Tag Archives: Nick Jensen

More of a Bulbasaur kinda guy

Want to start a heated debate among people of a certain age? Ask them what the best first-generation Pokémon starter is. Some will choose Charmander; personally, I say Squirtle. But judging by his adorable LEGO model, Nick Jensen is more of a Bulbasaur kind of guy! This build is a deceptively small one; I have to keep looking at the parts used in that wonderfully crafted face to remind myself of its true size. The Pokéball base is a nice touch too. It’s so well done, that I would almost consider swapping my allegiance to the grass-type starter team… Almost. (Psst, Nick – do Squirtle next!)

Bulbasaur #001

Building under the influence(r)

Ah, the influencer. A much-maligned – sometimes unfairly so – mainstay of modern social media. Although I don’t know much about LEGO influencers, I do know about some influential LEGO builders; namely, Nick Jensen. And he has turned his talented hand to… Well, a brick-built influencer! (These articles aren’t just thrown together, you know!) This social media savant’s pose gives her so much character, and it’s not hard to picture what that selfie she’s taking will look like. Front and centre of the piece is a great use of a particular LEGO part, though. A cupcake holder – seen in a couple of Dots sets – makes for a fantastic miniskirt!

href=”https://www.flickr.com/photos/nickjensen/53930483696/in/pool-lego/”>The Influencer

Guess what I did, Batman? I built a mask out of LEGO, Batman.

Much like cartoons, LEGO themes, and pop-tart flavours, every generation will have its own favourite Joker from the Batman series. If they’ve seen the Batman movies, that is. Or the TV series. Or read the comi- you know what, maybe that’s a bad comparison. But my point stands: every Joker is memorable in their own way. Heath Ledger’s take on the character stuck in TBB alum Nick Jensen’s mind. The opening scene of Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight had the villain of the piece robbing a bank in a clown mask, faithfully recreated here. It’s extremely accurate, and very artfully shaped, and the Joker’s calling card is a great touch, too.

Joker’s heist mask — The Dark Knight

As for Nick’s calling card, that’s undoubtedly his myriad collection of 1:1 scale LEGO builds. Our archives are full of loads of great examples of his work.

I can’t remember a better camera build than this Memento tribute

You won’t believe his lies your eyes when you see the details that go into this Polaroid SLR 690 from master of life-size LEGO props (and tbb alumn) Nick Jenson. This version of the iconic instant camera is a collapsable point-and-shoot model from the ’90s made famous in Christopher Nolan’s breakout film Memento. Nick is a stickler for accuracy as with all of his impressive 1:1 scaled models. The seed part that makes Nick’s model so accurate without stickers is the Polaroid tile from the film packet on the recent LEGO Ideas’ Polaroid set. Even the nylon strap is sourced from a LEGO-branded bag. To make this a proper tribute to Momento, the camera is paired with appropriately lo-fi photographs to match those in the film. Here the photos are real Polaroids, but the subjects are brick-built facimiles of Teddy and the Discount Inn from the film. At least I think they are… I can’t remember that far back. Thankfully I don’t need a tattoo to remind me when I see an amazing LEGO build like this one.

LEGO Memento (2000)

This 1:1 scale gun is no laughing matter

When it comes to life-size prop recreations built from LEGO, Nick Jensen might be the reigning champion. His latest work is the revolver wielded by Gotham’s Clown Prince of Crime, the Joker. This is the perfect weapon for going bat hunting, with a movable trigger and a perfectly purple grip. But my favorite part is the “Bang” flag coming out of the barrel. Thanks to a clever sandwiching of a LEGO net between some tiles and plates, the flag can actually wave. As in, wave bye-bye to the Batman…

The Joker’s revolver

Dream big, build bigger

Nick Jensen, formerly of these pastures, builds life-size LEGO props in ways that us mere mortals can only dream of. Speaking of dreams, that’s a tangential link to his latest effort, depicting the so-called PASIV Device from the Inception film. This is the device used to administer Somnacin, which induces lucid dreaming and dream sharing of the sort seen in the movie. The gadgetry present in the case looks fantastic, and the Dots bracelets are such a perfect fit it makes you wonder if the whole thing was built around them. And if, like yours truly, you didn’t recognise the case at first, then the accessories in front of it help to drive home this mad machine’s provenance!

