Tag Archives: Mech

Exo-Force theme gets a serious upgrade in this mighty mech

One of the LEGO themes that came out during my dark age (the period between childhood and adulthood when some fans stopped buying LEGO sets) was Exo-Force, a theme with a human and a robot faction and their battling mechs and vehicles. The designs were a perfect blend of anime and cyberpunk. This mech by Ryuhei Kawai is a fantastic reboot of the theme with plenty of modern mech construction techniques. The larger angled upper legs with the thin black calves give the mech a sporty look, while the machine gun with ammo belt feeding it from the shoulder and the large chainsaw-looking blade on the right hand show that this mech means business.

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Allow me to break the ice

Inspired to make a mech to pair with the recent Ice Planet collectible minifigureTheo Bonner understood the assignment. Classic colors – blue, white, and black. Windscreen in trans neon orange. And of course, chainsaw, CHAINSAW, CHAINSAW! Theo expands the color range to allow for silver crampons on the mech’s feet. I like the projectile used as a heftier antenna to match the mech’s bulk.  But the standout feature here is that chainsaw, perfect for tunnelating, making mech-scale igloos, or traveling back in time to save the Titanic from the iceberg. (This isn’t Theo’s first chainsaw mech rodeo.)

Ice Planet Exo-Mech

When he’s not making sick chainsaws, Theo is a designer at The LEGO Group where he recently collaborated on LEGO Icons Botanical Collection 10369 Plum Blossom and LEGO Icons Botanical Collection 10368 Chrysanthemum. Perhaps his mechs helped with the pruning?

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This LEGO Keetongu is seriously crushing it

The LEGO Bionicle theme has been the inspiration for many great custom creations over the years, like this beefy build by Eero Okkonen which, while spectacular by itself, was built with another purpose in mind… to use as many of the new elements from the LEGO 43247 Young Simba the Lion King set in bright yellow/orange as possible. With so much brightness it may be hard to know where to look first, but my eye was drawn to the large macaroni curves used for the eyebrow of this Cyclops mech.

Keetongu

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LEGO Megazord is a Mighty Morphin’ Masterpiece

Move over LEGO Voltron, there’s a new combining mecha king in town and the power is on their side. Builder Moko has been impressing us for nearly 20 years with LEGO mechs that mix style with unmatched play function. Moko’s latest masterwork will be instantly familiar to any ’90s kids and sentai fans: the Megazord from Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers (Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger in Japan). Moko recreates each of the five Dinozords that transform and combine with functionality to rival the best mech toys around.

Dino Megazord

Standing 18″ (46cm) tall, the Megazord falls between the heights of Voltron and the Hulkbuster. It’s remarkable how much articulation and detail Moko achieves at this scale while also achieving a studs-free look. The model is also impressively sturdy in all three forms, with joints that allow it to hold dynamic poses. It’s easier to fully appreciate Moko’s craft by seeing the model posed and transformed in action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPreAwpI-h0?si=BQ2RBd_-xhYf6B2k

Go, go power on for more pics of Moko’s Megazord! !

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This LEGO construction mech is square, and that is OK

Construction vehicles come in many shapes and sizes in the real world, but I’ve never seen one, LEGO or otherwise, in the shape of a cube until now. This boxy mech by SweStar looks like a cross between Ghost in the Shell and Super Mario. I love how the piston legs feel like they could hold the weight, although the sidewalk and street may not survive intact. Hopefully there is enough room inside for a mini-fridge.

Mech-CUBE16 i

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Proud, invincible Hanshin Tiger mech! Go, go, go!

Baseball season is in full swing in Japan and famously passionate fans of the Hanshin Tigers are making noise for their favorite team. Amongst those fans is Sasaki Nobuyuki (Sasapon), two time competitor on early LEGO competition show King of LEGO on TV Tokyo, and member of the OG brickshelf community. Sasapon built this prize-winning mech last year for a “SigFig” mech contest. What is a SigFig? Essentially it’s a minifig avatar that represents you. Sasapon’s SigFig wears his Hanshin Tigers fandom proudly resulting in this delightful tiger-themed mech.

