Tag Archives: Matt Goldberg

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!

Drathax the Covetous

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.

Paladin L. S. Kobra

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.

Unpotted Crab

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.

Phazon Suit Samus Aran

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!

Chromatic Pheasant

The most adorable eyes on the whole beach

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!

Ivory Hermit

I am Maktooti, the bionic man!

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.

Makuta of the Melding

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

Matthias of Redwall is ready for battle

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.

Matthias of Redwall

Pollinator from another planet

Far away, on some advanced planet, there are probably cyborg animals. I mean, the likelihood of Earth-like creatures seems reasonably high. And cyborgs aren’t just made from our imagination. Look at prosthetics — medical advancements are headed there more and more. Matt Goldberg gives us a glimpse of that with his latest LEGO build. This bee has circuitry! While the trans-blue Insectoid wings call attention, there are other great features too, like the marbled Bionicle Mohtrek mask used in the abdomen. My favorites are on the head, where skates are used for mandibles and minifigure hands attached to sausages form the antennae. Also, let’s not forget that colorful flower, cleverly built with purple Bionicle Pakari masks.

Alien Pollination

We try to keep it light here at TBB. But on a somber note, did you know our bees are in trouble? Without bees and other pollinators, we’d starve. We’re not going to be able to develop cyborg bees anytime soon, and even if we could, the real thing deserves our help. Please take a moment to learn what you can do, and check out these sites for more information on bees and their impact. Every act helps – even small and easy ones like planting a little bee garden and providing a refreshing bee bath.

This robot is just Galador-able

LEGO’s long lost Galidor theme wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but there’s no denying that those unusual parts can lead to some expressive creations. Matt Goldberg gives us a stellar example with Gage – “An AI of boundless curiosity, sparked by an inexplicable lightning incident.” Gage isn’t only a Galador remix, though. There are elements here from other classic LEGO themes. Check out the Aquazone pincers for hands, and that Bionicle mask for the back of Gage’s head. Throw in some “new” parts like those transparent pink 1×1 round tiles for eyes and a minifigure ice skate for a nose, and you’re ready to party!

Gage

Matt has made more photos of Gage available in a Flickr album, showing off Gage’s range of motion and emotion. And when you’re done checking those images out, you can peruse more quality robots from other builders in our archives!

Tex Wrangler hits all the sweet spots

Matt Goldberg’s latest LEGO creation is challenging me to step out of my comfort zone. I am a fan of LEGO but bionicle and technic LEGO are just not my cup of tea. My knowledge of parts in these themes is very limited too. But Matt’s creation is so damn perfect that I just have to cover it! LEGO western was my favorite theme when I was a kid and the Tex Wrangler hits all the sweet spots for me. From the spurs to the big golden revolvers to the bullet belt. The Hero Factory Chest Badge makes him look like the town sheriff and the Ben 10 flexible shoulder neck piece partly turned inside out works perfectly as a cowboy hat.

Tex Wrangler

He just wants to axe you a question

LEGO builder Matt Goldberg is no stranger to creative part usage. Scalesquire B. A. Konstrictor, here, is a good example of that. A Legends of Chima flywheel fairing and CHI Cragger lower jaw are just two of the details that caught our eye. If you look closely you can spot minifigure-scale microphones and ice skate accessories incorporated into that stylish silver armor.

Scalesquire B. A. Konstrictor

Matt’s builds sometimes raise more questions than they answer. In this case, does “B. A.” stand for “Bad Attitude“? One can only wonder.