Tag Archives: Creatures

Creepy crawly or fuzzy & fluffly (yes, that’s possible in LEGO), we love our LEGO animals. Check them out here, and fall in love yourself.

A dragon that is also a crane and an excavator and a wrecking ball and...

So I have been building again. This one was quite a stress-free build, inspired by my other recent dragon, Dragon Unit LL-32167. I was struck by a moment of inspiration about a month ago and realized that I have a yellow 24-toothed gear that would work perfectly in the dragon’s neck. The thought process continued with the idea that if I build a dragon using no light gray and (almost) no blue, I could keep the previous one assembled for a longer time. This means that everyone visiting my tiny local LEGO shows/conventions may have a chance at seeing the two mecha dragons side-by-side. I name this awesome construction worker mecha dragon Workhorse.

Click here to read more about my latest build and a comparison with my earlier similar build

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The air dragon soaring above the stone and water

I love LEGO dragons, and the air dragon Bandea from this immersive (almost) fully LEGO scene by one of our contributors, Benjamin Stenlund, is one of my favourites from the past few months. The body is chunky and curvy like a “real” dragon is. What gives it the edge are not the Ninjago sword edges, but the awesome background it is presented on. The horizon is put on just the right point with the corresponding camera angle. What I love most are the realistic rocks, made of wedge slopes and polygonal panels fitted together to represent the cracks and angles of a real rock face.

The builder has quite a few elemental-themed dragons in his portfolio: Moto the Fire Dragon, Maji the Water Dragon, Hewa the Air dragon and Daera and Kijani, the Earth Dragons – the last one being my personal favourite so far.

The cutest creature of the underground – Krtek

Readers from eastern Europe will instantly recognize this adorable critter from the Czech cartoon Krtek (which means “little mole” in Czech). Having read books and seen cartoons of Krtek’s adventures throughout my childhood, I never thought to see the character built out of LEGO. But when I saw this perfect recreation by Eero Okkonen, I went full “aww-mode”.

The pose on the image is so iconic that one would hardly notice this is LEGO, were it not for a jagged edge here and there. Curved pieces capture the character’s shape very well, but my favourite parts are the red nose and the three long hairs on the mole’s head. As a master character builder, Eero has explored many different source materials and themes, but none quite as iconic as this one. Thanks for the nostalgia trip, Eero!

Kinetic LEGO sculpture of the Luck Dragon from The Neverending Story [Video]

Stranger Things season 3 will undoubtedly have given Limahl’s royalties a boost with its use of the theme song from The Neverending Story. But if you’re a fan of the original movie, then Jason Allemann‘s latest creation will have you smiling and humming the song to yourself without a single reference to Hawkins, Indiana. He’s put together an excellent LEGO version of Falkor the Luck Dragon.

Jason is the undisputed master of LEGO kinetic sculpture, imbuing his creations with wonderful motion, and this model is a perfect example. Check out the video featuring the Luck Dragon in flight, and Jason talking through the design process.

What this day needs is butterfly dragons

Tired of the same household chores? Are you sick of your job? Is the drudgery in the news bringing you down? Do you like butterflies? How about dragons? Then you’re about to turn that frown upside-down because Chris Yu has something special for you. Enter the butterfly dragons. I didn’t see that coming either yet I can’t help but smile. Despite being the size of a Brachiosaurus and having six massive legs these sweet dragons seem to have the playful, carefree gait of a puppy. I can’t even properly name all these colors in terms of what LEGO officially calls them but turquoise, lavender, light yellow, azure, butterscotch, magenta, salmon pink and others all work together to please the senses. In this bright and serene backdrop, I can just imagine their butterfly wings (or maybe ears) fluttering as they run. See, aren’t you feeling just a bit better now?

It turns out this is not the first time Chris has delighted us. Pack your bags for adventures in outer space and check out his transformable Classic Space luggage.

From the depths of space, something wicked this way comes

Back in 2017, Maelven teased the LEGO community with First Contact: The Drone. This small, intricate build fit in nicely with Maelven’s other vehicular creations, but would remain an enigma for years. Was it a spaceship? A creature? A bit of both?

Fast forward to 2019, and the reveal of First Contact: Ktulu Awaken! We finally learn where the drone came from, but we’re left with even more questions than answers. Described as a “scary alien thingy” all we know for sure is that it’s huge. Clocking in at just under 100 studs, this monster of the space lanes appears to be part squid, part Reaper from Mass Effect, part battleship, and maybe even a little electric guitar thrown in for good measure. Whatever its true nature, it contains some really excellent building techniques and part usage.

Red Technic panels provide the suggestion of mandibles, while the rest of the red hull sweeps back in well-constructed curves. Touches of white detailing in the body echo the biologic greebling, tying the whole build together. The use of a tan dome for the central “eye” also works really well (if that is an eye). The underside has a very organic feel, with the repetition of Bionicle feet and other tan elements giving a very lobster-esque vibe.

Whatever the true nature of Ktulu ultimately is, there’s no denying it’s an awesome creation.

