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!

A colorful speedbike supporter

Give Eero Okkonen a challenge and he delivers. In a New Elementary competition, builders were tasked with using the latest marine-life parts to create something interesting. He definitely didn’t disappoint with this lovely character. She’s a fan for another of his figures, a speederbike rider. The coral creatures adorn multiple areas of her costume, but the best parts usage might be the clever placement of shark surfboards to create a skirt!

Eero also recently created an entirely different character with a hockey stick beard. And perhaps one of my favorites is his version of the extraordinary Captain Nemo.

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.

The cutest baby in a galaxy far, far away [Instructions]

Episode 5 of The Mandalorian has hit Disney+, and “Baby Yoda” continues to melt viewers’ hearts like a bowl of ice cream under the hot summer sun. What would melt your heart even more? How about hachiroku24’s adorable LEGO rendition of the little guy in his floating bassinet? Just look at that face! The cloth wrapped around Baby Yoda is in fact the large cape from LEGO’s Obi-Wan Kenobi constraction figure (2015).

If you feel like you need this much cuteness in your life, hachiroku24 has provided video instructions on how to build the model. For another rendition of the character, be sure to also check out Miro Dudas’ Baby Yoda we featured in November.

Meanwhile, on the Satellite of LEGO...

The Brothers Brick contributor Chris Doyle once again builds something based on Mystery Science Theater 3000. What’s his excuse this time?

Some may call it a creative rut. I prefer to think of it as “finding my groove.” I had a blast building characters from the TRY Channel, and thought MST3k would be a great theme to continue with. It’s no secret that I’m a huge nerd when it comes to LEGO versions of MST3k things, and when a table-scrap of Tom Servo “just happened”, I knew it was too late to turn back. And, soon enough, Joel and Crow T. Robot had joined him on a stage based on the Season 2(ish) Satellite of Love.

TRYfecta. (Even more drunk LEGO building from Chris Doyle)

It’s been a while since I’ve been to a LEGO convention, but years ago, after the public went home, there were all sorts of “unsanctioned, after-hours” events for attending adults. Of those, “drunken speed building” was always a fun time. Or at least, I think it was a fun time. I honestly don’t remember a lot of details. Possibly because I was participating in drunken speed builds. Ah, youth. Anyway. What were we talking about? Oh yeah, drunk LEGO building.
Recently, the TRY Channel featured a bunch of Irish comedians getting drunk. Pretty common video topic for them. But immediately afterwards, they challenged the same folks to try their hand at building LEGO sets. I’ve already shared my LEGO-versions of two of the sets of TRYers. Today we finish up the series with Jamie Jay Car and Shannon Keenan‘s attempt to build set 75946 – Hungarian Horntail Triwizard Challenge. Like the other folks in the video, they do their best, but success wasn’t really in the cards for them. Shannon was pretty frustrated with the set from the get go, even “accidentally” tearing up the instruction book. Jamie gave it an honest go, but eventually just gave in to the chaos and started putting stickers all over his face. Good times.

I wanted to bring some new elements to this set of characters. Jamie’s shocked expression meant leaving behind the Mixel eyes I’d been using on everyone else, and going with 2×2 radar dishes. And black hot dogs for his eyebrows, because sometimes 1×2 tiles just aren’t enough. Shannon’s ash-blonde hair was a challenge for me, as no shade of LEGO brick really captured it right. I went through a couple of variations before giving in and ordering the parts I needed in dark tan. The torn instruction booklet is the insert from a Harry Potter collectible mini-figure. Sometimes, sacrifices must be made.

I’m looking forward to an excuse to build more members of the TRY channel in this format. At my age, it’s safer than getting involved in drunken speed builds of my own. Maybe. (When’s the next convention again?)

A parade of Christmas characters

Yes, ok, the stores have had their festive decorations up since the morning after Halloween, and you’re already sick to the back teeth of Christmas music. Still, if these little guys don’t melt your heart and bring some festive cheer to your soul, you’re dead inside. Koen Zwanenburg has put together a collection of LEGO Christmas characters to get us all in the mood for the holiday season. These models are an absolute delight — super-cute, and simple enough looking that they’re bound to inspire people to build their own versions. However, I’m sure this apparent simplicity is the result of painstaking hours spent on each model to get it just right — such elegance only arises from effort. I like all of these, but the Nutcracker Soldier is a standout — just look at that moustache! Perfect.

These are in the same style as Koen’s previous cute cuddly toy LEGO creations, and make for a wonderful festive addition to the collection.

Catch the Pokemon Magnemite before your TV goes on the fritz [Instructions]

Is your radio going all static-y? Are your lights flickering? Do you feel a slight tingling in your dental fillings? Are your pets acting all weird, I mean weirder than usual? Paranormal enthusiasts will say that you have ghosts, astrologers will tell you that we’re going into Mercury Retrograde but Pokemon Go players may cite that a disturbance in the electro-magnetic flux just might be the presence of a Magnemite, and you’d better catch it quick before it wreaks havoc on your fridge magnets. Builder Poke Bricks is totally into Pokemon (no, seriously, it’s true!) and we just might see a lot more brick-built Pokemon creatures in their photostream soon.

Want a Magnemite of your own? Then follow this step-by-step video to make it happen.

