Tag Archives: Sculptures

You can learn a thing or two from a good LEGO model

Seeing a great LEGO build can take you on a real voyage of discovery. Dicken Liu‘s latest creation is a Japanese Tengu mask, which I think we can all agree looks fantastic with its dragon-wing brows and ‘stache. But it got me thinking what these masks were actually for; after all, I’ve seen a lot of them in comics or on TV without really knowing much about them. So I went to Wikipedia to do some research. But two hours have gone by, my tea’s gone cold, and I’m now reading about Japanese architecture in the Heian period. It’s very interesting, but I’m no closer to finding out what these blasted masks mean! Oh well. At least we learned what a good builder Liu is – but then again, we already knew that.

Japanese Tengu02

You’ll definitely hear this 8,000 piece LEGO Tremortusk coming

Man, I really need to play the Horizon series of video games. Now that might seem like a bit of a random ramble from yours truly (hey, it’s what I do best). After all, Horizon: Forbidden West came out 18 months ago now. The reason it’s suddenly on my mind is down to this mean-looking machine that Nicola Stocchi has built from nearly 8,000 pieces. This elephant-like creature, called Tremortusk, is apparently designed “to cull the human population”. I’m glad I read that particular piece of information. Had I only heard the name I would’ve guessed Tremortusk was a Pokemon or something. Somehow, I doubt this thing will take kindly to a Pokeball being lobbed at its head. So now I know not to try that. Every day is a school day!

Lego Tremortusk UCSThis isn’t the first creature in Nicola’s Horizon menagerie either – have a look at some of the others. They’re not all as friendly as Tremortusk here, mind, so tread carefully.

Oodles and oodles of LEGO doodles

One look at filbrick‘s colourful collection of LEGO critters, and suddenly I’m transported back to my school days. I had a nasty habit back then of not really paying attention to whatever the teacher was saying, and instead doodling in my school diary. Da Vinci it was not – mostly stick figures, actually. (I never did make it as an artist.) But occasionally, in really boring lessons, I’d start drawing characters in much the same way as filbrick has here. Mind you, I think I prefer this version, aptly titled “Doodle Art Burst”. I only had a four-way Biro to hand, but the wide range of colours on display here does make the whole thing pop. And there’s a good variety of pieces too. These guys use everything from coral and beehives to leaves and engine blocks to give them heaps of character!

Doodle art, burst

The mighty Giraffatitan takes a stand

What kid, or grown-up for that matter, doesn’t love the Giraffatian? When I was a kid we just called them a Brontosaurus, or Brachiosaurus if you were slightly smarter, but they have since been moved to their own genus by folks who are even smarter still. No matter what you call it, you have to admit this LEGO dinosaur built by Ken Ito is a magnificent sight to behold. It stands regal on its pedestal giving it the appearance of a trophy likely won for the feat of total awesomeness.

Giraffatitan

Just when I thought I’d experience total awesomeness overload, I learn this mighty Giraffatitan has a friend! It’s the Apatosaurus we featured last December now mounted on his own trophy stand. Please check out our Ken Ito archives to see what else we’re totally impressed by.

Titans on the Jurassic Land

LEGO Creation of the Week (#16): The Water and Moon Guanyin Bodhisattva by dicken liu

Every week readers of the The Brothers Brick Telegram channel choose the Creation of the Week: one project that impressed all of us the most. In a tight competition Dicken Liu grabs the last week’s Creation of the Week award! His most chilled-out Buddhist deity you’ve ever seen in LEGO form joins our pool of the best creations of the year!

Meanwhile, the new vote is already on! Join our Telegram channel to follow all the best LEGO creations, latest news, and, of course, vote for your favorites. See you there!

A LEGO memento mori

The imagery of nature reclaiming things is one that pervades all forms of art. Andreas Lenander has used his talents as a LEGO builder (and, indeed, as an artist) to bring us this latest take on the subject. This is an instance where repeated use of a single part really adds to a build. In this instance, the many olive green leaf parts give the effect of hundreds of little plants growing everywhere, while the vines made from whips drive home the overgrown aspect of the build.

