Tag Archives: Sci Fi

Totally tubular Technic tread tube

In the 23rd century, biker gangs rule the skies on their modified hoverbikes. The most dangerous of these gangs is the Tunnel Snakes, named for their tendency to use broken flux conduits as their primary highway between crime scenes. This futuristic build by David Roberts makes excellent use of Technic tread links, a part most commonly used in official sets on construction equipment or sci-fi vehicles. But here, these treads are the road through which the sci-fi vehicle travels. There are 40 links in each complete circle, a shape that David has made use of before. But this time the staging successfully implies a much larger scale. It’s easy to imagine the broken conduit tube stretching on for miles across a futuristic cityscape.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Something old, something new, something golden, something transparent light blue

Something just clicks in Sundown at Pheron 4Y — an eerie landscape from Bart De Dobbelaer. It might just be the Clikits rings and bracelets in the towers, but I think it’s more about the moody atmosphere and quality building. But there sure are a lot of vintage transparent light-blue Clikits parts in there if you really squint. My favorite usage has to be the Clikits beads in the golden Ninjago-hilt topped spires. Speaking of gold elements, there are a lot of interesting ones there, too. From minifigure weapons to Knights-Kingdom era shoulder armor, Bart has once again shown that imagination is the only limiting factor when it comes to finding ways to incorporate supposedly “single purpose” parts.

This isn’t the first amazing landscape that Bart has shared. Be sure to check out their other featured builds!

And up from the ground came some bubblin’....well, I’m not sure exactly.

It’s a science fiction trope most of us are familiar with – the rumblings under the ground subside for just a moment. Then, suddenly, there’s an eruption and not only do you have have to deal with a an outflow of lava, but also the emergence of some truly terrifying underworld creatures. Bart De Dobbelaer captures just such an event in this stunning creation, aptly named Emergence. The beasts include some unusual part choices, including one of my absolute favorites elements – the X-Pod container. But obviously they’re just part of the scene. The spewing lava is captured by a wealth of transparent orange elements, including Dimensions base discs. The techno-organic vent provides a great contrast to the mayhem elsewhere, while still adding a great deal of mechanical texture. And then Bart had to go and add lighting effects. Because if you’re going to build at this scale, you might as well go all in.

If you want some great contrasting color to this build, check out another of Bart’s creations: Trace Initiated. Or maybe just peruse some great Sci-Fi builds from creators from around the globe.

In space, no one can hear babies cry

This LEGO spaceship creation from Jake Hansen is another entry in the Iron Builder Contest, this time having to use the Crane Grab Jaw LEGO piece. The piece is used well as reclining seats on the spaceship bridge, which is populated by four babies. The black hoses are a nice touch, reminding me of the early LEGO space sets, and the choice of orange and blue accents lighten the scene up without overpowering it. What appears to be a flux capacitor on the left side of the console is a nice touch. I’m curious what the mouse on the lower right is up to; maybe it’s cutting through the power coupling?

Classic Star Wars poster comes to life

This creation by Rui Miguel pays tribute to classic Star Wars movie posters. It’s unusual to see Vader in blue but this does allow for his helmet to be viewed in greater detail. The haunting eyes of Vader have been created with black armour pieces. As the helmet seeps into an interstellar cloud, you can see older flower pieces used to represent twinkling stars. Luke and Leia strike some cool poses, their noses are actually hinge pieces and Leia has some nice curved elements in her skirt, providing it with a swaying motion. Throughout this build there is a nice application of bright colours which really brings out the details of the display.

Can’t tell up from down

This slick little racer by Isaac Snyder is disguising a secret; flip it over and it’ll keep right on going. I’ve seen some RC cars in the toy aisle that have similar features, but I don’t recall seeing a LEGO racer that does it before. The front wheels are actually pairs of 6×6 radar dishes from a Monkie Kid set, which add a flash of teal to really make the bright color scheme sing. The best part? The whole model clocks in at just 101 pieces.

