Tag Archives: Eero Okkonen

Finnish builder Eero Okkonen belongs in the pantheon of great builders. His innovative models mix System, Bionicle, and Constraction parts in mind-bending ways to create expressive characters, whether from beloved books and games or fully sprung from Eero’s imagination. Eero’s work has been showcased in the LEGO House Masterpiece Gallery, and he’s been a regular contributor to New Elementary, putting new parts through their paces and giving an AFOL perspective on new sets. Eero has been documenting his builds on the Cyclopic Bricks blog since 2012, allowing his journey as a builder to inspire countless others.

Alias: Pate-Keetongu

Micro Miyazaki: Teto and Porco Rosso in LEGO

While there might not be any official LEGO sets based on Studio Ghibli films (yet?), the fantastical worlds of Hayao Miyazaki continue to inspire builders witch creations big and small. Today we’re presenting a couple of builds on the small side, like something Arriety might build. First up is a tiny Teto, the fox-squirrel from Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, built from around 20 elements from mini character maestro QinThe mix of parts is ingenious, especially a pair of minidoll belt bags for the face and head.

Next up is a tiny flying ace from a builder known for his larger character builds, Eero Okkonen. This pipsqueak Porco Rosso with a tan binocular nose fits nicely into the cockpit of the Savoia S-21. Eero offers a detailed look at the plane and writes about why Porco Rosso is his favorite film over at Cyclopic Bricks.

Savoia S-21

Which Miyazaki film is your favorite? Why not have a look at our Miyazaki archive for inspiration!

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Incredible Lord of the Rings sculpture really moves!

Eero Okkonen is back with a fantastic new LEGO creation! This time he’s brought us a version of one the most heroic scenes in the Lord of the Rings film series; King Théoden’s charge at the Pelennor Fields. Both Théoden, and his steed Snowmane, are fully kitted out for battle. Snowmane’s bridle features golden dragon hilt details and his fluffy widdle ears are made from the wings of the collectable chicken man. Théoden is carrying a regal shield with heavy gold-inlay, as befits his station. Eero actually repurposed the first build of his we here at The Brothers Brick ever covered; the mighty viking warrior Ragnfast! But that isn’t this build’s only secret. That train controller means this sculpture is powered, so let’s take a look at Théoden riding at full tilt!

Théoden and Snowmane

Click here to see this sculpture brought to life

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The Zero Suit Samus of Eero’s DREAMZzz

Legendary LEGO character builder Eero Okkonen has a new side hustle reviewing sets for New Elementary where he puts new parts through the paces in a companion MOC. Hot on the bright light orange heels of his Simba-based Keetongu, Eero celebrates shades of blue with an amazing Zero Suit Samus from Metroid: Other M. The seed parts this time come from a pair of DREAMZzz sets, specifically the 3×3 maxi macaroni tubes in blue found in 71480 Logan the Mighty Panda.

Zero Suit Samus

Eero’s goal was to integrate the tubes into larger shapes, and he definitely succeeded, with a curvy torso that makes you forget you’re looking at LEGO. Samus’ fingers also come from Mighty Panda; the reversed trigger finger looks exceptionally cool. Eero is not a fan of building guns, but for Samus’ sidearm, he makes an exception, beautifully integrating Power Miner armor into the barrel. As we’ve come to expect from Eero’s models, the color blocking is second to none (I love the tiniest hint of blue in the eyes). Longtime fans of Eero’s work might remember his earlier takes on Zero Suit Samus using Bionicle parts, first in 2013 and later in 2015, as well as Samus in her iconic Power Suit. While still impressive in their own way, it’s amazing to see what a decade of practice and a wider palette of bricks makes possible for an artist and Masterpiece Gallery alumn like Eero.

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This LEGO Keetongu is seriously crushing it

The LEGO Bionicle theme has been the inspiration for many great custom creations over the years, like this beefy build by Eero Okkonen which, while spectacular by itself, was built with another purpose in mind… to use as many of the new elements from the LEGO 43247 Young Simba the Lion King set in bright yellow/orange as possible. With so much brightness it may be hard to know where to look first, but my eye was drawn to the large macaroni curves used for the eyebrow of this Cyclops mech.

Keetongu

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Fairy and toad are friends

Prolific builder Eero Okkonen is the Geppetto of the LEGO community, crafting detailed characters with such personality that they seem ready to come alive. His latest model of a blue fairy isn’t inspired by Pinocchio, however, but by a fairy tale from Eero’s native Finland, Pessi and Illusia. Eero employs his usual panache for NPU (nice parts usage), with the highlight perhaps the Queen’s Dragon heads used as Illusia’s skirt. As lovely as the fairy is, it’s Pessi the adorable toad who steals the show here, with those perfect saucer eyes and sporting a wonderful wicker basket of interwoven flex tubes. The scene is rounded out by delectable cloudberries on stems that incorporate foam leaves, appropriately enough, from the Belville Flower Fairy Party.

