Proto Man is the anti-hero brother to Mega Man in the classic Mega Man series, rocking a red helmet with shades, scarf, and an arm cannon of his own. Bruce Lowell uses slick shaping to capture the cartoony vibe of characters in the Mega Man series with his LEGO Proto Man figure. Shaping on the bulky red armor components in particular is done excellently and contrasts well with his gray body suit.
I’ve always loved LEGO microscale building. It’s all about challenging yourself as a builder to find the simplest and smallest expression of something that remains immediately recognisable. Whilst not exactly regular “microscale building”, I set myself the same challenge with these creations, trying to depict iconic characters in a “minimalist domino” style, using as few pieces and colours as possible. I thought the heroes of the Rebellion would make for an appropriate line-up and I’m pleased with how they turned out…
Once I started building in this style I just couldn’t stop — it’s fun, but surprisingly challenging to capture the essence of well-known characters in so few pieces.
Click to see more minimalist characters
What better way to welcome in 2018 than with a LEGO model of a traditional Japanese shishimai mask, used for a lion dance at New Year? keiichi kamei has built a fantastic bust of the lion mask — the shaping of the face and mane are brilliant, and the restrained colour palette lends the image a real vibrancy. I particularly like the eyebrows and nose, and adding those fan pieces as a pattern on the coat is a lovely touch. But the masterstroke is the slight angle of the head, immediately injecting an air of fun and a sense of character.
This lovely fairy sculpture by Mike Nieves was apparently a gift for a friend. I hope Mike’s friend appreciates it because it’s truly magical. The figure is beautifully posed, looking like she’s about to touch softly down from the air. The wings are fabulous, and the shaping of the skirt is particularly well-done. When a character is this well put-together I think we can forgive the non-LEGO stand!
Black gold, some call it. This striking piece by timofey_tkachev shows how humanity has drunk this precious resource at an astonishing rate since we discovered its multitude of uses, and with each new miracle we welcomed, an array of troubles followed. From the blazing infernos of uncapped wells to the broken pipelines polluting the ground, Timofey paints a picture of the horror of human technology run amok.
The face of an unknown abomination drenched in black oil springs from the ground beneath the hellish landscape. In the foreground, a streak of oil seeps toward a lighter, inching closer to Armageddon.
Once there was a leprechaun sought
built with some very nice SNOT.
He held his pint tight,
And his gold shined so bright,
One would call this thing a jackpot!
This brilliant charismatic leprechaun is yet another brick-built masterpiece by Timofey Tkachev. I must admit, I’ve never thought a common round 1×1 plate with flower edge could become such a brilliant four-leaf clover, not to mention moustache made of carrots and socks designed with a set of white rubber belts.
“Okay. One beer. Just one beer…” said Santa. But everyone knows Rudolph is a bad influence.
I always build a Christmas LEGO model, and this year I couldn’t resist depicting what happened when everyone’s favourite reindeer led poor Saint Nick astray. Wherever you are in the world, and whether you’re celebrating a traditional Christmas, or a different variety of holiday season fun, I hope you have a peaceful and happy time. I know I’ll be cracking open a beer or two, and might join Rudolph in wee glass of whisky.
Captain Falcon is a Nintendo icon, whether one recognizes him as the flagship character of the F-Zero racing games or as the over-expressive fighter in Super Smash Bros. Logey Bear shows us their moves with the brick, creating a LEGO Captain Falcon figure full of his ridiculous charm. A great combination of Bionicle, system, and even Duplo and Scala parts bring this fit, fast fighter to life.
Toy soldier figures are a mainstay of Disney theme park decorations at this time of year. Koen has built a wonderful LEGO version, with great shaping and brilliant attention to detail. The hat is fabulous, and the nicely-done face captures the character well. I particularly like the rosy cheeks and pointed pink nose. And that angled hat brim is excellent.
Since LEGO has decided to expand it’s super blocky Brickheadz line to include seasonal characters rather than just screen icons, I figured it made sense for my Rejectz to do the same. So just in time to ruin Christmas, I present… holiday Rejectz!
So what does Santa do before he has to deliver all those presents? He takes a break in the sun of course. yu chris‘ LEGO scene uses parts to great effect, building at a larger scale than you might first think. The bushy beard built from angel wings is a particular highlight, but the furniture and surf-board are nicely-done too. One detail which really caught my eye was the blue glass on the table — so simple, made of only three pieces, yet perfect at this scale. I hope Santa’s enjoying his drink, and his short getaway — he’s going to have plenty of work to do in the next few weeks.
Piranha fish have something of an undeserved bad reputation. But this unfortunate creature, built from LEGO by Sebastian Gren, certainly looks like he come off worst in an argument with his fellows. This is a fun model, but it’s well-built too. The bones of the skeleton are perfectly-arranged, with the use of a LEGO fibre-optic cable to provide a flexible spine, and the face has plenty of ugly piranha character. The presentation helps as well — the simple base, with its touches of greenery, effectively suggests an appropriate river bed base.