A spider worth thrashing with

When you see a spider crawling around, is your first inclination to use the power of your shoes? What if I told you you could be snuffing out the next ace arachnid guitar player like Grayson M‘s Sid the Spider. He looks frighteningly awesome, right down to his studded jacket, sharp-looking shoes, and classic red and white guitar. He even has a golden ring on one of his left legs; that’s so eight-legged metal!

Baby Yoda you must build [Instructions]

With the recent Launch of the Disney+ streaming service, The Mandalorian series has been well-received and one character in particular has taken the internet by storm; of course, I’m talking about “Baby Yoda.” Images and scenes of the galaxy’s cutest toddler have blown up like a supernova. It was only a matter of time until a LEGO fan built the little guy, and Miro Dudas answered the call with an adorably charming rendition. Better yet, Miro decided to share the secrets of the Force with everyone in the form of free building instructions on Rebrickable!

You might want to have that growth looked at.

There have been enough medical issues in my extended family that I know you have to take an unexpected growth or bump seriously. Early detection is often an important factor in survival, and ignoring things almost never has a good outcome. LEGO builder Djokson brings us a cautionary tale in this vein with The Husk of Minaurogg. I’m sure that Minaurogg was a happy-go-lucky type of person. You can see that reflected in their cheerful helm (skillfully constructed from a minifigure shield, robot arms and elbow bricks.) and well groomed nails. Sadly, all that mirth has come to a sudden halt as Minaurogg has come down with a bad case of…something. A growth of round tiles in transparent purple have boiled up, and a couple of giant pustules look ready to burst. There’s also severe discoloration of the arm with new spiky outgrowths on the shoulder. And that one red eye seems pretty bloodshot.

Ah, maybe it’s just me being alarmist. I’m sure I few days of bed rest is all that’s required to set things right!

TRY again (More drunken LEGO building by Chris Doyle)

You know what isn’t supposed to mix? LEGO and booze. But sometimes it does. And wow, can it be a lot of fun to watch. Recently, I shared my tribute to the TRY channel’s drunken LEGO building. It featured one of the three pairs of TRYers who attempted to build sets while smashed out of their gourds. The people I depicted enjoyed my creation, but it didn’t end there. One of the other people in the video, Mary-Claire, asked if I could build her and Lolsy Byrne next. So…here we are.
MC and Lolsy’s attempt at building Yoda’s Hut (75208) didn’t quite go as smoothly, but I think it’s fair to say they had a great time anyway. Even if MC was momentarily confused if their set was from “Sky Wars” or some other franchise… (To be fair, she was really drunk!)

I ran into a couple of challenges in making recognizable likenesses. Lolsy’s nose ring (made from a minifigure gold ring) was difficult to position. Luckily the 2×1 curved slope of her nose has a notch that allowed for the ring to sit on the top of a 1×1 Technic brick built sideways off of her lip. That allowed enough of an offset to have at least almost half of the ring “exposed” below her nose, and flush with the rest of her face.
Mary-Clare’s mouth also gave me a bit of trouble. Eventually I found a combination of 1×2 and 2×2 plates for her lips and a 1×2 rounded plate for her teeth that worked. The mouth assembly is “studs down”, so the connection point on the underside of the 2×2 plate creates a nice suggestion of a tongue…an unexpected but welcome side effect.

I also wanted to add a little something extra to this second build, so I decided to animate a bit of the video. (From about the 6:00 mark). At that point, Lolsy has a few choice things to say to anyone who has a problem with their Star Wars knowledge…click on through to see her LEGO avatar in action!

LEGO’s saviours rise once again

Originally hitting store shelves in Europe in 2000, and then rolled out to North America in 2001, the LEGO Bionicle theme played a key role in hauling the company out of its financial woes of the late 1990s and helped to build the foundation of the all-conquering toy company LEGO has become. Aaron Newman pays tribute to the original lineup of figures released under the theme, but he’s done it with a twist — these are all built with classic System bricks. The six Toa Knight figures are nicely done, immediately recognisable to anyone with even a passing acquaintance with the originals. Kopaka, the Toa of Ice, was always my favourite, and I love how Aaron has captured his iconic mask. The presentation of the models is spot-on too, well-photographed and then just a touch of special effects to give a hint of the elemental powers at play.

North Pole or bust!

I love Christmas as much as anyone. In fact, I would wager that I love it more than most people. But I have to admit that my jaw clenches, a tic twinges in my cheek, and my guts churn when I start seeing Christmas merchandise and commercials before Thanksgiving. I once worked at a store where the Holiday displays came out at the beginning of October, and I had to see them almost every day for three months. It was torture. And the Christmas songs played on a loop piped into the stores – don’t even get me started on how much I despise all 3,000,000,000 versions of “Jingle Bell Rock”. That being said, I do appreciate a good LEGO build when I see one, even if it is Santa Claus at the start of November. Kale Frost had the opportunity to build a huge Christmas display for a mall out of LEGO bricks, and the head of the Head Elf is particularly noteworthy.

The bushy white eyebrows make good use of some wings, and the clips are surprisingly effective as eyelashes. I love the clear blue eyes and the jolly face. This Santa looks like he needs some more cookies, though, since that neck is not as, ah, girthy as I would expect. It doesn’t look like he is hiding multiple chins behind that LEGO beard, and he is hardly ruddy. Perhaps this is Santa after some weight loss and exercise, getting swoll in the North Pole Crossfit Gym. Not that it really matters, as long as he leaves me some presents under the tree — the kind that make the proper rattling noise when shaken.