Few bands have an iconic look that can rival electronic duo Daft Punk. And builder Dylan Mievis
captures that look perfectly in LEGO with this pair of instantly-recognizable helmets. The techniques here may seem simple, but these are some really tricky forms to achieve in proper proportion, and Dylan handles them like a pro.
The LEGO 21334 Jazz Quartet is a great set, but what happens if the musicians need to swap out instruments? PaulvilleMOCs has their back, designing these amazing instruments as a supplement to the official set. Both the sax and the trumpet fully capture the intricacy of the real-world instruments, achieved with a few simple parts in the case of the trumpet. The saxophone uses a bigger assortment of pearl gold parts to suggest the instrument’s various tubes and valves, along with a black mouthpiece. The pads (the little round things that lift up to produce different sounds) are represented with well-placed round 1×1 rounded tiles. Both instruments are accurate enough to give me vivid flashbacks of junior high band class.
True story, I’ve only seen “Weird Al” Yankovich at a concert once. He wasn’t on stage – it was a They Might Be Giants concert – but even headbanging to another band’s accordian songs, his joy was infectious. Joy really hits on what makes Weird Al such a beloved and enduring figure in the music world. His parody songs, exhuberant polka medlies, wild music videos, and countless cameo appearances are guaranteed to deliver smiles. Builder Moptoptrev captures that joy in his heartfealt LEGO tribute. The long, wavy locks, jutting chin, high cheekbones and kind smile click together in an unmistakeable portrait of the musical legend. The mosaic work captures Yankovich’s style and brings a great mix of color. Moptoptrev pairs the colorful bust with a brick-built version of the artist’s Roland accordian. It’s a lovely portrait of an artist who dares to be stupid with all of his generous and talented heart.
I recently got my hands on a bunch 0f LEGO flex tubes, but I’m still figuring out what to make with them. Perhaps I should take inspiration from Eero Okkonen? This stylish keyboard player makes great use of them. Said tubes are used as the wiring for the PA system and keyboard, but Eero also shows off his braiding skills by using them as hair. It looks great! And the nice parts use doesn’t stop there. A pair of red fences are cleverly inserted into some Technic quarter-circle gears to make an on-stage monitor. Meanwhile, some Dots pendants are the perfect size for some earrings!
The music scene is filled with countless artists, so deep cuts that overlap LEGO and eclectic artists can be rare. Builder Eero Okkonen recently completed this model of singer-songwriter Richard Dawson to update his past display of the band Circle. It’s no surprise Eero says he had an easy time going about this build, as the black uniform allowed for a great piece selection to maintain uniformity. The main issues he faced were building Richard’s face and hair, which come across delightfully in the final product. Dawson often works his voice from the top to bottom of his range in songs, so it’s wonderful that the models mouth seems to be caught mid-lyric. Other details such as the microphone, guitar, and speaker all add to the immersion of the scene. The only thing I can’t get passed are the skeleton arms as fingers because they just make me think Richard has more little hands at the fingertips. I’m disturbed but curious as to how it would help his guitar playing.
As a personal fan of Richard Dawson myself, this was a delightfully unexpected model to see. Plenty of builders have been covering famous musical artists over the last year, mostly mainstream or rock. This model has me curious about Circle, and pleased at how the process of discovering new music can be just as odd as your taste in tunes.
When it comes to iconic rock stars, there are few as easily recognizable Elvis, Freddie Mercury, and Michael Jackson. And now, talented builder Dan Ko has taken those memorable personas and transformed them into miniature LEGO statues. These tiny titans combine instant name-recognition with very clever part usage. For example, check out the ingots forming Elvis’ sideburns, the yellow handlebars in Freddie’s jacket, and the white croissants as Mike’s arms – clever stuff!
If you’re interested in building your own set of these, instructions will be available for purchase starting October 15th as part of 2022’s Creations for Charity drive. But while you wait, be sure to check out our archives for more musical goodness!
This LEGO creation by R 194 for me really hits the nostalgia soft spot. The DUPLO I played with was handed down to me by friends of my parents whose kids were a bit older. So the 1994 cat head was part of my DUPLO collection. To me it is such an iconic DUPLO part. It’s from a time where the diversity of bricks was really limited. Including this vintage DUPLO beauty in a LEGO creation looks stunning. It is not the only DUPLO part that gets included. We can spot a roof spire, a red panda head and either Dots or DUPLO cupcake cups. We are looking at a motley crew of musicians and they are all cute as a button. The best thing about this creation is how R 194 created a third big animal head using regular LEGO bricks and it is amazing to see how good it matches the DUPLO heads.
Ever wondered what a castle-themed version of Ninjago City would look like? Wonder no more, and just take a closer look at this creation by Tobias Goldschalt. The buildings are larger than life and the Tudor-style homes look very nicely done. Mixing tan and dark tan parts into the white plastered areas really helps with the weathered look. If you look closer, you’ll notice that almost every roof uses a different technique — from straight tiles to pentagonal tiles, from cheese slopes to curved slopes. Variations like this always help keep you, as a viewer, captivated. Every time your eyes zoom across this creation you’ll notice something new. The stone walls are made with two techniques — in some places, the masonry brick gets used, but in others Tobias uses bricks with studs on the sides covered with tiles.
See more of this gorgeous LEGO Castle creation
When I first saw this LEGO model of a musician with headphones by aido k, I laughed out loud. I thought it was so expressive, with his floppy hair, and sleepy eyes. And those headphones are so amazing. Then I found out it was a tribute to a Youtuber, and I loved it even more. Aside from the face, I think one of my favorite and easily missed details is the white stripes of his sweatshirt, along the shoulder and arms.
Following hot on the heels of his LEGO build of The Specials, Red 2 has given us another musical classic: punk rock’s finest The Clash. He’s once again caught his subjects at the height of their powers, performing the superb “Rock the Casbah” from the Combat Rock album. Lifted straight from the video for the song, the band’s fatigues are perfectly captured in brick form, framed by the emblematic oil pump.
The whole band looks great, but bassist Paul Simonon stands out, with his low-slung guitar and red-sloped beret being flawlessly portrayed.
During the late 70s and early 80s The Specials made some of the most innovative and iconic singles to ever grace the British music charts. Not only did they mix ska, punk and rocksteady beats to raucous effect, they married it with a two tone fashion sense that set them apart from their peers. Red 2 has caught the band at the height of their powers, as they appeared in the music video for their 1979 hit A Message to You Rudy. The LEGO version of the group perfectly capturing their tonic suits, and my favourite part of the build, pork pie hats made form small dishes and domes. It’s no small feat to build all nine members, but it pays off with each posed in mid-swagger, capturing the very essence of their musical style.
Building a tribute in LEGO to Finland’s finest progressive rock act Circle, Eero Okkonen proves once again that he is the master of the brick-built figure. Each band member has been designed with full articulation in mind, and posed according to their distinctive performance stances.
At TBB we often pick up on standout techniques, but in this case the build is simply littered with too many clever ideas to choose from. Perhaps it’s the way Mika Rättö’s facial expression and distinctive facial hair has been formed from arched mini-figure hands and elaborate horn element?
Or then perhaps it’s the way the amplifiers have been lovingly crafted? Dive in and look for yourself — there is so much to discover.
You can read more about Eero’s love for Circle, and see many more photos on his Cyclopic Bricks Blog.