Tag Archives: Ken Ito

The mighty Giraffatitan takes a stand

What kid, or grown-up for that matter, doesn’t love the Giraffatian? When I was a kid we just called them a Brontosaurus, or Brachiosaurus if you were slightly smarter, but they have since been moved to their own genus by folks who are even smarter still. No matter what you call it, you have to admit this LEGO dinosaur built by Ken Ito is a magnificent sight to behold. It stands regal on its pedestal giving it the appearance of a trophy likely won for the feat of total awesomeness.

Giraffatitan

Just when I thought I’d experience total awesomeness overload, I learn this mighty Giraffatitan has a friend! It’s the Apatosaurus we featured last December now mounted on his own trophy stand. Please check out our Ken Ito archives to see what else we’re totally impressed by.

Titans on the Jurassic Land

An imposing silhouette of a Jurassic figure

I’m mightily impressed with the prehistoric power communicated in this simplistic Apatosaurus sculpture by Ken Ito. Composed solely of grayscale LEGO, the dino showcases so many different ways to express a curved surface in the blocky form. The simplest example of this is curved slope bricks and arches, tools made exactly for the job of natural shapes. But we also see stepped plates and tiles along the lizard’s back and curves made of hinges along the neck and tail of the beast. Even the wedge plates along the back legs of the ‘saur, when combined with the knee bend, form a great curve leading into the rear of the beast. The backlit photo only further highlights all the great angles Ken has achieved.

Apatosaurus

Smooth as a baby’s... bottlenose?

I’m always impressed when a builder manages to make LEGO models completely smooth. Going stud-less can be hard, and even harder when dealing with organic shapes. This bottlenose dolphin built by Ken Ito (暁工房) may show just a few studs, but the body shaping is superb! The arch of the back end and tail are particularly well-executed.

It seems as though this builder has a knack and a penchant for these kinds of creations. Marine life is just a snippet of what he can do. Stick around to see more like this!

Doing a lot with a little: big LEGO creatures done small

You don’t need a huge pile of pieces or a deep wallet to be able to create something beautiful with LEGO. This bottlenose dolphin by Ken Ito (暁工房) is a perfect example of how just a few pieces can bring a scene to life. The dolphin consists of fewer than 20 pieces, and the base employs only simple, common elements. But there’s more motion evoked with them than you’ll find in many models that are much larger.

Ken’s gorilla is another perfect specimen, utilizing simple pieces to craft the animal’s shape. The head and face are particularly impressive, which really consist of only three slopes, but there’s no mistaking this noble creature’s gaze.

A beautiful killer

The Orca is the largest of the dolphin family, one of the planet’s top predators, and a majestic sight. Ken Ito has put together an excellent LEGO model of one of these amazing creatures breaching the surface. The model is nicely shaped, particularly those fins, and I like the restrained use of a custom sticker for the white facial marking. The upsurge of water around the orca’s flanks is well done, as is the spattering of white and trans-clear pieces — it creates a sense of movement, and of the rest of the creature’s bulk just beneath the surface. I’d love to have this oceanic treat on my desk at work.

lego orca

A killer whale, ready to kill

One of the best creature builders out there, Japanese builder aurore&aube graces us with his skills once again, this time with an incredibly accurate representation of an Orcinus Orca. It appears the builder has used cut stickers as the white facial features of the killer whale, which captures the characteristic look of this marine mammal perfectly. Aquadynamic shaping is generally not easy to recreate in LEGO, but if I were to trust anyone with this challenge, this builder would probably be at the top of the list.

Orcinus orca 001

This is not the first time we have featured this builder’s animals, with some of his best being a blue and tan Tyrannosaurus Rex and an albino sperm whale.

The Battle of Evermore

With a title taken from a Led Zeppelin song, you might expect our next featured model has something to do with ring-wraiths, dragons or apples of the valley. Yokohama builder(s) aurore&aube (w9gfo) apparently kept only the song title though as the subject matter is actually King Kong and his classic cinematic battle against a T-Rex.

the battle of evermore 001

“Oh well, the night is long, the beads of time pass slow. Tired eyes on the sunrise, waiting for the eastern glow.” I’m going to go dust off LZ4 and give it a spin.

Look toward the sky, there be dragons...

Aurore&aube, who seems to specialize in amazing creature creations, has made this most amazing dragon.  The shaping of the head is genius and note the organic feel of the wings created by mixing various technic elements.

Toward the Sky 004

 

LEGO dino is beauto

I know we blog a lot of aurore&aube‘s dinosaurs. But that’s because they’re so good and so well photographed. Enjoy carnotaurus.

carnotaurus 003

Classic LEGO set 212 in Miniland scale, with bonus dachshund

aurore&aube‘s favorite set of all time is the small 1976 set 212 Scooter. He celebrates this classic set by recreating it in Miniland scale. My favorite detail, though, is the extra black-and-tan dachshund that aurore&aube included. Making small-scale LEGO animals is especially challenging, though aurore&aube is no stranger to excellent LEGO creatures. The dachshund stands in an expressive pose, as though he’s about to start barking at the passing scooter.

scooter 005

Who says Tyrannosaurus Rex wasn’t a lovely blue and tan?

Not aurore&aube, whose excellent T-Rex looks like it’s just stepped from the Jurassic onto a modern city street.

LEGO Tyrannosaurus Rex

(What color is tan on the official LEGO color palette?)

Thanks for the tip, -Disty-!