Tag Archives: Letranger Absurde

Hair today, microscale tomorrow

Is this real life? Or is this just fantasy? How about a fairy tale then? Yeah, that’s what we’ve got here. Letranger-Absurde brings Rapunzel’s Tower to tiny life in this charming microscale build. Filled with innovative part usage, this scene balances whimsy with rock-solid building techniques.
The most eye-catching feature is probably the use of the costume from the LEGO Movie 2’s Crayon girl minifigure. (Some other figure lost their purple leg to fill in the archway, too.) That tower also features the use of a banana and bar holder with clip to make Rapunzel’s tresses.

Rapunzel's Tower

The rest of the landscape has some cool secrets as well. That’s a dragon arm providing a bit of greenery. Tree tops are from Joker hair and a skater helmet. My favorite detail, though, is the waterfall turbulence that perfectly-repurposes ghostly minifigure legs.

Nothing is impassable with a blurrg mount – I have spoken

The premiere season of the Disney+ Star Wars television series, The Mandalorian, has ended, and as with any Star Wars product, it has inspired many, many LEGO fans to create custom models based on the shows vehicles and characters. While I would never admit being tired of seeing more models of the baby who is not Yoda or the Razoecrest, the unsung hero of the show, in my opinion, is the Ugnaught Quiil, and his herd of female blurrgs. It looks like Letranger Absurde agrees, as evidenced by this scene showing Quiil spouting wisdom from his lofty perch.

I Have Spoken

Red Sonja is a thing of dreams from a much evolved builder

For folks like me, building people and other bipedal figures can be a bit difficult. I’d build them fine enough, but even the slightest shift in weight could result in a fragile creation toppling over, so often it’s just easier to build them with both feet planted firmly on steady ground. The end result is a little stiff but at least we’re not cleaning up a toppled LEGO mess. But Letranger Absurde has built plenty of human figures. Even his own humbler beginnings were admittedly a little rigid, but we are witnessing a great builder evolving into a greater one, as evidenced by this Red Sonja creation. Her proportions and fluidity of motion are suitable enough to grace a Frank Frazetta or Boris Vallejo fantasy illustration. The builder tells us that this is indeed his most difficult creation to date but the end result is absolutely worth the effort.

Red Sonja

Here is another recent creation that illustrates how well this builder is evolving.

From a certain point of view, Jedi are bullies of the galaxy

Let’s look at it this way: Stormtroopers always miss their shots and Jedi constantly use their Force push capabilities to render those poor troopers in weak plastic white armour lifeless. Letranger Absurde shows off this exact scenario taking place in (almost) real-time with an unarmed Stormtrooper. That red light saber, says a lot, doesn’t it? Hint: EVIL! The character build is stunningly simple yet gives off a maximum punch with the pose giving off a dynamic in-motion feel.

Force Push (Complete)

Not your usual Star Wars build

Lately, between The Mandalorian and The Rise of Skywalker, the LEGO building community has seen a great wealth of fan creations based on all things Star Wars. This is not, in itself, a bad thing. I mean, Baby Yoda is indeed very cute. But it’s still nice when a builder will take things in a very unexpected direction. Let’s say you have a 75117 Kylo Ren set on hand. Sure, you could build it according to the directions and act out your favorite Dark Side moments. But Letranger Absurde decided to take those parts and present a very different Dark Side vision. The Blood Countess takes key parts from that set and turns them into a vision of malice that is, to me anyway, just a bit scarier.

The Blood Countess

The most obvious part is Kylo’s torso, inverted and used for the Countess’ abdomen. Less easy to identify are the shoulder guards now forming her bodice. Of the non-kit parts in use, I like the Ninjago influence in the hat for the belt buckle and spinner ring in the sash detailing. Beyond the Countess herself, check out the build on the heart (or other glob of flesh) in her hand. There’s a telephone receiver in there. Is the secret message of this build “reach out and touch someone?” Gosh, I hope not.

He knows when you’ve been naughty...

Santa Claus rewards good behavior with gifts, but what about the children who have been a bit naughty this year? Forget the lumps of coal in your stocking; you might just receive a visit from the half goat, half demon named Krampus. Sounds like a pleasant experience, right? Letranger Absurde has drawn upon holiday horrors to a LEGO version of the character from the campy 2015 film, Krampus. While Krampus is decked out in a festive “jolly red suit,” the rest of him is pure nightmare fuel. Krampus sits hunched over with lengthy horns protruding, all while his face is creepily hidden behind the veil of the robe. Think about how you treat people this year, or you might find yourself trapped in an eternal snow globe of terror.

