Tag Archives: Mecha

We all love a good LEGO Gundam or Macross mecha, but LEGO builders everywhere are also creating excellent models of their own designs. Have a look at them here.

DeRa’s LEGO RX-78-2 is Gundam perfection

The RX-78-2 mech from Mobile Suit Gundam is up there with the X-Wing and Optimus Prime as one of the most enduring subjects for LEGO builders. But as we’ve seen with models like this brilliant X-Wing from last year, even if a subject’s been built a thousand times before, new parts, new techniques, and a fresh pair of eyes can still yield exciting takes that improve on perfection. That’s definitely the case with this remarkable mobile suit from DeRa.

As we saw with this ferocious LEGO tiger from last year, one of DeRa’s builder superpowers is a knack for articulation. This Gundam can swap armaments and strike any pose from the classic anime, like the best gunpla model kits.

Click to see more of DeRa’s Gundam masterpiece in action

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Making mech heads in LEGO with Moko [Building Techniques]

When it comes to building LEGO mechs, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone with as much experience and expertise as Moko. The Japanese builder has been posting and sharing robotic creations with us for 20 years, going back to 2005 and this sad little Gundam! Moko’s latest big project, this incredible combining Mechazord, was one of our most popular articles of 2024. Today Moko is sharing techniques for building mech heads like these.

Follow along as Moko guides you through the advanced techniques used to build heads like these from simple parts you probably already have in your collection.

For more mech head tutorials, check out Moko’s previous video with four different styles.

Hardsuits: the only hobby more expensive than LEGO

Some sci-fi builds would have us believe that future militaries are full of mechanized robots mass-produced by corporations. And looking at LEGO builder Devid VII‘s grey hardsuit here, you might be forgiven for thinking that’s where this machine comes from. But the forced-perspective backdrop and accessories in the foreground tell an altogether different story. This is no military production line! It’s just a hands-on young man tinkering away in his workshop. He just happens to build hardsuits in his spare time. Think Big Hero 6, but… Er, less cuddly.

A five-piece blast from the robo-past!

If Earth ever gets invaded by aliens, you’ll want to look to the LEGO Voltes V by Marco de Bon for the defense! This giant robot equipped with the Sword of Heaven (the hilt sits across its chest in the jagged red line) packs enough punch to defeat any monster the alien Boazanians can throw at it. But that’s not all – this LEGO creation holds a secret!

Come see what this robot can do!

Heavenly clockwork mech glistens in LEGO gold

Gold LEGO elements in LEGO aren’t nearly as rare as they used to be, but the mix of shapes available still makes it quite tricky to use it as the dominant color in a model. Builder Yakin Xipe, a member of the Mexico RLUG community, shares a mech in mostly gold that looks truly divine. The halo ring and feathered wings give seraphic vibes, but the red skull in the ring and the mech’s name, Sister Sorrow, suggest a fall from grace. Or perhaps she’s auditioning to be a boss in the next FromSoftware game.

Yakim is quite a prolific mech designer thanks to a custom frame used to scaffold most builds. I might have to try this techique myself!

Do you remember loving VF-1 Valkyries?

For anime fans and toy collectors of a certain age, there will never be a vehicle quite as cool as the VF-1 Valkyrie from Macross. The “variable fighter” helped usher in the era of the transforming robot, with this design even getting shoehorned into Transformers as the Autobot Jetfire. Valkyries have long been a popular subject for LEGO builders, but I don’t think I’ve ever encountered one as small as this model from umamen. Even at this scale, it’s fully transformable to all three modes.

Of course, umamen is no stranger to miniature mecha and character builds. The builder has been innovating with tiny robot builds for over a decade, so it’s great to see them back on TBB!

Blacktron blight leads to mutated mech meyhem

LEGO’s nefarious Blacktron faction may have traded their classic black look for white and trans neon green. But make no mistake, they were still up to no good, pillaging from M-Tron miners, evading Space Police, and apparently getting mixed up with dangerous mutagens. Whatever infected the Blacktron fig from Collectible Minifigures Series 26 seems capable of transforming Blacktron tech as well, at least as imagined by LEGO designer Theo Bonner. His Blacktron Exo-Mech celebrates the colors of the Blacktron II theme with a gloriously gooey mix of modern parts. Theo draws on big and small macaroni tubes and every shape of tail, tentacle, and horn in neon green to fill out the biomechanical menace. I especially like the curled grass piece for the trigger tentacle. I wonder, is the mech an extension of the pilot’s body, or a lifeform of its own?

