Tag Archives: Hardsuits

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

Nothing like a bespoke suit...

As Ma.Ktober has progressed, the most wonderous thing has happened…builders from all over have been creating Maschinen Krieger hardsuits of all shapes, sizes and colours. Considering that the hardsuits are the most prominent piece of hardware within the universe, it really isn’t surprising that there have been so many this month. But the quality and creative twists taken is certainly a nice surprise. Here are some of my favourites.

Will Page uses the Rebel Vanguard helmets to brilliant effect on his space-based suit.

Ma.K Monday

_Tiler’s Fatboy is wonderfully adorable, I just want to rub it’s little belly. The fact that it is so shiny helps too :)

T05 "Fatboy"

Tim Zarki goes to a larger scale to achieve a fantastically accurate representation of the bad to the bone SAFS Snake Eye.

SAFS Space Type II "Snake Eye"

D-Town Cracka also utilizes the Vanguard helmets, as well as, one of my favourite elements (the Bionicle mask/visor thingamajig) to create this AFS Skinhead…wouldn’t want to face this guy in a snowball fight!

A.F.S. (S) 'SKINHEAD' Mk. IV

Vincent also goes to a larger scale to build one of my favourite Ma.K suits, the Kauz. The slightly odd colourscheme looks fantastic…and I can’t get enough of hearts!!

Ma.k KAUZ 01

And last but not least, Nate Decastro produced an awesomely creative design in his SAFS Shogun…and presented it in a very Maschinen Kriegery way…

SAFS space-type SHOGUN

I really wish I could feature all the fantastic creations being submitted, but that would possibly be the longest blog post ever. So I will instead urge you all to peruse the brilliance in the Ma.K Bricks pool

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RELEASE THE HUNDS!

Maktoberfest

I am very happy to announce that the month of Ma.Ktober is upon us, and as a result Ma.Ktoberfest has begun! I would like to invite all LEGO maniacs out there to partake in what I like to call, the Ma.Ktoberfestivities. Come on over to the Ma.K Bricks group to peruse the goings on. This year we are hoping to get a bunch of participation of all sorts. There are no requirements or rules, except to have fun and build something based on, or inspired by, the Maschinen Krieger Universe. For those that aren’t 100% sure what exactly that is, there is some good links and background info in the group. So whether you feel like building a small vehicle, hardsuit, or even a large diorama…we would absolutely love to see what you come up with. This isn’t a contest, but a month long build challenge with the hope of inspiring a tonne of fantastic builds!

Anyone that would like to see their creation on the month-end poster, please submit a single clear photo to the entry thread. (You must join the group to do so). Once again, Official AFOL Poster creator, Pascal has offered to do the poster…so please go easy on the poor guy and don’t put too many antennas and dangly bits on your models ;)

Also be sure to pick up your official Ma.Ktoberfest t-shirt. The fantastic design was done by my buddy Victor Vercesi. You rule V!

Ma.Ktoberfest

Huge thanks, high fives, and hugs to my other buddy Stijn for designing the rockin’ announcement poster…I highly suggest that everyone surround themselves with awesome graphic designers like I have done :D

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Ride Armor X4 Is One Sweet Hardsuit

I love mechas and hardsuits. Gregory St’s Ride Armor X4 is a real standout hardsuit. Evolved from his previous version “Fatboy,” the current version has wonderful proportions. Gregory St packs in a lot of great design into a small creation, which, trust me, isn’t easy to do. Maybe it’s just me but this creations screams “Buzz Lightyear Mech” to me.  To infinity and beyond.

 
Ride Armor X4

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5 LEGO CUUSOO projects that need your support by Sep 3

We’re just a few days away from September 3rd, the date that kicks off the autumn review period on LEGO CUUSOO. It’s not really a deadline, as such — projects that don’t hit 10,000 supporters can continue earning supporters and get into a future review cycle — but there are a handful of projects that have enough supporters that we want to give them an extra nudge to see if they can hit 10K within the next week.

At the top of my personal list (and currently the most supported project in this post at 6,552 supporters) stands Peter Reid‘s hardsuit. It’s every kind of awesome, and deserves a chance to be made into an awesome LEGO set.

LEGO hardsuit by Pete Reid on CUUSOO

Since we first posted about his British bird series back in May, DeTomaso Pantera has not only created a project for them on CUUSOO, earning 3,213 supporters as of today, but also delved into tropical birds. They’re lovely, and deserve even more love from each and every one of you.

LEGO birds on LEGO CUUSOO

Any list with gorgeous LEGO birds wouldn’t be complete without this adorable red squirrel by Arjen Vuurzoon. This excellent and naturalistic model deserves many more than the 1,226 supporters it has today.

LEGO red squirrel on LEGO CUUSOO

Chris blogged Jason‘s customizable labyrinth maze game back in April, but like DeTomaso’s birds above, Jason created the LEGO CUUSOO project soon afterward, and he’s earned 2,205 supporters since then. This is an excellent, well-planned design with a lot of play possibilities, and deserves 7,795 more supporters.

LEGO labyrinth marble maze on LEGO CUUSOO

My admiration of Masao Hidaka‘s pianos goes back to the very earliest days of this blog. Masao’s LEGO CUUSOO project, currently with 2,725 supporters, proposes famous composers with appropriate keyboard instruments — and that’s music to my ears!

