Tag Archives: Matt Goldberg

Villains unite – sinister figs of the LEGO multiverse [Minifig Monday]

What’s a hero without a good villain? Or, better yet, a whole rogue’s gallery of baddies in every flavor. This week on Minifig Monday, we celebrate custom LEGO creations of villains – both familiar faces from comics and original characters.

Llano (femmefromtheblock) gets things started with this hot take on Mr. Freeze. It’s just one of the builder’s growing ensemble of #dcllanoverse Bat characters. The pale blue and pearlescent works so well for Gotham’s coolest villain.

Redbirch Bricks is back with this “midi-fig” spin on Bane, from the infamous Knightfall arc. The villain’s minifig legs as arms perfectly sell his venom-fueled muscles as he breaks the Bat.

Click for more villains from the world of comics, Warhammer, and fantasy

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Poké-builders celebrate the release of Pokémon Z-A with Mega Evolutions in LEGO

If you want to be the very best trainer, it’s not enough to collect ’em all anymore. It’s not even enough to evolve your Pocket Monsters. These days, to be the best there ever was, you have to MEGA Evolve those Pokémon. In celebration of last week’s release of Pokémon Legends: Z-A on the Nintendo Switch, nine LEGO building Poké-fans teamed up for the #megabrickevolution collaboration, rendering the new upgrade forms of some of their favorite monsters.

First up, from Matt Goldberg, we have the Mega Charizard X, an evolution of Charmander so smoldering with power that he burns blue. The head is wonderfully sculpted and the body has the right mix of cute and fierce. My favorite technique is the use of Ben 10 scales on the underside of the tail, a part I couldn’t recognize without reading Matt’s description of the build on his blog.

@margits_mocs dares to build the Mega Evolution of Pokémon 303, Mawile. This deceptive critter uses its cute face to catch foes off guard, then chomps them with the steel horns on the back of its head that form a fearsome maw. Margit’s model reallly captures the nightmare potential of that second mouth.

Meet more Mega Evolution MOCs after the break

Celebrate Silksong with these LEGO Hollow Knight tributes [Feature]

Hollow Knight debuted in 2017 to modest acclaim, but in the years since developed a cult-like following for its tight gameplay, haunting story, and gorgeous designs. Since then, many LEGO builders have made a go at recreating the Knight and other characters in bricks. As we prepare for the long-awaited sequel’s release next week, let’s take a look back at the many Hollow Knight and Silksong LEGO builds that showcase the iconic appeal of Team Cherry’s games.

GioiaLego recreates the memorial to the Hollow Knight in the City of Tears. The Knight and Hornet appear at minifig scale. The monochrome world is lovingly recreated with light and dark grey brickwork.

Tino Poutiainen created an impressionist version of Hollow Knight. The arachnid leg is perfect for this dynamic pose.

Click to see more Hollow Knight inspired LEGO creations

An aquatic bird breaks new ground by flying high

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.

Bones-to-Brick collaboration celebrates prehistoric life in LEGO

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

Watch out for this strange LEGO dragon

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.

This Hollow Knight collaboration bugs me quite a bit

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

Drathax the Covetous wants all your stuff. Even that. You know what I mean!

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!

A snake of a guy gave me an evil wink

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.

That’s one beautifully arranged hat

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!

Don’t let the shoulder pads fool you. This Samus Aran is all business!

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’d like to present this mighty pleasant pheasant

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!