In keeping with the military theme of Keith’s FNF I’d be remiss not to pass along Piotr Ślęzak’s (pitrek02) Hughes MH-6 Little Bird. A very nice rendition of a very difficult ‘bird’ to render in LEGO.
Tag Archives: Military
Friday Night Fights (Round 15)
Welcome back fight fans, to Sin City Nevada for another no holds barred edition of Friday Night Fights! Tonight’s bout is a struggle of military logistics featuring two young-guns of the hobby. Let’s go to the tale of the tape:
Fighting out of the red corner, from the great State of New York…Nathan (Ɲ.) and his Cowboy Beboats.
And fighting out of the blue corner, from Knuckleville Tennessee…Chris the Ironsniper and his Military Transport Unimog.
As usual, constant reader, you are tasked with deciding the outcome of this pugilistic endeavor by way of comment. On the last edition of Friday Night Fights, the so-called Mosaic Massacre, Tommy Williamson a.k.a. The Lompoc Lightning-bolt knocked out his opponent 5-1. Tune in next week for more action!
Nadie se escapa del sabueso!
I’ve been a big fan of -Tayasuune- since he hit Flickr in 2008. Craig has developed a unique style to his near-future science fiction vehicles that is easy to identify, even from a great distance. The Prototype – A12b ISV ‘Sabueso’ is one of Craig’s recent models that really shows off some great angles and perfect stud-management.
Because it’s a slow day, and I am such a big fan of the builder, enjoy a brilliant little scene from January of last year called Cell Block 23.
The P-61 Black Widow is a sinister beauty
If, like me, you’re into LEGO aircraft models, this week is off to a rocking start. Yesterday I had the pleasure of featuring mrutek’s P-51 Mustang; today I am happy to present the P-61 Black Widow by Sydag.
![[P-61B-15] The Black Widow : A Study In Black.](https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/media.brothers-brick.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/9350487080_0e605302ab.jpg)
The first radars entered operational service prior to the Second World War, but during the war the equipment became sufficiently compact to be fitted to aircraft so that they could find targets at night. However, radars were still fairly bulky and interpreting their signals was a fine art. Some single-engined single-seat fighters were equipped with radars, but most night fighters were bigger twin-engined machines, with a dedicated radar-operator in addition to a pilot. The P-61 Black Widow was the US Army’s purpose-built night fighter, used during the latter part of WW2. It carried a gunner as its third crew-member.
Having built my own version of the P-61, I can really appreciate the shape of Sydag’s model. Our models are similarly sized, but because he has decided to forgo having space for a minifig crew, the fuselage on his model looks far more accurate and elegant. It’s sinister and beautiful at the same time.
This P-51D Mustang is ready to take on the Luftwaffe
I have come to admire mrutek for his models of some of the lesser-known aircraft of the Second World War, such as the A-20 Havoc and the Yakovlev Yak-1, but he has now turned his attention to a rather more famous aircraft: the P-51D Mustang. The P-51D combined a license-produced Merlin engine (famous for its use in the British Spitfire) with an airframe that could carry enough fuel to fly all the way from England to Berlin, escorting bombers. Nonetheless, the aircraft was sufficiently fast and agile to take on the best the Luftwaffe could throw at it. The P-51D was the first Mustang version with a bubble canopy, that offered excellent visibility to its pilot, and is an aviation classic.
The model carries very attractive markings similar to those of the USAAF’s 361st Fighter Group on D-Day, with its yellow nose and invasion stripes. It’s not all perfect, though. For instance, I think the nose is a bit too long and should curve upward more at the bottom (I have purposely chosen a picture where this isn’t obvious). I also think that the distance between the leading edge of the wing and the front of the canopy should be a bit bigger. I know that building WW2 fighters isn’t easy, however, and overall this is an instantaneously recognisable model with some very nifty techniques.
Nécropole Nationale
The Douaumont Ossuary is a war-memorial containing the remains of French and German soldiers who died on the battlefield during the Battle of Verdun in World War I. The monument is located in Douaumont, France, within the confines of the Verdun battlefield itself. French Builder Cyrille (TheBrickAvenger) shrinks the cemetery down to Microscale for this outstanding rendition. Unfortunately, perhaps the most interesting detail of Douaumont Ossuary was left out, a rotating red and white beacon at the top of the tower called “the lantern of the dead” that shines on the battlefield at night. Maybe Cyrille will tackle the structure in minifig scale some time down the road, and include the lantern. Quel hommage exceptionnel fourni aux soldats tombés au combat de la France, bien fait Cyrille!.
I offer my standard disclaimer / apology for my substandard use of the French language, no disrespect is intended.
Ghost in the Shell inspired drone tank
Apparently Leigh Holcombe’s (worker201) Urban Drone Tank fails the ‘inversion test’ (I assume that means it can’t be held upside-down), but I think the results speak for themselves. This minivan-sized armoured attack vehicle looks like it would be right at home in the universe of Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.