Nature will prevail...

The Buddhist deity of compassion, mercy, and looking cool as a cucumber

I’ve been a big fan of Dicken Liu‘s LEGO builds for a while now (find out why here), and my favourite type of build is when he dips into the traditions and mythology of Eastern Asia. The latest addition to that collection is this Buddha statue.  Named Guanyin of the Southern Seas, the restrained colours with the eye-catching gold look absolutely gorgeous here. Liu’s masterful posing also makes him incredibly suave. In fact, the builder also tells us that this pose has it’s very own name: Maharajalila – “royal ease”. The name is almost as smooth as the pose itself!

The Water and Moon Guanyin Bodhisattva-02

You have no clutch power here, Gandalf the Dark-bluish Grey

The Lord of the Rings seems to be making a comeback lately, and I’m all for it. Among other things, it means we get awesome tributes like this one from Marcin Otreba. Like all good builds, I find it quite thought-provoking. The thought in question is – isn’t it odd that Gandalf is most famously represented in his grey garb? He doesn’t even spend a whole movie’s worth in that outfit. (Yes, I know, The Hobbit, but over a decade separates that trilogy from The Lord of the Rings movies.) Even as Gandalf the White, he still gets called Mithrandir – which means “the Grey Pilgrim” in Sindarin. I know being called the White Wizard might be awkward after Saruman did, you know, all that evil stuff. But come on, Gandalf had to slay a whole Balrog to get there!

Gandalf the Grey's Wizard Hat ‍‍

Marcin isn’t the only one to have been paying a visit to Middle Earth lately – plenty of others have joined this little fellowship of “>LOTR LEGO builders.

Behold the elegant Dracomata

Sometimes a LEGO creation comes along in which even the most jaded of us are compelled to stop what we’re doing and just take it all in. This is the case with LEGO Masters contestant Michael Kanemoto and this piece simply called Dracomata. Michael tells us this took roughly eighty hours over a two-week period. He goes on to say this clip and bar construction boasts almost no typical LEGO stud connections. The end result is something akin to Victorian Clockwork. Maybe that is why the overwhelming feeling you get is to just stop and take it all in. Even the non-LEGO pedestal enhances the experience, giving museum-like quality to this piece.

Dracomata

My passages are normally flooded with jokes and puns but this piece has me lost for words but in a good way. This is becoming one of those “I’m just gonna leave this here” moments so I’ll do just that and allow the breathtaking closeup to speak for itself.

Dracomata

Stone Pinocchio still wants to be a real boy

Dan Ko reimagines the story of Pinocchio but then in stone bricks instead of wood. Well, really it’s LEGO bricks of stone, but you get the idea! The little stone mason has been quite busy creating a lot of rocky statues. The main figure is the one of a little boy that is told to come alive by magic. However the other two statues in the picture really deserve to be highlighted too. The dragon is amazing and the figurehead is quite exceptional as well. Dan also created a lot of different hammers and tools the stone mason uses to craft his exceptional sculptures.

An Unexpected Request

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!

Barn owl

It’s like a window into my paunchy, balding soul

Felix Jaensch has used about 14,500 LEGO pieces to build this rather unflattering fellow and now I wonder if he has caught a glimpse of me checking the mail. Paunchy, check. balding, check. Coffee stains, socks, and sandals, disheveled appearance, surly attitude; check, check, check and check. I don’t recall giving you permission to build me in LEGO, you jerk! Upon closer inspection though, Felix tells us this figure is 175 cm tall, which is slightly taller than I am, so we can now add short to my list of qualifications as a slovenly malcontent. At least he didn’t swipe my total likeness after all. This dude bears a close resemblance to Carl from Aqua Teen Hunger Force but it isn’t quite him. Felix doesn’t state a specific person in his write-up but he’s a fairly average representation of what a lot of us are like.

Coffee Drinker

See him in his full, coffee-stained, grumpy, socks and Adiletten-wearing glory.

Coffee Drinker

Building life-sized sculptures are pretty much Felix’s thing. Check out our Felix Jaensch archives to see what I mean. Now get off my lawn, you ingrates!