Tag Archives: Cube

Some scary-good geometry in LEGO

Over on Instagram, Zachary Steinman has a reputation for creating some phenomenal geometric forms out of LEGO. So much so that LEGO House in Billund, Denmark has even noticed his art and put it on display in their LEGO House Masterpiece Gallery. This skull-shaped cube ditches his usual symmetrical design and instead depicts a bony grimace through some wild texturing. It’s a build that combines an onslaught of 1×2 curved slopes and rounded 1×1 tiles with a stark color difference to make something that feels very Jack Skellington-meets-Minecraft.

Why have a Jack-in-the-box when you could have a Mech-in-the-box?

From the talented mind of Moko, comes this incredible mech build. The robot has the ability to transform into an innocent looking cube presented in an eye-catching lime colour scheme. The head is created through use of a silver bow tie placed on top of a tooth piece which acts as an elongated chin. With a minfigure in the pilot seat, the mech is ready to arm its self with a rifle, equipped with an electrified bayonet at the end.

CUBE-ROBO 12[Powered suit01]

In the cube mode, you can see the front “M” tile which was used in a Jungle Racer set from 2003. On the side there is also a code tile, featured in the Exo- Force sets.

CUBE-ROBO 12[Powered suit01]

To see how the magic happens, check out this video of the transformation, featuring more awesome mech poses.

Thinking outside the box can take you out of this world

The LEGO VIDIYO line has introduced some notably interesting minifigure DJs and a ton of printed tiles, or BeatBits, that interact with the accompanying music video creation app. As far as parts go, we’ll see what the future VIDIYO sets hold for us, but for now, we have the BeatBoxes. They’re curved cubes with clear bodies that attach to a large, 8×8 modified brick. Inside, a special element holds two hinged plates that display the BeatBits and a fixed horizontal stand for the minifigure. Recently these elements have gained some popularity and builders are showing off what they can do with them. Builder martin.with.bricks elevated his BeatBox out of this world, cleverly using it as the cockpit for a spaceship dubbed the VIDI-1. Bricks are stacked in various orientations to attach to the cube element and wrap around it. The lime green of the BeatBox base is accented by patterns built into the wings as well as vents on the sides and guns on top.

VIDI-1

Inside the clear section of the BeatBox, Martin has used brackets, clips, and rounded 2×1 plates to create a seat, display, and controls for the Alien DJ. Representing “Extra Terrestrial Dance Music” according to the promotional images, this is a great minifigure design from the VIDIYO line. Continue reading

Emerge: Object 5-D

Just when we thought we had LEGO builder Mitsuru Nikaido all figured out he comes along with something outside of his usual comfort zones. Frankly, seeing a techno-goo monster emerge from withing a cube would be outside the comfort zones of many people. This whole concept has an eerie, otherworldly feel, like the stuff of our strangest nightmares. Even the low placement of the cube in the composition feels a bit unsettling. While he may have shifted his palate, Mitsuru is still experimenting with bold and stark color contrasts. The end result is stunning. I am fascinated by Object 5-D and will surely remain intrigued by what this builder comes up with next.

Object-5-D

Thinking inside the cube

With skull rings and a long pointed goatee, I wouldn’t be what you’d call a “square”, yet whether it be a Borg Cube or a transforming Rubik’s cube, I get a kick out of things designed with a cube shape. It should come to no surprise then that this White Cube Bot built by Anthony Séjourné fits squarely into the things I totally dig. A white object on a white background can be difficult to photograph but with good lighting, a great camera and just enough light gray details to make it pop, Anthony has done an excellent job here. I can just imagine it zipping around on its wheels doing whatever it is cube robots are assigned to do with their time.

LEGO WHITE CUBE BOT - atana studio

Cubic LEGO creations squared

The cube is one of the most basic 3D shapes and the building block (pun intended) of many LEGO models. Two different creators have recently drawn inspiration from the cube with wonderfully diverse results. The first model is a plucky little robot by Markus Rollbühler which combines teal and dark red elements in stark contrast. There are two nice parts used in the arms: a minifig torso armor part, and the torso of a B1 battle droid for the hand. The new printed eye tile from the recent LEGO Harry Potter 75950 – Aragog’s Lair gives the eye an unexpected look.

Mech Monday #2: CUB-3

The next model is this floating star-fighter (coincidentally, also with one eye) by Anthony Wilson and was created for a building competition called Space Jam. But there is more to this model than meets the eye. This star-fighter transforms with a flip of the black guns on either side of the ship.

Ol' Starfighter J03

Mind bending cubic LEGO construction

The cube is one of the most common shapes and one that is particularly well suited to LEGO models. But this clever construction by Didier Burtin takes cubic LEGO construction to a whole new level. The structure of 5 plates matching the width of 2 studs is the most basic form of LEGO math at the core of this model, but the use of sideways facing stud bricks, jumper plates, and brackets, as well as plates and tiles in alternate shades of gray, add up to way more than the sum of its parts.

Exocube

LEGO Cube revealed, the first ever open-world, sandbox LEGO game for mobile [News]

Today LEGO has announced LEGO Cube, the first fruits of their partnership with developer Tencent Games, part of the massive Chinese tech conglomerate Tencent. The new video game is an open-world, sandbox game and is designed for mobile platforms. LEGO expects the game to be publicly available before the end of the year, though they’re not yet ready to announce specifics yet, such as whether it will work on both Android and iOS, and how much players can expect to pay, including whether or not it will feature micro-transactions.

The initial launch appears to be focused on the Chinese market, but LEGO is calling the Chinese release a “preview” indicating that there may be plans for a wider release down the road. The game joins several other new properties developed in partnership with Tencent, including The LEGO Video Zone, an online safe harbor for children’s digital entertainment and featured on Tencent Video.

It remains to be seen exactly how this game will differ from LEGO’s current open-world, sandbox game, LEGO Worlds, or whether Cube is simply a mobile port of that existing game. Watch the Chinese trailer here, and you can read the full press release below.

Continue reading

D.I.Y. Sunday

If your creative well has run dry, TBB is here to help with a couple of projects to fill the hours before the factory whistle blows on Monday…or Tuesday if you live here in the States.

First up is the deceptively challenging How to build a K.E.W.B. by Jacob Unterreiner (4estFeller). The video is easy to follow, doesn’t require a Zhangian collection to build and it even has cool music that will make you feel like you’re in a hip clothing store. The only drawback is that Jacob doesn’t show you how to make his elegant stand to display your K.E.W.B., but we’ll let it slide.

Description

For the advanced builder with LDD experience and a penchant for Sci-Fi, Chief Executive Overlord, Tanuki Corp. and wezra have you covered with a free instructional download of Red Spacecat’s USS Saratoga. I can assure you, constant reader, that the instructions are far easier to follow than my description.

Red Spacecat's USS Saratoga LDD

USS Saratoga + Concept Art

To those of you who take the plunge, good luck! I have no doubt that the builders featured here would be happy to answer questions from you via Flickr if you get stuck. If you have your own D.I.Y. project to share with the readers, leave them in the comments.