You know what would help to take down a squishy mech like this? A really big chainsaw. Thankfully, Theo already has that covered with his last cool mech creation.

How’s this for etiquette and protocol?

It may be against C-3PO’s programming to impersonate a deity, but he doesn’t seem to have any qualms about hopping in a giant mech suit and dispensing some righteous justice. Greg Dalinkeiwicz, already an expert at creating LEGO mechs for other memorable Star Wars characters, brings everyone’s favorite whiny droid back for some vengeance. C-3PO’s battle mech is gloriously detailed, with plenty of wires and pistons running between gold pieces from the Chima and Ninjago product lines to form the threatening exterior. But this is still Endor, home of the Ewoks, so C-3PO’s new ride isn’t all metal. An owl roosts on the mech’s shoulder, a flower blooms on the head, and it wields a mighty wooden spear. If the Empire couldn’t fend off a bunch of teddy bears with sharp rocks the first time around, they’re pretty dead now.

Dr. Robotnik sends Sonic scrambling with his epic Eggscruciator mech

After multiple waves of LEGO Sonic playsets, poor Dr. Robotnik must be getting pretty sick of the blue hedgehog and his pals smashing his ingenious machines. With an epic assist from builder Zane Houston, Robotnik is back with a towering LEGO spider mech guaranteed to stop the blue blur in his tracks. Revealed at Brickworld Chicago, where it was awarded Best Mecha Creation, Zane’s Eggscruciator mech was assembled over 7 months and hundreds of hours from many thousands of bricks (including three Rock Raider drills!). It’s an incredible accomplishment, not just for the character design, but for the pixel-perfect 16 bit terrain.

Grab a gold ring and spin dash under the fold for more pics and designer insights!

Ever wondered what happens to all your junk when you’re not looking?

We all have ‘The Drawer’. You know the one – the place where everything from keyrings and screwdrivers to LEGO bricks and old batteries go to be forgotten about. Well, Maxx Davidson hasn’t forgotten them… Or rather, he hasn’t been allowed to forget them. His odds and sods have assembled themselves into a robot! There’s quite the collection of brick-built bits here, including a bobbin of thread and an air freshener. A bit more out there – but still technically LEGO – is the Bionicle Barraki key ring. Let this be your reminder to clean out your junk drawer!

Let the bricks do the heavy lifting

Is there a word for second-hand nostalgia? The reason I ask is that, although I never grew up with any of the ‘classic’ LEGO space theme, I’ve always been attracted (hah!) to the magnetic M-Tron theme. Unfortunately the closest I’ve come to owning any of the sets is a pair of Collectible Minifigures from Series 26. But the beauty of LEGO bricks is that you can live vicariously through them! So when I put together a hardsuit and exo-suit (inspired by Devid VII‘s recent construction worker, incidentally), M-Tron seemed a perfect fit. They are the heavy-lifting space faction, after all! All they need now is some magnets…

Run ‘n gun – the best of both worlds

Unparalleled play features and an eye for form make Moko‘s LEGO builds easy to spot but hard to imitate, and the fully transformable battle-ready beauty Vehichle-Bot 03 is no exception. Sand green is not exactly a rare color, but certainly harder to come by than some, with the available part selection used to great effect here. And that’s not to mention a well placed Technic gear differential housing used for the gun barrel. While the aforementioned cannon suggests a battlefield role of raining down on enemies from afar, the chest guard, resembling a truck’s cattle pusher (AKA moose bumper or ‘roo bar, depending on your region) boasts the brawn to mix it up if any bot rolls up close enough to trade some paint.

Speaking of rolling, if you’re curious about the transformation feature head over to the Moko Brick Laboratory Channel to see the full transformation sequence, and many shots of this build in other poses and from alternate angles – one revealing a clever use of LEGO crowbar elements for texture.

Been living under a rock and haven’t been introduced to this builder’s exceptional work? Check out Moko’s transforming police motorbike, including a video featuring Vehicle-Bots 01 and 02, or Vehicle-Bot 03’s apparent spiritual predecessor the FabuSoldier 01.