Tag Archives: Hardsuits

Powered mechanical exoskeletons. For when your minifigure needs a mighty boost.

Let the bricks do the heavy lifting

Is there a word for second-hand nostalgia? The reason I ask is that, although I never grew up with any of the ‘classic’ LEGO space theme, I’ve always been attracted (hah!) to the magnetic M-Tron theme. Unfortunately the closest I’ve come to owning any of the sets is a pair of Collectible Minifigures from Series 26. But the beauty of LEGO bricks is that you can live vicariously through them! So when I put together a hardsuit and exo-suit (inspired by Devid VII‘s recent construction worker, incidentally), M-Tron seemed a perfect fit. They are the heavy-lifting space faction, after all! All they need now is some magnets…

M-Tron Power Lifters

Robot dogs are man(agement)’s best friend

They say that the dog is man’s best friend, right? So here’s a question, prompted by Devid VII‘s excellent LEGO hardsuit-and-robot combo. Do robot dogs still count as being your best friend? Surely there’s no reason why not. Even if it’s your colleague? Well, that might depend on its purpose. With a hardsuit such as this it’s fairly obvious: it makes lifting stuff easier, travelling faster, and gives a bit of extra protection. But what is this dog here for? Quality control? Worse still, could it be this guy’s manager? Don’t get me wrong, I have a good relationship with my superiors. But I’m not sure I’d be taking them for walks or playing fetch with them…

YWBS - Yellow Work Bunny Suit and TaKo

This hardsuit packs a punch in both offense and defense

I’m not sure if I’ll ever get bored of seeing LEGO mecha. There’s so much variation that can be achieved with a simple bipedal frame. Marco de Bon‘s hardsuit, with a touch of Warhammer 40K about it, is the latest to catch my eye. I’m partly drawn in the by the unusual colour scheme: dark green with red highlights looks very smart indeed. That shield is worthy of note too. The slope parts at opposing angles make for a very nice paneling effect, and what’s the best form of defense? Offense! As well as looking cool, putting some spikes on your shield is sure to yield results in this regard.

Lego mini suit 02

The Battle for Heartlake has begun

Ever since the LEGO Friends theme appeared in 2012, I’ve had the stupid idea of Frenemies in my head. Picking up the bricks for the first time in months, I decided to finally take a crack at turning Frenemies into reality. Mech suits are not my forte, and I had to spend ages fiddling with these before I was happy. I found my initial attempts didn’t look like “suits” — the models just looked like ill-proportioned people who just happened to have tiny heads. Much of the focus during building was around the neck and collar areas, trying to get across the impression the minidolls were sitting inside these bigger mechanical contraptions.

Read on for more Frenemies!

Who needs a hand when a gun will do

Mobile hardsuits are very popular with LEGO builders, especially during the month of October, which for many fans around the world, means Ma.Ktober, the month-long building challenge inspired by the Maschinen Kreiger sub-cultural phenomenon. This mech-armored model by Faber Mandragore has plenty of charm; from a distinctly insect-like body, stompy feet, and a gun-hand connected to its back, this hardsuit looks ready to take on an entire squad of enemies. The new lantern part found in many Harry Potter sets gives the face an extra menacing look.

Affe Mobilanzug - Ma.Ktober 2020

Hard suits sound-off: one, two, three!

You may recall a prior trio of hard suits published earlier. Now Ayrlego has joined in on the fun with a trio that looks like they could be from the British Empire. At far left in the fur hat we have “Grenediere” who tears it up in the urban environment. In the middle “Flamer” deals out fiery justice in the tropical/desert environs while “Scout” does his particular brand of shenanigans in the woodlands. It turns out this builder is no stranger to exotic environments. Take some time to check out their archives.

New Belson Hardsuits

Tear it up with these hard suits

Do you like traditional Japanese folklore? Do you like hard suits? Then, by golly, you can set your squeal-holes to positively delighted with this LEGO trio by Louis of Nutwood. The desert hard suit, aka “The Camel” has a strategically placed saw I would not want to tangle with in an alley, dark, or otherwise. The R.A.M.B.O. jungle suit is just the thing to tear it up in the underbrush while the low-temperature suit, known as “The Snowflake”, has a rocket launcher. You know, for the cold. Which is your favorite?

Hard Suits (Shinrai-Do)

Suit-able for most any environment

If you have to go outside your spaceship or your undersea base, you need a hardsuit that can take the pressure, like this one by Omar R Ovalle. It’s built to fit a constraction figure like Rey, who looks like she can rock any salvage mission in style.

Hardsuit Deep Space

But our favorite scavenger is not the only Star Wars character to get their own fancy suit of power armor. Jyn Erso is sporting a pretty neat deep-sea diving suit.

Hardsuit Diver

Trio of triangular mechs

What is better than a well-armed hard suit? How about three of them? Moko has put together a hard-hitting squad of brightly colored power armor mechs, each one sharing certain design elements, while sporting very different weapons and other capabilities.

Exo-suit 03 variation

First off, that heavy assault mech, with what looks like a laser-guided rocket launcher, and a shoulder-mounted machine gun. Next, a sniper model complete with some sort of sensor package, and lastly, if you can’t shoot ’em, you can pummel them with punches with the brawler on the right.

This orc carries a big stick but he’s not walking softly

What is the point in climbing into a cramped and odorous mech if you can’t swing a big spiked club like you were swatting flies? No point at all, according to Faber Mandragore. This mech suit for an Orc warboss packs a lot of punch in a compact frame. One of my favorite parts used in this stompy, spiky mech is the metal beard from, well, Metalbeard.

Lego Warhammer 40k Ork Warboss

A collection of hard-hitting hardsuits.

One of the hallmarks of a great LEGO creation is when the subject stands entirely on its own merit, and the use of plastic parts is so completely integrated that it transcends the medium. When I first saw these LEGO Hardsuits by David Collins in my Flickr feed, my first thought was, “Cool action figures!”, followed by “OMG, that’s LEGO.” Not only are these battling hardsuits very nicely detailed with bright colors and custom stickers, but they are also much larger than they first seem.

Check out David’s colorful hardsuits in more detail

Black mecha hardsuit is ready to bring the hurt

Armored hardsuits are definitely a LEGO fan favorite subject, and this stocky fellow by Moko immediately caught my eye with some great details. First off, the shoulder guards, which use this unusual hockey helmet, are paired with the Bionicle mask to give the suit a bulky style. The elbow connection is also interesting, inserting clip bars into the underside of a 2×2 round brick. A small detail on either side of the pilot’s compartment is the printed construction tile from LEGO 30529 Mini Master-Building Emmet polybag. The overall effect reminds me of a goliath beetle.

Exosuit 02