In October it was “Back to the Future Day”, the day irresponsible time travelers Marty McFly and Doc Brown caught up with the future. Now that we’ve reached and passed that time, we’re all a bit disappointed that we’re not scooting around on floating skateboards. What would be even better though, are these nifty little scooters from nobu_tary. The green one reminds us of the hovercars from Dragonball Z.
Nick Barrett proves it is possible to capture the lines of a Lamborghini Aventador beautifully with LEGO parts. His 1:10 scale replica includes working suspension and steering, a detailed interior and V12 engine covered by cleverly built glass panels.
I’ve been following the recent builds of Thomas of Tortuga with interest and expressing little yelps of delight whenever a new creation pops up. He’s embroiled in a Flickr-based LEGO wargame called Divide And Conquer which I’m not even going to pretend to understand. However, the creations he’s putting together to represent his fictional nation’s military are fantastic. I particularly liked these armored tractor tank things…
I must admit to a certain ambivalence about rendered LEGO creations – I generally like to see builders put bits of plastic together in the real world. And I’m a firm believer that restrictions on quantity and color drive creativity, pushing builders to develop new techniques. However, these vehicles are absolute class, and I figured I’d let the handful of “impossibly colored” parts slide this time. (Those are pieces which LEGO has never produced in that particular color. But digital parts, of course, can be any color.)
The rest of Thomas’ photostream is stuffed with similarly cool and slightly steampunk military creations – well worth checking out. I’m loving his series of naval vessels (especially this dreadnought), although again some of the “impossible part” use does make me twitchy.
I know some people say rendering isn’t “LEGO building” at all. I’m not sure I’d go that far, and builders like Thomas are making me pay more attention to rendered works. I reckon LEGO creativity shines through, regardless of medium. What do you think?
The Speeder Custom Body Shop Kitchen is getting busy as our Pimp Rey’s Speeder Contest picks up speed. We welcome all interpretations, but these two delicious builds got our taste buds watering.
First, straight from the freezer, is Koen’s ‘Ice Pop Speeder’. Koen was clearly concerned about Rey coping with the hot deserts of Jakku and pimped her a chilled ice pop complete with Ice Cream vendor… not sure how she will feel about him taking a quick bite first!
Next comes the ‘Hot Dog Speeder’ dished up by Jabberwokka. Hot dogs are always a tasty fast food, and this Hot Dog Speeder is served in a neat napkin with some condiments. Let’s see if he can mustard up the speed to ketchup with the other pimped Speeders!
Novvember, the annual month of starfighter building, continues apace. And here’s a belter of a build from Flavio. The golden cockpit is a nice touch, and the striping brings a 90s-era gaming glow to my heart – it’s very F-Zero or Wipeout. But it’s the level of detailing, particularly around the engines, which really makes this model for me.
Textured bricks break up the surfaces and add depth and intricacy, and along with the use of minifig accessories, like claws and ice skates, these touches make the model look much bigger than it really is. I’d like to swoosh this around the room making rocket thruster and pew-pew blaster noises.
Flavio’s Flickr photostream is a treasure trove of spaceships and cute little mechs. I might have found a new favourite builder…
The Aston Martin DB5 is famous for being the most recognised cinematic James Bond car, and builder Peter Blackert has released his latest creation, the DB5 Volante, from the garage just in time for the new Bond film.
The Aston Martin DB5 is a luxury grand tourer released in 1963, made by Aston Martin and designed by the Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera. The DB5 was first used as Bond’s car in Goldfinger in 1964 and was destroyed in Skyfall in 2012. I haven’t seen the new Bond film Spectre yet so I don’t know if Bond’s DB5 has recovered to make an appearance, though it is confirmed that Bond will drive a brand-new DB10 which was designed specifically for Agent 007 by Aston Martin.
At first sight Peter’s DB5 appears luxurious with chrome detailing, a soft tan leather interior and maroon bodywork. Look closely and you will see ingenious use of minifigure accessories such as ice-skates used as door handles and registration plate holder, or binoculars for the exhaust.
We’ve been featuring quite a few cars on The Brothers Brick lately; hot rods, mini hot rods, trucks and even… tire robots? Anyway, since so many great motors are being made, we want to show them off, and this Mercedes-Benz from nameless_member does the German car in excruciating detail. The model only gets better when you look inside and see a fully fleshed out interior, engine, and, yes, even the tools you need to fix the thing.
We’re less than a week into Novvember and already flickr is awash with vic vipers. David Roberts has started the event off strong with this stunning viper. It’s packed full of interesting details while still maintaining an overall clean appearance. But the real standout features of this build are the dramatic blue and yellow checkerboard-patterned tail and wings which evoke the art of Chris Foss. (If you’re unfamiliar with Foss’s work, check it out here for a some inspiration while you’re working on your own vic vipers this month.)
And if you, like myself, are new to Novvember be sure to read the late nnenn’s instructions on how to build the standard vic viper.
Spaceships, mechs and Akira-esque bikes are all very well and good, but sometimes simply recreating a real vehicle is a pleasure unto itself. Adam Glowacki has brought us trucks before, but this model of a Kenworth K108 is superb. Check out a picture of the real thing to see just how close this version gets. The only aspect really missing is shiny chrome. We miss the days of shiny bricks…
I’d like to personally apologize for the title.
Looking like the miniature twin of Devid VII’s hot rod, this nifty little road machine by Grantmasters proves that even a few pieces are enough. Look closely, and you can spy some unusual parts in play, namely a minifig book and bucket handles.
Devid VII’s photostream is a delight. There seems to be something for everyone in his catalogue: exo-suits, fun dioramas and even Japanese anime icons. Now he’s giving something to the gear heads with his newest hot rod called Hell Brown.
We don’t know if the brown on this is its actual colour or it’s flying the flag of rusty rat rods erywhere, but Devid has also produced two more hot rods in both yellow and grey. None of the them are just fragile models, though. All three can fit a full minifig inside, are playable and the motors are removable.
This 1915 Rolls-Royce 40/50 Silver Ghost was modified to carry the first Premier of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin. A magnificent example of artistry in auto-making to begin with, the heavy modifications turned this Silver Ghost into a terrifyingly capable machine perfectly suited for the far northern reaches and harsh winters of the Russian homeland. The model here by Karwik well captures that capability by placing it in a diorama climbing a snow-covered hill beneath a gnarled tree.
