Capturing atmosphere in LEGO is an art, and it’s an art that Ben Cossy has mastered in his moody model of a Jawa junkshop. Its cleverly built sand crawler interior is combined with sophisticated photography, conjuring up that distinctive Tatooine feel. Having scavenged through his LEGO bins, Ben has decided to showcase the elusive TC-14 as the Jawa’s latest prize find. The silver protocol droid works as a glistening visual foil, backlit by the glowing red furnace grill. It’s a neat cinematic trick that renders the whole scene believable and somehow resonant with the Star Wars universe.
Tag Archives: Star Wars
A Mon Calamari Cruiser crewed by Mon Calamari
LEGO Star Wars sets do a good job of supplying fans with minifigures of the main characters. But what if you want more to really fill out a scene’s background? If you’re like simon-wild, you build more from other characters’ parts, like he did for his Mon Calamari Cruiser Bridge. The scene on display wouldn’t be half of what it is without some custom characters – they really give it the busy and bustling look of a working command ship. I especially like the high proportion of non-human characters. Oftentimes, it seems that there are so many more humans than beings of other species in the galaxy, but not here: the Mon Calamari cruiser is appropriately crewed by Mon Calamari. The bridge itself is beautiful too. There are enough well-detailed instruments to keep everyone present busy, as well as displays and warning lights to let them know what’s happening.
This fan’s quest to build the perfect LEGO X-wing results in an amazingly accurate model [Feature]
A LEGO Star Wars fan since before Star Wars was a LEGO theme, Mark Chan has spent the last 40 years trying to create the perfect LEGO model of an X-wing fighter. We at The Brothers Brick think he’s done a pretty good job, so we caught up with Mark to get the story of his journey.
Click here to learn about the journey to create this X-wing
An overgrown temple on Yavin 4
Many LEGO Star Wars fans have long hoped for a set depicting the Rebel base on Yavin 4. Some fans have taken matters into their own hands and built their own rendition, like this scene by Legomania. Though only a small chunk of the Great Temple that housed the Rebel Alliance, this diorama accurately portrays the spirit of the activity we see in A New Hope and Rogue One. Pilots are milling about while Rebel Troopers run off to their assignments.
Remove the Star Wars characters and accessories, and this could very well represent an ancient jungle temple here on Earth. I’m particularly drawn to the use of largely solid colours for different aspects of the diorama. And rather than use colour to break up the monotony of a pathway, brick wall, or stone steps, everything looks gritty through the use of different shapes, sizes and textures of LEGO pieces.
Final images of LEGO Star Wars Boost 75253 Droid Commander set revealed [News]
Earlier this month LEGO unveiled 75253 Droid Commander, an all-new Star Wars-themed set for the new Boost system of motorized elements. Reminiscent of the Mindstorms-branded Droid Developer Kit from 1999, the Droid Commander set has instructions to build a variety of droids and program them to accomplish tasks via an app. Unlike previous some previous Boost sets for Ninjago and LEGO City, the Star Wars set is a stand-alone product that will not require users to already own any Boost products. The initial press release only included a handful of images of the set in use, but today LEGO is giving us our first look at the set’s final packaging and product images. Droid Commander has 1,177 pieces and is expected to retail for US $199.99 | CAN $249.99 | UK £179.99 starting September 1.
Click to check out all the images
A downtown tour of the seedier side of Coruscant
The Phantom Menace, released 20 years ago this month, is a polarising movie. Many Star Wars fans (particularly older fans raised on the Original Trilogy) would say it’s their least favourite in the series of films. However, despite its flaws, Episode 1 brought some amazing new things to the Star Wars universe — kick-ass lightsaber battles, Pod Racing, and the planet of Coruscant amongst them. The capital world of both Galactic Republic then Empire is another classic “single environment planet” in the grand Star Wars tradition, but rather than a desert, forest, or ice world, Coruscant is home to a massive planet-spanning city. The movie gave us plenty of the city’s towering buildings and penthouse suites, but here we get a closer look at the seedier underbelly of the metropolis in Dayton‘s impressive LEGO diorama.