LEGO PASIV Device (dream sharing machine) — Inception

That’s “Lola”. “L0-LA59” if you’re nasty.

Any new Star Wars property is pretty much guaranteed to include at least one new highly-merchandisable droid friend, and the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series is no exception. Nick Jensen has (swiftly!) created an amazing likeness of the adorable L0-LA59 out of LEGO, complete with articulated wings and buzz-saw blade. I particularly like the use of the opalized transparent blue dish and Mysterio helmet elements.

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God Save the Queen – A Night at the Opera

Is this the real life? Or is this just fantasy? Nick Jensen brings us a fantastic LEGO album cover for Queen’s A Night at the Opera. This album is in Good Company with the other Queen builds Nick has done in the past and would make Freddie proud! The flex tubing script makes me feel like dancing in the rain. The details achieved in such a small space is superb. Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see the detail on the great lions, fiery crab, and majestic swan as the centerpiece here. I can honestly say that this album is the Love of My Life and Nick, I think You’re My Best Friend. You can find me Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon listening to Death on Two Legs now! Any way the wind blows…

LEGO Queen — A Night At The Opera

Call of Duty zombie mode ray gun perfectly recreated in LEGO

If there’s a quartermaster of the LEGO building community, then it’s got to be TBB alum Nick Jensen. Time after time, Nick’s incredible LEGO models turn out more like carbon copies of the weapons he’s imitating. And this ray gun from the Call of Duty franchise is no exception! All of the details are spot-on.

Ray Gun — Call of Duty Zombies

See all the accurate details Nick has built into this Call of Duty ray gun

A tropical twist on an explosive device.

The video game Halo Infinite offers a variety of ways to let players customize their armor. Things like visor colors, decals, and ammo belts are available for the more serious Spartans. But, for players who like to get a little silly, the game offers options like teddy bears, sunflowers, and grenades that look like pineapples. Nick Jensen is no stranger to building life-sized Halo weapon replicas, and as soon as he saw the pineapple grenades on screen, he knew he had to build one. Nick’s done a fantastic job of replicating the shape and texture of the fruit-themed-weapon. Centering the 1×1 round plates in a square made from 1/4 round tiles is a technique that would be useful for decorating a variety of builds.

Pineapple Grenade - Halo Infinite

Alas, a fellow of infinite jest

Pardon the nonsensical title, but who can look at a skull-like this and not think of poor Yorick? Unfortunately, we used the quotation that I’m sure many of you are thinking of for a LEGO skeleton holding its own skull in 2006, forcing me to use the messy hacked up title that I did. That wasn’t the case for TBB alum Nick Jensen though, as he sculpted quite the smooth looking skull.

ODDBALL. Play ball.

I don’t think I’d be wrong to call Nick the master of 1 to 1 LEGO weaponry, so it makes sense that he’s also skilled at recreating what happens to someone who faces down the wrong end of that weaponry! This LEGO skull is a great exemplar of what can be done with rounded and angled elements like slopes and wedges. I can’t really explain why, but I love the way the 3×4 triple curved wedges are held in place with 2×2 corner tiles to shape the sides of the forehead. The gold tooth is a nice touch too!

Cue the monk music as you wield this LEGO Halo energy sword

It is only fitting to think about the Halo Gregorian chant as I look upon this amazing brick-built Covenant energy sword – a holy weapon wielded by the noble class of the Sangheili species, crafted by Nick Jensen. According to Nick’s specs, the sword is comprised of a whopping six pounds of LEGO bricks and is 41.5″ long. No adhesives such as tape or glue were used – talk about clutch power!

Covenant Energy Sword - Halo

The inner portion of the blade of the energy sword is mostly comprised of clear-colored and light blue 1×2 trans-clear plates and 1×1 round tiles while the outer portion is made of trans-clear bricks and slopes in light blue, clear, and pink.

Covenant Energy Sword - Halo

The handle is crafted out of a menagerie of bricks, tiles, dome-tops, and slopes in mostly blacks and greys with some trans-clear parts. Nick also smartly constructed a couple of stands to display this amazing work. It definitely must feel pretty empowering to hold this sword – even if it is only a model made of bricks. It looks almost exactly as I remember it from the games. The Master Chief’s weapons have got nothing on this beauty.