Tag Archives: Hypolite Bricks

Can’t see the forest for the trees – but we can see the Empire instead

The forest moon of Endor is the scene of the Star Wars equivalent of the Teddy Bear’s Picnic, where a coalition of Ewoks and Rebels (oh, and some Jedi) defeated the might of the Empire once and for all. It’s a scene that has been rendered in LEGO many times, to great effect. Abe Fortier (AKA Hypolite Bricks) has joined the fray with a superb effort! Often, these dioramas are dense with vegetation and trees; it did take place on the forest moon of Endor (not Endor itself!), after all. Abe’s isn’t quite as densely populated with plants, but that might be for the better here. It gives some space to focus on the scene’s protagonists and antagonists – and the superb landscaping. It looks like it gave the good guys a better line of sight to take down that AT-ST, too!

Battle of Endor LEGO Star Wars MOC

Those scrappy Rebels

The Rebels in Episode IV of Star Wars were really a rag-tag bunch of freedom fighters, and their equipment was largely hand-me-down dilapidated old tech. LEGO builder Abe Fortier is showing us a side that we don’t often see though, of the Rebels scrapping out a ship that’s no longer spaceworthy. Abe pulled the Y-wing design from Star Wars ship-master Jerac, but gave it a cool twist with disassembled sections and of course, a portion of the Massassi outpost on Yavin 4 that the Rebels turned into a base.

Scrapping for Parts - Y-Wing on Yavin 4

Level 1313, the OTHER Star Wars hive of scum and villainy

Minnesotan Hypolite Bricks gritty Coruscant Level 1313 diorama exhibits his penchant for dynamic, textured LEGO dioramas.

Star Wars Coruscant 1313 MOC

For those not familiar, Star Wars 1313 was a promising but ill-fated video game focused on the darker underworld of the Galaxy Far Far Away’s capital planet Coruscant. The concept has recently been revived on the final season of The Clone Wars. This model appropriately features Imperials, aliens, droids, Quarren and Twilek artwork (ads or graffiti?), and -of course- death sticks. There are some neat greebling and detritus strewn about, and you can imagine the sort of shady dealings going on in each alcove.

Check out prior featured works from Hypolite Bricks like the N1 starfighter in Rebellion hangar, and the bounty hunter attack on Republic senators. In all models, you can really feel the hustle and bustle of the “used universe” that is so instrumentally Star Wars.

Star Wars action in the Senate ambush

No plan goes perfectly, especially if you were planning on ambushing several Galactic Republic senators. In this highly detailed build by Hypolite Bricks, you can see the bounty hunters swing into action as they pounce on the fleeing senators.
Bounty Hunter Assault on Coruscant

This isn’t the first time Hypolite Bricks has been featured on The Brothers Brick. His Star Wars creations, such as the Republic Gunship, are packed with excitement and life, placing you into the scene and watching it play out before your eyes. Here, the use of many textures on the tower make this seem like a scene taken right out of a Clone Wars episode. The clear bricks are put into great effect in making it seem like the bounty hunter and probe droids are flying. You can almost hear the jetpack roar and the speeder accelerate in its escape.

The battle of Hoth, from a certain point of view

Between the recent launch of the Disney+ streaming service, and the release of The Rise of Skywalker, there is no shortage of inspiration these days for Star Wars-inspired LEGO creations, and while many builders chose the most iconic scenes to re-create, some prefer to show a different side, like Hypolite Bricks. This scene from the trenches of Hoth is jam-packed with great details. The rebels have a nice E-web heavy repeater blaster, and I bet they are better shots than those Stormtroopers. But I think my favorite part is that hatch next to the turret, which gives the troopers a way to duck out of the cold for a round of hot cocoa.

LEGO Star Wars Battle on Hoth

Real rebels recycle and reuse

The grungy aesthetic of the Star Wars original trilogy showed a worn-down, lived-in universe where a scrappy Rebellion used whatever they could find to fight the mighty Empire. It’s clear that the iconic ships like the X-wings, Y-wings, and especially the Millennium Falcon are all hand-me-downs. But surely the Rebellion would have used whatever they could lay their hands on, even if it was 30-year-old tech like this Naboo Royal N-1 Starfighter. LEGO builder Hypolite Bricks has crafted this detailed diorama of the Rebel’s Yavin 4 base as they as they attempt to return the classic fighter to flying shape. Look closely at the ship, as it’s not merely the official set but an impressive custom model with lots of details, including missing panels.

Repurposed N-1 Naboo Starfighter

The builder notes that they were inspired by the N-1’s appearance in the recent trailer for The Rise of Skywalker, where it appears fleetingly along with seemingly every other ship in the Star Wars canon.