The 2024 Olympics brought many of the best b-boys and b-girls to Paris for the sport’s inaugural games, but it was Australia’s Rachael “Raygun” Gunn who captured the internet’s attention with her unconventional breaks. Rickard Stensby captures Raygun’s signature kangaroo hop in LEGO. Building tube-limbed dancers in kinetic poses is something of a specialty with Rickard, so even if Raygun’s breaks aren’t jam, you’ll find plenty of LEGO dancers in other styles in his feed.
Still suffering from Olympic Games withdrawal symptoms? Well not to worry! Not only have the Paralympic Games just got underway, LEGO builders such as Bousker are still getting in on the Olympic action. And they’re taking us back not to Paris this June, or even Tokyo back in 2021, but to Greece in ancient times! And even to those unfamiliar with Greek games like yours truly, there’s plenty of familiar sports to spot here. There’s the pommel horse over on the right, with a set of hurdles not too far away. Then there’s the archery, of course, and a pole vaulter who appears to be feeling the heat of competition. And all set against a nicely textured backdrop – particularly those rounded-off stairs. Definitely a gold medal for this one!
With the Paris 2024 Olympics just days away, sports fever is really heating up. French builder FOXduFutur offers up a cooling plunge with a LEGO tribute to the 10-meter platform dive. The swarm of clear bricks that hold up the diver is a wonderful gravity-defying technique that mimics the bubbles around a diver seen in underwater photography. On that note, FOXduFutur delivers a gold-medal shot with incredible lighting and use of focus that captures the feeling of being underwater and elevates a relatively simple build into something truly special. (Here’s a behind-the-scenes shot of how they pulled off the shot).
FOXduFutur created this model for the BrickPirate LEGOlympics Challenge.
Sporting the Netherlands’ colors in honor of their gold and bronze medals this August, this Miniland-style figure wonderfully captures the motion of a record-setting athlete. Clever building techniques allow builder James Zhan to construct the jersey and shorts into the figure’s body. Nice parts usage in the elements for the hair partner with the positioning of the arms to help sell the feeling that the figure is falling. The figure’s prostheses are posed for the furthest distance while their entire body is suspended with a clear stand.
Fixed gears, no brakes, and eye-watering speeds – what more could an adrenaline junkie want? If you’ve never watched the sport of track cycling, I’d highly recommend visiting a velodrome (or at least watching it on TV during the Olympics this summer). It’s not just biking in circles. These insane athletes zip around the bowl-shaped track, vying for position like gravity-defying daredevils. Being aerodynamic is key, as demonstrated by this LEGO kinetic sculpture, built by George Panteleon.
Though the mechanism is simple, it’s so satisfying to see the rider’s legs “pedal” the bike. My favorite elements of this build (other than the fact that it actually moves) are the paint-roller handlebars and the shoulder armor turned helmet!
We’ve also featured several of George’s vehicles, a giant watch, and some outstanding character sculptures!
The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in South Korea have already provided their fair share of drama (gale-force wind snowboarding anyone?) and now they’re providing some excellent microscale LEGO models. Jae Won Lee has put together tiny versions of the stadia and event venues. First up, the towering Alpensia ski jump arena…
The curves at the base of the hill might be a little steep for nailing the perfect Telemark landing, but the rest of the creation is spot-on — immediately recognisable from the TV coverage. Beyond the twin hills of Alpensia, the builder has also created an impressive reconstruction of the main arena in Pyeongchang itself. A pentagon isn’t the easiest shape to capture in bricks, but this little model does it well. Nice job on the outer-wall textures too…
There’s a range of models in the series, from the speed skating arena through to the ice hockey stadium. Whilst some of them are quite simple in their execution, they make a lovely set, as seen in the image below, which also provides a nice view of the main stadium interior seating…
So this LEGO scene by Miro Dudas apparently depicts Space Squirrels competing in a bobsleigh event on the Neptunian moon of Triton. Nope, me neither. Genuinely no idea what’s going on here. But it’s still a fun little creation. Those Olympic rings are nicely done, and the surrounding scenery creates a good sense of a wider landscape. This isn’t the most complex model we’ve ever featured, but it made me smile. Swooshing down an ice track in a tin can at 70 kilometres an hour? Those squirrels must be nuts.
The World Peace Gate is a unique architectural element of Olympic Park in Seoul, South Korea, built for the 1988 Summer Olympic Games. Korean LEGO building team OliveSeon have recreated the arch in LEGO, complete with the colorful undersides of the “wings” extending outward from the top of the structure. The ground level of the park is no less detailed, with people walking through the park, enjoying the pools of water and bright pink flowers.
The Olympic Games of 1972 in Munich, Germany were the first to feature a mascot. Waldi the dachshund was designed by graphic designer Otl Aicher, who modeled Waldi after a real-life doxie named Cherie von Birkenhof. Even in this simple but excellent LEGO version of Waldi by umamen, you can see the attributes of resistance, tenacity, and agility.
The Games of the XXIV Olympiad were hosted in Seoul, South Korea from 17 September to 2 October back in 1988 and the principle stadium has been recreated in microscale by Yo-Sub Joo (ysomt). 8,391 athletes from 160 nations participated in the games and in case you’re wondering how the home team fared; South Korea took home a total of 33 medals including 12 gold!
I’ve generally avoided news about the 2012 Olympics in London in order to preserve some measure of surprise as I watch the much-delayed — and rightly much-maligned — TV coverage on NBC here in the States. That’s meant that we haven’t really featured much in the way of LEGO Olympics models here over the last couple of weeks. Let’s correct that, as I watch the closing ceremonies, in one fell swoop.
Her Majesty the Bloody Queen stole the show at the opening ceremonies, but didn’t look especially entertained during what was actually quite an amazing show. Iain Heath captures the Queen’s look when she visited the Athletes’ Village the next day.
Warren Elsmore spent 250 hours and 300,000 bricks building a 1:500 scale model of many recognizable Olympic buildings.
The Guardian commissioned a series of brick-by-brick stop-motion videos by Fabian Moritz, showcasing important moments during the Olympics. My favorite was Michael Phelps’ 16th gold medal.
Finally, don’t miss McKayla Maroney’s disapproval in the post right below this one.
The UK is currently gripped by both Olympic Fever and a heatwave… one way to cool off would be to dive into this Gold medal quality swimming pool MOC from Gary Davis (Bricks for Brains):
The new Olympc minifigs look great in this amazing scene, however my favourite aspect has to be the synchronised swimmers!
There are a variety of viewpoints to enjoy on his Flickr stream, plus I highly recommend his Gerry Anderson Thunderbirds Lego creations. And for those of you wanting to see this up close and personal The Olympic Pool can be seen in the Westfield Stratford Lego Store in London.
Gary is a member of the Brickish Association (UK Adult Fan of Lego user group).