A peacekeeping mech that makes us smile

Usually when we show you a mech we go on to talk about the guns and other armament the mech has. But today we have a LEGO creation by Abraham Calderon called S.M.I.L.E. which stands for Strategic Machine Intelligence Loaded Exosuit. While well-built mechs can often make us smile it is a rare occasion when a mech smiles back. But here we are. Abraham tells us this is an AI assisted piloted mech designed for peacekeeping operations. Being former military myself I know that “peacekeeping operations” can sometimes be a euphemism for “lots of guns”. Funny how that works out! Still, I like to presume that this is a cuddly, fun-loving mech who just wants to hang out and maybe have some pizza. If you care to hang out for awhile, check out some of these other awesome mechs we’ve featured lately.

The chase is on! It’s speeder bike versus speeder bike!

What’s better than one speeder bike? Two speeder bikes so that they can race against each other! -Disty- built a dynamic duo of hovering bikes with distinct styles and colours to match their pilots. They may be vengeful arch-enemies hellbent on destroying each other or just racing rivals here for the thrill of the chase. With the opposing styles and colour schemes, these two speeder bikes remind me of the old Technic battle bots from the late 90s.

The tropical-themed Shinrai Technologies ‘Orca’ is a green mean speed machine piloted by a surfer dude. I love its lime green paint job that compliments azure waters and bright sands it flies above. Disty uses very clever parts usage with Hero Factory armour plates and robot minifigure legs as the secondary booster engines. I particularly like the usage of the transparent blue Bionicle eye/brain stalk as the headlight. It reminds me of the wheels of Legends of Chima Speedorz and even some Roboriders.

The black and red Rascal Motors ‘DBL 790’ rules the night with furious speed. Despite the large Hero Factory spikes jutting out at all angles, this speeder bike retains aerodynamics to brave even the most congested cyberpunk air traffic. I love its angled look and greebly details; it looks like some creepy-crawly monster of the dark.

Over the water and past the finish line

Thirsty? Get a drink from this racer’s wake! Builder aido k created this fantastic racer to fly across the sea and leave his competitors behind.

I’m enjoying looking at this racer as much as the driver is flying it! With so few parts, aido k managed to pull off a ton of angles and little details. I love the round pieces on the bottom that seem to be what is keeping the racer alight. But the coolest detail would have to be the way the fin is dipping into the water just enough to cause a bit of spray.

I’d jump at the chance to see this racer from a few other angles as well. Here’s to hoping we do!

The rise of the DUPLO bunnies

LEGO DUPLO animals might not seem the most approachable for a model. To start with, there’s the challenge of working around the scale and system differences. Also personally, it’s slightly unnerving to see googly-eyed, toddler-friendly counterparts of some of my favorite brick animals, e.g. the DUPLO goat. But Simon Liu presents a clear solution— just suit them up! Add some expert greebling, equip them with some blasters and now these giant bunnies are capable of doing a whole lot more.

Got a soft spot for adorable animals in mech suits? Simon has also created a fluffier variation of the bunny mechs above, the DUPLO bunny plush mech.

Back at the base for repairs

Sam Malmberg‘s “Nebula 47 Hangar” is a feat of LEGO engineering. Let’s take a look at why this Federation scout ship is one of the best builds I’ve seen today.

Take your eyes past the Nebula 47 itself and gaze upon the beauty that is the pipework! The twisting tubes are fantastic, implying a network of vast support systems that are behind the bulkhead. Additionally, the arrow on the hangar deck is made from bricks in a pattern that isn’t common in sci-fi builds.

When I look at the Nebula 47, I see a little bit of the Ghost from Star Wars: Rebels. However, Sam has utilized his skill in creating a ship of his own. I dig the minifigure ski poles used as blasters on the wings. I also like the use of the color tan along the main body. Tan isn’t a color I often see on a spaceship, but this more than works. It’s out of this world!

Would you like to take it for a spin?

The Sci-fi masterpiece Bladerunner brought us the original Spinner, and the 2017 follow-up film, Blade Runner: 2049 featured a few new versions. Marius Herrmann treats us to the one driven by the main character, A replicant named K. The model itself is stunning in its attention to detail, and the dramatic image of the desolate landscape makes the perfect backdrop.

The spinner doesn’t just look good on the outside. Like the on-screen inspiration, the doors swing up from the front, and Marius included a fully detailed interior.