Krampus (2015)

When is a raven like a writing desk?

LEGO replicas of real-world objects are a challenging subject to work in. Finding the right scale for your creation is a large part of that effort, but builder Letranger Absurde seems to have found a sweet spot in Little Desk. This model isn’t sized for minifigures or humans, but rather just big enough for the LEGO elements to really reproduce the lines and shapes of the objects presented. Of particular note is the sealed letter, using a 2×2 round tile with a flame pattern for the sealing wax. The clock, chest, and wax seal stamp are all well built and instantly recognizable.

Little Desk

What really caught my eye, though, was the melted wax on the candle. It took me a while to figure out what part was used at the bottom of the dribble…it’s a baby rabbit. Now that’s some clever parts usage.

Be the belle of your next Beltane

Next on The Brothers Brick runway is the fabulous Ayfoal, who is a druid from Brickenshire. Her fashion designer is none other than builder Letranger Absurde. She is adorned with a sassy buckskin midriff-baring two-piece number that is all the rage in the druid community right now. The ragged green trim of her ankle-length skirt brings her closer to nature while her gloves protect her from getting a little too in-touch with the elements.

The Druid v2

Leafy ornaments tastefully accent her armbands and choker, while her low-slung belt holds just the right secret manna potions for a night on the glen. The hip pouch is just a bit wood sprite, just a tad forest elf and oh-so-impishly dazzling! A daring little cow skull adorns her belt, which is trending among the Celtic set at the moment. Her buckskin boots were quite literally made for sashaying along the countryside. While her charmed staff lets us all know who is in charge around here, her little smile exudes confidence and says, I’m willing to play, but only if you’re nice. What a ravishing build!

This guitar has a “brick” sound to it

This guitar can definitely bring on some sweet rhythms. Builder Letranger Absurde built this LEGO replica of a Collings AT-16 guitar for a LEGO club contest, and I have to say I just want to grab it out of the picture and play it. Look closely, and you can see the tuning pegs are created by spoon elements. I really dig the gaps in the guitar box, as well as the crutch element at the bottom for extra detail. Strum on, Letranger!

The Brothers Brick

No kidding, this fort is way too small for the both of us!

Do you remember that giant awesome LEGO set you always wanted as a kid but somehow never got for Christmas or your birthday? Well, it might not be that easy to get a sealed copy of that set now, but at least you can build an itsy-bitsy version of it! Letranger Absurde brings back the legendary LEGO Western 6769 Fort Legoredo from 1996. As a child I was fascinated by its wooden walls and I was sure it must take a thousand LEGO bricks to build such a massive fort. Now, this copy looks just as exciting with walls and towers made of some of the smallest LEGO pieces. And just when you notice an adorable micro cannon right outside the fort’s gates, you simply can’t help smiling at this tiny beauty.

6769 Fort Legoredo Microscale

Recreating the classic era of pirates

Fancy rebuilding some of your favourite LEGO sets from your youth, but daunted by the prices of the collectors’ market? Letranger Absurde (aka Vitroleum, aka Pacurar Andrei) shows the way. Why not build a teeny-tiny version of them instead? 6279 Skull Island is a classic set from the mid-90s heyday of LEGO Pirates. Pacurar’s version perfectly captures the overall feel with the big skull, the jetty, and the palm tree — but the important details still make an appearance despite the scale. Don’t miss the little cannon on the end of the jetty, the hoist, and the fabulous little rowing boat — all employing a bunch of tenuous part connections, but lovely anyway. And a printed X tile as a Jolly Roger? Love it.

6279 Skull Island Micro

Bricks for Glory I: so you want to build a hero

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, Sierra was one of the biggest names in PC gaming, and high-quality adventure games were one of their specialties. One of their most beloved franchises was the Quest for Glory series, developed by Lori Ann and Corey Cole. Of the five games in the series, Letranger Absurde chose to recreate the opening scene of Quest for Glory I: So You Want to be a Hero. As the hero enters the picturesque town of Spielberg for the first time, he is greeted by Sheriff Schultz Meistersson and his massive right-hand-man, Otto Von Goon. Going by the colors used, Letranger appears to have based his representation on the VGA remake. He makes a great use of various angles to form the buildings in front of the town square, and forced perspective is cleverly used to suggest there is another area to explore. The characters are instantly recognizable, including a brick-built version of Otto pulling off a yo-yo trick like he often does in the game.

Quest for Glory