Chun Li was the first female character to appear in a beat-em-up, bursting onto arcade and console screens in Street Fighter II in 1991. John Cheng has built a cool chibi-styled LEGO version of the character. The outfit and stance make the model immediately recognisable, with all the signature elements present and correct — the white boots, the split skirt, the gold embroidery on the bodice, and the buns in the hair. Put that attention to detail together with a supercute big-headed anime styling and you’ve got a cracking LEGO creation. Spinning helicopter kick for the win — KO!
Tag Archives: Characters
A note from the maestro
LEGO builder bbchai brings a bit of old-school class to the scene, to the tune of a lovely violin and bow paired with a bust of the famous musician Mozart. This wonderful composition would look great on any music lover’s desk. The clips which make up the embroidery on Mozart’s jacket are a superbly simple technique that works perfectly, and the lightsaber handles for the wig’s white curls are similarly great.
The violin and bow are masterpieces as well, with the plate 1×2 with handle making for excellent F-holes. Of course, they have a nifty little stand to hold them with the care they deserve.
I happen to know a song about the ancient hero...
Kass, the Rito minstrel from Zelda: Breath of the Wild is captured perfectly in this neat LEGO bust by Markus Rollbühler. The model makes great use of dark turquoise amongst more regular LEGO colours to capture the character’s bright plumage, and it looks like there’s a complex structure underneath it all to deliver the shaping, with bricks and tiles facing in multiple directions. The printed eye tile is a perfect choice, rotated out of it’s usual “frown” position, to evoke Kass’ cheerful disposition. Surely the challenge now is for Markus to build the rest of the character, accordion and all. Come on Markus, don’t let us down!
The vegetable’s revenge
Angry Carrot is out for vengeance. It looks like Bunny is in a whole heap of trouble in this fun creation by Tyler Clites. The carrot is nicely shaped, and immediately recognisable with its burst of green leaves. Ball and socket Mixel joints give the mutant vegetable’s limbs some good poseability, but it’s the facial expressions which steal the show here. The half-strangled rabbit looks more than a little distressed with its protruding tongue and bulging eyes, and the carrot’s features are perfect — the curve of that eyebrow is the perfect addition to the asymmetrical eyes, creating a tonne of character with just a handful of pieces.
Star Wars dune buddies
I’d always imagined that a Stormtrooper’s lot was a hard one. Endless patrols beyond the Dune Sea hunting down pesky Rebels; and for what thanks! These LEGO Sandtroopers by LEGO 7 go some way to humanising the Empire’s faceless heavies. Built with dirty and distressed body armour and posed reminiscently of soldiers from real-world conflicts, I absolutely buy into their battle-weary plight. It’s a genuinely touching human tribute to one of Star War’s most recognisable bad guys.
The day that hip-hop died
Personally, I find it a bit of a sad testament to where hip-hop music is heading compared to it’s original socially conscious roots. But whether hip-hop fans love it or hate it, the bizarre video for the latest collaboration between Kanye West and Lil Pump is already being widely hailed as “meme gold”. And it’s easy to see why from the costumes donned by the two rappers in this Spike Jonze production – costumes that are almost as over-the-top as the song’s lyrics. With many people comparing the look to characters from the ersatz-Minecraft game Roblox, a LEGO interpretation seemed like the next logical step. So I made one. You’re welcome!
LEGO Cloud Strife and his Chocobo ride into the sunset.
When Final Fantasy 7 came out for the PlayStation console in 1997, I spent many, many hours playing it, and one of the most pleasurable aspects, aside from kicking the pixels out of a multi-stage boss in epic 45-minute battles, was riding all over the world on my trusty Chocobo, searching for the elusive Giant Cactuar. This creation by Vincent Kiew captures the game’s protagonist, Cloud Strife, astride his Chocobo in large scale.
Vincent managed to make the Chocobo look very light on his feet, which is exactly how they looked and felt in the game. Also, Cloud is very accurate to his on-screen inspiration, down to the large clunky hands, his giant sword slung across his back, and that signature spiky anime hair.
“How can you build this? There’s no pictures!”
“Well, some people use their imagination.” Mike Nieves has used his imagination to create a wonderfully whimsical representation of Belle from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. Mike’s character build may not have a defined face, but the pose and setting is iconically Belle. Thanks to her outstretched hand and head tucked in a book, I can almost hear her singing.
Thanks to an extensive use of curved and angled slope elements, Mike has done a great job of capturing the look of Belle. As we can see in this shot, sloped elements are also used to convey a sense of motion with the flow of Belle’s dress. There is some incredibly nice detailing here, including the clever ribbons for the hair and dress.
If you like Mike’s model of Belle, you won’t want to miss his other LEGO Disney character builds.
Now we got ears it’s time for cheers
Back in 2016, Koen treated us to his magical take on Disney’s iconic Mouse. Two years later, in a response to LEGO’s own BrickHeadz versions, he’s redesigned his model of Mickey as well as adding Minnie to the mix. It just goes to show how much a year or two means in terms of the evolution of LEGO elements; Koen improving on the rounded shaping of the characters’ heads with new curved tiles as well as using the printed eyelash piece for Minnie’s eyes. The design of Minnie’s bow, with its single stud polka dots, and her brick-built shoes, demonstrate some seriously clever building too. The result: a brilliantly realised recreation of our favourite cartoon couple.
Like and subscribe for more LEGO YouTuber caricatures
One can expect outstanding LEGO caricatures from builder SuckMyBrick. Their latest series captures the likeness and personalities of several popular YouTubers well with the bricks. From left to right, we have: Rhett and Link of Good Mythical Morning; well-known vlogger Casey Neistat; Tyler Toney of Dude Perfect; infamous vlogger Logan Paul; silly singer Miranda Sings; Internet meme legend Techno Viking; and our friend at BrickNerd, Tommy Williamson.
Each build here is recognizable to those who enjoy the YouTube creator community, but my personal favorite here is their build of Casey Neistat.
Echo of a previous life
After playing the latest DLC for Hollow Knight, talented multi-theme builder Anthony Wilson can’t contain his delight . Such a cute, yet so deadly Shade is one of the many reasons to fall in love with the game. This ghost appears every single time the main character dies, and you’ll have to defeat it to regain the energy and the wealth you had collected before. You’ll face the Shade calmly levitating in mid-air right next to where you just died. Despite building a static figure, Anthony skillfully captures the ghost’s smoke-like body. And even the sword behind the Shade’s back looks exactly like the one in the game.
The dragon with a flare for fashion
Dripping with charm and dressed to impress, TBB regular Sheo has built this most stylish of dragons. Capturing the spirit of the dandy in the beast’s elegantly coiffured wings and debonair attire; a triangle tiled handkerchief poking out from his suit’s breast pocket. You have to question the sincerity in Sheo naming him a respectable dragon; there’s literally a twinkle in his eye, formed from a clever combination of ring, small cone and mudguard elements. I can’t help but imagine passing him in some shady back street, tipping his hat and grinning roguishly as he goes about his disreputable business.