While the month-long informal building event known as Ma.Ktober that happens every October may be over, The Maschinen Krieger movement that is the inspiration never really stops. For those not familiar with the phenomenon, it started in the early 1980’s as a sci-fi series in a Japanese hobby magazine, and the creators, using off the shelf model kits for airplanes, tanks, and other vehicles, created surreal combinations of armored hard suits and vehicles with strong alien and insect-like aspects. Two-legged walkers like this creation by Marco Marozzi are a popular subject as well. The tall spindly legs have a very industrial feel, complete with pistons to drive each footstep deep into the rubble covered ground. Multiple sensors and ominous canisters cover the head and body of this drone as it seeks out its prey, and that belly mounted contraption looks like it could ruin your day. The post Walk softly and...

Following up on his lovely micro version of the LEGO Pirates Skull Island set, Letranger Absurde (aka Vitroleum, aka Pacurar Andrei) is at it again. Here’s his take on 6278 Enchanted Island — and it’s a cracker. The landscaping is perfect, with tan curved and wedge plates peeking from beneath the green to suggest the curve of the beach. The textured rock parts are used well, the palm trees are excellent, and the red canoe is a nice touch. But the star of the show has to be that central rope bridge constructed from bucket handles. Lovely. The post An enchanting destination for tiny pirates appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Rod

Last month Palixa and the Bricks brought us a fantastic take on Futurama’s supporting cast in the BrickHeadz style. This time around, again working with her husband, she’s completed a second wave of models, depicting the TV show’s main cast in the same exquisite fashion. As before they expertly marry Matt Groening’s graphic style with the LEGO BrickHeadz formula. I particularly enjoy the way Professor Farnsworth’s unique cranium has been modelled, and its use of inset 1×1 tan cheese slopes for ears. Leela’s purple hair is magnificently coiffured too; and small details like the misaligned 2×1 white tiles on her vest, which suggest her chest, help define the model. The post Futurama BrickHeadz: Bender is great appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: David Alexander Smith

Post-Apocalypse or “ApocaLEGO” is a LEGO building theme which can see more dull brown and grey creations than the most boilerplate of steampunk. Here’s a glorious exception to the rule by Rat Dude: an imaginative take on the genre which sees enterprising survivors build a moveable dwelling out of transport containers and a truck — like some mobile version of the stacks from Ready Player One. Revelling in its central idea, this model is gloriously detailed, festooned with every likely requirement of the wasteland warrior catered for — solar power, fresh water, air con, a vegetable garden, and even an outhouse for the effective disposal of waste! This thing is well worth a closer look, and the builder has provided some imagery of various angles. Great attention to detail on the model — just look at all the little touches that have been crammed into it. This layer upon layer of...

We’ve featured custom LEGO kits by Brickmania many times over the years, but Dan Siskind‘s small business has grown considerably since the last time we reviewed one of the company’s kits. Most notably, Dan himself is no longer the sole or even primary designer — great LEGO builders like Cody Osell now contribute many of the custom designs to the company’s products. While Dan is best known for tanks, Cody has designed most of Brickmania’s airplane models, including the F-4C Phantom II we’ll be reviewing today. The packaging, instructions, and sticker sheet Small-batch custom LEGO kits do not, of course, come in the same kind of mass-produced packaging as official LEGO kits. Most Brickmania kits come in folded cardboard boxes with the custom kit’s details printed on the front and back, and unnumbered bags with the parts. This custom kit follows the standard Brickmania pattern, with unnumbered bags on top of...