Hanshin Tiger Mech

Sasapon leaned into yellow elements with black stripes and the associated construction aesthetic, adding a detachable bulldozer scoop and  claw to the mech’s back. The highly-poseable mech is packed with personality and clever parts usage.

Hanshin Tiger Mech

レッツゴー レッツゴー ささぽん!

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A spry manipulator of alien orbs

Cody Avery is no stranger to mechs that blend LEGO themes in surprising (and sometimes distrubing!) ways. His latest shared creation, the Hyper Manipulator, is a mech that pushes the boundaries of Neo-Classic Space. Thanks to sets like 6882 Walking Astro Grappler, Classic Space will always be synonymous with mechs wielding snaking manipulator arms. In his modern creation, Cody trades grab jaw arms for macaroni tubes that unfurl like living ropes. No Classic Space inspired build is complete without a trans-yellow windshield, and Cody takes advantage of the recent 4×4 sphere top to great effect. It’s almost punk the way Cody breaks convention with white accessories and  one mismatched minifig leg. Down on the ground, the use of pearlescent balls makes for a truly otherworldly setting. It’s a great design that shows how much vitality there is to even the most venerable themes.

Hyper Manipulator

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A WackDonald’s nightmare that doesn’t involve hot coffee on the crotch

There’s nothing to see here. I recommend you move on ASAP and check out our LEGO puppy archives instead. Get! Skidaddle! Are you still here? You must be a sucker for punishment, then. Fine, have it your way! With so much AI art on the net nowadays, including some bonkers LEGO creations, you’d think this is yet another disturbing offering from our eventual robot overlords. But no, this came from the mind of Julius von Brunk. He calls it McGundam and it features a clown mech with a large Ronald McDonald head for a crotch. What part of that don’t you understand? Kinda makes you wish hot coffee was the only McDonald’s crotch-related mishap, doesn’t it? Julian goes on to tell us that this model went through several iterations due to frequent stability and fragility issues. No one said fueling your nightmares was easy! If you like your LEGO creations just a little bit unsettling then check out our Julius Von Brunk archives. By this point, it’s probably too late to enjoy some lovable kitty archives instead.

McGundam

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A mighty modular LEGO mech for marching

This green and white mech by Red Spacecat has more options than you can shoot a rocket at. Giving me some Solid Snake vibes with those multi-jointed legs, this mech can be outfitted with a variety of weapons to suit any deployment needs. Built to the scale of a fairly uncommon figure from the early days of LEGO System sets. One great part used is the long mast piece more commonly found on ships, but my favorite is the double stack of tank-tread parts used for the massive machine gun rounds.

MT-80 VECTOR

Here’s another photo showing off some of the other weapon options, and with the leg armor removed, you can see even more of the great details used in this model.

MT-80 VECTOR

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A robot that’s a few bricks short of a load

The word “LEGO” tends to inspire thoughts of the traditional bricks that have been a staple of playtime for generations. But this spindly bubble-bot by Djokson is here to remind us of just how far the LEGO system has come. With nary a traditional brick to be found, this collection of gears and tubes is assembled into a robot that’s teaming with personality while being short on traditional studs.

Bubbleboy

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Do I make you itchy?

I love insects and spiders. Really, I do. Tops on my LEGO wishlist is the new 21342 Ideas Insect Collection but boy, does looking at insect photos make my skin crawl! I’m scratching as I type and that is a testament to how realistic this new flea creation by Mitsuru Nikaito is. “Associative itching” is a real thing and, according to the science-y types at the University of Pennsylvania, itchy associations crosses species because primates get it, too. It’s a sensation so good, I decided to pass it along to you all. Let me know in the comments if you’re feeling it too and, if you love creepy-crawlers, check out our insects archives for more skin-crawling goodness.

LEGO Flea mech_05

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Hook a brother up, will ya?

This LEGO creation by Duncan Lindbo imagines a world in which man and machine work together as one. Our Minifigure driver in the cockpit there spends the day moving heavy steel beams with the help of his mech. Sometimes such strenious activity can work up a mighty thirst (for the human, not the mech) and that’s why it’s nice that this powerful robot arm is gentle enough to grasp the fellah’s boba tea and hand it to him. I’m sure the bot asks for nothing in return except a little gratitude from time to time. I just love it for its striking blue color scheme!

Oobaru side

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