Tag Archives: MadLEGOMan

Time for an adventure in the Brickscalibur contest

Ah, Brickscalibur. A yearly contest featuring LEGO castles, knights and princesses. So loads of greys and browns, right? Not so, says Jack McKeen! This castle is from a familiar fantastical realm, specifically the Adventure Time universe. Hey, no-one said it had to be a real castle! The sculpting of the scene around Jake, Finn and the princesses Lumpy Space and Bubblegum is really nice. But I’m drawn to the character pledging allegiance to the latter, and at this point my AT knowledge runs out. Is it Huntress Wizard? Whoever it is, it looks as good as it does precarious. I’ll be making a mental note of that lever-into-skeleton-arm connection!

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What can brown do for you?

In a LEGO world of castles and Millenium Falcons, it takes something like this for me to really take notice. I mean, come on, look how fun this is! In Jack McKeen’s own words; “Meet Rhonda Yun in her ‘82 Chevy Gamma Series Campervan. Rhonda is a staff columnist and travel blogger for the Arcturus Tribune. Avid Browntron Enthusiast, she is a do it yourselfer who enjoys long walks along the Arrakis dunes, drinking Klingons under the table, and teaching gundarks yoga.” Maybe it’s just the Schlitz talking but I’m smitten with Rhonda and her Browntron ship. It’s pretty much the Gen-X color scheme and looks like a puffy jacket I had in elementary school.

Giving credit where credit is due, Jack tells us the Browntron inspiration comes from the inimitable Angus MacLane. Here’s another builder Matthew Sklar delivering the goods with some more Browntron fun.

Neverending childhood trauma recreated in LEGO

There’s something special about ’80s kids’ films: their practical effects, a spirit of adventure, and a willingness to scar audiences for life with nightmare fodder. Perhaps no scene broke so many young hearts as Atreyu losing his horse Artax in the Swamps of Sadness. Jack McKeen recreates this iconic scene from The Neverending Story with a LEGO tribute that has me both awed by the technique and fighting back tears. I’m impressed by the brown tiles transitioning to slopes around the sinking horse; you can almost feel the horse being sucked into the swamp. The base, built from writhing vines and dinosaur tails, is eye-catching. And Jack’s minifig Atreyu couldn’t be more perfect.

The Neverending Story is one of my favorite films, but the book it’s based on is even better. If you haven’t read it yet, it’s a treat at any age. And you can relive Artax’s tragic end, only in the original version he talks as he drowns!

These meddling heroes are ready and willin’ to catch that villain

When it comes to solving mysterious dungeons that make lesser heroes shake and shiver, Jack McKeen has recruited a party of meddling adventurers you can count on. The LEGO minifig team is composed of Lady Daphne the Fair, Sir Fredrick the Foolhardy, The Orange Crone, The Wandering Gastronomer, and the Curse-ed Hound of Fear and Hunger (Although they are known to team up with the likes of Darkest Knight, Uruk’el the Vexing, and TV legend Don Knotts).

Jack’s medieval remix of the Scooby Gang is an inspired bit of figbashing that pairs the personality of each character with the perfect fantasy… parephernalia. He even built out an appropriately spooky dungeon diorama for the ensemble. The deathly statue is an especially chilling sight with its binocular bones.

This madcap builder is no stranger to pop-culture remixes. We loved his sci-fi twists on Breaking Bad and Mr. Freeze. As for this gang of medieval gang of mystery solving meddlers, Jack put them together for the Brickscalibur “Adventuring Party” category. The competition runs through January 15, 2025.

I’m a Kaiju girl, in a Kaiju world!

In a not so distant future, everything is blocky and grey. To brighten up the world, MadLEGOman, a scientist at Abnormal Genetics Laboratories has added too many DOTS to dinosaur DNA. The result is a unique Kaiju that no imagination could ever fathom… The dreaded AbbyNormaJeane, which bears resemblance to Grimlock from Transformers with the colour scheme of General Mayhem from The LEGO Movie 2.

Medium azure 1×1 round tiles provide the AbbyNormaJeane her primary colour, her underbelly and feet include some pinks and magentas. Whereas these are scales or armour, her base body is a white canvas that the DOTS cover. In addition, a combination of flex tubes and plates with clips sculpts the creature’s organic shapes. It all results in a funky blend of organic forms and mechanical details in a fun monster build.

Breaking Bad in spaaaaaaaace

Remember when Citizen Brick created a set based off of Breaking Bad and there was a row on the internet? While that drama may long be past, the inspiration to build LEGO renditions of the show still exists. And, because this is LEGO, there just had to be a mashup with space down the line. Finally making it a reality is MadLEGOman with the build titled “Spacing Bad”.

Not only is this a sizeable creation with a detailed interior and complete LEGO drug lab, but it also seems to be created using only official LEGO bricks with original prints.

Oh, and please notice the pair of pants hanging on the mirror. The design of this ship really reminds me of the Eagle 5 from Spaceballs. Then again, it’s the only other flying camper van I know of.

Kodos and Kang

Jack McKeen (madLEGOman) has built possibly my two favorite Simpsons character (after Ralph), and with Halloween just weeks away, I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of Kodos and Kang:

Hola, I’m N.O.R.A!

Jack McKeen (madLEGOman) has built quite a spectacular mecha for the FBTB Mecha Madness Contest. This gargantuan machine of Victor Freeze’s would come in very handy while battling Batman…I also think it would work well for freezing mammoths! And what icy mecha would be complete without the ability to hurl pissed off polar bears??

There are a lot of superb entries to this contest, so please be sure to head over to contest threads to vote:

Hero Thread

Villain Thread

On a Wing and Prayer

A wing, a prayer, and psionic energy are the only things keeping this glider by Jack McKeen (madLEGOman) aloft. Jack built this for a competition on FBTB, to be an aircraft themed to accompany the X-Men character Psylocke. I don’t know much about Psylocke, aside from seeing illustrations, but apparently she has psionic abilities. In keeping with her powers, the wings of the plane are attached by translucent beams of thought. They’re simply lovely to look at.

Choose Your Style

There are many animal styles of Kung Fu, each of which was represented by a character in the movie Kung Fu Panda. Jack McKeen (madLEGOman) has built almost all of those characters out of his bricks. I think he’s done a fantastic job of creating expressive faces for all the mammals. The mantis model also captures its subject quite well.

Of the models in the photo, the tiger is my favorite, but I can’t wait to see what Jack does for the red panda, Master Shifu.

Still Alive

Obvious Portal references aside, I was drawn to this ship by Jack McKeen (madLEGOman), because of the interesting shapes I saw in a thumbnail. The cockpit shape is really quite beautiful, even if it can’t actually fit a fig inside. It reminds me of a compound eye, as it’s covered in various facets. The angular engine pods contrast with the bulbous cockpit for an interesting build overall.

I’m not goint to lie, the cake looks great, so delicious and moist.