Tag Archives: Chibi

This Optimus is a Prime example of cuteness overload!

I need only two “words” to accurately describe this LEGO Optimus Prime variant by Angus MacLane: toats adorbz! The odd proportions here somehow work quite well together: tiny hands and feet, a boxy little head, and a big barrel chest sporting the truck’s grill and headlights. The overall look reminds me of some of the Playskool versions of the bot intended for toddlers. This is exactly the kind of masterful character creation you would expect from a much-revered builder like MacLane. Heck, I’m still flabbergasted by the shaping of that Optimus noggin in this scale! There’s so much crammed into that small 2x2x2 cube allowing for proper eyes and forehead visor, as well attachments for the side hardware.

Sub-Optimus Prime

Of course if it’s a Transformer, then it had better be able to transform. Angus’s Optimus folds up into a semi, with equally-adorable dimensions. The opaque medium blue windows are an elegant solution to the difficult task of conveying a windscreen without revealing the bot within. For all the unique stylistic choices here, I think I may even like this second version of Prime better than his first.

Sub-Optimus Prime

Aren’t you a little short for a Stormtooper?

Perhaps he’s not quite up to the Empire’s recruitment standards, but this LEGO chibi Stormtrooper by nobu_tary is as adorable as an Ewok in armor. Come to think of it, maybe this is a post-Empire Ewok in salvaged armor? Whatever the case, it’s a fantastic little build with highly poseable limbs thanks to ball joints, and I can’t get over how good that squared-off helmet looks.

Stormtrooper

Ultraman

LEGO builder Moko has created an ultra-chibi version of Ultraman. Does that make this Chibi-Man? Or Ultra-Chibi? Chibi-Chibi-Spam-Ultra-Man? Well, whatever you call him, he’s a pint-sized pack of awesome. It’s the overall clean lines that make this build stand out to me. Clever use of quarter-circle and macaroni tiles create a cool take on the eyes, and plenty of slope brick helps make the figure feel streamlined.

ULTRAMAN

As a bonus, there’s a lot of articulation to play with, making this guy even more action-packed. It makes me wonder if the underlying structure could be adapted for even more characters at this scale. Maybe we’ll be lucky enough to have Moko give that idea a try.

ULTRAMAN

In the meantime, how does this build stack up against Moko’s other featured creations? There’s just one way to find out…click and see!

Come quietly or there will be...trouble.

While you’re enjoying mechs, Star Wars, castles, Classic Space or whatever else amuses you here on Brothers Brick, here is a rather cute, rather chibi RoboCop. It was built by John Cheng and acts as a reminder that we should probably rewatch that 80’s gem now that we have a lot more time on our hands. Resistance is futile. I mean seriously, you should rewatch it.

"My friends call me Murphy. You call me... Robocop" #lego #moc #legophotography #legocreation #legolife #legobuilder #80s #robocop

But before you do, here is some other stuff of John’s that we liked.

More than meets the eye

As someone with a degree in Latin, I love seeing Latin words and phrases used out and about in the modern world. Car names in particular seem to be Latin-derived, like Maxima (greatest), Navigator (helmsman), and Optima (best). Speaking of the latter, there is also a well-known Autobot called Optimus Prime, which is roughly “Best First” in Latin (I say roughly, rather than exactly, since it ought to be Primus rather than Prime, but it is still based on the same word). He is the best Transformer, that much is clear, from the Prime family, which is the “first family” of the strange alien robots. Sam.C (S2 Toys Studio) brings us said Autobot with this stellar transforming LEGO build.

PMOP1

Optimus looks awesome with his massive guns and his blocky shape. I love the shaping on the head in particular. He looks so angry, like Megatron just stole the AllSpark. It brings me back to the toys I played with as a kid, with limited range of motion but big guns and broad shoulders.

Read on to see Optimus’ transformation

Remain calm! Chunky Transformers are here to help

If you like LEGO and chunky transforming robots, there is definitely more to these first-responders by Sam.C (S2 Toys Studios) than meets the eye. (See what I did there?) Both Autobots feature angled faces and anime-inspired helmet details that look like they transformed right out of a comic book, or 1980s-something Saturday morning cartoon.

