It may not be advanced, but this Twin Ion Engine fighter (aka TIE fighter) by Tim Goddard is quite stunning. It looks fragile and tough all at the same time. There’s a lot of detail packed into this simple little build. Those lipstick laser cannons are genius, and the SNOT wings are masterfully constructed using hinges, plates, slopes, bars, and even robot hands.
How do you take something cute and turn it into a road rally monster? That’s exactly what Firas Abu-Jaber challenged himself to do, and he pulls it off by making something already good look even better. Firas has applied his formidable LEGO car sculpting skills to transforming the beloved 60’s era 10252 Volkswagen Beetle into a 2017 model Beetle with a highly modified GRC (Global Rallycross) body kit. Using 80% of the parts from the original set, Firas has recreated that distintive sports look, with finishing touches thanks to the wheels of the 8143 Ferarri.
Not only has Firas captured the sleek lines of this modified 21st century bug, but he’s nailed the interior as well, and even packed his version with all the optional extras…
Click here to see more photos of this creation
LEGO makes a wide variety of minifig-scale motorcycles, including a dirtbike, a large police-style bike, and even a pretty nifty Duplo motorcycle. These vehicles are nice, but it’s always refreshing when builders create their own unique vehicles instead. And that’s exactly what BenFifteenTheChicken did with these amazing superhero motorbikes.
Ben’s motorcycles look small enough to be made from a single LEGO mold, but look closely. Each of these bikes are built out of tons of tiny pieces like minifig hands, weapons, and headlight bricks.
I love that Ben built different bikes for Wolverine, the Punisher, Ghost Rider, and (everyone’s favorite) Deadpool. Each of these bikes have their own unique style and closely relate to the comic book character’s style and personality.
Bigger isn’t always better, and this micro machine by František Hajdekr is living proof. I’m always impressed with the amount of detail builders are able get into builds at this scale. The inverted 1×2 plate on the side looks just like grill on the real thing. Follow this simple instructions video and this miniature bulldozer could be clearing away small piles of rubble on your desk too.
When you’ve got a big farm, you need a big tractor. Taking a break from his usual WWII tanks, Nick presents us with his model of a Case IH STX 530 Quad Trac, one of the most capable workhorses in the industry.
If the quad tracks are any clue, this is one serious farm implement (and not cheap either – a used one will run over $150,000 USD). The cabin, track system and color blocking are well done here. The chemical tank mounted up front is a nice touch as well. They say money can’t buy you happiness. But it can buy you a Case IH Tractor, and I’ve never seen a sad person driving a Case IH.
A freewheeler is a three-wheeler motorised trike, typically with a large engine capacity. Ian Ying‘s creation of this road beast was inspired by a Honda Boom Trike Shadow 750, for you bike lovers out there. It took Ian around 20 hours spread over 3 days to build this lean mean machine. Considering Ian only got into the world of LEGO a year ago, the results are astounding.
Some creations are not so much a matter of inspiration, as they are passion. Ian built this from scratch with a vision in his mind and elements strewn across his desk. Being a rider himself you can see the amount of detail going into the body to give it a sense of bulk and weight. One of his tricks was to use more non-Technic parts to create a better sense of realism.
Sharp-eyed readers might also have spotted that those rear tires are the ones that appeared in the 2014 set 76023 Batman Tumbler, and more recently in the new 42050 Drag Racer. It looks these huge tyres are giving our creative folks out there more to explore with!
I hadn’t heard of Leon Schiffer as far as I can remember, but will surely pay attention to his work from now on. The builder does not provide any information on himself or his models, but the two motorbikes he has created so far are just perfect! There is a lot of nice part usage like the old tire pieces and cut tubes. The colour choices are great, with nice splashes of vivid colours and just enough metallic detailing to look realistic (although if it was more readily available, chrome would be a better choice).
First off is the Bobber, using great colour splashes with orange and brown, with the exhaust pipe being my favourite detail:
Secondly there is the Café Racer, which uses a blue minifig “container D-basket” piece as the gas tank:
Years ago I too made some bikes, and looking at Leon’s builds now, I’m feeling the itch to build again.
As 2016 comes to an end, we wanted to take a moment and look at some of the most popular news posts this year. What theme made the most appearances on our list? Who took the number one spot? Where does 10255 Assembly Square fall on our list? Read on to find out!
Click through to read the rest of our countdown!
Ford fans will love Luke C‘s baby blue ’64 Country Sedan station wagon sporting hand-painted whitewall tires and roof rack with surfboard. I like how Luke has used the light grey and white pieces to create the reflection of the silver stripe down the side of the car, plus the offset grilled pieces sitting at an angle to recreate the recognizable front grill.
This sleek design also features functioning steering, doors, tailgate, glove box and of course working hood with detailed engine bay.
Chris Madison has put together a superb LEGO Viper — the classic Mark II from Battlestar Galactica. Don’t let initial appearances fool you — this model is enormous, over 100 studs long and weighing 10 kilos!
See more photos of this LEGO Colonial Viper
The end of December is a time when people reflect on the year just passed. And if your year wasn’t as fruitful as you expected it to be, don’t be upset — you simply need to upgrade you harvesting machinery. Just have a look at what Michał Skorupka has recently added to his service yard. This LEGO CLAAS Lexion 760 is capable of anything the original is. What makes this 4500-bricks monster stand out from other scale replicas is its mind-blowing innards: 13 LEGO motors are responsible for almost a dozen remotely controlled functions.
The video below contains a detailed review of the vehicle, while more pictures can be found in the Michał’s Flickr stream.
Getting the beautiful curves for the Porsche Carrera accurate with LEGO bricks seems like an impossible task, but Senator Chinchilla has accomplished it with their stunning 2016 series. The builder has bravely chosen to sculpt in black, one of the more complicated of colors to photograph. Although in this case, it helps illustrate the serious brickwork and intricate construction that has gone in to the creation of the Carrera’s fine lines and shapely panels.
The builder has also included a fully detailed stylish interior featuring bucket seats, air vents, gear stick and working glove compartment. This stunning machine looks like it could be Gone in Brixty Seconds.
