Tag Archives: Iron Builder

Winning at Minecraft, fatherhood, and LEGO

You may have noticed that the LEGO corner of the internet is currently awash in builds featuring the Drowned trident from Minecraft sets. And that must mean we’re amid another round of Iron Builder. Defending champ Caleb Schilling channels his love of LEGO minecraft with this tribute to the wholesome meme known as “Are ya winning, son?” The perfect recreation of the pixelated game on the son’s computer monitor is spot-on (and a great use of the skeleton head 1×1 plates I was drooling over in this recent review). The look of the two brick-built characters is wonderful, especially the little details like how the kid’s shoes bend outward slightly at the ankles, or the 1×1 brick with a stud on the side for the father’s mouth. And the trident part definitely takes center stage, used brilliantly in the legs of the desk. Intertwining the prongs to form a right angle is quite the pro LEGO move!

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So GLaDOS to see you

Ivan Martynov has turned to everyone’s favourite evil-robot-overlord-with-homicidal-tendencies for inspiration in the Digital Iron Builder contest. This doesn’t appear to be GLaDOS herself – but there’s no telling whether it’s just as evil or not. The seed part is a SPIKE sensor, an unusual part in its own right. It does look superb as the iconic eyes of Aperture Science technology though. In a way it makes perfect sense for this particular part use – the colour sensor is basically an eye, of sorts. The massive robot in the centre would be impressive enough on its own here, but the addition of a turret and Personality Core really ties everything together.

Remember to take a break sometime–the cost could be deadly

This LEGO build comes to us from builder Ghalad through the Digital Iron Builder competition this year. It features the use of the SPIKE Prime color sensor, wonderfully used for the eyes of the skeleton and on the headphones. Every detail of this build is great with so many parts usages from Technic to the more classic LEGO pieces. I don’t know about you, but I really like the use of Mixel joints for the framing of the collarbone. I’m not particularly familiar with the finer details of skeletal anatomy, but this skeleton looks to be fairly accurate, which is something I can appreciate. I know this is a digital build, but this would be awesome to see IRL just to look at it from every angle.

Something’s fishy about this holiday scene…

At first glance, this North Pole build by ForlonEmpire is as heartwarming as it is well constructed. A young penguin interrupts Santa’s fishing expedition to offer him a present. Santa himself is teeming with great parts usage, from the big-fig arms getting an upgrade as Santa’s upper arms, to the pair of bucket handles doing double-duty as his belt buckle. And the semi-circle tiles as bows are inspired. But the more you think about it, the more sinister this scene becomes. Why is there a sled full of presents in this remote location? The answer is obvious. Santa has laid-off his elf work force because penguin labor is so much cheaper. This penguin isn’t giving Santa a gift. He’s made the gift in exchange for a fish. Santa’s cornered the market on herring and if the penguins don’t work, they starve! Merry Christmas!

A creation so good it’ll give you arachnophobia

Writing for TBB is pretty great. Sure, we’re chained to our desks and at the mercy of our lemur overlord, but we get to write about some cool LEGO creations. Every once in a while though, we get creations like Eli Willsea‘s terrifying spider here. All this does is give me the heebie-jeebies. Which, to be fair, may be the point. With those big pointy teeth in the drooling mouth, you can imagine where this creation gets its name – “The Hunger”. If only the construction of this beast wasn’t so good, then I might be able to stop looking at it…

We look for these nightmare-inducing creations, dear reader, so you don’t have to.

Happy (cup)cake day

While I have gotten LEGO as a birthday present quite a few times in my life, I’ve certainly never gotten a birthday cake made of LEGO! This delightful party spread by Lego Monkey has all the right trappings for a great birthday for an Adult Fan of LEGO (AFOL), however, with not just the gift, but the cake and even the coffee also made of the brick. Of course, it’s part of the ongoing Iron Builder competition where Lego Monkey was tasked with using the teal cylinders in as many ways as possible, hence their proliferation on the cupcake and bow.