LEGO composers on LEGO CUUSOO

If you’re still here and not off clicking the big green Support button over on CUUSOO, I may as well explain a bit more how I see The Brothers Brick supporting LEGO CUUSOO projects in the future.

As I explained in our anniversary post last month, I’m really only interested in seeing The Brothers Brick support CUUSOO projects that have a realistic likelihood that LEGO will approve. Everything else is a waste of energy.

Just for a bit of additional clarity, here are the kinds of projects that we won’t be supporting here on the blog (so, seriously, please don’t ask):

  • Sets that LEGO already has a license for, like Star Wars and Batman
  • Ideas based on M-rated video games, R-rated movies, or “TV-MA” shows
  • Pointlessly obscure pop culture references
  • Set and theme ideas for which one of LEGO’s competitors already has the building toy license (K’Nex has Nintendo, Mega Bloks has Halo & World of WarCraft, and so on)
  • For that matter, pretty much any set or theme that would require a new license, whether it’s a specific make of car, the mascot of a mobile phone operating system, or a fruit-themed computer company…
  • Projects without global appeal (pretty much everything in the bullets above)
  • Gargantuan ideas — sorry, Nannan! :-P

Even though we’re going to be a bit less stringent about this next guideline here at TBB, LEGO has said that CUUSOO is about proposing specific sets, not broad themes. Proposed themes with great primary models (or many to choose from, like the birds) may indeed have something from among the project’s models made into a set, and we’re happy to highlight the idea, but we’ll be doing so with the clear understanding that we’re supporting (and asking our readers to support) a model/set, not a theme idea.

Again, what are you still doing here?! Head on over to LEGO CUUSOO to support these — and many other — deserving projects.

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Look out! Melusines are falling from the sky!

First of all, I want to apologize in advance for what might possibly become a large influx of Maschinen Krieger geekery on my part over the next couple of months.

Apparently when it rains it pours…because today there has been two Melusine hardsuits posted by two different Flickr members. The Melusine has to be one of my favourite Ma.K suits simply because of it’s odd proportions. So seeing these two posts absolutely made my day!

First one was done by Logan (CaptainInfinity), and is a perfect accompaniment to his SAFS Raccoon that I featured the other day.

Ma.K Melusine

As much as I wanted to, I wasn’t going to post Logan’s after seeing it this morning because I didn’t want people to think that all I am going to feature are his Ma.K suits. But when LEGOLIZE IT MAN posted his CAD version, enough was enough…I just couldn’t resist any longer.

melusine take 1

The thing I love about both of these builds, is that they have each used very different buiding techniques and styles to represent the source material. Both are unique, yet still are very recognizable.

Now, I promise that I will make sure that I post other things besides just Ma.K creations…

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Pete Reid’s hardsuit on CUUSOO is too much awesome

After my rant yesterday about LEGO CUUSOO, I was gently reminded that there are indeed some really original projects that deserve broad support from LEGO fans everywhere. We love Peter Reid‘s greebtacular hardsuits so much we’ve followed their evolution over the years.

Pete recently his latest iteration on CUUSOO a little while ago, and it’s hit 5,000 supporters — giving it a chance that we can get it to 10,000.

LEGO hardsuit by Pete Reid on CUUSOO

Look for us to continue supporting great, original projects like this here on TBB. I’ve supported it, and hope many of you out there join me.

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Speak softly and carry a big stick

If one can say that a weapon reflects the personality of its wielder, then I need not say a word about this hardsuit by Cam M. For those who prefer more agile combat tactics, you may prefer the version with the dual-blades.
Anime to the MAX

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Mirage in the desert...

Or possibly just war machines in camouflage. The hardsuit in this crack team of desert warriors is a true beauty. And much more to scale with minifigs than most I’ve seen. Thanks Chris (Ironsniper) for this compact delight.

NRGJ Desert Landmate and troops

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Suitable

For a blog that gets accused of being mech-centric, we haven’t had a mech or hardsuit on here for over a week. This one will do.

I really like how Knobby Plastic used Jango Fett’s cowl for the head on this hardsuit. It gives it quite a distinctive look.

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MaK SAFS Space Type Pit-Viper by Tromas

TR Brownridge (.Tromas) has posted another inspiration model for the MaK Starfighter Contest. It’s great to see a classic MaK hardsuit, and this one has some lovely details — not least of which the sticker/decal use. Notice in particular the thin warning stripe below the floodlight on the front.

SAFS Space Type Pit-Viper

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It isn’t only Humans who need hardsuits

Victor Martinez N. gives the hardsuit concept a twist and outfits his Martians in protective outer body enhancements.

Martian Hardsuits

UPDATE: Victor has posted a video showing how the jackhammer mechanism on the miner suit actually works:

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New hardsuit frame design by Ironsniper

Even though I’m a sucker for adorably squat hardsuits, there are only so many gray, greebly little fellows I can take after a while. This new design by Chris (Ironsniper) made me sit up and take notice.

Warrior

There’s some nice color blocking with the brown arm, along with one of the coolest details I’ve seen on any hardsuit, even though that knife may be quite useless to a mechanized warrior. But it’s the posability built into the shoulders, knees, and feet that sets this hardsuit apart.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.