Tag Archives: The Last of Us

Check for cordyceps with this LEGO FEDRA scanner from The Last of Us

Like many, I’ve been glued to my TV every Sunday night to watch the next episode of The Last of Us, a show (based on a popular video game series) that supposes a world overrun with fungally-infected zombies. The remaining shreds of the US government, known as FEDRA, rely on handheld scanners to check citizens for potential infection of the mind-manipulating cordyceps fungus. And Julie vanderMeulen gives us one of those very scanners in LEGO form. Her construction has some wonderful clean lines, masterfully utilizing curved and straight slopes to give the device the proper shape. I love the simplicity of the trans-green screen, indicating an uninfected individual. The grid pattern made by the transparent 1×2 bricks replicating the lines of lights on the scanner from the show. But the perfect touch is her use of the gear at the top of the box, adding just a bit of technological texture to an otherwise sleek design.

FEDRA scanner

To the edge of the universe and back. Endure and survive.

While it’s always going to be hard to top the massive 20,000-brick diorama of The Last of Us by Tim Schwalfenberg that we featured earlier this year, the post-apocalyptic video game is so full of atmosphere that I’m glad to see other LEGO builders tackle the haunting game. Christophe captures the protagonists as they approach a dilapidated building. Foliage cascades from an upper floor, with broken glass hanging from windows. My favorite detail is the air conditioning unit on the second floor.

The Last of Us

I do wonder what kind of interior Christophe has included in his build, because one of the only shots other than the one above is of Ellie’s guitar sitting silent in an empty room.

The Last of Us

Massive LEGO diorama of The Last of Us built from 20,000 bricks is a thing of haunting beauty

If you haven’t heard of The Last of Us, it’s a third-person action-adventure survival horror game set twenty years after a plague decimated civilization. Tim Schwalfenberg has captured the tone of the game perfectly with this tribute, including anti-hero smuggler Joel, as he escorts teenager Ellie through the post-apocalyptic United States.

The Last of Us

Tim worked on the build for around a month, putting in well over 100 hours, He estimates he used around 20,000 bricks (although I think it may be more). Measuring 3.5 by 2 feet (100cm x 60 cm) and featuring custom 3D printed bricks this masterpiece is a thing of decrepit beauty.

See more photos of this beautifully haunting build