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!

Elegant character from Journey created in LEGO

Toronto builder Mel Finelli has built a rather wonderful model of the character from the 2012 indie game Journey. I am the first one to admit that apart from Mario Kart I don’t know a ton about most video games, in particular when they are indie, but that doesn’t take away from the appreciation I have for Mel’s beautiful model. She has done a fantastic job of layering curves and slopes to create the flowing robes of the character, something that is anything but easy to do with LEGO.

The resulting 15″ character is interesting to look at from every angle, which Mel was nice enough to provide in her composite image. Those of you that are lucky enough to be going to BrickCan this weekend will be able to see the model in person.

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Everyone’s favourite Disney princess

Immediately recognisable, and packed with a whole heap of attitude — that’s Miro Dudas‘s latest LEGO model: Princess Leia Organa, dressed for cold weather, hand on hip, all ready to give Han a hard time. In a relatively small amount of bricks, this creation really manages to capture Leia’s feisty character. The padded jacket and the boots are nicely built, but it’s the way the model has been posed which does all the work. The stance is perfect. I can almost hear her speak. “I don’t know where you get your delusions from, laser brain.”

We’ve covered one of Miro’s brick-built Leia figures previously, but he appears to be on a roll with a whole series of them. As well as the great Hoth-variant above, there’s an excellent rendition of the Princess disguised as Boushh the Bounty Hunter. Don’t miss the clever use of the printed letter-E tiles on the mask, and the great brickwork to create the belt and harness…

When there’s something square in your neighbourhood

There’s been a lot of LEGO creations inspired by LEGO’s new Brickheadz line recently. So it takes something special to catch the eye and rise above the rest of the blocky crowd. James Zhan does exactly that with these renditions of the Staypuft Marshmallow Man and Dr. Venkman from Ghostbusters.

Mr. Puft is looking very dapper in his sailor’s hat, and there’s good work on his little red bow tie too. Setting him loose amidst some microscaled buildings is a nice touch to give an idea of a different scale. Peter Venkman looks fetching in his boiler suit, and the ghost trap is excellent. But just check out Smiler — the use of a green minifigure tub as his mouth is absolutely inspired!

A very, VERY mad punk mecha

When one hears the phrase “LEGO mecha“, the name of the legendary Japanese builder Moko is probably one of the first that springs to mind. While he was one of the builders to define the genre, he still continiues to progress it, as is the case with his latest mecha, MFS-11 MAD Garm. After over a decade of active building, Moko can still make mecha that look unique and memorable. There is a lot to love here, from poseability to its unique face and the awesome mohawk. The mecha’s posture and spikes both add to a complete, menacing look. This is definetely not something I want to meet in a dark alley, no matter how unlikey that would be.

Nana, do little boys and girls go to heaven when they die?

Limbo is an indie video game about a young boy wandering in an intimidating forest, that was first released in 2011. Since then the game has been praised for its unique atmosphere made up of visuals, sound, and gameplay. German builder grubaluk has managed to balance these three fundamental components as perfectly as in the game — not with code, but with LEGO bricks.

The best thing about this work’s presentation is that only one picture is needed. The boy, the grass in the foreground, and spooky trees in the background look exactly as in the game. You really do have to double-check each piece just to make sure that the whole build is a small masterpiece somewhere between a children’s toy and an iconic story of a child.

Our browsers can’t repel cuteness of that magnitude!

Gial Ackbar is the Rebellion’s most famous admiral. Or as builder Djokson says, he’s the “screaming fish man from that one space movie”. Large aquatic eyes lend Ackbar an innate adorableness, and this version by does a fantastic job of rendering Ackbar’s stupified expression with the help of an upturned Hero Factory mask for the long forehead. I also love the simplicity of the uniform, which perfectly distils the Rebel coat using just a few elements.

Mickey Mouse’s debut performance

Disney’s 1928 short Steamboat Willie is considered to be the first appearance of Mickey Mouse, and now Dick Cheung brings us this lovely – and completely monochromatic – representation of the famous 89-year-old mouse in the current LEGO Brickheadz style.

Mickey is seen with his hands on the ship’s wheel as he appears in the opening roll of almost every Disney production these days. I do like the accommodating base as a decorative piece; I could almost imagine it on top of a mantelpiece or a work desk as a nice memorabilia of the good ol’ days of animation.

Happy happy joy joy!

Every generation of kids has its cartoon with jokes that are far funnier to the adults in the room, and growing up that was Ren & Stimpy for me. Julius von Brunk has given us this spot-on rendition of Stimpson J. Cat, affectionately known as Stimpy. It has it all: the round red body, the tiny ears, and the giant blue nose. His eyes gaze off into the distance, with the tongue hanging out for everyone to see. Julius does a fantastic job capturing the things that make Stimpy so recognizable, with his roundness and simplicity.

I’ve got a plan so cunning you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel

Most people know Rowan Atkinson from his most famous character Mr. Bean, who we’ve featured before driving his car. For a lot of us though, his greatest comic character was the infamous Edmund Blackadder. And now Letranger Absurde has made this acerbic anti-hero the subject of his latest brilliant character build – from his goofy conical hat to the tips of his pointy boots.

Gotta get back, back to the past

After a 12 year hiatus, the 5th and final season of Samurai Jack is finally here! (…though Cartoon Network has now moved it to their night-time adult swim segment). Based on these stunning LEGO busts, I’d guess Yu Chris has a soft spot for the time-traveling samurai and his diabolical shape-shifting foe Aku.

From their angry expressions to Yu’s color choices, these models capture the cartoon’s unique artistic style. In particular, I love how Yu nailed Jack’s massive square jaw and top knot, and Aku’s iconic silhouette.

A charming performance from a girl who loves to sing

Builder vir-a-cocha takes the phrase “life inspires art” to a new level with a beautiful, charming, colorful and cute representation of their daughter in LEGO form. The details of the little girl in a polka-dot dress, her mom’s oversized heels, shades and a beach hat nicely captures the essence of a child growing up!

And yet it does not end there, as it’s complemented playfully with a loudspeaker to amplify the microphone. And to save the best for last, a LEGO rock piece which has so few alternate uses in official sets is used for the torso of a huggable teddy bear that’s irresistible. If LEGO had an Oscar for me to recognise a great build and excellent execution, this would be in my list of nominations to win!

To infinite creativity and beyond!

I understand that this somewhat technically and conceptually simple sculpture of Toy Story‘s Buzz Lightyear may not appear terribly innovative, especially having been built by one of the most renowned LEGO builders in the community, Tyler Clites. But context is the key here, as this was made as a live build at a festival, in 10 hours with no planning. I have rushed builds myself before, but never at this level. I think it’s safe to say that not many people are capable of making a creation this impressive in so little time, at least not at the scale of Tyler’s Buzz Lightyear.