Tag Archives: James Zhan

He’s just a spoonbill, yes he’s only a spoonbill

Birds and botanicals have become beloved themes in LEGO and James Zhan excels at both with a model of a Black-faced spoonbill wading through lotus flowers. James perfectly captures the endangered bird’s unique shape, accenting the brick-built body with balloon panels and a few Technic panels as plumage. A banana under the eye adds appealing detail. James has been creating lifelike flora and fauna in LEGO for years. We especially liked his pygmy seahorse hiding in coral, walking iris in a brick-shaped planter, and this whimsical hybrid of hedgehog and floral arrangement.

Platalea minor

Alien juicer is sure to add something special to your morning routine

Everyone knows that fresh-squeezed juice is good for you, but I’m not sure if this LEGO appliance by James Zhan is a very smart choice. Who knows what kind of side effects you might endure by sampling a beverage extracted from an alien plant? Health benefits aside, there can be no doubt that this modern machine looks like it would fit right in beside a Kitchen Aid or a Cuisinart. The black motor at the back looks like it could turn any alien flora into a smoothie in no time.

Alien plant extraction machine

Who, who, who lights up the night?

While I enjoy nighttime, it’s nice to have James Zhan’s LEGO owl nightlight for when things go bump in the night. We’ve already ascertained that the hoot noises are coming from a great horned owl who visits our yard from time to time, which makes this build extra special for me. The howling, chittering, yelping, and whooshing noises are still a mystery; could be coyotes, raccoons, or homicidal maniacs. While I try to decipher who or what is making a rustling sound in the eves, go ahead and investigate our James Zhan archives.

owl night light

Even more ideas from the LEGO insect kingdom

While we’re all itching to get our hands on the LEGO Ideas Insect Collection set, builder James Zhan created his own take on some of the other critters from the phylum Arthropoda. First up, a pair of comically-adorned beetles slug it out in the forest floor’s ring for the title of bug boxing world champion. While the stag beetle (in blue) certainly has that look of determination, the Japanese horned beetle (in red) is certainly no slouch. And judging by the belt it’s rocking, this is far from its first time in the ring. Don’t let the beetles distract you entirely, though. Those adorable pink flowers growing out of a corner of the ring are quite the detail!

classic duels

In a more true-to-life depiction of insectoids, this quintet of fireflies know how to light up a scene. While still featuring cartoonish “bug” eyes, these insect of the family Lampyridae put transparent neon LEGO elements to good use on their posteriors to signify their glowing potential. And once again, the background is a fantastic bit of flora, featuring three types of fungi growing out of the log that’s the base of this build (one is on the other side of the creation). But then again, we know James can certainly turn out a fantastic plant when he has to.

Summer Nights - Fireflies

A fairy and a hedgehog walk into a bar

Sometimes something looks familiar and you just can’t understand why it does. This happened to me when I came across ‘Hedgehog and Elf’ by James Zhan. I knew that little hedgehog looked familiar but I wasn’t sure from where. As a primary school teacher, you get exposed to a lot of children’s literature. So that could be the source. It sure looks like it could have walked straight out of a fairy tale. I still couldn’t pinpoint it. After googling ‘hedgehog’ and ‘Pokemon’ I must conclude that it looks familiar because it reminds me of the Pokemon Shaymin. And to be honest, that one looks like it is straight out of a fairy tale.

Hedgehog and Elf

An botanical from eastern Asia that can’t be beat!

As someone who is constantly striving for natural shapes in my LEGO constructions, I’ve definitely taken notice of the techniques employed by James Zhan in their beautiful orchid plant. The simple yet elegant yellow and brown stripes on the flower’s petals are perfect here. And I’m in love with the use of this constraction armor part for the interior of the bloom. Following the lime stems down, we see some delicate leaf construction thanks to clips, bars, and curved slopes in green. Even further down, the cleisostoma paniculatum is held in a gorgeous black planter adorned with six large LEGO studs. I especially like the natural effect of the olive green roots partially covered by the “potting soil” made of 1×1 round plates.

