Tag Archives: Simon Liu

Off to an adventure with Calvin and Hobbes

Talented TBB alum Simon Liu brings us the iconic duo Calvin and Hobbes. Simon is no stranger to Calvin and Hobbes LEGO creations. This time he decided to challenge himself by using only 101 pieces. 101 pieces doesn’t sound like a lot, but the figures are quite small so to me it still is astonishing that these two figures consist of 101 parts. Most of the parts used are smaller than a 1×1 brick. Even though their faces are featureless the figures look instantly recognizable — Hobbes’ face is especially well made. I am quite curious how Hobbes’ ears are connected. My guess is through friction and I am perfectly fine with that as long as he doesn’t lose them when they speed of a steep hill in Calvin’s red wagon.

Calvin and Hobbes - Off to an Adventure

Want more LEGO Calvin and Hobbes creations? Check them out in our archives!

Nature is at your fingertips with LEGO bricks

Nature has been manipulated by human hands for centuries. While certainly nature always finds a way, seemingly so do we humans. Simon Liu’s LEGO bonsai model which was entered into Brickset’s bonsai contest, inspires the philosophical mind to produce musings on the relationship between humankind and nature.

Consequences.

Simon’s model is visually striking and compositionally different from most bonsais I have seen so far. Instead of the tree growing out of the typical rectangular pot, this plant is growing out of the palm of a grey hand fashioned out of a number of small elements including 2×2 tiles, diamond shields, and ingots. The bonsai itself is shaped by a number of wiry black elements most notably the whip and twig pieces. The flowers featured on this build are rendered by baby minifigure heads – an unusual but effective choice. This handy bonsai rests on a sea of 1×2 trans-clear blue bricks, which was a nice touch. For whatever reason this model reminds me of the film WALL-E, with the robot’s little hand carrying the plant – the key to our planet.

It’s beginning to look a bit like Christmas in a galaxy far, far away

We have seen quite a few builders pay tribute to the Empire’s most fearsome walking tank, the AT-AT. But I think this is the most unusual version I’ve seen in quite a while. Simon Liu has stretched his LEGO creativity to new heights with this stilt-legged AT-AT tasked with delivering Christmas trees to all corners of the galaxy.

DALI AT-AT

News Flash: Michael Bay to reboot Sesame Street franchise

Hi-ho, Kermit the Frog here! Today on Sesame Street news we’re sharing the latest Hollywood Leak! The monster on the street is telling us that none other than Michael Bay of Transformers fame has been tapped to relaunch the Sesame Street franchise for, and I’m quoting here, “a million kajillion dollars.” The source of the leak, a Mister “I.M. Lying” provided an image of a LEGO toy prototype reportedly designed by Simon Liu. Using the new Oscar the Grouch head from the Sesame Street Ideas set, Simon has given our resident Grouch the ability to take out his own trash. Additional sponsorship from the letter “G” for “Greeble” and the numbers 1, 2, and 3 are also reported. I, personally, think this is a terrible…hold on. I’m now getting word that our source may have been making all of this up. So nevermind. Sheesh.

Oscar The Grouch Trash Mech

(Well, even if the movie rumors are fake, this Oscar Mech is very real. Check out the 360 degree spin on Simon’s Instagram if you don’t believe me. Then check out some of the other creations of Simon’s we’ve featured.)

Brickin’ the gap

You’ve probably never seen the Golden Gate like this before – so minimal and so orange. Simon Liu really gives us the essence of the iconic bridge down at micro-scale with this LEGO model.

Golden Gate Bridge

Liu renders San Francisco and Marin County using a variety of light brown slopes and tiles. The star of the build – the bridge itself is comprised of 1×4 tiles, minifigure hands, and binoculars all in a lovely orange color; the use of these parts is clever indeed. The micro-build as a whole sits on some trans-clear blue tiles, which serve as the strait connecting San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean. Although it is a minimal micro-scale build, this model certainly conveys the idea of the revered structure very well.

Wake up, time to hide

The tag-team effort of Brickleas and Si-MOCs produced a scene to give science fiction fans a double take. They created a two-tier MOC of an intergalactic manhunt. Topside, a space police officer is in pursuit of an outlaw, meanwhile below, the suspect lurks through the sewer. The collaboration was a standout submission for this September’s Rogue Bricks contest. Teams of two picked either side of a “space gangster” or “space sheriff” to depict their story.

