Tag Archives: Tanks

Run ‘n gun – the best of both worlds

Unparalleled play features and an eye for form make Moko‘s LEGO builds easy to spot but hard to imitate, and the fully transformable battle-ready beauty Vehichle-Bot 03 is no exception. Sand green is not exactly a rare color, but certainly harder to come by than some, with the available part selection used to great effect here. And that’s not to mention a well placed Technic gear differential housing used for the gun barrel. While the aforementioned cannon suggests a battlefield role of raining down on enemies from afar, the chest guard, resembling a truck’s cattle pusher (AKA moose bumper or ‘roo bar, depending on your region) boasts the brawn to mix it up if any bot rolls up close enough to trade some paint.

Vehicle-Bot 03

Speaking of rolling, if you’re curious about the transformation feature head over to the Moko Brick Laboratory Channel to see the full transformation sequence, and many shots of this build in other poses and from alternate angles – one revealing a clever use of LEGO crowbar elements for texture.

Vehicle-Bot 03

Been living under a rock and haven’t been introduced to this builder’s exceptional work? Check out Moko’s transforming police motorbike, including a video featuring Vehicle-Bots 01 and 02, or Vehicle-Bot 03’s apparent spiritual predecessor the FabuSoldier 01.

The Empire isn’t afraid to break some LEGO bricks to get what they want

In between my day job and editing all sorts of articles about wonderful LEGO builds, I’m also finding time to work in the last season of The Bad Batch. And it must just have me in a very Star Wars kind of mood, because I am absolutely loving this creation by Jakob Kaiser. While not a recreation of a specific scene in a movie or show, Jakob says he was heavily influenced by the comic Star Wars: Purge when making this vignette. The tank is phenomenal on its own, but the freeze-frame of the statue mid-explosion is what really grabbed my attention. We’ll see if it’ll make these poor citizens comply or rebel.

Purge

A tiny tank build as sweet as honey

Miniature tanks are a big part of the scale modelling community, and it’s always nice to see it cross over into the LEGO world. The latest to have a go is Jack Rumley, with this fine rendition of an M3 Stuart ‘Honey’ — an American-built tank in British service in the early years of World War II. The sand-blue and tan paint scheme looks equal parts smart and realistic, reflecting the tank’s service in the North Africa campaign. This particular model has been kitted out with a handful of custom decals and third-party parts to elevate the detail level. But make no mistake, it’s bona fide LEGO doing the heavy lifting. Check out the boomerangs used as wheel rockers!

M3 Stuart ‘Honey’

Imagine a bowling ball, but angrier

“Carcinisation”; a very fancy word that means “some animals tend to look more like crabs over time”. This build by Djokson demonstrates what might happen if even our tanks turn into crabs! Djokson has tone a fantastic job of creating a round rolling shape for the tank using unusual parts. The Crab-Tank’s forehead is made from a handful of rubber handles from the short-lived Vidiyo line, the yellow disks on either side of the body come from the old X-Pod line (oh the nostalgia!), and the little warrior in the cockpit is sporting a old technic helmet for protection. I don’t know about you, but I’d feel crabby if I had to square up against that thing!

Roller

The other LEGO build known as “Spike Prime”

While it may not be driven by a LEGO computer brain, The Hedgehog by Andrea Lattanzio still means business. This tank definitely gives Raiders of the Lost Ark vibes, with side turrets and a villainous-looking driver. Building in a single color like dark gray can be a risky move, but with plenty of dynamic textures, shadows and exposed studs help to break up the monotone. Instead, the build is alive with textures…and spiky treads.

The Hedgehog

What’s in Hank Pym’s pockets?

Everyone has their favorite LEGO keychain. Maybe it’s the Beskar slab GWP from May 2022, or a classic 2×4 brick in your favorite color. Personally, I’m rocking Spider-Ham on the keys to my LEGO studio. And builder Bricktacular Builds gives us a brick-built version of Hank Pym’s infamous tank keychain, along with a couple of Pym Particle Discs, all built to a 1:1 scale. While the whole setup is downright adorable, my favorite bit has got to be the use of this 2×2 socket to hold the tank’s cannon. It’s the perfect piece in the perfect color and at the perfect scale to anchor the build in microscale-reality.

Upgraded firepower to win those Halo battles

The Covenant should beware the LEGO builds coming from EliteTC, like this awesome Scorpion tank. It’s always a blast to drive one of these in the Halo games, and seeing it translated into LEGO brick is a great sight. It’s a vehicle that works well in the medium with its angles and details. EliteTC does a good job of getting the shaping right, from the barrel of the main gun down to the tread sections for mobility. The greebling is slick, capturing the finer points of the vehicle. If you told me this could move on its own, I’d believe it! It looks fully mobile, like it can’t wait to blast down some Banshees or duel with some Wraiths. It’s a wonderful build for an iconic gaming vehicle.

