Have you ever dreamed of flying? Me, too. And Matt Goldberg wants to remind us that’s a dream we share with some birds. Matt has done an amazing job of imbuing this brick-built penguin with plenty of personality. You can practically hear it squealing with delight. And I appreciate the little details in this build, like the tiny brown straps going just under the wing to indicate how the rocket pack stays on. Make sure to check out more of Matt’s creative creature work in our archives.
From Johnny Thunder to Jurassic World, LEGO has a long history of sets featuring dinosaurs and other prehistoric life, but as much fun as it can be to pose a mighty molded Spinosaurus, we’re partial to brick-built dinos, like a Creator 3-in-1 T.Rex or the recent Mosasaurus Boat Mission. Of course, our favorite creatures of all are original creations from the LEGO building community, like those that were just unearthed as part of the Bones to Brick collaboration. Seven talented builders contributed an ancient creature in their own style, and we’re excited to share the full collaboration. These builders are also all veterans of the BioCup, the annual competition that also kicks off this month, so I’m sure we’ll be seeing more from this crew very soon!
J6Crash presents Ankylosaurus magniventris, an armored dinosaur of the late Cretaceous. Sand blue and black bricks make a pleasing combo, and the technique of laying claw elements flat to create ridges along the back is brilliant.
Benjamin Anderson is next up with Dimetrodon limbatus, a creature of the Cisuralian period, some 40 million years before dinosaurs showed up. There’s a lot to love about Benjamin’s creation, but I’m smitten by the spine sail with a colorful gradient created from alternating teeth.
The paleontology tour continues after the break
Whenever LEGO comes out with new products like the Vidiyo clear rounded box or the bracelets found in some DOTS sets, builders take up the challenge of integrating them into their creations, like this azure dragon by Matt Goldberg which features a flexible bracelet band for the long neck of this upright-walking dragon with lots of the leaf elements from the DreamZzz theme used on the tail and the head. The creature also has some well-sculpted feet which look great for running.
I have a special place in my heart for LEGO collaborations; collabs, as the cool kids call them. We have a bevy of cool kids in this article collab-ing on characters from the Hollow Knight video game, so get out your pencils and take some notes. First up is the Watcher Knight, a blue beetle guy built by (I presume) the coolest kid of them all, Sandro Quattrini. I like his stance and there are surely some neat parts usage here. Truth be told, I needed the help of Wikipedia to clue me in on the Hollow Knight game but I’m well aware of its influences such as Metroid, The Legend of Zelda, and Mega Man X. Incidentally, the heyday of those games precisely mark the end of my coolness and my foray into being a middle-aged schlub and occasional public nuisance.
Click to see what the other cool kids are into
Guard your belongings. With “Covetous” in his name, this Drathax The Covetous LEGO figure built by Matt Goldberg can’t help but want all your stuff; even that thing you’ve kept hidden in a shoebox under your bed for years. You know what I’m talking about. I don’t need to say it out loud and embarrass you in front of God and everybody, do I? Apparently, there’s a circle of Hell for souls who want all that you have, even that one thing under your bed. It seems old Drathax is guilty of the deadly sin of Greed. It’s kind of a trending thing over at Biocup; they’re building LEGO creations based on the Nine Circles of Hell. So you may see other dirty, filthy, sinful entries to titillate your shameful senses. You filthy, saucy minx, you!
Master LEGO figure builder Matt Goldberg has constructed this sinister-looking Paladin L. S. Kobra and now we’re all a bit squigged-out by it. He tells us this serpent is the Bannerreptile of the Konda Kingdom, champion of the battlefield, and belligerent master to his squire. I’ve been all three of those things in the past, which landed me a trip to the HR office. All I can say is it was a different time back in 2016. Office politics were different, so that’s why I’m a school administrator now. Obviously. Anyway, click the little blue link to check out why we think Matt Goldberg would rule the office battlefield.