This trip into the lower levels of Coruscant is impressively detailed, and carries a Blade Runner-esque cyberpunk vibe along with its Star Wars inspiration. The Imperial Patrol works its way through the alleys, through crowds of shady-looking characters enjoying street food and drinks. The presentation is excellent, nicely-lit, with the custom advertising billboards and smatterings of Aurebesh text a smart touch. And don’t miss the use of laser shooter pieces to provide the pattern on the circular sliding door — it’s a little detail, but it’s this sort of thing that helps create layers of texture to pull the viewer’s eye into the image.
This Droid TIE Fighter is ready for intergalactic dogfights
The Rebellion will be crushed under skies filled with the Droid TIE Fighter! Builder Maelven is the Imperial engineer behind this automated starfighter. The most stand-out detail is the red cockpit window, but the smoothness of the wings is equally impressive. The fact that they’re angled is also a great move on Maelven’s part. I’m also impressed with the simplicity in color. Gray and black are the hallmark of the Empire, and it shows on the Droid TIE.
The TIE/D fighter was a notable part of the Star Wars Expanded Universe. This LEGO build could be the return of one of the most fearsome war machines to rule the skies of the Empire.
By Jabba, this may be the tiniest throne room ever
They say the clothes make the man…and sometimes, the hat makes the Hutt. This microscale LEGO model of Jabba the Hutt’s throne room by Grantmasters was inspired by the dark green bandana element and a rainbow of tiny statuette minifigures. Among them is a Dementor from the microscale Hogwarts set used to depict Luke Skywalker as he attempts to mind-trick the slimy crime lord. My second favorite part use, after Jabba himself, is the Niffler figure.
Curiosity killed the Porg
In the opening scene of Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Luke famously chucks his old lightsaber off a cliff like a week-old burrito, and thanks to a not-quite-canon “deleted scene” from the Blu-ray, we now know what happened to the weapon after being discovered by the Ahch-To’s most adorable inhabitants, who just might be too innocent for their own good. Of course, every memorable moment in Star Wars deserves to be immortalized in LEGO, and that’s where builder Takamichi Irie comes in, with an excellent recreation utilizing the official life-size LEGO Porg set.
One little piece makes for an epic scene
What’s not to love in this epic battle scene by Revan New? From the clone and droid figures, the archway above, or to the sunset lighting, this creation is full of action. My favorite bit is the Jedi figure flying over the gap as he readies to cut down Separatist droids. Using the grey hose part for the jumping special effect truly helped capture the intensity of the moment.
This AT-AT’s hull is too strong for blasters
The Battle of Hoth is a popular scene to recreate with LEGO, and there are multiple versions of it as fan creations as well as official LEGO sets. My new favourite take on the battle has got to be Fuku Saku’s Assault on Hoth. He’s got all the essential elements: a snowspeeder, an AT-AT, and most importantly, a snow! On top of that, he’s built a turret representing Echo Base, a probe droid from before the battle, and an AT-ST coming up from behind.
The designs on the vehicles are spectacular, the AT-AT in particular. For one, it actually looks armoured. On top of that, all the right details are present, such as the side hatches. It even has interior detail and space for snowtroopers to actually be transported. The overall attention to detail in the entire battle scene is on point – it’s not often that blaster bolts are built into LEGO models, flying through the air. But they’re included here, and it really feels like there’s a battle going on.
R2-D2 vs the Buzz Droids
Remember that one annoying thing from the Star Wars prequel movies? No, I don’t mean that. And no, not that either. No, no, not that! I’m thinking about the Pistoeka sabotage droids also known as Buzz Droids. I mean, who would have thunk there could be these bots that can cling to a starship like a parasite and slice the important bits out of it? That is just scary stuff right there! Luckily R2-D2 was a smart little droid with a good solution to a pest control problem. He just zapped them into oblivion! Martin Latta illustrates this point nicely with some stunning photography. The blurred Venator-class Star Destroyers in the distance are an excellent touch.