Tag Archives: Military

Tanks and fighter planes, dioramas of World War II battles, dreadnoughts and battleships — LEGO builders have an obvious fascination with the arms and armor of the military-industrial complex. Find all these LEGO weapons of mass destruction right here on The Brothers Brick.

Hear the ‘wocca wocca wocca’ as a hawk flies past

The Sikorsky HH–60G Pave Hawk is a twin-turboshaft engine helicopter in service with the United States Air Force, and TBB’s own Ralph Savelsberg has chosen to depict this versatile helicopter in ‘European One’ camouflage colours. The amazingly accurate shaping of Ralph’s model was the first reason this model caught my eye. I have flown in Blackhawks and seen them close up in my previous line of work, and I instantly recognised the Hawk family resemblance. There are a few details that I particular like, for example Ralph’s clever solutions to using a limited palate of dark bluish grey, dark green, and olive green means the hubs on the wheels are actually dark green minifigure heads!

See more of this amazing LEGO helicopter

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Si-Bored Industries announces its first new drone of 2017

The news that Si-BORED industries has just released an exciting new edition to their drone lineup has been announced by Canadian builder Simon Liu. The Grunzen drone comes with the tagline, “This all-purpose military unit has been built ground-up to exceed all your combat requirements”. These seem to be fantastically poseable LEGO drones, with more joints than a West coast state after cannabis legalisation. I love the joints that Simon has designed, firstly for the knees using a 1×1 plate with clip as the pivot point, and then the shoulder/elbow joints which ingeniously use a droid torso.

For Star Wars fans, the tan helmets would quickly be recognised as belonging to the Star Wars resistance trooper minifigures from Episode 7. These are great helmets and work perfectly with the colouring and style of Simon’s drones.

If you can’t beat them, join the Space Marines

The LEGO Group have wandered into the realm of wearable LEGO with things like the LEGO Friends Friends Jewelery Set #853440, but this helmet and shoulder armour by Timofey_Tkachev takes wearable LEGO to a whole other level. Tomofey’s LEGO cosplay is inspired by the Space Marines from Warhammer 40K, originally the tabletop miniatures game and now a video game.

The shaping of the helmet is particularly impressive, especially around the eye sockets and the mouth where accuracy has been maintained despite the difficulties when using LEGO pieces to build curves.

LEGO Focke Wulf Ta 152 “Butcher Bird” prepares for action

Master aircraft builder Maelven has built some unique and historically accurate planes, but perhaps none are as eye-catching as his newest build, the Focke Wulf Ta 152 H-1.

Designed by famed aeronautical engineer Kurt Tank, the Ta 152 was a last ditch effort by the Luftwaffe during the closing days of the Third Reich to combat the high-altitude bombers deployed by the Allies. Although only a handful were built the Ta 152 proved itself as a capable interceptor and among the fastest piston-driven fighters of the war. The long nose and superbly sleek design which characterized this butcher bird are created expertly here in LEGO form.

The builder chose to adorn this particular model with the red-orange paint scheme used by Luftwaffe ace Fritz Aufhammer. Legend says Aufhammer adorned his plane in such colors to notify trigger-happy Flak crews that this strange and unfamiliar aircraft was actually on their side. The Ta 152 is seen here in the process of being maintained and refitted. The exposed engine compartment is a nice touch, and along with the other details, really helps to bring this build to life.

Bank shots around corners with a LEGO Infinite Warfare CLAW [Video]

Though I was initially disappointed to see Call of Duty yet again tackle the futuristic war setting in Infinite Warfare, I was pleasantly surprised by the plethora of inventive weapon designs. YouTuber ZaziNombies shows some love for the Warfighter combat rig’s signature weapon with his LEGO replica of the Collapsible Lightweight Automatic Weapons System (CLAW). The skeletal look of the weapon was achieved well with the use of ladder elements, angled tiles, and arrays of circular tiles on the inside of the prongs. Watch the builder discuss his replica CLAW in the following video.

Working LEGO trebuchet lays siege to your cities

The trebuchet is a towering medieval siege machine, used to wear away at castle walls with greater power than ancient catapults. The army of Dalos has Andrew JN to thank for their latest weapon of war, and what a weapon it is! The model itself is a good clean build against the trend of making medieval buildings look more and more ramshackle, but the real magic touch is the functioning sling and winding mechanism. LEGO castles beware!

Andrew was kind enough to post a video of the trebuchet in action, in which no castles were harmed.

