Tag Archives: Tim Goddard

Talking Iron Builder with LEGO space legend Tim Goddard [Feature]

The most recent Iron Builder competition just came to an end, providing the LEGO community with some truly excellent creations fueled by the creativity of two amazing AFOL talents: Tim Goddard and Bousker. For those who are not familiar with Iron Builder, it is a competition that puts two builders directly against each other in a two-week contest of creating models that incorporate a specific LEGO piece. In this instance, the Airplane Door in White. Fresh off an amazing run of 7 stellar creations, we sat down with Tim about his thoughts on competing for the Iron Builder crown.

Read TBB’s interview with Tim below!

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This LEGO heavy viper droid may be small but he packs a punch

The Imperial probe droid floating up above the snow drift in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back with its long limbs unfolding like a nightmare spider was terrifying enough, but this microscale model by Tim Goddard of the heavy viper droid seen in Solo: A Star Wars Story took that fright to a new level. Armed with more firepower and more armor, these droids really put a damper on the plans of our heroes, Han Solo and Chewbacca. The details on this tiny nightmare capture the sense of menace quite well.

May the 4th – TBB’s Top Ten LEGO X-Wing MOCs [Feature]

In celebration of May the 4th, we’ve scoured our ~~Jedi~~ archives to appreciate the hundreds of Star Wars fan models featured on this site over the years. On the cusp of our 20th anniversary, those archives run deep. (You heard that right. If the Battle of Yavin was happening right now, The Brothers Brick would have been founded right around the time Senator Palpatine was kidnapped by General Grievous!) There is one Star Wars vehicle that has been recreated and shared by adult fans of LEGO more than any other – the X-Wing Fighter. Just as each Jedi must construct their own lightsaber, creating an original X-Wing design is almost like a rite of passage for builders. Here are 10 of our favorite designs from builders who regular readers of the site will definitely recognize. We even have free instructions for the model featured in the cover.

Cut the chatter, Red two. Let’s see those X-Wings!

Duel of the Fates: Tim Goddard and Bousker face off in latest Iron Builder battle

The Iron Builder competition pits two creators from the LEGO community against each other to make amazing models that must incorporate a surprise “seed part.” Like in the show Iron Chef, creators are judged both on their overall creativity and on how they showcase the signature “ingredient.” For Season 7 round 5, which starts this week, the contenders for the Iron Builder crown are Bousker and Tim Goddard. The seed part is Airplane Door in White, a tricky part indeed.

Tim is a TBB legend whose stellar Star Wars creations have made him one of our most featured builders for well over a decade (not that we’re taking sides!). The first builder to create a model, Tim kicks off the competition with a sporty little spacecraft that wouldn’t seem out of place in the expanded Star Wars universe, with the seed part used four times to house the engines.

Bousker is also a Star Wars builder and has been quite active in LEGO competitions in recent years, continually impressing us with innovative parts usage and incredible use of perspective and immerisve photography. Bousker steps into the game with a perfectly staged shoe store scene that features at least 30 uses of the door by my count. There are so many clever techniques on display, from high heels and sandles where the seed piece makes up the majority of the model, to the ingenious pair of Converse All Stars with the doors sunken into the brown shelf so that only a strip appears for the rubber sole.

We’ll be back to cover the results of this latest battle, but for now be sure to follow the Iron Builders instagram to see the builds as they come in, complete with the playful and pun-filled trash-talking that the event is known for.

Dark Side? Light Side? Take a walk on the Wild Side of Star Wars [Minifig Monday]

Star Wars canon is packed with bizarre aliens and over-the-top villains, but sometimes the franchise plays it a little too safe. For today’s Minifig Monday we’re highlighting original Star Wars characters that take risks, push boundaries, or even get a bit silly. Which in a universe with characters like Elan Sleazebagano and Therm Scissorpunch is saying something!

Our first set of characters comes from Tylar, whose Islamic astronomy tower wowed us last year. Tylar re-imagines the Geonosians from Attack of the Clones as masters of pre-historic Earth, armed with bronze age weaponry and even taming dinosaur mounts. Killmonger‘s mask from Black Panther fits perfectly with the aesthetic of this remixed faction. Minifigs aside, Tylar poses his characters on some truly epic brick-built sand dunes.

Sticking to the prequel era, here we see Padme and General Grievous in fine fantasy form courtesy of Expansion Bricks. I’m getting strong Ray Harryhausen vibes here with the living skeleton and Padme’s swashbuckling accessories. Grievous’ large golden sword is an impressive little sub-build on its own.

Read on for more weird and wonderful sustom Star Wars minifigs

Tiny living in a big galaxy

Most Star Wars LEGO builders focus on battles, starfighters, and Jedi adventures, but not Tim Goddard of late. These days the builder has been exploring civilian life in the Mid-Rim worlds, especially the day-to-day of apprentice sub-technician (junior grade) Jostoc, seen here with the tiny shuttle he converted for mobile living. After nearly two decades of building and sharing Star Wars vehicles, Tim has developed a personal style that is unmistakeably part of that universe while also distinctly “Rogue Bantha.” The shuttle looks so cozy in white with dark green accents, with a touch of weathering to show that it’s well lived-in. This compact, modular design reminds me of the Mini-Rigs that Kenner released after Return of the Jedi when they ran out of official vehicles and needed some more affordable toy options. (I had a few and loved them!)