TBD2

Aside from the amazing pose-ability and blocky limbs, my favorite hard-to-spot part is the light gray 1×1 round plate with ball joint (most commonly found in yellow as the hands of the brick-built LEGO System figures) used here for the perfect connection in many of the bots’ joints.

Chibi Sisyphus can never get ahead of his head

In order to fully appreciate this next creation, we’re going to have to define a couple of terms. The first is chibi. That’s a Japanese slang term that describes an art style where characters are drawn as small, chubby figures with exaggerated features. The second is Sisyphus. In Greek mythology, he was a king who was punished by the gods for his wicked ways. He is forced to push a giant boulder up an even bigger hill, only to have it roll back down every time it nears the top. At first glance, these two terms don’t seem to have a lot do to with each other. Leave it to Sheo to unify them into a really cute image of eternal torture. In this version, Sisyphus doesn’t have a boulder to push; instead, his over-sized chibi head is the enormous weight that has to be moved upwards.

Chibi Sisyphus

Creative use of various arches and curved slopes creates an anguished, yet adorable, visage. The use of a curved brick for the leg gives a great sense of that upward pushing. I also like the detail of the 2×2 round tile for his belly, and let’s not ignore the build of the mountain either. The rocks are built out in all directions, with a combination of slopes, plates, and tiles giving some lively texture to the backdrop.

Best to stay away from brooding Batman

We first saw Desert Batman from the flashback scenes in Batman vs Superman, and fans can’t get enough of it. This chibi style version (also known as super-deformed) by Choi Dambaek captures him like he’s about to make someone’s day a lot worse. I love how this tiny build has enough articulation at the arms and knee joints to give life to the character poses.

The founding fathers of classic gaming

As a big fan of classic gaming, I was thrilled to see Mike Dung’s adorable chibi trio of LEGO Nintendo characters. Mario and Link are here, as is the LCD handheld gaming legend that is Mr. Game & Watch. I love that Mario and Link’s tiny bodies are poseable, and the sculpting of their facial features is spot-on. Despite being monochromatic, Mr. Game & Watch looks quite animated! After seeing these figures, I could play a few rounds of Super Smash Brothers.
 
Mario_Link_Mr_G&W

Ride the wave with Hatsusika Hokusai

When it comes to Japanese art, one of the most iconic pieces produced during the late Edo period was Hokusai’s “The Great Wave off Kanagawa.” This masterpiece helped to inspire the character of Hatsusika Hokusai, found in the free-to-play role-playing-game (RPG) Fate/Grand Order. Mike Dung has made two versions of this character, including a cute chibi figure. In the chibi-build, Mike’s brick-built wave is instantly recognizable and beautiful representation of Hokusai’s artwork. The wave in the other model is cleverly built with several trans-light blue garage door pieces.

[Fate Grand Order] Hatsusika Hokusai

Chibi cuteness can be contagious

Builder LegoWyrm takes inspiration from Hatsune Miku, a humaniod anime persona. LegoWyrm gives it a Spanish flavour with a red themed outfit, and upped the cutness factor by shrinking the character to a chibi sized version. It works gleefully well, with the dress piece arrangement and the pose held together by the unique use of elements for the feet.

Hatsune Miku ~ Supein e Youkoso version

Delightfully cute LEGO battleship

Dwalin Forkbeard‘s latest is a brilliant little pocket-battleship called the Yamamoto. This is an unusual scale for this kind of chibi-style building and I love the level of detail it has allowed the builder to include — particularly good work around the bridge and the funnel. Top off a cute and cool model with excellent presentation like this and you’ve got a cracking LEGO creation.

Yamamoto

I misread the name of this model at first and got all excited, thinking this was a rendition of Space Battleship Yamato. Although I love what Dwalin’s done here, I demand he now produce a version of that craft in the same style.