Rancorbait is definitely no stranger when it comes to mechs. We’ve featured the builder’s Gremlin mech in the past, and today’s entry is equally striking. It’s immediately clear who built this – Rancorbait’s styling is unmistakable. Also be sure to check out the alternate picture that uses some trickery to simulate gunfire.
Dane Erland proves below that you don’t have to use color to build a creation that catches the eye. This tip-toeing beast is named Ghoulspine and I imagine he slinks up to his prey silently but for the gentle sound of a cooling fan or two. Is that sleek tail used for balancing, swimming, or something else? I’m not sure, but it’s lovely nonetheless. Also, check out those ingenious shields sported by the Ghoulspine’s two handlers.
Gregory St doesn’t post Flickr images often, but this Batman mech caught my eye. I think it does well at being chunky and slightly menacing, but still fun and comic-book like. I could see this leaping off the page of a classic-era Batman comic, rather than stalking the gloomy streets of the po-faced movie version of Gotham. This is what Batman should be about – a sense of menace and impending violence, accompanied by a faint whiff of camp ridiculousness…
Looking back through their Flickr stream, I’ve enjoyed seeing how the builder has posted different designs all based on the same mech frame. It’s interesting to see how color choices and changes in little details can create a totally different feel from the same base structure. In particular, I liked their interpretation of Lord Business from the LEGO Movie a while back…
I’d like to see more of these builds. Maybe some other comic book heroes?
For my stocking this Christmas, my wife included two adorable little SD Gundam figures she picked up at Uwajimaya here in Seattle. They were all the rage back in Japan in the 80’s, and I have fond memories of playing in the schoolyard dirt with adorably chibi versions of Guntank, Dom, Zaku, and of course the titular Gundam RX-78-2. There are about as many variations on Mobile Suits in the Gundam canon as there are stars in the galaxy, and Moko has built the “SUPERIOR DRAGON” character from the Gaiden storyline.
Notably, Moko has used nothing but stock chrome-gold parts for his build — mostly the rare 1×2 gold-chrome tiles that only came in three City sets back in 2003. Rather shockingly, I think I see several chrome-gold C-3PO arms for Gundam’s fingers! The dual lances can combine with part of the shield to form a bow, and the wings spread out like many of the stock toys and plastic model kits.
Moko says on his blog (where you can see more photos) that he’d been putting off building this because he thought getting the shape right with the very limited parts selection would be too hard. But he also says he wanted to end 2015 with flair, and I think he’s certainly done so!
Between designing new Ideas sets, turning your favourite dudes into cubes, and helping make movies, Angus MacLane has been working on his very own classic space theme. So what sensible topic did he use as inspiration for his ‘tron? Well chickens, of course! The theme is called “BokBokTron” and Angus has created quite a few awesome models already:
BokBokTron Box
BokBokTron Thigh Fighter (…ten points for the pun, Angus)
BokBokTron Meggatron (…does not transform into giant chicken gun, unfortunately)
And Angus isn’t the only one building to the BokBokTron theme. Chris Maddison was recently inspired to have a go too…
BokBokTron CHX Nugget
We’re hoping to see more chicken creations from other builders soon. After all, isn’t it just a cracking good idea?
Conveying raw strength with stance and proportion is something the recent Hulkbuster set did really well, but this “dreadnaughtwhammer” by chubbybots blows it right out of the water. It’s got so much going on, so I won’t zero in on all of it, but I have to point out the use of the brown barrel pieces on the arm as a great way to break up the shapes as well as proving some color variance.
Be sure to check out the builder’s photostream to see the progression of this model.
Wolfenstein: The New Order was one of my favorite games of 2014, with its crazy yet immersive alternate World War II timeline. SHARPSPEED built one of antagonist Deathshead’s dog-like war machines, the Panzerhund. The LEGO version looks just as vicious and armored as the mechanized hounds roaming an alternate 1960s Berlin.
The only thing cooler than a mech is a dinosaur mech, and the only thing cooler than that is a dinosaur mech in space. Christopher Bassett may have struck gold with this. It’s called the “T-Rex JumpJet in classic space colors”, and as far as names go that’s exactly what it is. There’s also another version of this that isn’t in space colors, but I think the simple additions here really add a lot.
(Also notice the little blaster in the right hand. Awwwwwww.)
Been having peaceful nights? Pleasant dreams? Lack of waking nightmares? Luckily we have the remedy for that in these “Mecha Beasts” by dennis qiu. Usually pulling off curves is impressive, but it just freaks me out here. Looking closely you’ll see ample use of the smaller ball joints – made popular by LEGO Mixels – being used to give the monsters their hunched stance.
Make sure to check out the creator’s photo stream to see close-ups.
Feeling motivated by the upcoming Wii U title Xenoblade Chronicles X, Jason Corlett built his interpretation of a Heavy Skell. Those overhead cannons look like they’ll ruin someone’s day.
One of the standout features of Skells that I like are the blade-like thrust packs. The use of well integrated Bionicle blades on the thrusters complete the Xenoblade look.
Benjamin Cheh Ming Hann brings us a new bit of mechanised walking glory with his Black Boa “Blitz” BB3 Infantry Assault Division (Type Flight Mode). Wow, both those names had a lot of words in them. Anyway, this is definitely a model you should zoom in on and appreciate the details and the fine shaping.
kenny_yan brings us a new mech in the form of the m.k.007-01. Somehow, this mech manages to look both agile and extremely bulky at the same time.
Wonder how it was made? How the angles were pulled off and how a model like this is even created? Thankfully you’re covered by a set of progression shots that show how the build came along. It’s really interesting to see what aspects were kept and what was junked as time went on.