From the arena of Iron Builder comes Iron City

The competition is heating up over at Iron Builder and we’re all pretty thrilled about it. That means job security for us and entertainment for you bloodthirsty readers. This time esteemed builder LEGO Monkey has constructed Iron City where I presume the competition is held and all important Iron Builder decisions are made. I love the overall lofty city-in-the-clouds feel and the Monkey makes excellent use of the seed part 41 times in this particular build. For those who may not know, Iron Builder has two renowned builders duke it out for a month or so building some amazing LEGO creations all while using a specified seed part. It’s kinda like Bumfights except without all the controversy and litigation. Speaking of jokes that peaked in 2008, I went a couple of bouts in the Iron Builder arena way back when I had other haircut choices but I won’t link the results here because I’m still recovering from the mental trauma. Instead, check out how other Iron Builder competitors have fared lately.

Spend a night at scenic Moonglow Cavern and leave your cares behind

What do you build when you have an abundance of a long and awkward LEGO parts in a bright color? If you are Eli Willsea then you build a beautiful and tranquil mountaintop retreat with a great view of the stars. This peaceful scene complete with a waterfall and a collection of scraggly purple-leaved trees also includes an orrery, a bunch of blue mushrooms, and a telescope to admire the stars. Watch your step, though, because with that waterfall cascading down across the path, those round steps are sure to be slippery.

Darling it’s better, down where it’s wetter, and the LEGO is teal

I defy you to look at this underwater LEGO organ by Eli Willsea and not start humming the tune to “Under the Sea”. See? It’s in your head now! And you won’t forget this build in a hurry either. It centres around the cylinder pieces used as the organ’s pipes, the seed part for the current round of Iron Builder. The slits in this particular piece make it a great fit for this instrument, although there aren’t many organs I know of that are painted turquoise. But put it on the seafloor, and suddenly the teal makes perfect sense. The little crab at the keys is pretty cute as well. Presumably, it’s a homage to Sebastian from The Little Mermaid. The only other musical sea-dweller I’ve heard of is Davy Jones, and he didn’t look that friendly…

This round of Iron Builder is just getting started, so why not see some previous entries in our archives?

Iron Builder meets Tin Man…

LEGO Monkey took a big swing with his latest Iron Builder entry, crafting an iconic scene from one of the most well-known movies in cinema history. But you can’t argue with the results. The star of this build is the seed part (the 1×5½ cylinder with bar handle), which clumps together beautifully in a recreation of the Emerald City of Oz. But we have to give a Best Supporting award nod to the landscape, particularly the way the green wedges imply a winding hillside that allows the yellow brick road’s forced perspective effect to work so well. And, even though Dorothy and her three traveling companions all have official minifigures, Lego Monkey pulled this scene off without owning any of them. That’s what we call a special effect!

A smooth build for a bumpy ride

Embrace your inner child and take a trip to an amusement park of LEGO in this wonderful build from KitKat1414. For this Iron Builder contest round, the seed part is the LEGO Friend’s theme horse saddle in dark azure. A rather versatile part, the saddle here is put to use in a lovely variety. In the foreground we have the standout bumper cars with their fishing pole contact shoes to supply them with power from the ceiling. A cool use of magic wands still in their sprues are the railing details behind the bumper cars. A roller coaster train sails by in the background, affording some breezy sights. Further in the background is a little stand made of the saddle turned on its side.

A seedy little workspace

It may seem like an ordinary day to you or me, but in Kit Nugent’s (KitKat1414) world, things are a bit more interesting. In this masterfully built LEGO slice of life, a man is confronted by the fact that 25 Friends Horse Saddle in Dark azure has infected his home. As you may have guessed, this is part of the Iron Builder competition, where the challenge is to incorporate the seed part (in this case the aforementioned saddle) into a build in the most interesting ways possible. Not only are there the “easy” wins of a flower pot or bookshelf, but Kit has incorporated them into a standing lamp and even a chair’s backrest. But the best use to me is turning a bunch of them into floor trimming. Oh, and that rug made of carrots is pretty sweet, too.

More inspired part usages (include more saddle-y goodness) await in our Iron Builder tag!