Described by his creator Seth MacFarlane as an “evil Rex Harrison”, this psychopathic matricidal infant genius adorable little rascal from TV’s Family Guy probably needs no introduction. But the question of whether the other characters in the show can actually hear him talking remains a topic of endless debate! TBB regular Jimmy Fortel has put together this great little palm-sized version Stewie for our enjoyment:
…the rabbit jumped over the moon? Maybe the cow was on a break. Last night’s Super Mega Blood Death Moon was preceded by a wave of moon-themed LEGO builds and here is the first of them, from Taiwanese builder James Zhan. I have absolutely no idea as to the significance of the rocket-powered bunnie in this mosaic! Perhaps someone can fill me in?
As Nintendo’s ink-em-up Splatoon continues to slowly take over the entire planet, we’re seeing more LEGO builds based on the hit game. Here is an inkling girl by Djordje, and the squid sisters Callie & Marie by Anton Sundström. I’m hoping someone steps up soon and builds an entire level!
The LEGO version of Pixar’s Tinny by Koen may just be one of the cutest one man bands ever. It doesn’t take many pieces to capture the adorable expression on the marching man’s face, giving it a simple evocativeness that’s straight out of the Pixar short which inspired it. My favorite detail is the ski used a nifty feather on the shako.
To round off our exploration of the rich LEGO repertoire of Letranger Absurde, here is a charming representation of Victorian dandy Algernon Moncrieff, from Oscar Wilde’s farcical play The Importance of Being Earnest. With larger character builds, it’s less common for builders to take the trouble to construct an entire scene, but this one comes fully furnished for the period (the Vermeer painting is an especially nice touch), while the casual posing and puff of brick-built smoke breathe life into the whole thing.
From the builder: “I’m quite fond of this one. Leaving aside the fact that it’s an update to my very first character build and based on the very first play I’ve ever read and fell in love with, I feel that I’ve accomplished some things here: making a detailed scene for my large scale figs that doesn’t feel like a cheap prop and managing a pretty natural pose (most of my previous chars just felt too wooden). I’ve also experimented a bit with photography; despite the loss in clarity and quality, I think the natural low light makes the scene feel more natural.”
The vast majority of builds we feature here are created using ‘traditional’ LEGO System pieces. But there is also a vibrant subculture of fan builders who work almost exclusively with Bionicle and other ‘constraction’ pieces. However, we at The Brothers Brick are old farts, and not tuned to their frequency. So it usually takes a builder to cross that divide to get our attention. Such is the case with this shamanic creation, skillfully conbrickstractificated (with an uncharacteristic lack of purple) by teen builder A Plastic Infinity, who cites the influence of Bionicle/System fusion master Nick Vas.
Welcome to Week of Wonders, a new irregular feature in which we spotlight previously overlooked creations by a particular builder that we admire. Each day we will highlight a different build, enhanced with exclusive commentary and insights from the builder themselves.
For this first WoW, we’ll be unearthing a hoard of treasures by prolific builder and TBB regular Letranger Absurde. And in the wake of the most recent wave of Star Wars mania, it seemed appropriate to begin with this perfect movie mashup. Somehow it just works. Spooky!
The Wonderful Jedi Master of Oz
From the builder: “I built this one for a mixed theme contest. Initially I wanted to use Jar Jar for the scarecrow (the only reason this build exists). But then I figured it would be out of place among Original Trilogy characters and replaced him with Han. The fun part is that this build was born from the idea of using Jar Jar as the brainless scarecrow and he didn’t even make the final cut; a fitting fate for such a wonderful character I suppose.”
They may only come in a few varieties, but LEGO’s Mixel eyes have triggered a surge in “character builds” over the past couple of years. And while I tend to use a Sharpie for my character’s eyes, Mixel eyes still offer many creative possibilities. Combined with some creative use of handlebar and wing pieces, this fully poseable drunk business man by Swiss builder Bricking Dave is probably the most entertaining example I’ve seen in a while. No office cubicle should be without one!
“Talented” and “prolific” make a great combination in a LEGO builder, and like many of the builders we feature here on The Brothers Brick, Finnish builder Eero Okkonen manages both. Following his fantastic LEGO characters from Nausicaä, Eero has tackled Palutena, Goddess of Light, from the Kid Icarus series of Nintendo games (also featured in Super Smash Bros.). Never shy of color, Eero incorporates numerous pearl-gold and light-blue trans-clear elements.
Read more about the build on Eero’s blog, Cyclopic Bricks.
Every so often we come across LEGO versions of iconic album* covers, although more often than not they’re unconvincingly recreated using mini-figs. So it was refreshing to see umamen take a crack at some fully brick-built ones:
Pictured above: Nevermind by Nirvana (1991). One Step Behyond by Madness (1979). London Calling by The Clash (1979).
Album covers represent an absolute gold mine of immediately recognizable material for possible LEGO treatments. If you’re a builder, why not take a crack at some of your favorites – we’d love to see what you can do!
(*Album: How your parents got their music before iTunes)
Scruffy-looking son of a nerfherder umamen has been continuing his series of Star Wars themed character builds. But unlike his 8″ tall Chewbacca and Stormtrooper figures, this latest series are a mere 5″ tall – practically action figure sized. So if you showed up a bit late to the stores on Force Friday, maybe you can take a leaf out of his book and craft your own instead! The level of detail, clever part usage, and pose-ability in these is quite amazing…
Korean builder Amida Na has created a series of fantasy characters with individual backstories that he calls Tales of Samsara. As an avid character builder myself, I’m always fascinated to see innovative scales, styles and techniques being used for these kinds of builds – and these are just brilliant!
