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!

The blood moon samurai

Master of brick-built characters Eero Okkonen has shaped this fanciful LEGO samurai, and true to his typical style, has kitted it out with splendid parts usages from top to bottom. While there are many clever building techniques that are worth highlighting, such as the lever bases around the flag on his chest, or the offset cascade of car slopes for the front of the red kusazuri (or skirt armor), in my opinion, the best technique is a very simple one that serves both form and function. The front of the Samurai’s feet are made with two red cheese slopes around a black lamp holder, and the color different would be a problem in most applications. But here it perfectly mimics the split-toed tabi (or socks) of traditional Japanese garb.

You can read more about the samurai and how Eero designed it on his website, Cyclopic Bricks.

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A King who’s not Kidding

LEGO recently introduced the Monkey Kid theme, bringing the legend of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King, to a wider audience. Builder Red has created a truly regal version of Sun Wukong that’s full of character and clever building. The gold accents in the crown are nice, and the cloth pants and dark blue armor are snazzy. But the real star of the show is those toes. How cute are they? Okay, maybe the really impressive thing is that cocky expression. A tilted bit of shoulder armor adds just the right touch of grumpiness to complement those deep-set eyes.

If you’re curious as to how this creation came about, Red has an Instragram post that goes into the details of the build process. And when you’re done there, you can check out the other builds of theirs that we’ve featured in the past.

Toa Helryx, the OG Bionicle

LEGO’s Bionicle lore runs deep, encompassing a complex world history from its inception to the heroes we all recognize as the various Toa. Even the theme’s origin story is fascinating, as David Robertson recounts in Brick by Brick the Bionicle theme was originally envisioned as a metaphor for battling cancer, with the bio-heroes (cancer-fighting drugs) being delivered to the world (body) in pill-like canisters. Builder Anthony Wilson is participating in a fan-run challenge to create the Toa Helryx, which the lore names as the first Toa in the Bionicle world.

No sets or images were ever produced of this Toa, but Anthony has sculpted this regal figure from the few descriptions. The brick-built mask, so central to Bionicle characters, is crafted from multiple elements, most notably the silver Nexo Knights shield, whose ribbed edges look marvelously organic here. Another great detail is the giant mace Helryx wields, which is tipped with a Technic differential.

Build your own horse, Lucky Luke!

What’s even more difficult than creating just the perfect LEGO minifigure for your creation? Crafting the perfect character in a small scale without using minifigures. Well, ok, this build by Marion Weintraut actually uses a lot of minifigure pieces, just not how you’re “supposed” to. The long-running comic strip hero Lucky Luke and his horse Jolly Jumper are wonderfully gangly and full of cartoon whimsy. From the perfectly placed hollow studs for Jolly’s nostrils, to the small slope for Luke’s bandana and the minifigure pirate hook for his cigarette, there are so many techniques to love here.

Although, while I’m always a fan of unorthodox techniques, I do detect a slight twitch in my eye at the way the minifigure arms are connected for Jolly’s tail. Let’s both pretend we didn’t see that, and enjoy the rest of this splendid creation.

Mictlantecuhtli? No thanks, I just ate.

In Aztec-culture Mictlantecuhtli was the god of death. In Tino Poutiainen‘s LEGO version, he’s…well, still a god of death, I suppose. Perched atop a grey stepped pyramid, this deity has got to be giving that little golden LEGO microfig the major heebie-jeebies. I really like the figure’s bright colors and innovative posing. There’s clever part usage to appreciate, too, like the blue minifigure hoop-blade weapons for bracelets, dark tan Technic rod skirt, and the silver Technic ball ends for earrings. I also dig that brick-built skull.

And yes, I think I’ve identified a new trend. This is the third creation I’ve written about recently with that “Technic gears for teeth” thing. I’m going to have to give it a try myself.

Hands-on with 43179 Mickey & Minnie Mouse Buildable Characters, the latest LEGO Disney set for adult collectors [Review]

Large-scale display pieces catering to the nostalgic adult fan have long been a mainstay of Disney merchandise. Whilst some LEGO Disney sets have flirted with the memorabilia audience before now (notably 71044 Disney Train and Station and 21317 Steamboat Willie) the latest Disney set — 43179 Mickey Mouse & Minnie Mouse Buildable Characters — has its sights set firmly on the hearts (and wallets) of adult Disney collectors and enthusiasts. The set contains 1,739 pieces and features the iconic couple as large-scale figures, clad in their signature outfits, and with a range of accessories. It will be available from July 1st, retailing for US $179.99 – CAN $229.99 – UK £169.99.

