All products in NZ dollars

one brick at a time.

Discover the magic in the madness.

Shop Now

i saved the world again today. it was off the chain.

i saved the world again today. it was off the chain.

About Jonathan

LEGO was always Jonathan's favourite toy growing up in Middle Zealand, until around the age of 16 when he was told he was too old for toys. 16 years of Dark Ages later he decided you are never too old for toys and became hooked again with 7477 T-1 Typhoon vs. T-Rex and has since amassed over a hundred thousand bricks to facilitate his MOC building obsession. Jonathan runs a small IT business from home with his wife and three young boys under 5 (who are allowed to play with Daddy's LEGO when they can learn to stop putting it in their mouths!). When not working or spending time with family Jonathan is usually sorting LEGO.

Posts by Jonathan

UCS-scale LEGO replica of a colonial Viper Mk II from Battlestar Galactica

I’m sure most of you have seen or at least heard of Battlestar Galactica, the series created in the late seventies and re-imagined in the early 2000s as a three episode mini-series followed by a six-year stint on television. David Duperron is clearly a huge fan, creating a UCS scale LEGO version of the Colonial Viper MkII, the famous fighting vehicle that made short work of the Cylons during the Cylon War.

LEGO Colonial Viper MkII

David’s LEGO version of the iconic Colonial Viper MkII from the early 2000s Battlestar Galactica reboot series features a cockpit that opens and full interior.

Continue reading

Quarter of a million brick LEGO McLaren 720S goes from zero to ABS in 2000 hours

Founded in the nineteen-sixties by Kiwi racecar designer, driver, engineer, inventor and all-around legend Bruce McLaren, the McLaren company is one of the most successful in Formula One championship history, winning a total of 8 constructors’ world championships and 12 drivers’ world championships. This year, McLaren released their latest car in the Super Series lineup, the gorgeous 720S, and this incredible LEGO replica is the centerpiece of McLaren’s stand at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Built by the team at Bright Bricks, the model comprises a staggering 280,000 bricks and took a team of six builders over 2000 hours.
McLaren 720S by Bright Bricks

The real car is powered by a 4.0 twin turbo V8 and can go from 0-60 mph in a mere 2.8 seconds and up to 124 mph in 7.8 seconds, with a top speed of 212 mph! However, the 1:1 scale model arrived at the Goodwood stand a bit more slowly, as festival visitors will help complete the model. They will need to place orange McLaren bricks in designated parts of the car, with the 720S reaching completion at the end of the Festival of Speed.

McLaren 720S by Bright Bricks

Duncan Titmarsh, the UK’s only LEGO Certified Professional and part of Bright Bricks, led the 720S build. The LEGO version weighs approximately 200kg more than the actual 720S, coming in at around 1.6 tonnes (1.8 US tons). The build features real wheels and a steel base but is otherwise almost entirely made of LEGO, including the brake pads, windscreen wipers, and windscreen. Some additional details like the badge and license plate have been provided by McLaren to finish the build nicely.McLaren 720S by Bright Bricks

The LEGO 720s will go on tour to other marketing events once it has been finished, so you may get a chance to see it in person.

Only some secrets are well-kept on Coruscant.

The beautiful XB-5 Speeder looks like it could appear on the cover of a copy of “What’s my Speeder?” magazine in any doctor’s waiting room in Coruscant. At first glance, it almost looks like a beautiful render, but rest assured Ordo (Fabian B.) has sculpted this Narglatch AirTech-produced speeder out of genuine ABS. A bit bulkier and heavier than a racing model, it is meant for folks wanting a bit more comfort while flying across the city-planet’s skyline. The fantastic azure blues accent the dark grey well. With seats made from Batha-leather, controls designed by the finest artists of Naboo and state of the art holographic displays – this high-class speeder must be worth a small fortune.

XB-5 Airspeeder

My imagination is a monastery and I am its monk

Here is another beautiful build made for the Guilds of Historica by the always amazing John Snyder. His Katoren Monastery was built “just for fun to mess around with the dark blue / white color scheme”. The rock formation is very organic and the flora accents it beautifully. I love the angled cobbled path, patchwork rock walls, and the staging and design of the minifigs.

Katoren Monastery

As well as another angle of the build showcasing the wonderful interiors and cheese slope mosaic walls, John has also included a little back story: “Located on the Eastern outskirts of Katoren, this monastery survived the Kaliphlin civil war better than most. A natural spring was the reason for the monastery’s location, and the spring continues to provide fresh water for all the inhabitants, as well as make the surrounding area very lush compared to much of the Kaliphlin landscape.”

