When I first saw this magnificent LEGO sculpture by Ekow Nimako, I knew it had to be his. The elegant, all-black theme is his trademark. But what I didn’t realize is that this is much more than a beautiful fictitious character. This is Anansi, an important deity in West African mythos. Ekow has a wonderful talent for pulling you in and inspiring you to look further, both literally and figuratively. So I’m here to share the gift of what I learned… and you might want to zoom in.
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It is a common misconception that ancient Egyptian architecture was as blandly colored as the surrounding desert. Historians, and, it seems, LEGO builder Mihai Marius Mihu, believe otherwise. And if you ever played Assassin’s Creed: Origins (which was heavily inspired by historic research) you might have climbed up a temple much like this one, dedicated to Anubis, the jackal-headed god of the afterlife. There are so many wonderful splashes of color, from the tiny row of green, gold, red, and blue tiles along the roof-line, to the elaborately detailed carvings atop the rows of pillars on each side.
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You don’t have to be hip on the Final Fantasy games and/or Irish mythology to appreciate this new LEGO render by Daniel Vermeir called Mag Mell’s Gatehouse. A moment ago, I was hip to neither, but you’d be surprised how a little Googling can save and/or destroy your journalistic integrity. In the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series Mag Mell is home to carbuncles, creatures that live for thousands of years and have extensive knowledge of the world around them. But according to Irish mythology, Mag Mell was a pleasurable heathen’s paradise that can be reached only through death and glory. It’s sort of like Plato’s Retreat except with fewer stains on the shag carpeting. Regardless of where this creation takes inspiration from, I really love its eerie, dilapidated watery goodness.
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In Chinese mythology, the Nian is a monster who emerges at the end of the year to terrorize villages. Luckily, it’s a cowardly beast. Red lanterns and robes, combined with a healthy dose of explosive fireworks, are enough to drive it away for another year. LEGO brings this myth to life in LEGO 80106 Story of Nian, part of their Chinese Spring Festival theme. This set was announced back in November at the 3rd China International Import Exhibition, and will be available to buy on January 10th, 2021. Containing 1067 pieces and retailing for US $79.99 | CAN $109.99 | UK £59.99, this set has six minifigures, a village playset, and the Nian itself. That sounds pretty cool, but can it appeal to a wide audience? Let’s take close look and see just what all the fuss is about!
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
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If you are going to live high above the earth, looking down on the many millions of us humans on the surface, there can be no better place than Mount Olympus, built in miniature by KitKat1414 featuring some excellent rockwork, and a sparkling river flowing right through the middle, and some lovely light fluffy clouds, a few of which are fittingly made from white croissants.
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The ancient woods have even older guardians, and this one does not seem like one to be trifled with. Named Tyto, the mighty beast is part owl and part lion, with the antlers of a stag. LEGO builder Joss Woodyard has expertly sculpted the chimera to achieve an organic, regal shape. The furry chest is made of Hero Factor armor pieces layered together, but it’s the wings that really sell the beast for me. The feathers are created with many different kinds of wing elements, but primarily several dozen white stylized wings from the Legends of Chima theme. They’re strung together with clips over a spine of flex tube to create the wings’ shapely curves.
Oh, and that name? Tyto is the Latin name for the genus containing owls. This magnificent beast will watch over all his feathered friends.
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What could be more frightening than being chased by a monster that is part human, and part predator? One that tends to laugh maniacally all the while! Yannick Godts has created a wonderfully detailed monster to give any werewolf a run for its money. The use of the dark tan-colored palm leaves makes the perfect ruff on the werehyena’s back, while a red hand is a great way to show the lolling tongue.
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I can’t help but wonder if in the olden days, tales of wonder and awe that spread through the tongues of villagers would somehow be dubbed as fake news today. I’m so glad that the fake news of the past centuries (AKA folk tales) still stands today though, simply because it’s harmless while capturing the imagination and awe of magical creatures like this Scottish Kelpie by JakTheMad. The shoulders and thighs and tail structure are accentuated by parts from buildable figures quite appropriately. And of course, you can’t go wrong with a horse rearing pose, although it requires some mad skills for balancing the centre of gravity with such a build.
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This elegant LEGO dragon by builder Mitch Phillips is inspired by the red dragons from East Asian mythology that are said to bring good luck and happiness. I think it’s working, as this build makes me happy indeed. I love the elegant curves and the fact that many of the dragon’s scales are made from minifigure flippers. The red fins are complemented by orange Technic teeth as a different texture of scaling. Blue colors in the robot arms fingers and large fins mirror the crown of three-leaf plates in the head.
A closer look at that head reveals the intricate build in the eyes–highlighted by the use of the “One Ring” from the Lord of the Rings theme to add a touch of chromed bling. This dragon is fierce, but also a thing of beauty.
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The annual BioCup competition is producing a wonderful range of LEGO Bionicle creations in many themes, but my favorite so far is Latin American mythology, with fantastical gods like the Aztec god of death Mictlantecuhtli by Tino Poutiainen. But my favorite so far is the Aztec rain god Tlāloc by Vlad Lisin. Tlāloc has characteristic round eyes and fangs, and wears a verdant crown with clouds encircling his waist. I love how Vlad uses click-joints for Tlāloc’s necklace, and the Bionicle mask at the top of the water flowing from the barrel is a brilliant use of parts.
Way back in 2006, I built the Aztec pantheon as minifigures — strange enough to go mildly viral through the “blogosphere” in the era before social media — but these latest figures show the power of large-scale builds using organic pieces from Bionicle and Hero Factory.
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Can someone help me with a tech question? How do I set the parental controls so that my parents can’t watch Fox News? While The Brothers Brick IT team and I are working that out, I’d like to show you a fox of a different kind. This Kyuubi no Kitsune (Nine-tailed Fox) built by Jessica Farrell is a well-known character in Japanese folklore. Jessica tells us that this magical creature lives for an incredibly long time and grows a new tail for each century of spiritual training and wisdom. Upon gaining its ninth tail, the Kitsune has reached its full powers and its tails may begin to turn golden or white in color. Its natural form is that of an ordinary fox but the powerful Kitsune is able to shape-shift into other forms, particularly that of a beautiful young woman, and get up to all sorts of mischief!
She also tells us that this model is comprised of 4,304 elements and took three weeks to design and build. I am particularly fond of the intricate textured stones and the flowing brook. The entire setting instills a tranquil feeling for me and the Kitsune’s expression exudes wisdom. Now that is a Fox network I would watch!
This wouldn’t be the first time we were enchanted by Jessica’s mythical beings. Check out this dragon and an uncanny walking house.
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In Greek mythology, Apollo is a somewhat complicated figure, so it seems only fitting that he’s the subject matter of Jason Allemann’s latest kinetic sculpture. Building upon his previous galloping horse, he’s expanded the moving parts in this creation to include the horse’s legs, bodies, necks, heads and tails, as well as the chariot body and wheels and Apollo himself. He’s done such a good job making the overall movement look natural, it can be hard to pick out what parts are actually moving independently of each other. It all just flows together quite well.
Like everything Jason designs, the mechanics behind it all are quite clever, but even without the movement, this would still be a well-designed static model. I really like the way he’s sculpted the head and face, using a simply gap between pieces to represent the eyes and brow. Also pleasing are the choices of gold elements to adorn the chariot, giving it that ancient and regal look. The relatively new 22 long hose with connector ends is an especially smart choice for the reins. Watch the video he made and take a moment to be mesmerized by the model’s motion and hear about all about the mechanics from Jason himself.
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