Tag Archives: Patrick Biggs

SCUBA: Superbly-Constructed Underwater Bionicle Awesomeness

I’ve really been enjoying all the recent builds revolving around the LEGO Bionicle novel Prisoners of the Pit. And one of the best of the bunch is by constraction expert Patrick Biggs, rehashing the Toa Hahli set of 2007. What a truly remarkable figure, clad in dark blue and sporting some excellent lime green highlights. The shaping of the limbs here is exquisite, intricately blending Bionicle and System pieces together into a perfect harmony. I also appreciate the detail put into the Toa’s breathing apparatus and scuba tanks, while still utilizing the mask of the original set. But the real standout feature of this figure has got to be its spiny wing-like fins. Falling somewhere between lionfish and angel, the array feels like the perfect application of pearl silver weapon parts first found in the Toa Nuva sets of yore. And speaking of weapons, that massive trident is quite the impressive armament as well!

HAHLI MAHRI: TOA OF WATER

‘Tis the spirit of the season

Leaves turning into vibrant reds, yellows, and oranges in the Fall are beautiful in real life and in LEGO. This build from Patrick Biggs showcases the annual changing of the leaves in a big way! There’s the forest itself, with all those little star and flower pieces spreading out across the base of the scene. However, the center of the build is the great stag standing tall over the forest. The giant spirit of Autumn is beautifully sculpted, once again showing off Patrick’s abilities to craft lovely creatures out of LEGO. The spirit looks over the world, paying no mind to the human-made church in the foreground of the forest. It’s a beautiful reminder that Nature doesn’t care what the latest invention of Humanity is. Nature will carry on as it always has, and how lucky we are to be witness to the splendor of our planet!

Autumn's Light

How would you like it if someone picked YOUR apples?

Hungry? Me too. But this crab from Patrick Biggs doesn’t care about just how tasty that apple looks. None for you! Maybe try talking to that little pink frog…they might have some sway with the big grey crustacean custodian. On the building front, I like Patrick’s construction in the pincers and legs. The grey of the armor plating offsets the stark white of the tree bark and the green of the foliage. Plus, pink frog. Gotta love that.

The Crab Apple Guardian

There are plenty of other treats in our archives if you’re still feeling crabby.

Flowers in flight

This LEGO sculpture from Patrick Biggs speaks to me, even if I’m not quite sure what it’s saying. Titled She flies with her own wings, Patrick also adds this bit of lore in their photo description: “As spring soars into summer, if you look just right, you may spot this fabled spirit as it brings the rose bushes to bloom.”  The stark contrast between the greenery and red blooms certainly makes the artic white of the bird seem like a spectral image. The wide range of LEGO elements in play rewards a closer look; I spotted wings from the Legends of Chima, tails from Hero Factory, and even a white minifigure life preserver ring around the eye.

She flies with her own wings

If you found this build inspiring, check out our archives for more avian goodness.

Bored Bionicle Beach Bum

There’s been just a bit too much going on in the news lately so to ease our stress here’s a bored LEGO Bionicle lifeguard built by Patrick Biggs. When a lifeguard is bored that usually means everyone is playing nicely and no one is doing any stupid shiznit in the water. I could get drunk and try to use an ironing board as a surfboard but being rescued by one lifeguard is more than I want to endure in one lifetime. You, on the other hand; go nuts; get recued; good times! This is part of a series in which a group of friends portrayed Bionicle figures acting as ordinary citizens. We’re all perplexed as to how and why they did it but, truth be told, my whole ironing board fiasco perplexed several local citizens as well, so…yeah.

The Bored Lifeguard

Harbinger of spring beckons forth flowers of LEGO

Now, I know we’ve already seen a lot of builds on here from Patrick Biggs. But you have to admit, the guy has definitely mastered the antlered LEGO beast. And his most recent, the Spirit of Spring, is no exception. As in his past work, Patrick displays his prowess with tooth and tail pieces in shaping this fauna of choice. They’re used everywhere: in the face, torso, feet, legs, and antlers. But I’m especially impressed by his use of this very awkward tail part for shaping the Spirit’s tail. I’ve never seen such flow with such a clunky piece! Now if you’ll excuse me, I feel the urge to step outside and into the sun.