Intergalactic Hide and Seek

In a strange turn of events, Brickleas and Si-MOCs teamed up at the last minute after their original partners dropped out of the contest because their parts were unfinished. The result worked out with Simon Liu (Si-MOCs) building his version of a Spinner from Blade Runner, and a space police minifigure outfitted in Barbara Gordon‘s ceremonial uniform from The LEGO Batman Movie CMF (Series 1) and the LEGO Star Wars Wedge Antilles helmet. Elias Hübner’s (Brickleas) contribution looks as dark and desolate as any subterranean waterway with an underground tunnel as the escape. Check out a photo of the Si-MOCs’ take on the Spinner below.

Intergalactic Space Police

Shiny moonbase is a sparkling sight for space-faring eyes

Many builders use standard squares and rectangles as the base for their base, and it makes perfect sense, considering how many LEGO plates are rectangles. so, using a non-rectangular standard really stands out. Simon Liu has come up with an experimental new collaboration standard using a triangle base which fits together neatly and is designed for the trophy figure scale. The base is filled with gold parts that combine with the stark blue and white color scheme and check out those rovers!

Palmer Station

Tealpunk dance revolution

Anyone who has met me knows that I am a sucker for the colour teal. Some even joke that I disregard anything LEGO which does not include teal. In which case, the talented Simon Liu has earned my respect with his small cyberpunk robot. Not only do I approve of the gorgeous colour scheme, but also the ingenious usage of my favourite elements throughout. For example, the “espresso handle” in the knee and elbow joints and the Overwatch gun in the lower legs. The robot clips make for strong shoulder and hip joints, and the round 1×1 plate with hollow stud is very useful when attaching these to a proper LEGO stud connection. Last but not least, let’s not forget about a fairly new part: Monkie Kid’s headphones as shoulder armour.

The Future is ... Punk

By adding a neon gridded base and dynamic pose, this small build became Simon’s homage to another similar pink-haired cyberpunk robot that we have previously featured.

A nice place to be snowed in

They say all snowflakes are unique, and that seems to also apply to microscale castles in the snow. This excellent creation by Simon Liu is rich in clever part usage. Orange unicorn horns, tread attachments, and 1×1 roof tiles add just the right splash of color to the grey stone. In the castle there are plenty of clever angles and building techniques to explore. I like the use of rail plate to form the walls, and that inverted bucket at part of the main tower. For the snow, various tooth plates in white add texture and context for the scene. It’s a tiny winter wonderland!

Castle in the snow

As a cool bonus, this scene also fits inside a LEGO snow globe ornament for that added touch of whimsy. It’s a creation very much on the same level as Simon’s other great builds.

One Osprey that won’t get cancelled anytime soon

Are you bummed about the recent cancellation of LEGO’s Technic Osprey V-22 set? Yeah, me too. It’s like LEGO suddenly remembered that they don’t like being associated with military stuff and then it’s no soup for you! The decision has me scratching my head over what to do with the official Red Baron and both Sopwith Camel sets now. Anyway, Simon Liu is not one to let a cancelled set bring him down. I know it’s not the same, but here’s his very sleek futuristic V-42-Osprey in neat olive green with orange highlights. The point of showing you this is, while LEGO occasionally makes doofus decisions, they provide the pieces so that you can build anything you want. Who needs directions and an official set? With LEGO bricks and a bit of imagination, the world is your oyster. Or Osprey.

V42-Osprey

Building Hands built by building hands

For a medium that’s based around the core idea of “you can make anything you want,” LEGO builders just love to impose limitations on their creations. Things like “use only one color of brick” or “it has to be symmetrical,” or even the tricky “you can’t have any exposed studs.” Once again drawing inspiration from the drawings of M.C. Escher, Simon Liu takes that particular set of challenges and overcomes them. (Again.) Escher’s Drawing Hands transforms from flat art into a sculpture of hands creating themselves out of LEGO. Building Hands adds just the right touch of meta-level humor to a great build.

MC Escher - Building Hands

I particularly like how Simon found a clever way around the “no exposed studs” limit. By replicating the studs out of 1×1 round tiles, they both flaunted and followed the rules. Sure, the use of red lights may annoy the “monochromatic purists” among us, but I have a feeling they’re in the minority. No one said anything about limiting the light sources, after all. Or if they did, I didn’t hear about it.

One of them there Tetrahedral Planetoids we’ve heard so much about

What you’re looking at is one of them there Tetrahedral Planetoids we’ve heard so much about in the sci-fi funny pages. Leave it to Simon Liu to wrap his noggin around a thing most of us can’t even pronounce much less think about. But Simon has one of those creative noggins and a knack to put it to use in LEGO. Math is beautiful, he tells us. I’ll take his word for it as my own mathematical results vary from “that just about makes sense” to…”now what in tarnation were you thinking, boy?” This piece is an exercise in both symmetry and monochromic applications. It was inspired by M.C. Escher who also has one of them creative noggins that can make math look beautiful.

Tetrahedral Planetoid