I like a heavy motorbike as much as the next guy, but there’s something a little fishy about this LEGO trike by Ian Ying! Maybe it’s the sharp blue-and-red custom color-scheme or the cold golden gleam of the engine (with many parts recolored to pearl gold), but something makes me feel like there’s jaws (and teeth!) closing in. Well, not to worry. With a ride this fast, you’re sure to leave the competition eating your bubbles!
Any fans of Hotwheels will recognize the stubby, radically customized twin-engined ice truck cast called Cool-One. It’s one of my fave molds. In fact, I built my own LEGO version of it way back in the day. My research says it didn’t get featured here. Maybe it just wasn’t cool enough. Anyway, Ian Ying is here to remedy that and give this Cool-One his own LEGO treatment. I’m digging the stance, the colors, and the chromed-out rims are an excellent touch. A confident builder will supply his source material in the photo just as Ian did here. I’m smitten! It wasn’t the first time, either. Check out why Ian Ying is so darn cool.
It is the Year of the Ox and we have not yet gotten tired of your OX-related LEGO creations. My case in point, Ian Ying knows that what glitters is pure gold. It’s an ox, it’s expertly crafted in LEGO and it’s entirely gold. What’s not to love? It’s especially poignant being that 2021 is a Golden Ox year and is said to be a very lucky year indeed. We haven’t had a golden ox year since 1961 and I’m told that year wasn’t without its charms. Other builders have used monochrome with some pretty amazing results. Also, check out some other Year of the Ox creations that we have featured.
Anyone even remotely familiar with hot rodding knows that the quintessential dream project is the ’32 Ford roadster. They’re always a favorite at car shows and Ian Ying pretty much reached hot rodding nirvana with this LEGO version. I can assure you, they didn’t look like this off the assembly line but with a bit of imagination and elbow grease, customizers back in the day would turn their Grandpa’s jalopies into these hot little roadsters. The classic black with red trim, whitewalls and flames is the pinnacle of perfection. Copious chrome and gold doesn’t hurt matters, either. Ian is proving to be an automotive LEGO-building legend with a penchant for shiny bling. Click in the blue link there to see what I mean.
LEGO custom car superstar Ian Ying is on something of a roll. In hot pursuit of his recent LEGO dragster, here comes a beast of a concept racer. This thing is all smooth sports car lines up-front, and then mad-as-a-box-of-frogs supercharged drag racer at the back. The angles and curves, built with a smart selection of tiles and slopes, are spot-on, and together with the restrained use of stickers and a nicely-blocked colour scheme manage to make this look like a much bigger model than it really is. But there’s no getting away from it; the stupid/amazing turbocharged engine and enormous wheels to the rear grab all the attention. And quite rightly too; the whole thing is gloriously over the top!
There’s nothing like taking the family and the pets on a scenic road trip. On second thought, leave them at home, there is no room for them in a Tommy Ivo dragster anyway. And if you’re soaking in the beautiful sights along the way, then boy are you doing it wrong! Ian Ying has built a LEGO version of TV Tommy’s legendary Twin Buick AA Dragster and the result is…well, legendary. The real thing has broken several world records including being the first gasoline-powered dragster to break the nine-second barrier. I’m sure this LEGO version must break a few records like…um…best use of custom chromed-out motorcycle rims or something. Whether it be the copious amounts of chrome or its aggressive stance, I’m pretty smitten with the whole kit and kaboodle. But then again, I would be. It would seem Ian is an up-and-coming builder to watch out for because here are the other times his stunning creations has made our hearts flutter.
Here at The Brothers Brick we are like raccoons in the sense that we love shiny things and have short attention spans. Apparently there is also a lemur within our ranks but I have not seen the critter around the headquarters since my inception here. But that is a matter for another day; as for now, we will deal with the only thing that matters, which is this stunning LEGO Confederate R131 Fighter Motorcycle by Ian Ying. There was a time when LEGO was on board with our obsession for shiny things but that is in the past and what bit of precious chrome is left has become increasingly rare and costly. Custom chrome parts can be had but you’d have to spend a pretty penny (a shiny penny!) to build something as gloriously chrome-plated as Ian had.
There was apparently a time when other things mattered. But our reason for publishing, our reason for our very existence has all led up to this. As a raccoon with a short attention span who loves shiny things, I declare this to be the best LEGO creation in the history of the world ever and will be until the end of time! Or until a few hours from now when something else captures our attention, whichever comes first.
With a bit more than a week left until Christmas, Santa will need to up his game if he wants to deliver toys to all the good children of the world (except, of course, those who don’t have Santa in their holiday traditions). Thankfully Ian Ying has a solution with this extra blingy Rudolf Hot Rod. It has all the horsepower (or deer-power) needed to get the job done and there is enough custom and official LEGO pieces in shiny chrome to make any hot rod enthusiast’s heart go pitter-patter. The red-nosed deer skull hood ornament offers a clue as to what became of Rudolf. Good riddance, I say! I just wish it had more trunk space. I don’t know about you but the list of toys I want is quite long and I’ve been such a good boy this year…at least on the books anyway. Also it seems this Santa bears a striking resemblance to this Wilford guy.
Ready for some Disney racing action? You’d better be, because here come Mickey and the Roadster Racers, depicted in LEGO bricks by Ian Ying. This super-cute trio of racing vehicles are nicely matched to their counterparts in the cartoon series — Mickey’s Hot Doggin’ Hot Rod is particularly good, with its twin-ear spoiler at the rear. The purist builders out there might have palpitations about it, but I think removing the arms from the minifigures was a smart choice. It allows the hot rods to have tighter proportions than if they’d have to accommodate the limbs, and it gives the characters’ heads an oversized chibi appearance which enhances the cartoon-style appeal. Seeing these, I demand Disney introduce an instant rebranding of the rather tired Magic Kingdom “classic,” Tomorrowland Speedway — I’d queue for hours to race one of these babies!