A spirit to bring your lonely soul home

Constraction figures have been a source of contention among LEGO fans for years, starting with the launch of Bionicle in 2000. Are they really LEGO? Are they just a subset of Technic? Or are they something else entirely? Obviously, the correct answer is yes (but to which question?), and they are a gift that keeps on giving with their many unique and surprisingly versatile pieces, not to mention the cult following they acquired among certain parts of the fan community that routinely churn out awesome builds. Builder Patrick Biggs is one such fan, if his photostream is anything to go by. His latest creation blends System, Technic, and Constraction parts together so seamlessly and organically as to lay to rest the earlier questions. It is all LEGO. And speaking of laying to rest, the centaur-like figure, capped by a deer skull, is a spirit that cares for broken, lost, and lonely souls, finally shepherding them home. I’m not sure that this spirit is one that I would like to see were I broken, lost, and alone, but perhaps some people would find it comforting.

There are many great parts usages here, from the torso armor used for the lower abdomen to the Hero Factory blades used as calves on each of the four legs. But far and away the best, and even inspired use, is the shin guards as hooves and lower legs. It looks the part perfectly and almost seems made for the job. I must point out, too, the beautiful color arrangement and work in contrasts; the black body with the white deer skull and the green plants with the red flowers, on top and bottom, make the image pop. Everything is balanced, just right for a spirit to lead your soul home, I suppose. It is beckoning. Will you follow?

A whale of an opportunity at the Pick-a-Brick wall

If you have ever visited a LEGO store you probably would have noticed the formidable floor-to-ceiling Pick-a-Brick wall. One bin may contain thousands of flower stems and another may have a crap-ton of these pointy bits (metric crap-ton if you’re Canadian). There’s no telling what you’ll find there and you can take this stuff home by the cup loads. For me, I’m like a kid in…some kind of store. While loading cups full of LEGO bricks can be exciting, building something cohesive exclusively with what you found at the Pick-a-Brick wall can be a tricky endeavor, but Mansur Soeleman clearly saw…a whale of an opportunity.

I see plenty of white 2×2 corner plates, lots of 2×2 plates in light bluish gray and plenty of clips make up the baleen. The end result is a pretty good facsimile of a blue whale. You can say Mansur had…a whale of a good time with this. You see, brilliant puns like that is why I am the highest paid Brothers Brick contributor ever. At least that’s what they told me…or at least that’s what I understood when they said “voluntary”. Wait, what does “conditional trial period” mean?

And if you liked this cetacean built from a limited palette of bricks as much as you enjoyed my puns, we’re sure you’ll also enjoy André Pinto’s bonsai tree, also built from nothing but Pick-a-Brick parts.

Meet Anna. She’s not your average dinosaur.

Meet Anna the Ankyloceratops, she is not your average dinosaur. A builder who goes by the name of Victor got it into his reptile brain to construct a hybrid between a triceratops and an ankylosaurus. The end result makes her a fierce defender of all the grass and stream she has here. Her armor is comprised of plenty of radar dishes and these pointy bits. Her shaping, coloring, even the well-crafted landscape conveys Mesozoic goodness. Anna just might be the best thing I’ve seen all day and I’ve seen a video featuring a basket full of wiener dog puppies.

Which one of youse ordered the shark fin soup?

Beware shark fin soup enthusiasts. It’s not so much my thing but in China shark fin soup is considered a delicacy served at traditional weddings and banquets.The practice has been condemned by the Humane Society International as millions of sharks are killed each year for their fins and it sort of upsets the order and sustainability of other things in the ocean. Enter James Zhan and his toothy Nightmare Amalgam-Z. This creature can walk up on land, politely tap you on the shoulder with this Bionicle part while you’re dining, then maybe proceed to chomp on your face. You don’t want that, do you? We all gotta eat, I know, but driving a certain species to near extinction isn’t cool. So let’s be cool, otherwise you get this guy and we’ve already established what he does. So are we cool? Good!

A beast from a garden that is older than your grandads

The good old backyard wriggler seems like a toddler in comparison to Tino Poutiainen’s mighty “Ancient Earthworm.” Its resemblance to both the famed Jurassic-era predator and a Tremors Graboid is quite striking. Even still, this leaves me to wonder what scale is it built in? Is it in minifig scale or actually closer to life-size? Whatever the case, this LEGO beast gives me the feeling that it would be an unrelenting foe, whether chasing me down a main road or a garden path.

Poutiainen’s use of the long cattle horn and spiky appendage piece, both in reddish-brown give this build some sensory perception when deep underground. It’s crowning part use though, is the large figure forearm with fist for the head. This piece was only produced in one set almost a decade ago, so it is good to see it making such a purposeful appearance here.

Kissed by a rose in a little shop of horrors

Some people think talking to plants helps them grow faster. To that, I say it’s all great until one of those plants turns into a man-eating flower bent on devouring you, green thumb and all. Unafraid of the consequences, Jayfa built this LEGO beauty of a ferocious flower. The curved stem and flower petals are cleverly formed using constraction (constructible action figure) elements, along with palm tree leaf pieces and a tan prickly bush. Fortunately, this looks like something you would find in a Castlevania game instead of your backyard, but you never know what the garden guru next door might be cooking up….

If you like fantastical creatures like this, you’ll also want to check out Jayfa’s colorful Rygas the Basilisk.