Tag Archives: Mattia Careddu

Cello, is it me you’re looking for?

Yes, yes, I know this is probably a double bass rather than a cello. But I couldn’t come up with a bass-based pun for the title, so you’ll just have to bear with it. Besides, we should be focussing on this terrific LEGO musician as built by Mattia Carredu. The cello/double bass/contrabass/whatever it is is very well-sculpted – the wands for tuning pegs are a great touch. So, too, is its player, looking resplendent in blue. There are some great techniques at play here as well. Her dress includes an upturned cupcake tin, and the hat is a terrific arrangement of droid arms around a wheel. Individually, they’re great builds – but put together, they are the very picture of elegance!

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Welcome to the pawn parade

What are the advantages to being a pawn on a chessboard? Well, you’ll have a lot of friends who look just like you. According to this LEGO creation by Care Creations you can also play dress-up when you win a game and celebrate with a nice parade. These creative pawns have even disguised themselves as other chess pieces; we have a knight, a rook, a bishop and a queen. There is even a pawn painting his friend white to infiltrate the other team. Now that I think about it, this clever cosplay plan could be the reason for their victory. Check and mate!

[Building Techniques] How to vilify a scientist through texture

When working in LEGO, texture is everything! Case in point, check out this evil scientist by Mattia Careddu. Through the clever placement of cherries covering their head, Dr. Voltainsminz comes off as a slimy, alien-like villain bent on world domination!

Something wicked stirs beneath the spires

In a building system founded on right angles, stringing together a bunch of LEGO macaroni tubes is anarchistically delightful. The snaking black tubes in the ruins of An-za-kàr Uru Dingir from Mattia Careddu, however, are downright sinister. I love how the layered ruins evoke organic anatomy, with fleshy tan bricks curved around a bony white core. What did this once-great city look like in its prime, I wonder? The model is a rare example of architecture from a builder best known for their weird and wonderful character builds, and an exciting direction from one of our favorite builders of 2024.

A golden build for those who still idolize Galidor

You know what they say — idle hands lead to LEGO idols. I’ve never heard of Pul’ Ohob before, but according to Mattia Careddu, if you offer this divine being an ounce of gold every day for a year, they will reward you with five years of abundance. Mattia’s idol and offerings are full of weird and wonderfully used parts, the centerpiece being the torso of Galidor alien Euripides. (Not the first Galidor-centric build from Mattia this year!) The cornecopia introduces a building technique rarely seen in LEGO: braiding! Pul ‘Ohob’s offer sounds like a pretty sweet deal, but my gold holdings are low. Does Pul’ Ohob take crypto?

Mattia has been anything but idle in 2024. Here’s a round-up of this year’s creations. No wonder Care Creations made our 2024 builder of the year shortlist!

Shortlist announced for TBB Builder of the Year 2024 [News]

The end of the year is always a time for reflection. At the Brothers Brick, that normally involves trying not to think how much we spent on LEGO sets, or how many times our resident lemur mistook a LEGO piece for a snack this year. (I make it six, at last count.) But we also like to reflect on all the incredible builders to have graced our site in the past twelve months. As we do so, a handful stick out who are clear contenders for the coveted TBB Builder of the Year title. Usually, these will be creators who have shown, among other things, consistency, growth, creativity, versatility, and a mastery of the humble LEGO brick. Basically, the ones that we constantly find ourselves writing about! You can see our shortlist below, and check out previous winners in our archives (there’s a full list at the end of the article, too). Oh, and be sure to let us know who your pick is in the comments!

Ladies and gentlemen, your nominees are…

Ringing in Autumn with some hot proboscis action

On the calendar and in accordance with dropping temperatures around here, Autumn is being shown the door by Old Man Winter. However, in Mattia Careddu‘s world, Autumn is just arriving as evidenced by their latest LEGO creation. Here we see a dynamic duo; first up is the red spider lily (Lycoris radiata), the Japanese flower that symbolizes the arrival of Autumn. Next on the docket is what appears to be a hummingbird but it’s Macroglossum stellatarum, a kind of moth called the hummingbird hawkmoth that behaves exactly like a hummingbird. I’ve found the hummingbirds around my feeders to be hyper-intense, territorial, and belligerent toward one another so, in this regard, some people also act like hummingbirds. This duo is doing birds and bees stuff. If you haven’t yet been made privy to “the talk” I advise you ask someone else. Or Google it.

The builder is no stranger to life-size flowers and unusual insects. We also like this Sri Lankan duo.

LEGO seen through a glass, darkly

The artful LEGO creations of Mattia Careddu are more than they first appear to be. Two forms stand on opposite sites of a mirror – an elegant robot and a black fantasy monstrosity. Which is truth and which an illusion? Mattia’s build is striking, both as three separate models and as an evocatively staged tableau. I love the retro robot with a slight tip to its head. The mirror frame is simple but effective, especially at this large scale. But it’s that shocking red background contrasting with the sand green and inky black that turns the scene into dreamy technicolor phantasmagoria.

The lotus and the damselfly

Mattia Careddu takes us on a journey to Sri Lanka with a LEGO version of the Nymphaea Nouchali, or Blue Lotus, the country’s national flower. The model makes good use of Hero Factory cocoon elements as petals, and syringes double as stamens. Admiring the flower is a Prodasineura Sita, a species of damselfly endemic to the island nation. Minifig hands make for excellent hairs on the delicate insect’s spindly legs. Care Creation regularly finds inspiration in unusual LEGO elements or subjects not typically seen in LEGO models. This tiny model does both!

A beautifully tragic ending: Madama Butterfly

Inspired by the opera “Madama Butterfly”, builder Care Creations has combined LEGO elements from the long-retired SCALA theme, last seen in the early 2000’s, with pieces from the recently released “Avatar” theme to create a snippet of this early 20th century masterpiece. The wings from “75572 Jake & Neytiri’s First Banshee Flight” are creatively used for the main character’s butterfly outfit. However, arguably taking more attention, the builder has also given us another significant character from the opera: the flowering cherry tree, constructed using curved brown elements and purple leaves. In this scene, we see the main character in the 3^rd act of the opera, taking her own life as she gives up her baby (a LEGO SCALA element) to her betrayer, the American naval officer.

Galidor bites back!

Do you remember Galidor? I remember, and by the looks of this LEGO model, Care Creations does too! One of the sets in the infamous LEGO action figure line was the TDN Module; a large blue flying shuttle that could fit a figure inside, but was only made of nine parts! I think Care must have left their TDN out in the sun too long. This one has grown eyes, tentacles, and teeth! Spare a thought for the armored figure, and his electric chest plate, caught in the TDN’s grip. How’s he going to get out of this one?

Love is an angel disguised in LEGO

Android, angel, lust… a figure soars on Chima wings, gently carrying their lover across a sea of stars. This evocative scene from Care Creations shows how how much emotion can be constructed out of simple bricks. The composition is incredible. Two grey metal bodies built from System and constraction parts look weightless between those incredible wings above and a finger drawing ripples in the sky below. The one pop of color — a shock of orange braid made from interlaced orange clips — draws the eye to the scene’s subject, an automata conveying a feeling of safety and yearning in the hands of a lover. In the background, an assortment of round tiles on a paper moon add to the tranquility.

With its square composition, the scene could be an album cover, which is appropriate as Care Creations named the work Because the Night, after one of the all-time great love songs.