It’s the return of Jafar, depicted in LEGO by cid hsiao. The wicked vizier, here in his evil genie form, is immediately recognisable — no mean feat when you consider the model’s scale and the mix of System bricks and Bionicle-style parts used to create the features. I love the sense of escaping energy as the genie bursts from his imprisonment within the lamp — nice use of the big flame parts, and ice cream scoop pieces for smoke.
LEGO’s BrickHeadz sets seem to have triggered an avalanche of increasingly clever custom versions of late, and it’s all we can do just to keep up with these adorably super-deformed critters. Meanwhile in a parallel dimension, the significantly uglier REJECTZ line continues to grow… The male superheroes from my first collection desperately needed girlfriends, so I decided to give Disney Princesses the REJECTZ treatment. Sorry.
…so pretttttty.
Disney’s Frozen left us with a couple of heavy earworms still playing in the very background of our minds, but CK HO doesn’t let our favourite winter characters go. Recreated in the style of BrickHeadz, Elsa and Anna (featuring Olaf and Swen) do not look as excited as the versions by YOS Lego we featured previously, but this time they include not only bananas, but also some croissants.
You can’t get much more adorable than this little blocky representation of Disney’s most famous elephant. David Liu says that he built this because Dumbo is his wife’s favourite character. And I am glad he did, because that has always been one of my faves as well.
David has done an amazing job portraying Dumbo at a relatively compact scale. But the little display stand really takes the overall build to the next level. With some very efficient parts usage David created an instantly recognizable scene, in particular the use of the black 1×1 clip plates as the three crows is super clever.
Disney’s 1928 short Steamboat Willie is considered to be the first appearance of Mickey Mouse, and now Dick Cheung brings us this lovely – and completely monochromatic – representation of the famous 89-year-old mouse in the current LEGO Brickheadz style.
Mickey is seen with his hands on the ship’s wheel as he appears in the opening roll of almost every Disney production these days. I do like the accommodating base as a decorative piece; I could almost imagine it on top of a mantelpiece or a work desk as a nice memorabilia of the good ol’ days of animation.
This week Amazon has discounts on many sets, but the highlights include a Frozen set at a great price, five Super Hero sets, and two City Fire sets!
LEGO Disney Princess Anna’s Snow Adventure is 35% off, currently listed at $12.95.
We’ve seen Disney-themed LEGO mecha before, but Julius von Brunk takes it to another level with this fearsome war machine piloted by everyone’s favourite corporate icon. Bristling with weapons, and stuffed full of attitude, Mickey’s newest ride is one intimidating hunk of junk.
I love the black greebling in the arms and legs, and the red shorts and heavy yellow feet are obvious highlights. But it’s the twin sensor arrays above the cockpit that lend this mech its signature style. Don’t miss this view of the famous pilot, nestled into his cockpit, sinister grin and thousand yard stare in full effect…
The Beast’s rose by Anonymous Brick is not the first LEGO rose we’ve seen, and with recent release of the live-action version of Beauty and the Beast, I’m sure it won’t be the last. The flower’s petals, made from minifigure capes, are excellent and very natural looking, as is the nicely curved stalk. A great detail is the fallen petals, making the rose look unique. My only issue is with the model’s base, which may be a little too simple, but overall this is a beautiful LEGO creation.
There’s a new round of Iron Builder competition now underway and Jonas Kramm is already getting amazing builds out there. His newest contribution to the brutal battle is an interesting one. It’s instantly recognizable as an Iron Builder challenge creation, but there is so much nice piece usage that it is hard to tell that the “seed part” (the piece which the duelling builders in the Iron Builder challenge are required to use in each build) is a Duplo grass piece. It could be the lip-stick piece! Or the black ponytail hair piece! But it’s not. It’s a wretched Duplo brick.
With all the unique part usage in this creation, it’s easy to miss subtle details that mark the difference between a good builder and a master builder. Jonas has used perfect tiny gaps between pieces on the unfortunate carpet rider’s turban to represent the folds and edges of the cloth. Attention to detail on all levels like this is one of the reasons why Jonas got invited to the Iron Builder challenge to begin with, and deservedly so.
Not long ago YOS Lego introduced us to LEGO versions of our favourite sisters from Frozen, and we were all wondering if they had had too much of a fright or too many energy drinks with those wide eyed expressions! And now apparently Ariel the Little Mermaid seems to have consumed the same concoction. Aside from their wide eyed expressions, which do play well to capture a strange emotion, these builds of Ariel and her alternate human form are a delight for their details and proportions. The brick layering techniques used here bring out the best highlights of Ariel’s signature red hair.
Continuing our coverage from New York Toy Fair, here’s a look at the new LEGO Disney Princess sets, coming this summer.
Everyone’s favourite mermaid, Princess Ariel, makes an appearance in 41145 Ariel and the Magical Spell. This cute undersea playset depicts the moment Ariel makes her ill-advised deal with Ursula the Sea Witch, gaining feet, but losing her voice in the process. The set contains 222 pieces and will retail at $29.99
Last week, we brought you reviews for the new LEGO BrickHeadz LEGO Batman Movie characters and Marvel characters. This week, we’re taking a look at the next two in the series: 41595 Belle and 41596 Beast. Like all the BrickHeadz, they retail for $9.99 USD, and they’re available now for LEGO VIP-card holders both in LEGO stores and from the LEGO Shop Online.
