LEGO plants are much easier to take care of, only needing a light dusting now and again. But this scene by Duncan Lindbo could mean the end of the accidental death of thousands of houseplants every year. This walking robot bonsai tree pot can care for the tree, water it, and make sure it always has the perfect spot of sunlight. The multi-jointed legs even have decorative gold details, and of course, LEGO frogs. And be sure to check out more of Duncan’s excellent work we’ve featured on TBB.
Peeled from the pages of Crayon Shin-chan is this intense rendition of Kantam Robo by Moko. I’ve got to say, this robot sports some incredibly clean lines, utilizing a wide variety of studless slopes and tiles to adult-ify the character from the manga by Yoshito Usui. All the contours and sharp corners along the build help to add depth to a creation that’s primarily green, creating pockets of shadow and bright reflective surfaces. But my favorite bit has to be the detail put into the mouth grill of the mech. It utilizes, among other parts, the minifig shirt collar to get the perfect spacing. Overall, it’s a significant step up from Moko’s first attempt at the character almost a decade ago (which was already pretty awesome).
This LEGO robo-figure from builder Iggs has way more style than any machine revolutionary before them! Not all robots dream of overthrowing humanity through violence — sometimes they want to express themselves through dance. The robo-dancer here is preparing to kick things off with the Dance Dance Revolution at their local arcade. The dancer features some really nice color blocking, and I’m loving the bright colors and how they stand out against the black pieces. The limbs have lots of flow and unique shaping, giving the figure a sense of being highly flexible for some crazy dance moves. This is one of those figures where I just want to keep looking at it to discover all the cool parts hiding in plain sight.
After a very long work week, I can totally sympathize with this lethargic LEGO bot by Kevin H. (optimus-convoy). The scene here is excellent: a lanky robot finds itself with an overwhelming case of ennui while sitting atop a battery box. The slack-jawed expression on this robo’s face is perfect as it absent-mindedly stares at the flower at its feet, trying to find the energy to stand up and resume its tasks. And while the figure here is quite spindly, Kevin still manages to incorporate some excellent parts usage. The best of the bunch has got to be the upside-down Constraction head on its chest taken from the Star Wars Praetorian Guard figure. And I have to applaud the daring choice of bare axles for the weary automaton’s limbs. That wiry, malnourished look, even on a mechanical man, absolutely exudes exhaustion!
If there is one thing in this world that I love it has to be animal-controlled LEGO mechs, like this one by Midwest Builders. We are presented with a mech featuring a lot of Technic/Bionicle pieces that, for me, are always a tough job to identify. The beefy mech is controlled by the relatively new LEGO squirrels. I do not know why, but apparently they have a feud with the frogs. It appears they are capturing them and keeping them imprisoned in transparent cages that closely resemble acorns. Big Gus is surrounded by a lot of little squirrels on smaller mechs and vehicles which appear to be assisting him with his tasks. All I know is that these squirrels are fully equipped to pillage your birdfeeder.
This smiling mixer by Filbrick blends big LEGO bricks down into little ones with delight! The robot just wants to help you build by offering a variety of brick sizes. The happy little appliance possesses wonderful rounded edges and arm joints, which make the red bricks stand out with their hard edges. The curvature in the top of the processor lid is made possible by hinge plates. The bricks inside the blending swirl are suspended using transparent pieces for that added kinetic feel. Of course, the LEGO fun doesn’t end there! The backsplash, plug and outlet, and the kitchen utensils are all brick-built, giving the whole scene a fun, playful atmosphere. The inclusion of a DUPLO brick is a nice touch–always good to see other LEGO products make appearances with the more widely known lines.
With an intimidating form, it’s hard to say whose side this mech would be on. Created by Keith Espinoza, the build has an angelic quality due to the wings. However, the dark colour scheme and assortment of weapons may suggest otherwise. The double bladed swords feature energy blast parts which represent crackling electrical beams. The wings make use of angled plate pieces to create the ring of wing segments attached to the back.