Taiwan Cleisoma 台灣虎紋隔距蘭

And if you want to see more builders we’ve featured showing off their green thumbs, you can find them here.

A wickedly fun amusement

The stores are filled with pumpkin spice and 12-foot-tall yard skeletons, which means the Spooky Season has officially arrived. To mark the occasion, James Zhan has crafted a terrifyingly terrific theme park ride to delight your inner-monster. The HallowSwings’ twisted tree trunk base makes a perfect foundation for the ride, with its eerie glowing face and vines. Just do your best to try and hold on. We get the feeling the ghouls who run this park aren’t giving much concern for safety regulations.

HallowSwings

Snow Monster on the lookout for thanksgiving turkey leftovers

The expression on this little LEGO monster’s face built by James Zhan, matches my expression exactly when the Christmas dessert hits the table. Surprised, but at the same time highly anticipating the same aforementioned sweet goodness. This little cutie, is fully pose-able and there are joints in all the right places. The bar holder works perfectly for the snow monster’s fingers. Adding one tan finger is a little touch that makes this creature look extra lifelike. The round plate with bar handle make the cutest little monster toes. The fact that this little guy is cute as a button is only emphasized by its rosy cheeks. Using flesh round tiles for the cheeks is barely noticeable, but notable nonetheless.

Snow monster

Celebrating Paralympian Gold

Sporting the Netherlands’ colors in honor of their gold and bronze medals this August, this Miniland-style figure wonderfully captures the motion of a record-setting athlete. Clever building techniques allow builder James Zhan to construct the jersey and shorts into the figure’s body. Nice parts usage in the elements for the hair partner with the positioning of the arms to help sell the feeling that the figure is falling. The figure’s prostheses are posed for the furthest distance while their entire body is suspended with a clear stand.

Womens Long Jump T64

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These Irises were made for walkin’, and that’s just what they’ll do.

The walking iris is an interesting plant. When it reproduces, new plantlets form at the top of the flower stalks. This added weight causes the stalks to bend to the ground, where the new plants take root. Repeat that a few times, and you have a flower that “walks” around the garden. This exceptional botanical recreation by James Zhan captures the unique beauty of this plant, and adds in a swanky LEGO base to boot.

Walking Iris

Seen close up, you can appreciate the building techniques that have gone into the flowers. There’s some very clever part usage including minifigure ski poles and crowns, as well as a 1×1 plate used as a tiny mosaic to give the petals a splash of color. I also like the varied joints in the greenery, allowing for some very organic curves.

Walking Iris

Flowers have always been a popular theme for custom LEGO creations, and we’ve seen some great sets coming directly from LEGO recently, too. What sort of botanical build do you want to try?

Because flying fish are the best kind of fish

True story; one of the best days of my life involved flying fish. I was in the Navy and got reassigned to gyro school while we were deployed out in the Gulf of Mexico. Instead of waiting until we pulled into port, they hired a small craft to meet our ship. I was (carefully) hoisted over the side, and onto the craft. Usually, the captain gets a series of bells to announce his or her arrival and departure. Little enlisted schlubs like me didn’t get the same treatment except during our final departure from the ship. So they rang me off with bells and headed for shore. Here’s where the flying fish came in, jumping over the craft in droves as we sped through the water. I felt like freakin’ James Bond on a special mission! Once on shore at Panama City, Florida, I was reverted back to common schlub transportation but for an hour or so, I felt pretty special. Thanks for the memories, James Zhan! It would have been extra-cool to depart on a piloted flying fish like this.

Flying fish

A flower is worth a thousand bricks

LEGO may have released an official Flower Bouquet set now, but that doesn’t mean they’ve got a monopoly on great-looking life-sized flowers made out of plastic bricks. This beautiful orchid by James Zhan shows that there are a lot more possibilities waiting to be explored. This one comes in a lovely 2×2 brick vase (something the official set lacked) and isn’t just cut flowers but instead the whole orchid plant. Look closely and you’ll even spot some bamboo stakes that help hold the flowers aloft. And my favorite detail is the succulent planted at the base, a common accompaniment to potted orchids.

orchid2.0