Pessi & Illusia

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Beautiful build of a terrible lizard with horrible hands

The first fossil remains of Deinocheirus were a pair of massive forelimbs with long fingers which earned it its name, literally “horrible hand.” These mysterious claws and the surrounding speculation captured the imagination of LEGO character artisan Eero Okkonen as a child. It wasn’t until the 2010s that scientists were able to find enough remains to piece together the rest of the duck-billed omnivore. It’s this version of the dinosaur that Eero recreated in LEGO for round 3 of the Bio-Cup. The model expertly blends Constraction and System parts for organic shaping. The colors, especially in the head, are splendid – a far cry from the dull shades of 20th century dinosaur depictions. I especially admire the dorsal ridge along the back, mixing tail pieces, 2×2 round bricks, and cables. Eero rounds out the build with some great pre-historic flora and, keeping on trend, an adorable crab built around an Atlantean headpiece.

Deinocheirus

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Pushing the boundaries in the Bio-cup

There’s nothing better than being surprised by a LEGO builder, is there? We’ve featured Eero Okkonen many a time on this here blog, and you might be familiar with his fantastic character builds in our archives. Personally, I was so familiar with them that I was pleasantly surprised to find out that he also built this awesome “Reactorback Strider”! It was built for the on-going Bio-cup competition, and it’s quite unlike anything he (or anyone else, for that matter) has built before. To my eyes it has one foot in the Horizon video game series, with the other firmly in Dieselpunk or retro-futurism. In reality it seems it’ll soon have both of them in that brutalist-looking microscale town, though. I love the way it looks, but even more than that, I love seeing a builder push their boundaries!

Reactorback Strider

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Stalking in a winter wonderland

“They’ve heard rumours of strange folk from the east and the west, new words and new gods and bright steel. They hope to be left in peace in their cold northern home but the watchfires have already been lit on the hills.” So begins builder Eero Okkonen‘s description of this amazing LEGO diorama, and those words are already way cooler than anything I managed to write about it. And speaking of cool, the build looks downright freezing. Good thing our lone warrior is properly dressed for the ordeal, with heavy mittens, a fur hat, and a thick beard made out of plant stalks. The star of the show, however, might be all that drifting snow, including probably the best use of a windscreen outside of a cockpit I’ve ever seen. Brrr!

Vainolaista vastaan

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A new Red Baron

This red baroness may not prowl the skies, but with that rapier, I know that this LEGO model by Eero Okkonen means business! Eero is an accomplished builder of figures and other structures, and you can check out our past articles on his work here. This baroness duels in style in her cape borrowed from the Chirrut Îmwe constraction figure, while her trans-red skirts were only available in the 2022 set 80035 Monkie Kid’s Galactic Explorer. The Baroness shows off her station with a wealth of golden trinkets on her outfit, but I’d like to draw special attention to the buckles on her cape which – using only two parts – clamp onto the fabric. Would you dare challenge her?

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Powerful princess of the Saphire Sword

Fantasy-flavored minifigs might be all the buzz right now thanks to LEGO’s new D&D partnership, but prolific Finnish builder (and TBB regular) Eero Okkonen is here to take the crown with his latest swords and sorcery inspired brick-built character. Eero makes clever use of the latest plant elements, like the lavender breastplates sourced from a new mold in LEGO Friends 42620 Olly and Paisley’s Family Houses. One of my favorite elements of the creation is how perfectly the opalescent sword pieces work as both hair and skirt. There are so many details to admire, like the Prince of Persia dagger of time as a brooch, Gungan shields on the belt, and alien cocoon thighs. Like most of his characters, this one is highly-poseable, so be sure to dive into Eero’s Flickr page for a full gallery and build insights.

Princess Sapphire

Looking for more of his great character creations? We’ve got plenty of Eero Okkonen’s LEGO builds in our archives.

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Flexing one’s musical LEGO muscles

I recently got my hands on a bunch 0f LEGO flex tubes, but I’m still figuring out what to make with them. Perhaps I should take inspiration from Eero Okkonen? This stylish keyboard player makes great use of them. Said tubes are used as the wiring for the PA system and keyboard, but Eero also shows off his braiding skills by using them as hair. It looks great! And the nice parts use doesn’t stop there. A pair of red fences are cleverly inserted into some Technic quarter-circle gears to make an on-stage monitor. Meanwhile, some Dots pendants are the perfect size for some earrings!

Mathilda Crawatt

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Take a country break in this art-nouveau villa

So you’ve been into town, you’ve visited the LEGO bank that Eero Okkonen built, and now you feel like you need a bit of a break from the hustle and bustle of city life. Luckily, Eero has you sorted for accommodation there too! Why not head down to Villa Mauski for a short stay? It’s just as art-nouveau, but with all the peace and quiet the Nordic forests do so well. You don’t even need to chop wood for the fire, the wood shelter is already full of 1×4 arch pieces for that!

Villa Mauski

Round the back, you’ve got a slice of forest to call your own in case you do need more wood. But those trees are so pretty, it would seema waste to chop them down! There are a lot of good uses of the so-called macaroni tube here. As in Eero’s previous architectural build, they’re used as a motif on the villa’s archway, but they’re also in the smoke and in the trees. You know, maybe just a short stay is not long enough to spend in Villa Mauski!

Villa Mauski

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