powerful. And you thought Cthulhu himself was bad! He’s got nothing on these guys. Anyway, this mythical being looks typically Lovecraftian – any being with four eyes, four arms and tentacles is bound to be pretty powerful. Aside from the arms and head, this is about as far from humanoid as you can get. There’s even a little alien within this alien in the form of a Bionicle Kraata, forming what I guess is a tongue in those vertical jaws.

So, what? It could just be your average super-powerful extra-terrestrial, right? Well, what elevates this being from a mere inhabitant of the cosmos to an all-seeing deity has to be that ring around its head. This is one of the most unusual parts uses I’ve seen – it’s the ring from a LEGO Star Wars clock! It’s so inspired, I wonder if Woomy themselves might also be more than a mere mortal…

Not impressed by this build? “Shaman” you!

Toddrick has invoked his shamanic brick-building powers to bring us this intriguing LEGO character. The pose is somehow intimidating, yet there seem to be no weapons or immediate aggression on display. There is nothing in the way of an explanation from Toddrick either – he’s letting the bricks do the talking, and boy are they chatty here! The eye is immediately drawn to that colourful face mask, which really stands out against the black and brown hues of the rest of the build. I like seeing rubber bands used in designs to break up the solid lines of LEGO bricks, and they are used as detailing here as well as on the beastly horns. The leaf elements of the face are reflected by the use of more vegetation elsewhere on the mage’s outfit. This seems logical – after all, that’s likely what such traditional outfits are made of in the real world. The bushes on the sleeves in particular look really authentic. Toddrick hasn’t limited himself to system pieces either – the staff is a flexible axle, and the chest piece comes from Hero Factory. I think the necklace might even be a Scala or Clikits piece. Finally, on the back is a Duplo camp fire piece. Just about every LEGO system is represented here. Now that is magic!

Send me a robot angel right now

Descending from the heavens comes this holy mech, created by Ronin Bricks. The small machine features sharp pointed wings and wields a spear with a circular quarter piece representing its curved blade. The head is formed of a rounded plate with a small tile representing the visor of the robot. The use of bars and clips provides the mech with a fantastic range of articulation. Nozzle pieces have been cleverly used for the feet, providing the mech with the ability to bend its feet. The build comes complete with a stand, perfect for posing this creation in some dramatic aerial poses.

What kid hasn’t dreamed of conquering other worlds?

Nikita Nikolsky takes us for a play date on an alien planet with this creative build. An extraterrestrial child dreams of interstellar conquest as he plays out his flying saucer toy attacking the sand castle he built. Despite his murderous intentions, there’s tons to love about this alien, from his expressive face to the use of the lime elements as sporty beach wear. I’m not looking forward to having to one day bow before him after he’s conquered Earth. But, at the same time, it’s gonna be like, “I’m proud of you, kid. You made it.”