Tag Archives: Sculptures

The metamorphosis of a bird

In this surrealism-inspired LEGO sculpture, Woomy World achieves a dynamic and organic look through the use of clever part usages and a bright color palette. According to the builder, Technic supports were used as the skeleton for the sculpture. We see some of those beams at the base, but throughout the rest of the build, they are virtually invisible beneath the twisting tree trunk and the bird’s plumage/foliage. Instead, I’m drawn to the gradient of the leaf parts from teal to dark azure, as well as the dramatic flourish of the wings made with flex tubes, a technique used by fellow builder Joss Woodyard. And contributing to the seamless flow of the bird’s transformation, the twisting tree trunk has all of these natural grooves and textures from parts like technic connectors and a Belville saddle.

Avian Blossom

If you love this build, check out some other mythical builds by Woomy World, including castle titans and a reimagining of Ninjago dragons.

C is for Seed Part. You know, phonetically.

The Iron Builder competition is based around taking an unusual LEGO “seed part” and incorporating in into amazing creations. brickleas is an expert at this craft, taking a huge pile of 100 blue  Large Figure Part Shield Holder with Axle pieces and transforming them into Sesame Street’s own Cookie Monster. The texture of the shield elements does an amazing job of standing in for Cookie’s fur, but the techniques that create the black puppet-mouth and googly eyes are just as impressive. Even that chocolate chip cookie manages to look delicious somehow.

Seed Part Monster

When I reviewed 21324 LEGO Ideas Sesame Street, I had a few reservations about the look of the Cookie Monster minifigure, and it does my heart good to see him done justice here. If you’re a fan of Sesame Street, too, then check out some of our other featured creations starring more Muppet friends!

These Irises were made for walkin’, and that’s just what they’ll do.

The walking iris is an interesting plant. When it reproduces, new plantlets form at the top of the flower stalks. This added weight causes the stalks to bend to the ground, where the new plants take root. Repeat that a few times, and you have a flower that “walks” around the garden. This exceptional botanical recreation by James Zhan captures the unique beauty of this plant, and adds in a swanky LEGO base to boot.

Walking Iris

Seen close up, you can appreciate the building techniques that have gone into the flowers. There’s some very clever part usage including minifigure ski poles and crowns, as well as a 1×1 plate used as a tiny mosaic to give the petals a splash of color. I also like the varied joints in the greenery, allowing for some very organic curves.

Walking Iris

Flowers have always been a popular theme for custom LEGO creations, and we’ve seen some great sets coming directly from LEGO recently, too. What sort of botanical build do you want to try?

Good to the last drop

In the beginning, there were just troubling shades of grey. But then there was an industrial accident of some sort. And then OSHA came along. And then the company had some heavy fines levied against it as they refused to install adequate safety railings. At least, I think that’s the story this scene by Mark van der Maarel is telling us. There’s probably more to it. But whatever happened, LEGO minifigures were never quite the same ever again. There are lots of fun details here, but my favorite has to be the X-Pod lid that forms the base of the yellow pool. That splash is pretty sweet, too.

How it all started

This creation uses only 51 elements, easily qualifying it for the 101-max requirement of the RogueOlympics.  There have been a lot of great builds coming out of that contest, so be sure to check out our archives for even more quality minimal-part creations!

TBB cover photo for March 2021: Lifelike Koi Fish

This group of life-sized koi fish by Ian Hou of DOGOD Brick Design has awed us before, but we had to return to it for this month’s cover photo. Not only is this model lifelike from looks alone, it also evokes a feeling of zen associated with koi ponds. Looking at Ian’s photography, these look so good on display, like true sculptures. I would love to have these adorn my home to put me at ease when I’m stressing about building. Hopefully, this cover photo will offer the same feeling of calm for our readers. Once you’ve taken in this work of art, check more of Ian’s creations here.

Graceful Koi on Lego ideas

Submit your LEGO creations for a chance to be featured across TBB social media for a month! Check out the submission guidelines share your builds today. Photos that do not meet the submission guidelines will not be considered, and will be removed from the group.

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Nothing a coat of paint won’t fix.

There’s a lot going on in this sculpture by Adam Betts. Gravity defying, drippy, creepy, and undeniably imaginative, Paint Pouring On A Minifig Skull is a creation that deserves a close look. I like how the underlying skull is a great match for the suggested bone structure of a minifigure head, and how the fondant-like paint overlay perfectly captures the “skin” and facial features as the paint covers the superstructure. The suspended paint bucket is also well done, and I love the tiny touch of the banana splashes.

If you like this build, be sure to check our archives for more skullful creations.

