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.

The frog mecha-army leaps into action!

Everyone’s got their favourite LEGO element. It might be the popular headlight brick, or something completely rogue like a Clikits flower. (Hey, each to their own!) I have a sneaky feeling that some of Simon Liu‘s favourite pieces are those pertaining to frogs. Why? Well, he’s listed as a Frog King in a group on Flickr, for starters. And the Frog King has assembled an amphibian army to do his bidding! This exosuit for the rank-and-file, for instance, houses a Super Mario frog hat.

Click here to see what other frog parts have got an armoured upgrade!

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A radical redux from the red planet

You can keep your Blacktrons, Futurons and Classic Spaces; the space theme that stole my heart growing up was LEGO’s Life on Mars theme. These days, it’s perhaps most notable as a source for the retired sand-red and sand-purple colours. But the set design wasn’t half bad either if you ask me, or Duncan Lindbo, for that matter. He’s seen fit to revamp 7311 Red Planet Cruiser for Mechtober. (It’s like October, but for building mecha.) And it looks great! A one-legged mech is an unusual concept, and Duncan has made some nice upgrades. The best one is the discs on either side, turned into what look like sensors or transmitting equipment, rather than… Whatever they were before. Wings, maybe. As much as I do like the Life on Mars line, I have to admit they only ever looked this good in my imagination!

Causing a ruckus in a LEGO robot Zuckuss

My favourite LEGO theme these days is probably Star Wars, but when I were a nipper that dubious honour went to the mech theme, Exo-Force. Greg Dalink‘s bounty hunter mecha are therefore right up my street. Among others, we’ve had 4-LOM already, but he’s been missing his partner in crime, Zuckuss. Thankfully he is missing no longer! What I love about Greg’s mecha (and there have been a bunch) is how they all have their own individual style, each has something to set it apart. Zuckuss gets a four-legged ride that is a bit more insectoid in nature, and it really suits him. We’d be remiss not to draw attention to that head as well. With curved slopes and a wheel neatly surrounding a CCBS shoulder shell, it’s a real work of art!

A LEGO sword bearer on a field of blades

The LEGO blades of grass pale in comparison to the massive claymore wielded by this turquoise-and-white mech by Psyro TtunTomato. I’m pretty sure this build utilizes nearly every two stud-long curved slope, giving the armor plating so many interesting facets. This is contrasted nicely with the sleek flow of the sword’s edges. The turquoise and gold detailing is excellent on the white background, and I love the little hints of trans-light green that bring the palette together. But the thing that makes this creation stand out from your average mech is the exquisite background. That verdant plain full of katana-constructed grass is a genius presentation of a tough-to-use part (when not used as a minifigure weapon).

Going for a walk in the city

One of my favourite steampunk concepts is that of the mobile city. Whether on wheels, in an airship, on tank treads… Or, as with Student Scissors‘ creation, on foot! I’ve heard of exploring a city on foot, but never of exploring by city on foot. While the eye is drawn to the city itself, this build was entered into the BioCup. So naturally, we have CCBS pieces everywhere from the airship and train to the legs and body. Body? Oh, yes – that’s a Bionicle piece too! Although curiously, and perhaps a little ironically, it’s from one of the few System-scale sets in the line. Well, it’s definitely a Bionicle mask, so I guess it counts!

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!

It’s a chert-y job, but someone has to do it

Sometimes LEGO can be educational in the most unexpected ways. For instance, I had no idea that chert was a type of sedimentary rock until I espied the aptly-named Chert Chewer by builder Zane Houston. And, boy, does this Rock Raiders mech know how to chew! Equipped with 6 chrome drill bits, there’s no stopping this beast from taking down it’s quarry. The whole thing is a beautiful balance of color, occasionally allowing bits of turquoise and yellow to pop out from behind its gray skin. And I appreciate the inferred articulation with joints and pistons all over the hulk, frozen in place as it scoops out another handful of rubble. But the base it stands upon is by far the highlight for me! Those clean striations in the brown rock set the perfect scene for when the chert needs to be chewed.

Chonky mech for a chonky pilot

This mech suit by dicken liu has a few excellent part usage of note. The head of this domed bot is from the Star Wars buildable planet Death Star, and the super laser makes a perfect eye. But that’s not the only spherical part… the Minifig-sized gyro sphere from Jurrasic World forms the outer cover for a tiny rotund pilot.

This hardsuit packs a punch in both offense and defense

I’m not sure if I’ll ever get bored of seeing LEGO mecha. There’s so much variation that can be achieved with a simple bipedal frame. Marco de Bon‘s hardsuit, with a touch of Warhammer 40K about it, is the latest to catch my eye. I’m partly drawn in the by the unusual colour scheme: dark green with red highlights looks very smart indeed. That shield is worthy of note too. The slope parts at opposing angles make for a very nice paneling effect, and what’s the best form of defense? Offense! As well as looking cool, putting some spikes on your shield is sure to yield results in this regard.

A ray of inspiration

If you told me that TBB regular Moko had made a LEGO stingray mech suit, I’d think it was a suit in the shape of the flat fish. But never one to conform to expectations, Moko’s mech is actually piloted by a stingray, who looks right at home inside the blue suit, even sporting a HUD over one eye. As usual there are lots of great techniques and interesting pieces that make it worth your while to spend some time picking this one apart, but the best are the Hero Factory jumper shells used for the toes.

It’s probably a bit of ostrich but...

Japanese LEGO builder Mitsuru Nikaido has a knack for turning any beast into a mechanized creature. This time the mighty ostrich gets the mech treatment. I’m loving the quizzical expression of this leggy bot. As always, there are some amazing shapes and build techniques here. This prolific builder’s growing bestiary is truly a sight to behold. Check out our Mitsuru Nikaido archives to see what I mean.

An unlikely mashup: the Kai Fighter

What happens when you’re building and grab a Ninjago fig instead of a TIE Pilot? Generally I toss it back and keep building, but I imagine TBB alumn Simon Liu runs with it, as evidenced by this Kai Fighter, a TIE-turned-mech that’s as cool as it is well done. Ninjago and Star Wars may not be the most common crossover, but after seeing this I can’t wait to see Lloyd Vader and Jedi Master Wu.