One thing that Star Wars – and especially – the prequels, for their flaws – does really well is villains. One look at Darth Maul or the Emperor and there’s no doubting which side they’re on. But really, none of them looked as villainous as the skeletal General Grievous, whose likeness has been captured by Sakiya Watanabe (N.A.B.E_mocs). In builds where the cybernetic and natural collide, texture can be a useful tool to differentiate between the two, and this is a fantastic example. Grievous’ armour is almost entirely studless. It’s wonderfully organically shaped, too – a touch of irony therein, perhaps! In contrast, his fleshy bits (for want of a better phrase) are rougher. His esophagus (I think that’s what it is) is all studded plates, while the red eyes use anti-studs to perfectly accentuate their organic nature.
Tag Archives: Sculptures
Beaker the Muppet – the squeaker of the puppets
Muppets builder extraordinaire Jon-Paul Hansen has made another addition to his LEGO collection of the fuzzy puppets. This time, it’s one of my favourite characters – the appropriately-named lab assistant, Beaker! There’s some great parts use here to capture the squeaky puppet’s features. A couple of aeroplane tail fins sit either side of a dark green windscreen – first introduced in the Botanicals Poinsettia – to make for an excellent labcoat and tie, respectively. As for the fuzzy fire-red hair, that’s superbly recreated with a bunch of red bushes. And speaking of fire – I can practically hear Beaker’s frantic “mi-mi-mi-mi-mi!!”s through the screen!
“You’ve got red on you.”
Monty Python may be the first thing you think of when someone says ‘British comedy’, but for sheer pop-culture points, I reckon Edgar Wright’s Cornetto trilogy is not far behind. What makes me say that? Why, Trevor Pearson‘s LEGO Shaun of the Dead bust! This is, of course, the titular Shaun, the everyman appliance salesman turned zombie fighter played by Simon Pegg. Rather than realism, Trevor has gone for more of a caricature here, and it really works well. The hair is great, both the spiky rock-piece top and pointy beard, really emphasising the shape of Shaun’s head. All that’s missing is a bloody cricket bat… Or a red Strawberry Cornetto.
Trevor seems to have ghouls and giggles on his mind this Halloween season, as we also loved his Crypt Keeper tribute.
The root of inspiration
Mushrooms seem so small and innocent when they pop up on the forest floor, but down in the soil, their mycelium roots make up a vast network that connects plants and fungus in ways that humans are just starting to understand. Builder Margit explores the secret life of mycelium in LEGO form with a dramatic interpretation of this subterranean world where a forest spirit sacrifices its body to connect mushrooms and tree roots. Margit’s staging is quite striking, using clear supports to suspend the model and let the roots and network shine. The mycelium spirit is beautifully shaped, especially its rounded belly and haunting face.
A LEGO build for those with green thumbs
When someone has a knack for gardening, you might say they’ve got a green thumb. How should we describe someone with a knack for LEGO building? Plastic pinkies? Hmm, doesn’t have the same ring to it. Either way, Julius von Brunk has definitely got both in this wild sculpture! The hand is apparently modelled on his own left hand, so there’s an element of still life here. But the composition of the piece is just as good. That red brick in the middle really pops against all the complementary green. I find myself searching for some sort of meaning behind it… What do you reckon that could be, readers?
Beware the Queen of the Jellyfish!
Jellyfish are weird, aren’t they? It’s just a floating nervous system with tentacles. No wonder they make such a good basis for alien creations – and Korean builder DEES has served up a doozy in that regard! Let’s start with that most jellyfish of attributes: the tentacles. Loads of parts are used to make them up here, from trans-clear round bricks and flowers to a whole boatload of ball joints. The latter serves to accentuate the organic shapes of this creature, so wonderfully done on the body with inverted boat slopes and wheel arch pieces in all manner of pinks and blues.
