The Hulkbuster: Ultron Edition that was released not very long ago gives everyone the potential to be a Tony Stark. However, both versions featured today just might make the official Hulkbuster set look a lot less menacing. They’re distinctly different builds of this monster machine, yet side-by-side they’re remarkably similar at a glance. Interestingly, both are significantly more poseable than the official version.
Click to see more of these Hulkbusters
We first brought you the news about the LEGO BrickHeadz 41597 Go Brick Me customization kit at Toy Fair in New York last month. It was clear from the parts selection and packaging that LEGO intends builders to create a broad range of characters from the set, which includes 708 pieces for $29.99 (and will be available on April 1st but is starting to show up in the wild already).
This set is an utterly unique LEGO set, remarkable in many ways. We purchased a couple early copies of the set from a major US retailer, and we spent an entertaining evening building avatars of ourselves and a diverse cast of interesting characters. Let’s dig in and see what’s so different about this LEGO set.
What can you build with 41597 Go Brick Me? Find out after the jump!
Most of us are familiar with princesses kissing frogs in fairytales to save their beloved from a curse, but this build by Revan New introduced me to a different, unique story, in which the girl is tasked by a sorcerer to guess her lover amongst four of the sorcerer’s apprentices, turned into ravens.
The creation is not a perfectly “realistic” recreation of the fairytale scene, as Revan adds expressive, artistic accents to the build. The snow on the edges of the beautifully constructed walls seems to have little logical relation to the scene itself, instead capturing the atmosphere and emotional aspects of the story. A few splashes of brown help to break up the build colour-wise without making it inapropriately cheerful, and the window is especially well integrated into the wall. The figures are well built too, with great details like the sorcerer’s boots and belt buckle, but most importantly, they are very expressive.
If you’re looking for a scurvy mate to fill your pillaging needs, here be the fellow! He’ll stand guard with his cleverly crafted musket, making sure your enemies walk the plank! The creator of this “maniac gunner pirate” is LEGO 7, and he’s no stranger to great builds. One of the best parts of this particular creation is the unique personality of the character. Not only does he have that wonderful classic pirate look, he also has the best expression on his face. Not to mention, his weapons display a uniquely creative use of parts.
And if you’re looking for a captain to add to your crew, you won’t be disappointed! LEGO 7 has also created a devilish Blackbeard to go with this first mate! He even has the peg-leg and macaw!
World-renowned theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking has passed away at the age of 76. While his professional accomplishments are well-known (and too numerous to list here), he was also a staple of popular culture, making cameos in numerous television shows and even becoming the subject of a 2014 bio-pic.
Among the many parodies of Professor Hawking was the LEGO version that I built 11 years ago, which continues to be rediscovered by people across the web to this day. Over the past decade I’ve had fun watching him pop up in mass media, and have also featured him in a variety of comical new situations. And exactly 1 year ago this week, this little LEGO model travelled on the same zero gravity flight that his real-world counterpart had taken 10 years earlier …the event that had inspired me to create this build in the first place. Thank you for allowing us to ride your coat-tails, Mr Hawking; rest in peace, and congratulations on beating the odds and having an amazing life that was an inspiration to us all!
The LEGO booth at Toy Fair this year only showcased one buildable or “constraction” figure, a new Darth Maul figure. Several other buildable figures from the spring 2018 wave have been revealed today, including Han Solo and the Range Trooper from the upcoming Han Solo movie.
See the full gallery ofphotos of the upcoming LEGO Star Wars buildable figures
Looking a bit like Bruce Campbell, Letranger Absurde‘s iteration of The Punisher looks great. I love the repurposed Galactic Empire Jetpack printed tile for strap buckles, and the binocular gunsight and minifig leg trigger work perfectly to create one of the many guns in Frank Castle’s arsenal. And finally, I think this is the best use of the Jack Stone skull piece I’ve seen.
One of the best things about building with LEGO is the story. Every creation has a unique tale to tell, and some fall within an even bigger picture. One Australian builder, Jayfa, made these beautiful figures as part of an elaborate collection of “Plague Mechs.” Hector (pictured right) is an old inventor, and Artillerix (pictured left) is an arms master. They’re leaders fighting against each other in an epic battle!
Jayfa has made mech-building an art. The combination of Bionicle and System parts is truly fantastic, and these posable characters really seem to come to life! Take a look at the revolvers on Hector’s cane, as well as the minifigure backpacks used for his shoulder pads! But both personalities are great! So who’s side will you choose?
Douglas Adams’ quirky comedy sci-fi series The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy arrived on our planet exactly 40 years ago today, introducing our primitive human brains to such concepts as Vogons, Babel fish, infinite improbability drives, towels and the ravenous bugblatter beast of Traal. Broadcast as a radio series in the UK, the story has been adapted and reworked as a TV show, stage show, novels, comic books, a video game and most recently a big budget movie.
To mark the show’s anniversary, the BBC is launching an all-new radio adaption which begins today! Above is my personal LEGO tribute to this frequently-quoted staple of British popular culture. It depicts various Hitchhiker’s Guide characters floating helplessly in space (including a small Easter egg in honor of one particularly famous Adams fan).
Click here for close-up images of each character
I have a feeling that the BrickHeadz series still has a pretty long lifespan with the amount of flexibility and simplicity of its appeal to the masses, reinforced by the upcoming 41597 Go Brick Me customization kit. The Star Wars franchise is no stranger to this trend, and we see a healthy amount of creativity that stands out, including these BrickHeadz of Admiral Ackbar, Biggs Darklighter, and Leia Organa. Tom Vanhaelen designed this trio, and really hit the nail on the head with that ‘stash. That printed moustache tile has “I belong to Biggs” written all over it.
Garfield was actually created by Jim Davies back in 1978, so he’s not doing too badly for a 40-year old cat. I imagine his love of lasagna, hatred of Mondays, general lazy nature and obsession with eating have not necessarily aided his longevity. This instantly recognisable LEGO version was built by Vlad Efremkin and captures Garfield’s reluctance to get up out of his cat bed in the morning. Those heavy eyelids are a particularly effective use of Commander Cody or Poe Dameron’s shoulder armour.
Inspired by the Pixar short For the Birds, Gregory Coquelz has built this faithful recreation of the film’s unfriendly birds. The build captures the expression and character perfectly, thanks to minifig helmets used as eyelids and curved slopes as beaks. The addition of the electrical line and the slight gradient in the background make it almost like watching the cartoon.