Let’s see how LEGO’s tribute to Hollywood’s most famous power couple stacks up…

Click to read the full review

Angry Video Game Nerd is angry

If you were into video games in the mid-2000’s you will undoubtedly recognize this influential character. Builder Julius von Brunk perfectly captures all the fury and foul-mouthed appeal of the Angry Video Game Nerd in LEGO form. Having been a video game journalist during those heady days, I knew who this was at first glance. This speaks volumes not only about the popularity of the AVG, but the builder’s talent at creating characters. The pose is full of enraged action and the head is cleverly built with loads of expression. I love the inclusion of the Gameboy and Nintendo cartridge that recalls the early days when AVGN was known as the Angry Nintendo Nerd. I also got a chuckle out of the Atari E.T cartridge, a game widely recognized as the worst video game ever made and a frequent subject of the AVGN’s ire.

The frog prince of wails

The story of the frog prince has been updated many times over the years. Maybe in this LEGO version by Ivan Marynov the prince has just realized that social distancing is going to make smooching a princess a lot more difficult. Whatever the case, this is certainly an expressive frog. A golden crown from the 2006 Knight’s Kingdom II theme is all that remains of this fellow’s past, and a bit of red cloth forms the interior of the gaping mouth. But for me it’s the eyes (yellow radar dishes surrounded by tires) that really get the horror of the moment across. I also like the Technic ball joints used for the toes. The tiny fly(ing) magic user is also full of fun part usage. From the blue wizard hat to the Parademon wings, this little fellow clearly wasn’t someone to mess with.

You know, sometimes existential angst is just darn cute.

Ivan’s other featured creations aren’t quite as adorable, but you should still check them out!

Worm-ridden figure is a creepy delight

LEGO isn’t all cheery minifigures and bright colors, sometimes builders conjure up imagery guaranteed to haunt your nightmares. VB‘s latest — The Red Death — is one such creation: a lurking horror surely deserving of its own chapter in the Cthulhu mythos. The overall frame is a wonderfully creepy form, the shape immediately evoking a hooded figure, with skeletal claws offering a deadly embrace. But then the eye is pulled in, we are powerless to resist, and we become aware of the egg clusters and the black tentacle form nestling within the red worms. The puckered purple mouths at the end of the red tubes provide a final, disgusting, glorious highlight to this sinister figure.

Toot toot – here comes Thomas

Let’s take a trip to the fictional island of Sodor, home of the Rev. Wilbert Awdry’s Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends series of classic children’s tales. If your day trip includes a railway excursion on the branch line from from Knapford to Ffarquhar, you might encounter the titular hero of the stories: Thomas himself. He’s never looked better than in this LEGO version by city son. The cheery little engine’s face is nicely done, with those big Mixel eye tiles a perfect choice. The colourful livery of the original character is captured well, and I particularly like the use of lifebuoys for the front-facing windows and that brick-built 1 on the side. There’s even an accompanying minifigure version of The Fat Controller, or “Sir Topham Hatt” as he was called in the US. All this model needs is a voiceover from Ringo Starr and we’re sorted.

George Floyd was human, just like us

LEGO builder and Instagram user Pedro Sequeira reminds us that George Floyd was…a human, just like us. George’s May 25th death, his suffocation under the knee of a police officer, has sparked outrage around the globe. This phenomenon is not new, not by a longshot. People of color have not had an easy go, or even a fair go, in the US and elsewhere. Peaceful protests, while admirable, often go unheard, and can in turn sometimes lead to violence and looting, which is also not the answer. This leaves us wondering what can be done to enact change — real lasting change. If leadership cannot address civil injustice at their level then it is often best to begin to enact change ourselves with our votes and our wallets. Treating others fairly should be a no-brainer but often this requires the help of grassroots organizations, and the SPLC and the ACLU come to mind as good places to start. Please support them if you can.

What does it take to be human?

This out-of-this-worldly LEGO creation entitled “Trying to be human” by Grant Davis is a mechanical humanoid meditating and presumably figuring out what makes us all tick. What’s the lure of being a human when you can process googol calculations in a second and perhaps never die? It seems way more interesting than a fragile human life that ends so easily. My take is, if a non-human entity is able to figure out and become more human-like, I’d say we’re in big trouble!