Once again, builder Maxx Davidson has treated us to some delightful eye candy, skillfully incorporating not only LEGO bricks, but also other assorted elements that might require a deep dive into the internet to confirm their authenticity as “LEGO-branded.” Titled ‘Assorted Childhood Toys,’ the undiscerning eye would be hard-pressed to identify these as toys built out of other toys. However, the builder has expertly used LEGO to transport the beholder to a place of reminiscence.
Trains are always cool, but I feel like LEGO trains are even better! Builder Justus M. presents to us this green train, inspired by the set 79111 Constitution Train Chase. Personally, I much prefer this train to the one in the set. The color blocking is better and I really like the less blocky lines to the whole thing. I also enjoy the addition of the extra little light on the front of the train. This is a build that I’d love to see added to with train cars and more tracks! Part of the fun of seeing builds taken on from LEGO sets is that they often bring out an inner beauty that just needs a little love to shine. This is a prime example of that.
This LEGO hourglass is something magical with its grains building a castle as time passes. Builder Simon Liu presents this unique hourglass for the Brickscalibur contest. As time moves, so does the construction of the castle. And when it’s complete, time is up. It’s a clever idea to showcase the passage of time and life. Being an hourglass, it represents the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The build uses a wonderful assortment of tan pieces to give the castle definition. There are even some walls and bits in the top portion of the hourglass from the last sand castle. The build also makes some good use of gold pieces to give the timepiece a gilded elegance. This is a really cool design and idea, and is certainly one of my favorite time-related LEGO builds.
We all know you can build things out of LEGO, but “building something that you build something out of, out of LEGO” is a sentence that I don’t get to write all that often. Brickleas gave me the chance with this fun diorama of in-progress model building. It makes use of the clip-flag seed part from Iron Forge a whopping 30 times, and finding them all is a fun exercise. My favorites are the bird’s beak, the dab of paint, and the blade in the well-built craft knife. The rest of the scene has some great details, too. I’m fond of the interesting texture in the hobby mat from the dark green tiles. And the branch the bird is perched on makes use of the minifigure tree disguise. It might be obvious in retrospect, but it feels clever to me.
This year’s Iron Forge has gifted us with a ton of interesting builds, as our archives show. Go take a look!
For those undecided whether or not you want to see any more cool LEGO creations today, don’t worry, I just made that decision for you. André Pinto does all the heavy lifting with this stunning Toyota forklift. I would have been impressed enough with the lift’s many controls and overall look but André goes above and beyond with a simple yet detailed environment including a safety sign and fire extinguisher. While the builder doesn’t state this model actually works, it looks as if it can be rigged with power functions. Upon closer inspection, I can see that the shifter knob is an eight ball. Nice touch, André! We’ve been smitten by his detailed work before. This is probably the best thing I’ve seen all day and I’ve seen a small dog startled by her own farts.
During the 1950s, the now-prolific Jim Phillips designed the Screaming Hand image, which later in 1985 became the instantly recognisable logo for the well-known Santa Cruz Skateboards company. With impeccable attention to scale and detail, LEGO builder Brick Flag brings this true icon of skateboarding culture to the Brick. As a builder with a history of skateboarding, I too have attempted to build this gnarly skate totem, though with much less success than this great representation. The colour scheme for such a depiction is pretty unavoidable, though the dark azure is utterly prefect for such a build. The part selection has been superbly chosen considering the limited piece pallet available.
The Screaming Hand has represented hardcore skaters practically the world over for around 35 years, and this LEGO creation has done it justice in many ways. Before we go into its details, take a moment to observe the similarities when held against the original. The shaping has been achieved beautifully, considering the form and function of the human hand. Yet the I can still hear a ripple through the readers/builder at home, lamenting the colour selection for the ball joint and socket modified plates, which are sadly only produced in greys.