As a Star Wars fan, I’m quite ashamed to say that I only recently learnt that TIE is actually an acronym of “Twin Ion Engine”. In my defense, there are some things that one never thinks to question. Nevertheless, I’ve always loved this standout spacecraft. And speaking of standouts, this version by Jussi Koskinen is one of the best I’ve seen.
It might seem odd that Singapore’s first electric supercaris named after a flower, but there’s actually a design-related reason. The Vanda Dendrobium has doors and a rooftop that unfurl upwards and backwards in sync like an orchid in bloom, and dendrobium is a type of orchid. Gerald Cacas has managed to capture the Vanda Dendrobium in LEGO, despite its edgy design and complex shaping.
I’ve always been a fan of the classics. When you see something great in a familiar shape, you know it’s a build with a lot of heart put into it, like this AT-AT or All Terrain Armoured Transport by tastenmann77. Standing at 18 inches in height and 100 percent grey, it’s a menacing reminder of the strength of the Imperial forces.
While resembling a dog in shape (and often parodied as such in pop culture), these machines were actually inspired by an extinct genus of hornless rhinoceros. I can’t imagine what will the minds at Lucasfilm will think of next—gorilla-inspired walkers? I hope not!
This holiday season Lasse Deleuran is making sure everyone gets a Coke when his Coca Cola truck makes its way around town. The highlight of the model is the mosaic on the trailer, which is masterfully built with plates and bricks stacked both vertically and horizontally. Remarkably the truck is also powered with a SBrick and can be driven around with remote control. Frosty!
The Ford Mustang GT350 lost its Mustang tag and was marketed simply as the Shelby GT350 for the 1966 production year. Ford struck a deal with the car rental company, Hertz Corporation, to offer about 1,000 GT350s for rental and afterwards these cars were returned to Ford, refurbished, and sold to the public as GT350-H models. Most ex-Hertz cars were black with gold Le Mans stripes and rocker panel stripes, just like this phenomenal LEGO version built by Paweł Kmieć.
Paweł Kmieć’s LEGO version is not just about looks, it has functional doors, bonnet and boot (aka trunk for you US chaps) but that’s not all…
Large spaceships are a staple of LEGO building, mostly in the fan community’s theme month of “SHIPtember” (September), which is a celebration of spaceships measuring 100 or more studs in length. Why am I mentioning this now, nearly three months after the 2017 SHIPtember project is over? The builder of the featured spaceship, Lisqr seems to be a little late to the party with his “Galactic Destroyer”, which is his first SHIP and was intended to be finished a couple months ago. Whatever the reason for the delay, I say it was worth the wait.
There are many more and less subtle angles throughout the spaceship, cleanly transitioning one into another. Flat surfaces are broken up by splashes of texture and large gray areas accented by vibrant orange lines and details. What I love about this creation so much is that there is almost no redundancy – every part has its place and adding anything would detract from the model rather than improve it.
Nothing says good old American muscle like an eye-popping color finished with some matte black stripes draped over an aggressive stance. This incredible 1971 Dodge Challenger R/T by Dave Slater is loaded with the goods, featuring a full interior and engine.
Click here to see more of the Dodge Challenger
South African builder Wayne de Beer made the rounds a few months back with hisTallneck build from Horizon Zero Dawn that he graciously released with instructions to build your own. Now he’s doing the same with his own microscale version of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier featured in a few of the Marvel movies. It uses less than a hundred pieces and can be made with regular pieces alone, or improved with a few printed pieces and stickers.
Check out the step-by-step instructions for this tiny SHIELD Helicarrier
If you’re in a hurry to get your Christmas tree, then a hot rod flat-bed makes for the fastest delivery. Sanel Lukovic‘s snowy scene shows a LEGO woodsman making use of a somewhat unconventional vehicle for fetching his festive fir. The trees themselves are nicely composed from flower stalk parts, and the snowdrifts to either side of the road create a sense of a larger snow-dusted world beyond the irregular edges of the diorama. But it’s the truck’s engine which steals the show: a smart construction full of imaginative parts use — crutches, pirate hooks, and welding equipment are amongst the silvery pieces used to create the engine’s pipework.
Public transportation has never looked as cool as this tram by Vince Toulouse, who has put a ton of design consideration into this multi-story vehicle. There are some very cool details built using a number of distinct LEGO System, DUPLO, and Fabuland components in yellow.
See more details of this sci-fi tram below
There must be something about Jurassic Park that LEGO fans are fond of, because there seems to be a never-ending stream of cool Jurassic Park builds. We’ve certainly covered quite a few of those neat Jurassic Park LEGO builds on The Brothers Brick in the past. This time around, it’s a super-sleek Jeep Wrangler from Jurassic Park built by hachiroku24. The scale of this build closely mirrors that of the vehicles that appear in various LEGO sets, however this Jeep is much more intricate than most sets.
Perhaps you want to build your own version of this Jeep? Fortunately, the builder has been kind enough to create a wonderful instructions video and post it on YouTube for us all to enjoy. And build.
There’s nothing as great as turning your wheels off the asphalt, finding a high trail that’s little more than a path, and then driving all the way to the peak for a breathtaking view. This incredible LEGO Jeep Rubicon by Scott is so perfect it leaves me yearning for some true offroading and alpine adventure. One of the most complex models I’ve seen in a long time, this RC offroader features insane details like functioning door locks and a working glove box, plus it’s loaded to the gills with trail gear.
Check out a video of this Jeep in action below, along with more pictures. Continue reading