For long-range combat, the mech comes equipped with a rifle. The feet of the figure also have an intriguing design, with mechanical details in grey surrounded by black outlines. The model also has some fantastic articulation as it is able to strike a variety of dynamic poses.
Maybe it’s just the booze talking but the 70s and 80s were the best time to be a kid. I mean, you’ve got Star Wars, Micronauts, Shogun Warriors, and of course LEGO coming out with some freaking awesome themes like Castle and Classic Space. Shannon Sproule knows what I’m talking about. This fabulously retro Metorogādo: City Protector Robo combines the awesomeness of Shogun Warriors, the playability of Micronauts, and maybe even some of the awe of Star Wars. This hits all the nostalgic childhood sweet spots for me. And of course, it’s all LEGO…or mostly LEGO—those shoulder fins are some other brand of brick.
Shannon says it was a miracle to find both a left and a right fin in the loose brick bargain bin. And that’s another cool thing about being a kid; while we likely preferred LEGO, we didn’t care too much if some sweet off-brand parts snuck into our collections now and then. It’s the adults who fret over such things. With childhood wonder intact, (booze references notwithstanding) be sure to check out why Shannon consistently hits all our sweet spots.
Sometimes you see a few interesting LEGO pieces want want to build something from them. We do it all the time. So do official LEGO designers like Chris Perron. While the old big basketball hoops may be the standout pieces on this mech titled L-00-P5, Chris based his build around the triangular vehicle tipper end.
The tipper end parts are at the top of the mech, and those allow the front and rear paneling to be attached at an angle. This gives this brightly coloured mech an aggressive feel that its armaments – a big gun and a small knife – enhance. But it is really the legs that drew me in. The orange and white colour scheme become scarce as the dark grey mechanical bits are exposed. Chris assembled the feet with subtle greebling which allow full articulation.
Check out more of Chris Perron’s! builds here.
LEGO builder Marco Marozzi serves up a tall glass of orange juice, but watch out! It’s probably deadly. Stomping towards you is the Orangehead-III Mech, created for an unknown purpose. Carrying heavy pumpkins? Pulling carrots out of the ground? Squeezing oranges into a slurry pulp? Whatever it does, it looks like it’ll do a killer job at it.
Marco’s model is fantastic. From the pistol fingers to the tire shoulders, it’s the use of unorthodox pieces to provide details that really makes this a solid mech. Can you spot other unique parts, such as the car hood (bonnet, for you folks across the Atlantic) used at the base of the torso?
This fiery machine was built by Alex_mocs and uses a variation of unusual parts. To begin with, the head is represented by part of a midak skyblaster from the Bionicle theme. The main weapon of this robot is the flamethrower on one of its arms which appears to use a spring from a shock absorber piece. Tyres cover up some of the exposed sections of the joints, making the build feel all the more complete. What about the odd cloth piece around the neck? It is actually a sail piece of the Silent Mary ship from the Pirates of the Caribbean set.
From the video, you can see the model has a fuel tank on its back which is portrayed by the storage section of the midak skyblaster.
Upon the seafloor walks the oblong mechanical LEGO creation known as the Barents Sea Strider, built by Ivan Martynov. So yes, this creation is based on the actual Barents Sea Spider. And yes, I looked it up. And no, I’m not going to post the picture here. It’s gross and I’m trying not to have arachnophobic nightmares.
Anyways, aside from the creepy spider it’s named after, this is a super cool build. The long green legs remind me of the Bionicle Dark Hunter Nidhiki set that came out in 2005. I like the gray train wheels (perhaps custom colored) used as the leg joints and the small yellow bricks used in the leg supports (hailing from another brand, like the occupant). It’s the tiny details in every build that make it stand out. I also like that the transparent piece is a dome, giving the robot operator a 360-degree view of its surroundings so it can more easily see its prey. Perhaps this underwater arachnid has plans for a crab dinner?