Death from above

Modeled on the Messerschmitt BF 109, the backbone of the Luftwaffe’s fighter force in World War II, these digitally rendered beauties created by Lego Pilot would have given the P51 Mustang a run for it’s money. Beautifully rendered using the app Blender, it’s getting difficult to spot real models from computer generated ones. Either way, you wouldn’t want to have a pair of these on your six.

This spaceship catches some nice angles

This lovely LEGO spaceship by The Backward One is sure to grab attention as it cruises through the galaxy with enough stylish curves to make a space pirate blush — that is, before he flees in terror from its impressive firepower.

Simply put, this is one pretty ship. The sharp angles of the prow contrast nicely with the sleeker curves of the fuselage and missile compartments (the differing angle of the last missile pod is a particularly aesthetic touch). Together the varying styles and color choices result in a pleasingly unique design.

Intended to be a Russian vessel, it’s also apparent the builder pays homage to Soviet and Russian military/space designs. It’s an interesting choice and well-executed here. So, although they can’t hear you scream in space, the crew of this stylish ship might see you gaze in awe!

LEGO P-51 Mustang roars to victory

Historical builder Milan CMadge recently shared his version of one of the most iconic and influential fighter planes of World War II, the P-51D Mustang. The P-51D was not just a spectacular fighter, outclassing most of its counterparts in combat, but a real eye-catcher too. The sleek and seductive lines that made the Mustang such a pretty plane are captured nicely here in LEGO form.

The color patterns are accurate and look really good. The stickers are conservatively applied and add a nice bit of character to the model. Overall the builder has done a fine job paying tribute to this Allied workhorse, and I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to swoosh it around my house all day!

This helicopter rains fire from the sky

Devid VII recently shared his version of an AH-64 Apache attack helicopter packed with plenty of firepower and details. We’ve seen several good examples of Apaches in the past, and the builder pays homage to them while also incorporating some personal touches. Details particularly worth noting are the techniques used to achieve the shaping of the fuselage, the slanted cockpit and nose sensor array. The Apache’s slanted, quad-blade rotor is nicely recreated as well. Armed with a 30mm automatic cannon, guided missiles and rocket pods, this chopper is ready for action!

Largest amphibious invasion in history recreated in LEGO

On June 6, 1944, over 160,000 Allied soldiers – supported by hundreds of warships and aircraft – poured onto the beaches at Normandy in what was the largest amphibious assault in human history. The successful invasion eventually liberated Western Europe and helped seal the fate of the Third Reich. Lego Admiral reminds us just how big this invasion was with his awesome and expansive recreation of the landing at Omaha Beach.

Drawing inspiration in part from the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan, the builder has done an impressive job recreating the ferociousness of combat during those first few hours on Omaha – the offloading Sherman tank hit by artillery fire, the barbed wire torn to shreds by bangalore torpedoes, the dead and dying soldiers, the exploding shells, and the imposing blockhouse pockmarked by gunfire are big highlights here.

The monumental task facing the Allied invasion is illustrated by the well-situated German defenses, complete with a searchlight, anti-aircraft cannon, trenches and machine gun nests, all cleverly built. The beach itself is protected by Czech hedgehogs, Hochpfähle, and some clever concertina wire. Yet despite these obstacles, and as this build demonstrates, Allied soldiers slowly but surely made their way up the beach and on to victory. With the beachheads in hand, there was no stopping the liberation of France and the eventual collapse of the Third Reich. And while those events occurred several generations ago, builders like this help keep these momentous events in our minds – not just to recognize the best and worst traits of mankind, but also to remind us of where we should hope to not find ourselves again.

Assist your Titan in the present and past with a LEGO Titanfall 2 Alternator

Titanfall 2 added several new weapons to its line-up of futuristic firearms, and my favorites are the multi-barreled weapons like the Alternator for their uniqueness. My LEGO replica of the Alternator started with the grip and mag well, as this area was the most difficult to build for two reasons: First, I wanted the letter “A” shape the body, mag well, and grip form to be spot on. Second, the mag well is sand blue on the in-game model, which has a limited selection of LEGO elements to work with. Considering these limitations, I think my solutions work well for the look of the submachine gun in-game.

Though I favor the insanely fast pace and competitive nature of Titanfall 2 multiplayer, its single player mode was a pleasant surprise, and its middle mission “Effect and Cause” is an instant classic. When you retrieve this device and slip it on your left hand, the prompt “Press A to time travel” caught me off guard. Several other players have praised this level, and after building a wearable helmet I wanted to build more wearable objects in full size, so I thought this time travel device would be a fun build.

The Alternator SMG model has a moving trigger, sliding ambidextrous charging handle, and removable magazine. See all these functions demonstrated with some time traveling effects in the following two minute video.