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 grotesque alter ego plays his role

This odd looking chap sitting at the piano, smoking a cigarette and tinkling the keys may not be known to everyone as a character from the film Gainsbourg (Vie héroïque) [tr. Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life]. The film tells the story of French singer Serge Gainsbourg, from growing up in 1940s Nazi-occupied Paris, through his successful songwriting years in the 1960s. Pedro Vezini has masterfully built Gainsbourg’s grotesque alter ego with his large nose, long thin fingers, and an affection for cigarettes and drinking – a character who personifies all of the singer’s worst habits.

Serge

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Transforming LEGO in disguise

The Transformers was a US animated television series which originally aired in the 1980s, but has been transforming throughout the years into different generations of TV series and film franchises. The original US series was based on Hasbro’s Transformers toy line and involved giant mecha that can transform into vehicles (although Hasbro’s own toy line was based upon other toys made by Japanese manufacturer Takara) with the opposing teams of Autobots and Decepticons at war with each other. Alex Jones has built a fantastic collection of LEGO Autobots including Optimus Prime at the centre next to Jetfire the jet,  Bumblebee in his yellow VW Beetle state on the left and Windcharger the red sports car on the right. How many of these Transformers can you name and remember playing with as a child?

Autobots roll out!

Alex has just co-authored a book with another builder whose work we have featured on TBB,  Joachim Klang. Tips for Kids: Transformers: Cool Projects for your Lego Bricks  is due out at the end of July 2017 and will help budding builders transform their bricks into Autobots and Decepticons. We also recently highlighted Alex and Joachim’s incredible LEGO diorama of Optimus Prime in position in a tranquil street which gives a taste of the book’s theme.

 

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The forecast for tonight: A storm of creativity

Recovering from an exhausting round of Iron Builder may require some special treatment, but Eero Okkonen is doing just fine. His latest female character Cielan, a Goddess of weather, reminds me of his memorable Four Seasons series, but features some really bold building solutions. For instance, a massive chain of rainbow colors on Cielan’s back is made from over a dozen Bionicle Vahki crests.

Cielan

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That’s Homer Simpson, Sir, he’s one of your drones from Sector 7G

Homer Simpson’s hard at “work” in Chris Adams perfect vignette of Sector 7G of the Springfield nuclear powerplant. The vibrant colors of the cartoon have been brought to life with LEGOs brilliant pastel colors – it looks just like the real thing. Simple yet sophisticated, the little touches like the box of donuts and the fire extinguisher all help to complete the scene. The control panel with its levers, dials and even a telephone looks great and I love how Chris has used the yellow and black bricked platform to mimic the lines on the security doors.

'Sector 7G' - LEGO The Simpsons: Homer's Workstation

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Guardians from a long time ago, in a galaxy far far away

When I first laid eyes on this, my brain refused to comprehend the crossover theme! Builder BrickinNick certainly accomplished his mission to put me in a daze. At first glance, I could see Chewbacca and Han Solo, but then something told me it was also Groot and his buddy Rocket Racoon. So is it a Groobacca and a Han Raccoon duo or a Chroot and a Rocket Solo team? You take your pick! I’m still bewildered and amazed.

Guardians of the Galactic Republic

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I go. You stay. No following.

This desktop sized vignette by Obedient Machine pays homage to the memorable movie The Iron Giant. It features the heroic extraterrestrial robot mounted on a pedestal and bearing a microscopic figure of the story’s protagonist Hogarth. Represented by only 4 tiny elements, Hogarth remains unmistakable to anyone who’s seen the film. Despite being a seemingly simple creation, this model apparently went through three iterations in LEGO Digital Designer, proving that even small creations can take time and effort to perfect.

LEGO Iron Giant

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Aren’t you cold, Finn? Walk into the well, Finn!

Now that the mathematical cartoon show Adventure Time is up to 260-something episodes, I must admit I’ve fallen waaaay behind, so I was pleased that this splendid collection of AT vignettes by Tim Lydy were based on stuff I actually remember watching! Here we see Finn battling a brick-built version of The Lich over a great rendition of the Well of Power. Meanwhile Jake eats a sandwich, naturally, BECAUSE HE’S A DOG. Tim makes great use of the LEGO Dimensions Finn and Jake minifigs in these scenes, and the inclusion of a certain gastropodic Easter egg in each one also makes me very happy.

 

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I pity the fool who doesn’t like Brickheadz

Brickheadz style LEGO characters are all the rage at the moment, and Paul Lee just raised the game with this chunky version of Mr T from The A-Team. If you have a problem, and no-one else can help, maybe you can look at this model and it’ll cheer you up no end. All the elements you’d expect are here: mohawk, dungarees, red vest and socks, beard, and of course a mile or so of gold chain. But it’s the bulging biceps which make the model for me — brilliant.

Brickheadz Mr. T

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Happy Star Wars Day from the REJECTZ!

Unless you’ve been living in a Dolovite mining colony on the Outer Rim for the past five years, you’ll be aware that today – May 4th – is Star Wars Day! To mark this most made-up of holidays, I decided to go for the throat with my latest batch of REJECTZ, the adorably ugly characters that aren’t Brickheads and that you hate to hate but have to hate because no-one messes with Star Wars except George Lucas.

Check out the Flickr album for more photos and a little Star Wars Day themed LEGO humor.

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Groovy baby, yeah!

I can scarcely believe it but the classic Bond spoof Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery was released 20 years ago today! To that end, I present to you my latest shagadelic LEGO creations: The out-of-his-era gentleman spy, and his equally time-shifted nemesis Dr Evil. I think I’ve managed to capture Austin’s mojo, but apologies to our evil readers for the lack of any sharks with frikkin “laser” beams. Oh, behave!

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Like father, like son

LEGO builder Tan Kok Mun brings together a Fett family reunion with two creations in markedly different styles. First up: Boba in Brickheadz form. Everyone’s favourite bounty hunter is looking good here. The detailing around the helmet and the eye frames is excellent, and we’ve got all the accessories for an accurate finished look, including a cape and jetpack.

tkm-Jango-Boba

Next up: Papa Fett. Jango is created with parts from the LEGO Constraction big-fig series, which (although sometimes criticised as not being “real LEGO”) work really well here. The redesigned torso makes Jango look more buff, and I especially like the detailing of the jetpack…

tkm-JangoFettBust-05

Bonus points if you spotted the use of DUPLO bricks in the base of the Jango model — it’s certainly one way of saving bricks!

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It’s hip to be square

It’s perhaps surprising we don’t see more LEGO building inspired by Cubist art. Bricks would appear to lend themselves perfectly to the style. This unique series of character models by Korean builder Amida Na are an unusual take on building which relies on perspective and point-of-view, creating an interesting intersection between confusion and beauty. This isn’t the first time Amida has messed with our heads: The “folded space” of his previous cubist train set was also the inspiration behind these new creations.

Superman Kakarot

The build of Goku left me trying to process whether it was front facing or back facing – when it doesn’t really matter! In fact, the effect is strange. You immediately know what you are looking at, but are bewildered because it looks so odd. Then you are attracted deeper into understanding the model’s construction. The style is likely to evoke a different reaction in each viewer — but it rewards contemplation, seeming to yield up new details.

 

Amida describes the technique as eliminating the least important dimension, as many objects are distinguishable from their silhouette alone, especially character builds. What remains is a two-dimensional form, folded into itself to give it a sense of depth. The process of folding gives an aesthetic value of extruded facets, and from a practical standpoint it’s a good way of having the builds stand upright. Captain America is immediately recognizable, but also totally different from any other Cap’ model you’ve seen before.

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