Cartoonist Bill Watterson has always been protective of his magnum opus Calvin and Hobbes, to the point where it’s tough to find any approved merchandise of the characters, but I like to think he’d smile kindly on this charming LEGO build of his two titular characters. Geneva Durand captures the boy Calvin and his tiger pal Hobbes crossing a log bridge in an image from one of their most iconic panels. Tiny white frogs make up Hobbes’s outstretched fingers, while Calvin’s characteristically touseled locks look good as sloped bricks. A red pot makes Calvin’s torso. Rocks and foliage spring up on either side of the bridge. It makes you wonder, what adventure are they off to next?
Tag Archives: Comic Strip
Calvin and Hobbes are back for one last ride!
If you love Calvin and Hobbes (and who doesn’t!?) you need to check out this LEGO build by Markus Rollbühler! Calvin and Hobbes ran in newspapers for ten years and has left behind a beloved legacy in the hearts of its readers. Markus here has captured the final panel of the entire run of Calvin and Hobbes in blocky form; Calvin and Hobbes riding off into the snowy magic of winter! To depict this scene, Markus has made use of a huge variety of sloped pieces to capture the chunky and cartoon-y shapes of the comic artwork. Part of Calvin’s gloves are made from armor pieces used in the Bouquet of Roses. The snowy slope the pair are sledding down features tonnes of 1×6 slopes cleverly aligned for a smooth surface, while the chunky shapes around the outside feature a number of the new 1×4 wedge from the new Speed Champions and Tuxedo Cat sets. All told, this build is a beautiful love-letter to a beloved piece of comic history! All that’s left to say is to do like the duo and get out there and explore!
Build your own horse, Lucky Luke!
What’s even more difficult than creating just the perfect LEGO minifigure for your creation? Crafting the perfect character in a small scale without using minifigures. Well, ok, this build by Marion Weintraut actually uses a lot of minifigure pieces, just not how you’re “supposed” to. The long-running comic strip hero Lucky Luke and his horse Jolly Jumper are wonderfully gangly and full of cartoon whimsy. From the perfectly placed hollow studs for Jolly’s nostrils, to the small slope for Luke’s bandana and the minifigure pirate hook for his cigarette, there are so many techniques to love here.
Although, while I’m always a fan of unorthodox techniques, I do detect a slight twitch in my eye at the way the minifigure arms are connected for Jolly’s tail. Let’s both pretend we didn’t see that, and enjoy the rest of this splendid creation.
Schroeder loves Beethoven
Sometimes one doesn’t need a proliferation of parts to make something fun and recognizable as Michael Jasper proves with this clever Peanuts scene. Building small can be tricky, especially when trying to represent characters as iconic as these, but Jasper does an admirable job by employing a variety of clever part combinations.
The Schroeder minifig features his classic striped shirt, and his blonde hair is perfectly coiffed. His beloved tiny piano is a simple but effective little build that pairs nicely with the bust of Beethoven. Snoopy is on hand with his best buddy, the enigmatic Woodstock (represented here with just five parts). The Snoopy build deserves closer inspection with its inspired use of a white saucepan to create the body, and the skeleton legs work great as dog paws. A small but mighty build!
Come to the Dark Side....we have snowball fights.
Here’s something you won’t find in this year’s LEGO Star Wars advent calendar. Nathaniel Stoner recently created a whimsical Christmas ornament of a snowman in carbonite. He took things one step further when he incorporated it in this scene inspired by a Calvin and Hobbes-meets-Star Wars comic strip by Brian Kesinger. “Lil Kylo” makes light of an event his father Han would rather forget, and the results are hilarious.