The Arrival of Spring

New life arises from the ashes

It has been almost seven years since the last line was released but diehard fans of Bionicle do their part to keep the Great Spirit alive. For this inspiring model, builder Patrick Biggs looked back twenty-one years to when this new line helped bring life to the struggling LEGO Group. Originally a convention trophy concept, this model resembles an incense burner with smoke rising through the Toa of Fire’s resting mask. The wistful, rising smoke soon branches out into a delicate, birch-like bonsai tree with bright, lush foliage. A pink frog hangs out on the lowest branch both as a nod to the 10281 Bonsai Tree (which came with over a hundred of them) and to the fandom’s obsession with LEGO frogs (thanks to the influence of LEGO designer Nick Vás). The delicate trunk of this towering tree magically spirals upward towards the sky, becoming denser and branching outward just as LEGO continues to grow and thrive.

Rebirth Bonsai

Intergalactic villainy has never looked so stylish.

LEGO fans will often borrow from each other’s work, but builder Redverse has taken that to a whole new level with this tribute to fellow builder Patrick Biggs. As a Secret Santa gift to Patrick, Redverse has created P.B. Vader, an avatar for Patrick dressed in a stylish suit and trench coat ensemble, with a matching Darth Vader helmet. To drive home the relation to Patrick, P.B. Vader is holding a microscale version of one of Patrick’s own creations, The Branching Elk.

P. B. Vader, Master of mythical creatures and coat dudes

Wrapping this gift could be a little tricky

The end-of-year holidays are upon us. Some find gift giving a slog or a source of anxiety, but Patrick Biggs rose to the challenge with The Karrax’ Fang.  This Secret Santa build is both a gift for and inspired by the works of TolerantAxe97. This insectoid mech has great articulation, a really slick hand design, and the ever-creepy Technic-gears-for-teeth technique. I also like the Technic spacers used for the eyes and the impressive horns.  I think I’d be thrilled to see this under my tree…as long as it wasn’t moving on its own or something.

The Karrax' Fang

Looking for more mechanical goodness? Browse our other featured mech builds!

Build a mobile home, and make it snappy

When building LEGO models I’ve always struggled to effectively combine Bionicle and regular System bricks, so I’m in awe of those builders who regularly do so and make it appear effortless. I’m sure this brilliant model by Patrick Biggs was anything but — it bears the hallmarks of a painstaking attention to detail in the shaping and placing of every piece. The crab alone is a smart piece of building, but the addition of a fantastical castle as the hermit’s home is a well-built stroke of genius. The colour contrasts are excellent too, popping against that grey-blue backdrop. Lovely stuff.

LEGO Hermit Crab Castle

The world wasn’t ready for a robot with a Keytar

You may see a slew of exciting LEGO builds here on The Brothers Brick or around the interwebs having to do with Riot Fleas. What is a riot flea? We’re not quite sure. But this particular one built by Patrick Biggs has a New Wave 80’s vibe with his punk hairdo and keytar. He can surely play Relax by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Frankenstein by Edgar Winter, or pretty much every Devo song ever. Patrick might be having the best week ever as we featured another one of his builds very recently. Check it out here as well as many of his other awesome builds in our archives. Other riot fleas have caught the attention of some of my colleagues so stay tuned to see more.

RRRRRRRRIOTFLEA 016

Wander deep into the woods to find something magical

If you’ve been reading the Brothers Bricks for a few years, no doubt you’ll recognize the distinct style of LEGO characters created by Patrick Biggs. I always tend to come across them online in the same way: I’m browsing some social media platform and this fantastic LEGO model scrolls onto my screen. I think to myself, “this is amazing, who built it?” And then I read the caption and realize “Of course, it’s Patrick!”

The Branching Elk

While I’m sure he agonizes over parts selection and placement, his models have an effortless look to them; the organic feel makes me believe they naturally grew, rather than being pieced together by an intelligent designer. With this Elk, there are so many things to love about how it’s sculpted, but my favourite is the legs. The 1×1 round plates stuck in the sides of the technic connectors – while not an uncommon technique – perfectly imitates how joints are thicker than other parts of the leg. And the armor plates on the front of the hooves so perfectly represents that layer of overhanging thick fur, really bringing this woodland creature to life. I’ve long been a fan of Patrick’s work as a LEGO artist and his ability to adeptly mix system and Bionicle elements, and this is one sculpture, in particular, I’d love to find a place for on my mantle.