Scorpion

Pink, playful, and packing plenty of heat

This interesting treaded tank by Plastic Pauper is not here to play nice, loaded with weapons, from a rotating barrel to a clutch of missiles to a side-mounted minigun. Don’t let the paint job fool you. There are a few nice parts used, starting with the small launcher which uses microphones for the missiles. And if you look closely, you will find there is a lipstick element on the side of the big cannon.

Inchwurm: Missile barrage mode

How a handful of LEGO minifigs can support the medics and other Ukrainian heroes on the frontlines of Russia’s invasion [Feature]

As dawn broke across Ukraine on February 24th this year, the Russian Federation launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine. In my day job, I’ve been working with software development teams in Ukraine for nearly 15 years, mainly in Kharkiv, barely 30 miles (less than 50 km) from the Russian border. In the first hours of the invasion, I messaged an old group-chat from my previous job saying, “Stay safe, my friends.” My former colleagues began waking up to air raid sirens, rocket attacks, and fighter jets roaring over their heads, and I watched their online status turn from yellow to green as they began sending brief replies saying they were safe so far.

Brickmania Ghost of Kyiv Mig-29 fighter jet kit

Brickmania “Ghost of Kyiv” custom Mig-29 fighter jet kit

Through colleagues like these in Kharkiv, Odesa, and the capital Kyiv, as well as ex-pats here in the US, I’ve grown to love the Ukrainian people and their independent spirit. Ukrainians have been fighting for freedom and democracy ever since declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. That fight became much more visceral in 2014, when a democratic “Revolution of Dignity” overthrew a corrupt, oligarchic and pro-Russian government. Russia’s Vladimir Putin immediately responded by annexing Ukraine’s Crimea region and began a proxy war to take over the industrial Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. This led not just to atrocities like the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 that year, but an ongoing Russia-backed insurgency against the democratic government in Kiev — for many in Ukraine, the Russian invasion began in 2014, not on February 24, 2022. But since February, through the Russian army’s mass killings of civilians in Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol, and elsewhere; ethnic cleansing of over 2 million Ukrainians to Russia; and ongoing indiscriminate rocket attacks and air raids against civilian targets like schools and shopping centers throughout Ukraine today, the full-scale invasion this year has proven that Russia intends to commit terrorism and ultimately genocide against the nation of Ukraine and its people. In the 5 months since the Russian invasion, most of my old team relocated to western Ukraine, though nobody in the country is safe from Russian rocket attacks and bombing. Some staff from my old company chose to stay behind in Kharkiv, and at least one has even laid down his life defending his city and his nation.

Read more about how the LEGO fan community has stepped up to help Ukraine

The brick is mightier than the sword

Everyone knows LEGO’s late-90s Adventurers theme was based loosely on Indiana Jones, and this fantastic diorama by norlego drives home the point by doing some character swapping, putting Johnny Thunder and Baron von Baron into the iconic tank scene from The Last Crusade. The build is magnificent, with the massive Hatay Heavy Tank looking straight out of the movie (which, as norlego points out, was a custom design for the film, not a real-world tank). Let’s hope Johnny doesn’t get raked over the treads!

A Sinister Tank Chase

norlego has been revisiting the Adventurers theme and giving it some much-needed love, starting with the splendid Adventurers Camp we featured last year. Check out more of norlego’s builds in TBB’s archives.

Swords to plowshares

Spring has sprung, and farmers all across the northern hemisphere are headed back into the fields to prepare for harvest season. For example, Stefan Johansson has depicted a LEGO Ukrainian couple getting ready to test out their newly-acquired 40-ton harrow. But all joking aside, this creation speaks volumes on a universal truth: war doesn’t spare anyone. Whether it’s a soldier on the front lines or a farmer just trying to bring in their crop, the brutal attack on Ukraine has hit everyone in some way. And in times like these, when grandmas are taking out Russian drones with jars of pickled tomatoes, I’m reminded of a line from the video game Portal 2: “…when life gives you lemons, don’t make lemonade! Make life take the lemons back!”

Spring harvest in Ukraine

But I’m sure you didn’t come here for Cave Johnson quotes, so we should probably talk about the build. The color and style of the ground is exquisite, reminding me of walks through mint fields in northern Indiana. The sunflowers are simple, but extremely effective! I love the angles and texturing on the tank, but I think the tractor is the real star of the show here. You can see from the picture below, this machine has the look of a real LEGO set coming out of Billund. I can’t imagine it being built any better!

Massey Ferguson Tractor

Artillery for the not-so-Grand Army of the Republic

The problem with having a Grand Army of the Republic is that you need somewhere equally grand to store it. Even a TX-130 Sabre Tank would probably not fit in your average Joe or Josephine’s garage. Tim Goddard has the solution: make them tiny!  Tim is a pro when it comes to small-scale Star Wars building, and those skills are evident here. Efficient parts choice is everything when it comes to microscale to ensure the builds remain recognisable. The minifigure socket wrenches are inspired choices for the side cannons, and the subtle angle of the pontoons is also accurate to the source material. The angular cockpit is represented by a single sloped brick with a jumper plate. These might be simple parts, but they are the perfect solution in this scenario!

Republic TX-130 Sabre tank