This year, when not expanding on the epic Middle Eastern fantasy land of Mophet or setting sail with the Black Falcons, Andreas Lenander has had birds on the brain. Just in time for winter, the Swedish builder shares his third whimsically designed LEGO bird: this snowy owl. Like Andreas’ fall owl, this one incorporates foliage and tail elements into the plumage, but this time it’s the eyes that fascinate from a ring of Unikitty tails. In a year that’s seen so many amazing owl builds, Andreas still finds ways to innovate!
Tag Archives: Owls
Fall means Pumpkin Spice and owls
I was enthralled when I saw this new Fall Owl by LEGO extraordinaire Andreas Leander and now you can be too. I mean, look at those textures and details! What’s not to love? I’m particularly fond of the lavender flowers that comprise the textures of its face. The tree-shaped stand and the wings made of dinosaur horns are not without their charms. I had a lovely owl visit my yard about once a week for a while right up until I shined a light in its face. Then I never saw it again, unfortunately, and now I wonder if I was directly responsible for its relocation. Wherever you’ve moved to, Mr. (or Ms.) Owl, I hope you’re eating well.
Who, who, who lights up the night?
While I enjoy nighttime, it’s nice to have James Zhan’s LEGO owl nightlight for when things go bump in the night. We’ve already ascertained that the hoot noises are coming from a great horned owl who visits our yard from time to time, which makes this build extra special for me. The howling, chittering, yelping, and whooshing noises are still a mystery; could be coyotes, raccoons, or homicidal maniacs. While I try to decipher who or what is making a rustling sound in the eves, go ahead and investigate our James Zhan archives.
LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31154 Forest Animals: Red Fox – What does the fox say?
Now, I know what you’re thinking. You love the new LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31150 Wild Safari Animals released back in January, and as well you should because it’s a great set. But you were hoping for something with a color scheme that’s more LEGO Icons 10325 Alpine Lodge. Well, does next month have the set release for you! Clocking in at 667 pieces, LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31154 Forest Animals: Red Fox adds to the creatures currently available in the Creator line, seemingly targeting kids and adults at the same time. But how does this new set stack up? What surprises does it offer? And what is the noise that a fox makes? You’ll have to read on to find out. LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31154 Forest Animals: Red Fox is available from LEGO’s website starting on March 1st, and retails for US $49.99 | CAN $64.99 | UK £44.99.
The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
Read more on this foxy-looking set below.
Consider this your daily Duolingo reminder
Sometimes, we find LEGO builds that elicit quite conflicting emotions when we see them. Legobricks Bricks‘s digital Duo the owl, mascot of language-learning app Duolingo, is one such build. On the one hand, it’s very well built: the leaves for eyebrows and the upturned dish for a beak stand out to me. The chests of gems and miniature screen really complete the look, too. But on the other hand, I get so many streak reminders from that blasted owl that I’ve seen quite enough of it! In fact as I write this, my phone has just pinged with my latest Finnish lesson for today. Hold your horses, Duo! I’ll get there eventually….
The War Owl brings death from above! And sometimes chewed-up rats.
A LEGO builder who goes by the dubious name of The One and Only Mr. R has built the War Owl and now we’re not sure if it’s safe to go out at night. From the builder; “Throughout the galaxy, the War Owl is feared for its tendency to shoot first and establish communication channels later. The ship is the property of the pirate Captain Abelard Otus, and its flight and attack patterns are aided by its onboard navigation robot.” In other words, it doesn’t give a hoot about your safety and well-being. He goes on to say that this is the largest model he’s ever built, at about 66 studs wide and 46 studs long, and probably a few thousand pieces. Well, Mr. R, we look forward to more wild and wonderful builds by you. In the meantime, watch the skies and never go out after 7 pm. That’s when the crazies come out!
Nothing beats a good barn find
Redverse tells us that this is just a “regular barn owl” construction that’s been lying around not doing much until the picture was taken. It speaks to the quality of this particular builder that this is considered a throwaway piece! The upturned pyramid is an inspired choice for the beak. The wings use a relatively rare tan cockpit part which has only appeared in one set from back in 2001. In car nerd circles, finding a rare car in a barn is known as a “barn find”, so being a barn owl, this build fits right in!
This clock goes hoot-hoot instead of cuckoo
LEGO builder Kevin J. Walter has created this cute-looking cuckoo clock. Well, since there’s an owl there, maybe it isn’t technically a cuckoo clock… Do cuckoo clocks specifically need a cuckoo? Perhaps a hooting hourglass… No, it’s not technically an hourglass either. Thankfully Kevin’s creation is much more coherent than my raptor-related ramblings; it makes great use of minifigure legs as detailing. The repetition is great for replicating the intricate wooden carvings one might expect on such a venerable clock. Ditto for the pinecone counterweights at the bottom: the construction is fairly simple – cheese slopes around a studs-not-on-top core – but the effect is terrific, and again mimics skillful woodworking.
The detail I like the most though is the subtle tilt the clock has. Those counterweights and all that extra mechanism makes cuckoo clocks surprisingly heavy, so whenever I’ve seen one hanging on a wall they’ve been noticeably not flush. It’s a small detail, but it makes it feel so authentic.
Oh! I know, a Tytonidae timepiece! (You may need to look that up. I certainly did…)
Gossipus Norvegicus
Apparently I have this thing for LEGO birds. Sometimes they tend to be really realistic, other times they look more cartoonized. These two little cuties by Lars Barstad are more on the cartoonized side of the spectrum They apparently are called Gossip Birds and they tend to come in pairs. Unlike turtle doves, these birds do not symbolise love and affection. These two represent the tittle-tattle, the rumors and the whispers. They are dishing the dirt, spilling the tea. Whatever you might call it, they are game for it! My guess is they are currently telling all the latest scandals about who used the Dr Strange cape as flower petals first.