With an impish grin and a bottle of unknown potion, builder Matt Hew's "Potion Master's Hut," conjures images of a "simmering cauldron with its shimmering fumes," and "the delicate power of liquids that creep through human veins, bewitching the mind, ensnaring the senses." Either that or there's some crazy coot waiting on the other side of the door with no idea what's on page 394.
No, that's not lens distortion or some trick of the eye, this castle by Swan Dutchman is actually slightly angled outward. It's a subtle effect that had to make construction exceedingly difficult, which makes me love it even more. The temptation would be to emphasize the effect, since it was so difficult to accomplish, but Koen resisted that urge and the results are absolutely stunning.
It's always amazing to me when a builder simulates soft or unusual textures. The first impression you get when you see this figure by builder Djokson is "feathers", and clearly that was the intention. It's not until you really look close at the elements that make up this figure's costume that you can visually break it down, but even knowing that when you step back it's still feathers.
This peaceful temple with a charming landscape by rsmbricks depicts the daily labor that goes with maintaining an ancient temple. The use of vibrant reds and blues makes this relatively small scene very interesting and the roof has some intriguing techniques as well. But wait... Are those stickers! How could they!?! Calm down everyone, put your torches and pitchforks down. Stickers aren't always bad (most of the time). I personally think that the stickers create a layer of depth and detail that really brings this build together.
When I lived in London my commute took me through Chinatown every day, it was just a few blocks south of where I worked in Soho. One night, which just happened to be Chinese New Year, I rounded a corner just as the celebration started. My timing couldn't have been better, it went from normal London hustle bustle noise to sudden cacophony as drums started playing, fire crackers went off and the crowd cheered. And in the middle of it all, was a dragon, not unlike this outstanding depiction by builder Rhymes_Shelter. This was the first time I'd seen a legitimate dragon, and I was transfixed. I stopped dead in my tracks, the pressing need to get back to my tiny flat suddenly erased, and I watched.
I grew up in restaurants. My dad was a restauranteur and we had a few, he liked the process of starting them, but would get bored soon after and sell it to start a new one, some are still going today. When I looked at this brilliant interior vignette by builder MarcelV I was reminded of those mornings when the place was quiet, there was a bit of a mess from the night before and it was time to start the day. After a bit of clean up and kitchen prep, it would be time to open the doors once again, but for now it was quiet. It was a peaceful time, with wonderful smells, good stories and camaraderie.
I love seeing Bionicle and constraction parts used outside of character builds, in scenery. Wildlife is an uncommon treat with those parts, and the outlandish plants in Grayson's Extraterrestrial Garden are a lovely example. I wonder if the robot gardener has to water them, or oil them?
Builder Kingmarshy is getting a little ahead of himself since it's still Year of the Dog, but this entry for the Bio-Cup contest looks like a winner to me! I'm normally not a Bionicle fan, but this gluttonous creature, Zhu Bajie the Pig, and the fancy spread he's enjoying has a great blend of system parts, really bringing him to life. And even though Kingmarshy spent quite a bit of time on this awesome creation, he was actually ready to build something else in a half an hour.
I don't know what this robot's job is, based on his proportions I'm guessing picking up and moving large, heavy stuff. I mean, just look at the size of those hands, they're huge. It turns out that's where this MOC by m_o_n_k_e_y started, with his hands, and the rest took shape over time.
Why oh why can't we live in a world with beauties like this gracefully moving through the sky? This is the Bellonatus by builder Mark of Falworth, and it's gorgeous. But don't let it's lovely appearance fool you, it's also armed to the teeth with no fewer than 14 cannons and a fearsome bow ram. Beauty and beast in the same vessel.
I don't know the full extent of the plans for this whimsical city by builder Pate-keetongu, we featured another section three months ago. But if he keeps building, we'll keep blogging because it's absolutely jaw-dropping. It's like a combination of past and future design aesthetics, with a little Terry Gilliam mixed in. I want to watch the stories that unfold here.
I don't know what inspired it, I don't know the story behind it, and some quick google searches didn't help, so I'll just present it. Meet Buddha Robot by Moko, a surprisingly posable humanoid robot. Just based on the construction I wouldn't have guessed the range of motion of this mech (yeah, he's a mech, there's actually a figure inside!), but check out Moko's website for even more pics, this is only a glimpse.
The battle of Yavin, the climactic ending of Star Wars Episode IV A New Hope. It made my heart race as a child, it makes my heart go pitter patter as an adult (well, man child). So this MOC by Grantmasters was automatically gonna catch my eye, but throw in some kinetic action inspired by JK Brickworks and it's the total package, and I'm totally smitten.
As if being on a strange world lightyears from home wasn't disconcerting enough, now your team has come across this structure in the middle of the jungle. I'd give that about a 8/10 on the pucker scale. It might be easy to glance right over this MOC by Blufiji. From the thumbnail it is deceptively simple, but really look at that structure, it's futuristic and ancient at the same time. Look at the trees, familiar and totally alien all at once. There's a lot of subtlety going on here.
Every once in a while the inspiration for a build just slightly exceeds the bricks on hand. Most of the time this leads to delays and inevitable Bricklink orders. But that drive to get it done can also lead to creative workarounds. In the case of the walls of this lovely loft by Heksu, dark red was in short supply, but with a little out of the box thinking (and the use of jumpers, slopes and everything else that works) it got done. The results are impressive, and it's totally a place I'd like to hang out.
Generally we don't feature digital builds here on BrickNerd, but when they're as phenomenal as this one by Nicola Stocchi we'll make an exception. Behold the War Rig, driven by Furiosa in Fury Road and expertly recreated at minifig scale. This beast looks ready to conquer the wasteland, and thanks to exceptional lighting and rendering by Gabriele Zannotti, it's as beautiful as it is badass.
An interesting model by Boba-1980, but one that is rather fun and creative. The builder recreated the Battle of Crait, something we have probably seen plenty of times by now (and it hasn't even been a year yet!), but Boba-1980 make it in microfighter form. A condensed command shuttle, a smaller version of the base's turrets, and even a tiny First Order battering ram. What does that all create when combined? A fun model that I'm sure many kids could enjoy playing with.
Jan T. shares this incredible scene that takes place in a dystopian time. I feel like large, full scenes like this are not as common these days, and it appears that Jan agrees with that perspective. I'm really glad that he was able to create this awesome model that spares no detailing. Check out his other great builds on his Flickr!
Built for Brickworld Chicago 2018, Hacim Bricks made this awesome sci-fi city that is purely the definition of greebles, but greebling used to great and powerful effect. I was fortunate enough to see the very start of this build last year, but I never fully imagined how big or cool this would turn out once it was brought to completion by its builder! As to be expected with any creation like this, there are many small parts used in creative ways. What's your favorite use?!
Ben Cossy has reconstructed the ancient Sith temple that we see on Malachor from Star Wars Rebels! Arguably one of the best parts of the show, this temple looks incredible when recreated in LEGO form (especially when lit up, as pictured below)! The angling on the main structure, and accompanying columns, just adds so much depth to this structure that could be overlooked by the casual onlooker, but I would encourage you to take a closer to look to see all the added angles that Ben put in to make it a more complex model.
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