TBB Cover Photo for February 2021: The Luckiest Cats

February’s cover photo brings some luck along with it. /snirk/snirk/

These lucky cats, by Ruobing Dai, are adorned with different decorations symbolizing good fortune and making money, and the detailing is exquisite. Meeeeeow.

Lucky Cat Ver2

But seriously though, I wouldn’t mind putting one of these in every room in the house to bring any kind of luck to this year. They’re super cute and each cat has a unique design on his tummy; a treasure basin, a teeny cat set, and a carp. They’d actually go great in my living room.

Lucky Cat Ver2

Submit your LEGO creations for a chance to be featured across TBB social media for a month! Check out the submission guidelines share your builds today.

Keep up with The Brothers Brick by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter and Pinterest. And for extra goodies, follow us on Instagram, Flickr, and subscribe to us on YouTube.

Hold me closer, tiny dancer

Sometimes all it takes is a dynamic pose to elevate a simple build into a work of multi-sensory art. This build of a dancer by Swedish LEGO Masters contestant Rickard Stensby makes me feel many things across different senses. I instantly get the rush of awe and emotion one experiences when watching a live ballet performance from just looking at this build. The figure is in a perpetual pirouette with outstretched arms and legs, along with an upward-facing body. Rickard emulates the spinning motion with a functional rotating base, adding to the energy of this sculpture. In addition, the twirling dress contains intricate building techniques to capture the conical shape with creases.

The dancer

If you like figures with natural shapes and energetic forms, then check out more sculptures here!

Now you’re just being koi!

There’s something just completely tranquil about the sight of koi carp. Location probably has something to do with it because they regularly are featured in serene garden landscapes. Ian Hou does these beautiful fish justice with this new LEGO creation. I can just hear the bubbling water and imagine these graceful koi feeding on fish pellets. The stylistic waves as a stand offer just enough visual cues to make this a truly lovely project. This is a welcome moment of zen to finish out a rather tumultuous year. If this is totally your jam then you should check out some other fish in our archives.

nEO_IMG_DOGOD_Koi Fish_05

This plant is my soil mate

When I look out my window today, there’s snow on the ground. It’s been a long, cold winter already, and I’m starting to really miss the color green. If the drab snows of winter are getting you down, too, here’s some welcome relief. Stilly Bricks collaborated with Jonathan Lopes to create a 45″ inch tall, 18″ diameter topiary wonder. It’s so massive that it required a metal bar through the stem to support the flowers, and even the vine has a metal tube running through it.  From the brick-built pot and leaves to the varied flowers in the ball, this is one creation that should make any plastic-loving botanist smile.

Topiary

If you like LEGO flowers (and really, who doesn’t?) then be sure to check our archives for more leafy goodness!

 

Arvo brothers bring Robocop to life with LEGO – I’d buy that for a dollar!

If you haven’t heard of the Arvo Brothers before, they’re Ramon and Amador Alfaro Marcilla, a pair of Spanish builders who are known for truly amazing LEGO sculptures. Their latest effort pays tribute to the 1987 classic, RoboCop. Standing around 2 feet tall, this towering figure is a dead-on recreation of Peter Weller’s portrayal of the titular character and is filled with intricate and screen-accurate detailing.

The first thing that becomes apparent is that there’s a level of articulation built into this sculpture. The shoulders, elbow, and head can all be adjusted to create a variety of bad-ass poses. The next thing that you notice is the spectacular part usage. There are just a few LEGO studs exposed, enough to let you know what he’s made of, but so few that you’re still required to really lean in to be sure. Curved tiles and slopes are everywhere, smoothing out the shapes and creating a perfectly streamlined set of armor.

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When you have to be separated over the holidays

The holiday season has been a tough one this year. The COVID situation in the US means that I can’t be with all the people I care about, and every wintery milestone goes by with a hefty helping of separation. But, thanks to Allyson Gail I can at least share a wry bit of LEGO creativity that makes a good pun out of the whole deal. She’s once again taken the hard-to-repurpose brick separator and turned it into something special. This time it’s a holiday wreath that could easily go toe-to-toe with LEGO’s own offering.

You’d be forgiven if you thought this was just a clever arrangement of parts on a flat surface. But, if you look closely, you can see that all of the separators are actually connected by a hinge plate. That means that this creation can even go on a wall (if you hang it from a standard over-the-door wreath hook). And let’s also take a moment to enjoy the construction on that bow! The smooth lines and curves really play well with the texture of the separators.

My own collection of green brick separators is too small to duplicate this build myself, but maybe I can find some other holiday creation to reverse engineer. I’ll have some time on my hands, after all…