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!

By what do we measure a man if not by his beard?

We recently noted in an article about RADIANT EXERT IV by Eero Okkonen how quickly the builder is producing his human figures, but then he comes back with a double-whammy and shares another one, but with a much longer beard. And beards make everything better. Just to emphasise how fast Eero actually is, you can check some dates of when his latest creations were photographed! And if that wasn’t enough, the builder reveals at the end of his personal blog post that he still has six more figures waiting to be uploaded!

But if we focus on his build instead of how Eero is a LEGO building cyborg monster who never sleeps, we can see quite the figure of Hans Langseth, the record-holder for the longest beard in history. The scale really opens up many possibilities for details, like cheek-bones made out of 1×1 round plates and a handlebar moustache made out of… handlebars! The beard is a simple technique of stacking 1×2 plates on one another on one stud only, forming a chain that pivots on these individual connections, forming a rugged and easily formable shape. All this is put into a more real environment with the ornate chair Hans is sitting on.

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A cosplayer’s take on Squall Leonhart

Squall Leonhart is a playable character and the main protagonist from Final Fantasy VIII. In case you’re wondering why a familiar character is dressed up in a female form, that’s because the talented builder Letranger Absurde was inspired by various female cosplayers that took a spin of what Squall would look like represented as a female character. Dressed in a similar dark and goth-like outfit to her original counterpart, what really stands out is the character pose. It’s quite amazing that such elegant form and feature of the human body can be modelled to shape by LEGO bricks.

Teenage Mutant Ninja BrickHeadz

Four years have passed since LEGO last produced sets based on the Ninja Turtles TV series. If BrickHeadz had existed back in 2014, we would have likely seen sets featuring blocky versions of the turtles. Fortunately, Charles P has filled the void with seven charming BrickHeadz versions of characters from the classic franchise. All four of the turtles are here, complete with their appropriate weapons. Raphael’s tilted eyes perfectly capture his “rude” attitude from the original TV show’s opening song. Master Splinter, Shredder and even Krang have also received the BrickHeadz treatment, and they look just as whimsical and fun. Speaking of fun, I think singing the show’s opening song is the best way to introduce Charles’ models.

“When the evil Shredder attacks, these turtle boys don’t cut him no slack.”

See more TMNT BrickHeadz after the jump

Femme fatale can be interpreted in many ways

We have seen many top-notch character builds from Eero Okkonen over the years, including his recent recreation of the Finnish band Circle, and it seems Eero has nailed the human form in bricks so well that he can pump them out with an (ironically) inhuman speed, with each better than the last!

The builder often takes inspiration from Japanese videogames and cartoons and his latest creation, RADIANT EXERT IV is no different. While there is no specific source material that Eero has tried to recreate, the bulky armour, bunny-ear ribbon in her hair and a miniskirt are unmistakably Japanese. There is a strange yet perfectly balanced mix of bulk and elegance, with eye-catching details like a sword with a laser blade made of Clickits string and wings on her boots.

He is horrible—horrible beyond anything you can imagine—but wonderful

This dark and mysterious figure by Fedde Barendrecht represents a powerful evil from H. P. Lovecraft’s horror stories. While not as well known as Cthulhu, Nyarlathotep is just as terrifying. In the stories and poems he is said to have a thousand forms, and Fedde has decided to build possibly the most sinister of them in LEGO; a tall, slender man with coal black skin and clothing, with tentacles spreading from underneath his robe.

Most of Fedde’s builds are small with a funny theme, generally centered around an imaginative new use for an exotic brick. Every now and again, however, a nightmare-inducing creation like this one pops up. The build itself is simple, or at least it uses very few pieces, apart from the numerous tentacles. My favourite part usage is the octopus used as Nyarlathotep’s mouth and the tentacles behind his head.

Letters from the Front

Many military-themed LEGO creations depict exciting battle scenes or the machinery of war. However, a select few touch on the quieter moments and prompt reflection on a conflict’s human cost. This WW1 scene by Pixel Fox, called Letters to Loved Ones, does exactly that — showing a French and a German soldier, hunkered down in their respective trenches, taking the opportunity to pen a letter home during a moment of calm. The diorama is well done, the trench setting clear from a relatively simple structure, and there are some nice touches in the scenery, with a rat burrowing a hole, and various pieces of equipment scattered around. The French sniper rifle and German machine gun are particularly good. The soldiers themselves are excellent, the helmets and uniforms immediately recognisable as WW1-era. More importantly, they are built to a scale, and in a Mixel-ey style, more commonly employed for comic effect, enhancing the poignant effect of this model.

Big on character, small on parts

It’s amazing how a builder like R197 can take a simple LEGO brick and find a character in it. The way he uses a boombox element for eyes, and bent knees formed from technic braces, can conjure up the poise and gait of an arthritic robot.

See more adorably tiny robots.

Make like a tree, and root out the zombies!

Strategy game Plants vs. Zombies became an international hit after its 2009 release, and it has been going strong ever since. A portion of the game’s success can be attributed to its colorful cast of characters, like Torchwood. Torchwood is a mean, green, shooting machine and this LEGO version built by chubbybots is a great character build. His model offers a nice balance of function and form, with articulated joints and expressive facial features.

The mouth opens and closes, which allows for some fun poses like this one. Together, the tilted eyes, open mouth, and outstretched weaponized arm all scream attitude.

He’s even ready to go head-to-head with the game’s namesake zombies.

Chun Li – Queen of Fighters

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!

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.