Dive in to see what else this jelly has in store for us…
A(nother) peacock’s plume in bloom – this time dressed all in white
You may recall that this time last year, we featured a colourful LEGO peacock courtesy of Dad’s Bricks (Joe). Since then, said peacock has gone on to be displayed at the LEGO House in Denmark – leaving poor Joe peacock-less. The solution? Build another! And it’s just as pretty as the first one. It uses a similar technique for the tail, being made up of leaf and foliage parts. But the monochromatic colour choice of white gives it an altogether different feel. This time, the colours are confined to the base, creating a lovely contrast, and drawing the eye towards this bird’s sole bit of colour: its eye. Hopefully we will get to see the two side-by-side before long!
LEGO with an ego the size of the sun!
This LEGO build by Panuvara drips confidence from every stud! Panuvara has used so many great ideas that make this build shine, that there really is too much neat parts usage in this build to talk about. So, I’m going to rapid fire a bunch at you! Starting with the golden neck-and-head-dress; those chameleons are floating – not connected by studs, and did you know that micro-statue heads fit inside bar holders? I didn’t. There’s also plenty of Bionicle influence: the top of the Emissary’s head is the infected Hau Nuva, while its teeth are borrowed from one of the Piraka. There’s also a head under the Emissary’s right knee. The mottled colors of the Hau match perfectly with the pattern of the macaw used for the Emissary’s nose. Let’s move on the the Emissary’s seat. The rounded rectangular patches with grills are rubber band holders, the bricks holding the projectile triggers are bumper holders, and there’s plenty of minifigure legs and hips for you to spot. Finally I’ll point out that the face carved into the centre of the stonework uses a dinosaur cub and a clone trooper visor as parts of its nose. There’s more to see here the longer you stare at it. But be careful: while you’re looking at it, the Emissary is watching you!
These iconic LEGO shoes “just do it” for me
It’s like the old saying goes: “If the shoe fits, build it out of LEGO.” At least, we’re pretty sure that’s the saying. Either way, The Brothers Brick regular Takamichi Irie shows us what the Nike Air Penny 2 would look like in brick form. This isn’t his first foray into footwear, and it shows.
A lot of care went into making the shoe look like, well, a shoe—from the countless curved bricks for shaping to the dinosaur tails that form the tied laces. My favorite detail, however, might be the simplest: the iconic Nike swoosh. When it comes to the award for best use of LEGO bricks to create a famous logo, I’d say it’s a shoe-in.
Less than 50 shades of grey
I love it when a LEGO build leans into an aesthetic. This build by Jessica Farrell is done completely in monochrome – like an old timey movie – and displays a crumbling landscape frozen in stone and fossilization. There’s more interesting parts in this build than I can point out, but here are some of the highlights! Sprinkled around the build you’ll see tiny flowers in flat silver. These flowers were only available from the Trolls World Tour 2020 product line, while the arching spine on the upper left is made of parts that ceased production in 2016. There’s vines climbing the ruined pillars, and gears big and small. One thing I know for certain, Charlie Chaplin has to be hiding in there somewhere!
A LEGO journey through childhood
Once again, builder Maxx Davidson has treated us to some delightful eye candy, skillfully incorporating not only LEGO bricks, but also other assorted elements that might require a deep dive into the internet to confirm their authenticity as “LEGO-branded.” Titled ‘Assorted Childhood Toys,’ the undiscerning eye would be hard-pressed to identify these as toys built out of other toys. However, the builder has expertly used LEGO to transport the beholder to a place of reminiscence.
Check out more pics of each of the toys below
You can’t step on LEGO if you’re stepping around in LEGO!
Famously, stepping on LEGO is one of the most painful experiences known to humankind, second only to stubbing your little toe. (Woe betide you if you stub your little toe on a LEGO creation.) But what does stepping in LEGO feel like? We should ask Takamichi Irie. He has made the bold choice of creating a red Nike sneaker out of bricks. They say you need to suffer for your art, but even so, it’s a brave builder who willingly makes something where you’re always stepping on studs!
Thankfully for Takamichi’s feet – or one of them, at least – he has got a normal shoe to complete the pair. And to be fair, the brick-built one does compare very well to it! It’s so well shaped, it actually looks kind of comfy. And you wouldn’t need to worry about finding one in your size: you can always build it a little bigger. You know, maybe there’s something in these brick-built shoes after all…