Tag Archives: Iron Forge

A model model of a model

We all know you can build things out of LEGO, but “building something that you build something out of, out of LEGO” is a sentence that I don’t get to write all that often. Brickleas gave me the chance with this fun diorama of in-progress model building. It makes use of the clip-flag seed part from Iron Forge a whopping 30 times, and finding them all is a fun exercise. My favorites are the bird’s beak, the dab of paint, and the blade in the well-built craft knife. The rest of the scene has some great details, too. I’m fond of the interesting texture in the hobby mat from the dark green tiles. And the branch the bird is perched on makes use of the minifigure tree disguise. It might be obvious in retrospect, but it feels clever to me.

This year’s Iron Forge has gifted us with a ton of interesting builds, as our archives show. Go take a look!

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Always remember to reduce, reuse, and recycle

As a LEGO fan, reusing seems like second nature, but reducing can be hard; instead, the desire is always for more, more, more, right? Recycling is something that LEGO fans do, too, taking the same ideas and making them again and again, in slightly different forms, or else taking parts from one build and using them in another. In my case, I took parts from a Star Wars Eta-2 Actis-class Jedi Interceptor and turned it into a Vic Viper-style racing ship. The central cockpit stays, the sloping side wings stay, but the engines get an upgrade (and it needed a hyperdrive, of course) and of course a giant fin gets put on the back. It looks faster than the basic Interceptor, ready for some serious space racing. I added a large space gate, too, so that it had something to fly through, marking the space race course.

This was built for the Space Jam racing team collaboration category, as well as for the Iron Forge. So many contests. But while you are here, you should check out our collection of LEGO spaceship builds and make Benny proud.

Wow, this sled is bananas!

If you happen to wonder why so many recently featured LEGO models are using the banana part, it is the seed part in this year’s Iron Builder competition, where LEGO fans who participate are required to use it in their models. In this winter scene by KitKat1414, the banana makes a great tuft of wind-blown hair, but it also gives the sled runners the perfect curve. Bonus points for that stylish lens flair.

Dabs of lively color

Brothers Brick contributor Benjamin Stenlund has been braving the Iron Forge lately, and this artistic build make uses of the seed part of a LEGO banana. And that’s cool and all, but there are other keen details to enjoy. If you look closely you’ll spot some wildlife hanging out in those colorful puddles of paint. And I really do enjoy when a frog shows up unexpectedly as creative part usage. And somehow that rat is even more perfect, with the curve of its tail suggesting a squiggle of paint.

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This build is bananas, and that’s no bull. No, wait, that is a bull.

Forced perspective and clever part usage makes this bullfight from KitKat1414 stand out in a crowded bunch. Get it? Bunch? Because of the LEGO banana seed part from the latest round of Iron Forge? C’mon, work with me here. The bull makes great use of them in the horns, but did you also spot them in the gate in the background? How about in the pile of kicked up sand behind the bull’s hoof? I also like the multicolored 1×1 round plate serving as the crowd in the background. Good stuff.

If bullfights aren’t your thing, you can always check out some other animal related creations and find something that suits you better!

This cow doesn’t fear the reaper, nor do the wind, the sun, or the rain

It’s a tribute to the enduring power of certain images that I cannot hear the word “cowbell” without thinking of Blue Öyster Cult and fevers. And the LEGO minifgure torso looks remarkably like a cowbell, if one ignores the holes where the arms should go; so when I faced the challenge of coming up with creative uses for the part, I just had to build a cow with a cowbell around her neck. The whole time I was building it, I had to resist the idea of scrapping the build and trying to craft a hairy Will Ferrell holding the cowbell instead, and “The Reaper” was playing on repeat in my head. Ever try to build LEGO while dancing around playing air cowbell? It ain’t easy. I snuck in another torso in the barn, and added some of my dad’s old bushes and trees around it for some microscale detail in the background. LEGO is truly a multi-generational toy!

While you’re feeling rustic, here are some more LEGO builds of barns and LEGO farms. And don’t forget to check out the Iron Forge, and even get a few entries in yourself!

Will Luxo Jr. ever be held responsible for its malicious letter smashing?

Paulville MOCs is no stranger to our pages, racking up almost as many hit creations as the Emeryville, CA-based animation studio Pixar. This little scene perfectly captures the multi-jointed lamp Luxo Jr and the distinctive company font with long serifs formed by partial clip connections and bit of flex tube.

Wondering what the letter “I” looked like before it got squashed by that devious lamp? Paulville’s got you covered.

The prominent minifigure torso in the lamp is the latest Iron Forge seed part being used by builders the world over in the latest free for all round. Our own Ben Stenlund recently used some to great effect as birdhouses.

I’d give my left arm for houses like these

Ordinarily at The Brothers Brick, we writers try not to re-use the title a builder gives to a build as the title for our article; however, sometimes it is just too perfect, and I cannot resist. Now, in this case, it is also true that I wrote the title for the build, since I built it. And when the centerpiece of the build is armless LEGO minifigure torsos, it is in fact true that three minifigures gave both their left and right arms for these houses. The build might be simple, with an uncomplicated fence and vegetation, but combined together it looks pleasant, a delightful little home for birds. And those books do an excellent job keeping out the rain.

I built this for the Iron Forge building competition, where anyone can compete to get a shot at dethroning one of the reigning Iron Builders. There’s still time to get some entries in if you fancy wearing an iron crown yourself!