Tag Archives: Iron Builder

Back in the saddle with a new business

This exquisite LEGO storefront by Caleb Schilling is all about new beginnings. It could be the opening of a new store, the blooming of a flower after a long winter, or the next season of Iron Builder. Utilizing 15 of this horse saddle seed part, the build puts them to use in the awning, a flower pot, and as the clerk’s apron. Beyond the seed part, I’m also partial to the excellent front door design in dark green and the intricate white molding on the second-story windows. Overall, there’s a depth to this build that goes beyond a stud count. All the open windows and patterned variations in texture make the creation stretch back away from the screen, inviting passers-by inside to see what’s on the shop’s shelves.

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King of the Builders

The premier LEGO competition Iron Builder is back! Kit Nugent starts the round strong with this wonderful king of the jungle. This round’s seed part is the Friends Horse Saddle in dark azure which Kit used 38 times here. The side of the saddle works beautifully as the very Aztec-styled half circles. The white throne has some fantastic part use as well, including white claws and teacups. Lush greenery and the blurred foreground give this a fantastic sense of depth. Stay tuned for more Iron Builder coverage to come!

This video game tribute switches up the way pieces can be linked.

Dan Ko delivers a tribute to the Legend of Zelda franchise with this Iron Builder entry, featuring Link battling an octorok as they both emerge from the controller of a Nintendo Switch. The Iron Builder seed part of the bigfig hands in bright green are put to excellent use as part of Link’s body and trademark hat. And the printed tiles used for the octorok’s eyes are so spot-on, that I’d believe that creature was from an officially licensed set. Dare I dream of such a thing?

Bubbles always bounces back

No matter how many times they get hit, the Powerpuff girls always get back up. But the three girls made from sugar, spice, and a splash of Chemical X are not the only ones. Their arch-nemesis Mojo Jojo also took quite a few hits, and always seemed to turn up. Iron builder Dan Ko knocks another one out of the park with this whimsical scene featuring the youngest and sweetest Powerpuff girl, Bubbles, and her old pal Mojo. The seed part here is the big green fig hand circling Mojo’s eyes, and peeking out on either side of his headband.

You’ll have a hauntingly good time aboard the Flying Dutchman

The Flying Dutchman has been haunting the minds of those who enjoy a good maritime legend for centuries. The ghost ship no doubt haunts W. Navarre‘s mind, inspiring this cool LEGO creation. This build is for the Iron Builder challenge, specifically the use of giant green minifig hands. The use of them here is subtle and cool. Can you spot them? They’re the cannons! Their bright green color is perfect for a ghostly vessel doomed to roam the seas for all time. Speaking of subtleties, I really like the hints at otherworldliness on the ship. Those details don’t overwhelm the structure of the ship itself, allowing it to pass as an old sailing vessel–until you’re up close and personal. The ghostly touch I like the most is the curved flame piece at the top of the central mast. It’s the perfect part for that tattered, ethereal flag look.

Continue on, if ye be brave enough

A hands-on approach to caterpillars

This huge LEGO caterpillar is constructed with giant minifig hands by builder Dan Ko for an Iron Builder challenge. Dan cleverly uses the bright green hand pieces for the many legs of the towering insect. The caterpillar possesses a wonderful color palette with those pastel pieces at every segment. Red leaves frame the caterpillar’s face, giving it bushy eyebrows and a great beard. The antennae test the air as the caterpillar rears up to intimidate the hunter. Nearby plant life watches the scene indifferently, not really a care in the colorful world. What’s cool about this build is the ingenuity it demonstrates with a part limitation. The giant minifig hands are the parts to work with, and Dan found a creative way of using them. The caterpillar is awesome, and I hope it can be friends with the hunter instead of enemies.

Ancient Egyptian amphibian with hands for feet

Builder W Navarre has taken inspiration from the latest LEGO Architecture set and travelled to Egypt for his latest Iron Builder salvo. The centrepiece is a rather jolly-looking frog, cleverly using the bright green hand piece for the eye stalks. It also sees apples repurposed as big toes on the front legs. This little amphibian does go some way to deceive regarding the scale of the build though! The rest of the build gives slightly more clues, and is worth investigating in its own right as there are some great techniques on display. Much of the background is brick-built in microscale and blurred to add some forced perspective, even the water of the river Nile below. The best bit might just be the hieroglyphs on the frog’s plinth though! A mish-mash of parts, together with some gaps naturally created by the geometry of LEGO pieces, gives them a terrifically authentic weathered feel. Another of the seed part hands even makes an appearance, although it is well hidden – can you spot it?

Attack of the corn-fist aliens!

I’m not sure which is funnier; the fact that this LEGO alien seems to be built using like a dozen Hulk fists or his head seems to be made from a corncob. Either way, Dan Ko is at it again with another entry for Iron Builder. This corny alien is chock full of hilarious personality. If you have been following Iron Builder or The Brothers Brick in general this is propably not even the weirdest thing you’ve seen today. That’s what we do; bring you the wild and weird so you don’t have to.

An unexpected parts use

I love it when the Iron Builder contest rolls into town – every year we see creations that push the creative boundaries of the LEGO brick. That said, I must confess that it creeps up on me every time, much like Gandalf rocking up to Hobbiton ahead of an unexpected journey. This very event is the subject of Dan Ko‘s latest entry into his Iron Builder round, using a green minifigure hand as the seed part. They are used here at a tiny scale to convey the rolling hills and bushes of the Shire from JRR Tolkien’s Hobbit books. This is a clever enough use, but an opposing pair is also used upturned for the Baggins’ hobbit-hole. The miniature Gandalf is the cherry on the cake – the Grey Wizard is made from just three pieces! Another six (including an ingenious use of a slingshot) make up his horse and cart. The whole scene is a masterclass in microscale building!

We’re shell-shocked by this handy build

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles famously waged battle against the evil Foot Clan. Well, Dan Ko is here to remind us that the best weapon against the foot is a hand. The Iron Builder competition is back underway, with the seed part being the bright light green big fig hands in both left and right. Dan has ingeniously used at least seven of them to build Raphael, and there’s another bunch of them making up the ooze leaking from the sewer. The result is some impressive NPU (Ninja Parts Usage).

Discovery in the crystal caves

LEGO caves have been done before but not quite like this one from Jake Hansen. His use of various blues and greens for the water is great! All the lovely angles of the various rock columns give this a very interesting organic feel. The pops of color with the red and pink crystal formations liven up the darkness of the cave. You might even spot some pink frogs lurking in the shadows! Jake went all out using the red windscreen Iron Builder seed part for this last build of the round.

Don’t steal this bunny’s eggs

Happy Easter! Jake Hansen brings us this fantastic LEGO Easter Bunny who’s a little more protective of his eggs than usual. This was built for the current Iron Builder round with the seed part being the red cockpit piece used here in the ears. Jake brings out a lot of character, proving that complicated building techniques are not needed to create a great story! That doesn’t mean there isn’t anything interesting going on here though. Check out the use of LEGO rubber bands as the stripping on the eggs and the black minifigure wands for whiskers! I especially love the use of the pink heart tile on the nose. Great composition and superb use of colors round out this great build!