Feeling crabby? Maybe this this cutie from Matt Goldberg can lift your mood. This creative crustacean has all the great organic shaping you’d want and is topped with a lovely bouquet of greenery. Is it the aquatic equivalent of an FTD delivery person? A decorator crab doing its best to camouflage itself? Perhaps this is prom night and the corsage was overzealous. Whatever the case, I adore this fun build.
If you’re still crabby, though, there are plenty more critters in our archives!
Samus, the playable character from the platform game Metroid, first released in 1986 on the Nintendo Entertainment System, is instantly recognizable for the cannon arm and enormous shoulder pads… well, the game did come out in the 80’s after all. This model by Matt Goldberg depicts the heroine (Samus was one of the first female video game protagonists) in a later version of her power armor, the Phazon edition. The bulging shoulders are accented by a strip of red LEGO sticker, and the helmet features a nice part use, the minifig handcuffs. Stacked animal tail/claws and robot arms make excellent chest sculpting, and a common trick of turning tires inside-out is used as part of the shoulder assembly.
I have a real soft spot for birds, especially those built out of LEGO. Matt Goldberg has come up with a beauty of a build that is sure to ruffle a few feathers! Speaking of feathers, these are quite tricky to depict in LEGO due to their unique texture — they’re sort of like fluffy scales. Matt has used a plethora of parts to pull off the plumage here, from Hero Factory armour to minifigure arms. The tail feathers are the most spectacular of the lot, mainly using tentacle and horn pieces to great effect. Also present in the tail – and the wings, for that matter – are flexible pieces from 80012 Monkey King Warrior Mech. It’s a smart use of these pieces that I’ve only seen used in a small handful of builds. Not only that, it’s functional as well; you might be forgiven for thinking this bird can’t surely stand up on those two tiny legs, and, well, it can’t. The tail serves to conceal the structure to hold this phenomenal pheasant to the equally well-presented base. Very cunning!
I won’t tell you what came to Matt Goldberg‘s mind first: this tiny adorable crab in white or the way to use a snail shell piece from Belville. The way the shell fits this crab is amazing; I particularly love the piece’s asymmetrical shape, which gives the crab a uniquely natural feel. While the crab itself isn’t extraordinary, I guess it’s more than enough for this build. Clean and neat, I wouldn’t ever agree to take it apart!
This is what happens in the Multiverse of Madness! Over ten years ago, the story of Bionicle was as convoluted as some of the Marvel comics – full of overlapping story threads and alternate dimension-hopping shenanigans. At one point, it is revealed that there exists a version of the Bionicle universe where Makuta – the franchise’s big bad – isn’t big bad, but big good. Matt Goldberg built this alternate version of Makuta, with a bright colour scheme and elegance that oozes raw not-evil power.
Matt combines elements of LEGO’s original Makuta set and a build by Yannick Godts that was inducted into official Bionicle canon. As both of those were over ten years ago, and recent innovations in building made it possible for this character to be refined. For instance, LEGO introduced most of the current “constraction” pieces after Bionicle’s ending, and Matt uses them to great effect. He also includes regular LEGO elements in gold which match golden armour pieces from Legend of Chima buildable figures. Despite Bionicle having an aesthetic of greebly details, the clean look gives this Makuta a slick yet ancient look. And this is why many Bionicle builders love revamping old sets and characters.
*title is in reference to an actual Bionicle commercial from 2003
LEGO builder Matt Goldberg presents us with this impressive build of Matthias from the Redwall books, written by Brian Jacques. The model is an entry in the Bio Cup competition and portrays the protagonist of the first Redwall novel. Matt has captured the rodent-like features, even the bulbous eyes, of the young mouse. Rounded plates at the face and knees assist in creating the anthropomorphic form of the body. Ready to hear enemies nearby, the large ears of the model are created using the reverse side of armour pieces. It’s nice to see some Knights’ Kingdom pieces make an appearance such as the sword and the pauldron armour at the shoulders. Let’s hope there’s a grand feast awaiting the young hero at Redwall Abbey.
