Tag Archives: Life-Size Replica

Dream big, build bigger

Nick Jensen, formerly of these pastures, builds life-size LEGO props in ways that us mere mortals can only dream of. Speaking of dreams, that’s a tangential link to his latest effort, depicting the so-called PASIV Device from the Inception film. This is the device used to administer Somnacin, which induces lucid dreaming and dream sharing of the sort seen in the movie. The gadgetry present in the case looks fantastic, and the Dots bracelets are such a perfect fit it makes you wonder if the whole thing was built around them. And if, like yours truly, you didn’t recognise the case at first, then the accessories in front of it help to drive home this mad machine’s provenance!

LEGO PASIV Device (dream sharing machine) — Inception

Check for cordyceps with this LEGO FEDRA scanner from The Last of Us

Like many, I’ve been glued to my TV every Sunday night to watch the next episode of The Last of Us, a show (based on a popular video game series) that supposes a world overrun with fungally-infected zombies. The remaining shreds of the US government, known as FEDRA, rely on handheld scanners to check citizens for potential infection of the mind-manipulating cordyceps fungus. And Julie vanderMeulen gives us one of those very scanners in LEGO form. Her construction has some wonderful clean lines, masterfully utilizing curved and straight slopes to give the device the proper shape. I love the simplicity of the trans-green screen, indicating an uninfected individual. The grid pattern made by the transparent 1×2 bricks replicating the lines of lights on the scanner from the show. But the perfect touch is her use of the gear at the top of the box, adding just a bit of technological texture to an otherwise sleek design.

FEDRA scanner

Forget the window display, THIS is the Louis Vuitton / LEGO mashup we need!

While I’m certainly not familiar with Louis Vuitton’s line of products, I adore the life-size recreation of household objects in LEGO. And qian yj once again hits it out of the park with this highly-detailed makeup case. Each piece in this kit is expertly crafted to match the original, be it an eyeliner pencil or palette of blush. And the case itself is a work of art, checkered in white and light gray bricks with medium nougat along the edges. The use of the 1×2 jumper plate to add some texture to the leather trim is a pro move. And the detailing on the clasps, both for the main case and the interior tan box, is unbelievably impressive! If I squint, it’s hard to tell that this isn’t the real thing.

Louis Vuitton Damier Azur Makeup Case

And if all of the above wasn’t impressive enough, the fully-detailed interior of the case is designed to hold all the displayed contents. It even has the reverse side of the main clasp visible, showing the attachments where the buckle is fastened to the “fabric” of the outer box. For me, that’s what sets a great part apart from a good build: when a model still remains accurate to its subject, regardless of how it’s viewed. LEGO and LV, if you two want to start working together, it’s time to take some notes!

Louis Vuitton Damier Azur Makeup Case

A silent raven’s call

This brick-built model of the common raven is a bit deceptive. Builder Felix Jaensch has a portfolio of impressive animal-inspired models but this raven seems to break the mold. Cleverly concealed in the sloping bricks along its back is a hidden button that allows the raven’s head and jaw to move. Pressing it gives the impression the model is calling out, albeit without the gurgling croak this bird often makes. This silent figure can’t audibly torment you, but it’s still a perfectly creepy build for this season.

Just looking at the model, it’s almost impossible to tell that it can move. The whole thing is a sturdy, brick-built structure that renders the bird in the traditional LEGO cuboid, pixelated form. Compare the below image with the above and you’ll only see tiny bits of movement in the neck. A change in angle of the structure holding the beak as the head moves down makes the smallest movements have big effects. Continue reading

We’re digging the gold on this retro register

While the modern world hurtles inexorably towards a cashless society, Mehdi Rustamov offers us a glimpse of the glorious past of retail payments with this wonderful vintage cash register built out of LEGO bricks. I love that Mehdi has used digital rendering to depict such an unashamed celebration of the design styles of the past. This model is spot-on with its detailing — the wooden till drawer with its golden inlays, the buttons, the ornate detailing, and that crank handle. Lovely stuff.

LEGO shop till

Full-size LEGO Buster Sword from Final Fantasy VII is six feet of awesome

I’m not much of a modern gamer. Somewhere around the release of the Playstation 2, I stopped trying to keep up with the latest video games. Nowadays, Dr. Mario on my NES Classic is all the virtual thrill I need. But one of the last major video game phenomenons before I bowed out was Final Fantasy VII, and I have an intense love of it. Not as intense a love as Brick Ninja, as evidenced by the fact that he built a life-sized replica of Cloud Strife’s Buster Sword and I didn’t.

バスターソード Cloud Strife's Buster Sword

Six feet long and over a foot wide, this majestic build floods me with some late 90s nostalgia. (Even though it’s technically based on the sword’s appearance in the recent FF7 Remake.) Brick Ninja has done an amazing job getting the angles of the blade just right. Check out the video below of the builder himself wielding the sword to get a better sense of its weight and stability. It’s such an impractical weapon, but that’s part of what makes it so cool. And when your name is as awesome as “Cloud Strife,” your weapons need to be cool.