“I know nut-zing!” Awesome LEGO Hogan’s Heroes diorama by Brian Williams
Brian Williams (BMW_Indy) is back making awesome dioramas. This time he’s cooked up this excellent cube of goodness from Hogan’s Heroes, one of my all time favorite TV shows. There’s everything from Carter’s underground chemistry lab to the hidden antenna in the flagpole. You’ll have to inspect the barracks more thoroughly than Schultz, but you might just recognize some great nods to specific episodes. Plus Brian has outfitted the whole thing with lights, so it looks great in photographs. Note the cool textures on the walls using the antistuds on the backs of plates, and the edges of wedge plates for the rough-hewn walls of the tunnel network.
If you don’t want to click through the photos individually, check out this slideshow Brian made:
Soviet armor forged in the Arsenal of Democracy
Thanks to having run out of LEGO track (I can’t wait for Brickmania Track Links), I’ve been forced to build something with wheels. Between June 1941 and September 1945, the United States delivered 400,000 Jeeps and trucks, 12,000 armored vehicles, 11,400 aircraft, and 1.75 million tons of food to the Soviet Union as part of the Lend-Lease Program. The US often reserved the latest arms and armor for its own armed forces, and older or obsolete designs ended up on ships to the USSR to fight the Third Reich on the Eastern Front.
One such vehicle was the M3 Scout Car, an armored car created by the White Motor Company in the late 1930s. You can clearly see the M3 Scout Car’s heritage in the later M3 Halftrack, which I’ve included here with the Scout Car — both in Soviet livery.
Recent posts about my LEGO World War II models didn’t really discuss materials or building techniques. While I wholeheartedly agree with LEGO’s stance not to produce LEGO sets based on recent real-world military conflicts, it does leave a gap for the minifig-scale LEGO military modeler. Several custom accessory vendors fill that gap. Here’s a quick run-down of the custom items I’ve used in my recent models.
- Weapons and headgear by BrickArms: Will Chapman has been branching out from American and sci-fi weaponry over the last couple of years, with PPSh & DP-28 machine guns, Mosin-Nagant rifles, Tokarev pistols, and even an ushanka hat for those long Russian winters.
- Flags and trenchcoats by Cape Madness: My Soviet armor wouldn’t be the same without a proper Soviet flag. Naturally, LEGO isn’t going to make one of those… My thanks to Dave Ingraham for generously giving me a large selection from his catalog.
- Printed accessories from Citizen Brick: Though a bit on the pricey side, Citizen Brick sells a variety of interesting elements you can’t buy from LEGO, including printed BrickArms headgear like the ushanka with the red star and the medic helmets I’ve included in previously posted models.
- Printed BrickArms crates from Brickmania and G.I. Brick: Quite possibly my favorite recent addition to the BrickArms catalog, the crates are long enough to hold long guns and come in a variety of realistic colors and useful patterns. Frankly, I feel a compulsion to collect them all…
The Soviet decals — “CCCP” and so on — are stickers salvaged from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull LEGO sets (a theme rife with exceptions to LEGO’s policy, but full of elements useful to the military builder).
I’ve written before about how much I enjoy research while building LEGO models based on historical people, events, places, and vehicles. Though I haven’t posted anything in a few weeks, I’ve continued improving many of my existing WW2 models based on feedback from other builders and better photos I’ve come across.
Once I’m reasonably happy with a military model, I like to reproduce it so I can make further variations without destroying each one in turn. Here’s my much-improved (I think…) M5 Stuart Light Tank alongside a new M4 Sherman Medium Tank.
I rebuilt the front of the Stuart to reduce how much it projected in front of the treads, lowered the turret by a plate, and gave the turret a proper commander’s hatch. The Sherman has a brand new turret, using 1×3 arches that I first saw built into the turret on the Brickmania Sherman I reviewed earlier this year — another example of how LEGO builders are indebted to each other to improve their designs.
I’m still not sure what I’m going to do with all my World War II armor (LEGO Italy circa 1943 seems overdue for liberation), but I’m certainly enjoying the vehicle builds along the way.
Rolling through the woods in the Leopard 2A8
A forest may not be the most appropriate environment for a main battle tank, but the Leopard 2A8cE tank built by Corvin Stichert seems to feel right at home in the woods. The Leopard 2A8 is a fictional development of the real-world German Leopard 2, fitted with new armour and goodies such as IR signature reduction technology and an active protection system.
I like that Corvin sticks to technology that isn’t too far-fetched. For instance, active protection systems, intended to intercept incoming projectiles and missiles, have already entered operational service. I also like how, unlike many tanks people build and post, this one isn’t just dark grey.
It eats dead things.
Hammerhead Sky Fortress
Inspired by the collected works of TBB favorite Mike Yoder and the Avengers Helicarrier, Lego Admiral has constructed an interesting war machine he calls the “Emperor’s Victory“. Even though the model was constructed with the Warhammer 40k universe in mind, I can’t help but wish the builder had included a photo of minifig Iron Man pushing one of the blades around inside an engine.