Tim’s technician has picked up a pair of droid companions on the job, one of which you might recognize as a companion to the droids Jostoc wrangled at work in a build that we featured last year. The speeder design is brilliant, using just a dozen parts, including a pair of perfectly employed boomerangs. Inside we get a glimpse of Jostoc’s kitchenette and/or workbench. I’m sure the roving technician has a system for what goes where to so as not to confuse the two!

UPDATE: Tim previewed the shuttle as two independent modules, but now you can see Jostoc’s full cozy home.

See pics of the two modules together!

One last engine test at the Shipwright Academy

Few LEGO builders can deliver a sci-fi scene as well as the infamous Tim Goddard. And he delivers yet again in this beautiful scene set in the Star Wars universe. On a landing platform set out on the water, we spy a Shipwright-in-training testing out their new engine designed for propulsion in the air or water. With the crew observing an Emberfeather Crane, a sign of good luck on this final test flight. With so much detail in the scene, I think my favorite inclusion is the return of one of Tim’s builds from last year, standing tall in the background.

A pirate’s life for SM-33

Star Wars: Skeleton Crew just aired its final chapter, bringing to a close one of the most consistently fun adventures to come from a galaxy far, far away. While LEGO supported the show with one deluxe set, 75374 The Onyx Cinder, it has one major omission – there’s no SM-33! The scene-stealing droid with a space rodent living in its empty eye socket might not remember no At-Attin, but he’s loyal to his cap’n. Tim Goddard remedies this omission with a pop-eyed droid that perfectly captures SM-33’s hunch and swagger. A minifig pen works great as a peg leg, and the sliced rubber eyes are brilliant.

SM-33 is another treasure from the master of LEGO droids, like this Imperial medley. Why not delve into our Tim Goddard archives and see why he’s one of our favorite Star Wars LEGO builders in this or any galaxy.

These (probably) are the droids you’re looking for

Here’s a quick LEGO Star Wars vignette that features neat build techniques and super original droid designs. Tim Goddard tells us that the low-ranking Jostoc has been tasked with climbing into the underbelly of some ship somewhere to catalog the wild and weird droids that have been occupying that space unsupervised and unhinged for some time now. Sounds like the start of a good sci-fi/horror adventure!

Rebellions are built in teal

How can a scrappy Rebellion possibly stand up against an Empire with massive fleets of grey, dark grey, sometimes black, but mostly grey ships? By using the one thing the Empire, in all of their power, could never imagine bringing to battle: teal. Teal, the color of hope, beloved by LEGO fans across the galaxy (except of course for designer Mark Stafford)! A band of rebels in the LEGO community have been slowly expanding on the Teal Squadron theme, and the latest addition is this brilliantly-shaped Teal Tower from Tim Goddard. As Tim explains, Rebels often repurpose existing buildings for their bases, and this tower’s weathered exterior certainly suggests a long history, with just small details to let the crafty Rebels lie low. Dark orange weathering looks great amongst the white masonry, and perfectly contrasts with the vital teal. The greebling (or sci-fi texturing) along the sides, rooftop antennae, and the decidedly low-tech awning perfectly capture the Star Wars aesthetic. And Tim’s teal-accented droidekas are maybe the best minifig scale versions of the droids I’ve seen.

For more teal-infused Star Wars creations, Mansur Soeleman’s Cerulean Phoenix, Alec Hole’s Capital E-Wing, Inthert’s Teal-4 Skylark, and Wami Delthorn’s Cobalt Thorn.

Relive the adventure of Jedi: Fallen Order with a LEGO Stinger Mantis

The Stinger Mantis is the iconic hero ship and base of Cal Kestis and his NPC companions during his adventures in the Jedi: Survivor and Fallen Order games. This fantastic piece of Star Wars design is recreated in high LEGO detail in this model by Tim Goddard. Tim has spared no expense, and pushed LEGO’s clutch power to achieve the outstanding greebling (or scientific texturing, if you will) on the ship’s vertical fin. I love the details on the outboard engine; the front of the engine is a white life preserver, while the rear nozzle features a ring of clip-and-tube-holders.

Check out more views of this cool LEGO Star Wars model

This AT-TE does whatever a spider can

How’s this for a classic Star Wars moment captured in LEGO diorama form? It’s 2008, and you’re watching The Clone Wars, surely the last Star Wars movie you’ll ever see in theaters (haha, right?) when suddenly, a normal-looking All-Terran Tactical Enforcer starts climbing a frickin’ purple cliff like some sort of fat metal spider. Tim Goddard uses unevenly layered sloped bricks and tiles laid out in SNOT (studs not on top) fashion to achieve the irregular surface of the cliff. The AT-TE looks great in midi-scale—all the way down to the tiny clone trooper sitting at the turret.