Katoren Monastery

African architecture in Age of Empires II

You may recall Andrew JN‘s previously featured Middle Eastern vignette or his working trebuchet from earlier this year. Andrew has done it again with this beautiful Al-Khahr, inspired by John Snyder and largely based on the African architectural style house from the newly released expansion for Age of Empires II.

Al-Khahr

This build has so many colorful details that leap out of the picture: the reds of the awning, the blue ostrich egg, and the lime green creepers by the front door. I love the palm tree with older dying branches hanging under the newer lime green canopy – and a monkey! But my favorite detail of all is the camel who appears to be giving his master a rather stubborn look!

Beware the Denizens of the Underdark

You may recognize the style of David Zambito‘s work as we have featured his awesome bear-faced giant and Bilbo’s encounter with Smaug. This time he as presented us with Traversing The Underdark. For those unfamiliar with Dungeons and Dragons, the Underdark is “a vast subterranean realm inhabited by sinister creatures. It is a place where few humans go and from where even fewer return.”

Traversing The Underdark

David has captured the airy otherworldliness with stalactites, stalagmites, suitably creepy blackened water, and fantastic flora and fungi — I love the hair pieces as spooky tendrils on the larger mushrooms and the subtle streaks of rusty color accenting the rocks throughout. I would wish the adventurers a safe journey, although I have my doubts they will receive one.

I’m not locked in here with you, you’re locked in here with me!

If you haven’t heard of Watchmen by Alan Moore, artist Dave Gibbons, and colorist John Higgins, find yourself a copy of the comic or watch the 2009 movie by director Zac Snyder. Inspired by a favorite comic book (Rorschach’s Journal. October 12th, 1985), Brick Brickolson has captured the shifting ink blots of Walter Kovacs’ alter ego. I love that Brick has included the Comedian’s smiley badge complete with the smear of blood in the lower left corner. A fantastic replication of one of the world’s most polarised anti-heroes.

Watchmen #1: Rorschach

There’s life on Mars after all

If Arsia Prime looks as good in real life as it does in the pictures, sign me up! Just like The Martian, everything about this off-world arboretum is fantastically realistic. The terrain is gorgeous, offering a stunning variety of layering, subtly blended colors, and unique rock formations. Builder Ryan Howerter describes this simply as “a relatively near-future colony on Mars.” With the daily advances of space travel, these words may not be too far from the truth.

Arsia Prime

Continue reading

I saved the world again today. It was off the chain.

Black & white. All important photos are taken in black & white. And atmosphere. Edgy, rainy atmosphere that would make small children and adults nervous. And lighting. Really subtle and aesthetically pleasing lighting.

This portrait of Bruce Wayne by legomeee would certainly get LEGO Batman’s brooding stamp of approval for appropriate tone. I’m not sure what he is looking at, but that umbrella is macho. I dig it.

Bruce Wayne?

Now, get yourself ready, for some inspiration. If you want to make the world a better place, Take a look at yourself and make a change. Hooo! –  Batman.

Give me a home where the tiny buffalo roam

Isn’t it marvellous what builders are able to come up with using literally handfuls of LEGO bricks? We’ve featured Grantmasters microscale slight of hand before. Looking at this elegant build, it’s possible to imagine fields of these thirsty beasts thundering the Great Plains in vast numbers. I’ll leave you with these inspirational words from a Buffalo: Stand your ground. Have a tough hide. Keep moving on. Cherish wide open spaces. Have a strong spirit. Roam wild and free. Let the chips fall where they may!

Buffalo

Transformer assembly line

You may remember Alex Jones‘ amazing LEGO Transformers that we featured in action recently. Now Alex has teamed up with builder Joachim Klang to create a book called Tips for Kids: Transformers: Cool Projects for your LEGO Bricks. In this preview for the book, which is scheduled for release in July, we see a Medi-bot repairing one of the Autobots with help from Teletraan I, the semi-sentient computer that runs the Autobots’ spaceship and base of operations, the Ark.

TELETRAAN I

Much like his other builds, the attention to detail here is magnificent. A fantastic creation enhanced with creative lighting and a little Photoshop editing around that pink holobrick. All these ingredients help to bring the robots in disguise to life in LEGO form. If you want to see more of these wonderful images, good news: the book will have over 200 pages, and is available for pre-order right now.

Let’s light this candle

Master of the mechanized build Jason Allemann does it again, this time taking the new LEGO Ideas set 21309 NASA Apollo Saturn V and incorporating lights and sounds using the PFx Brick, as well giving it a custom launch pad.

Jason’s other ingenious creations include an ever-toiling sculpture of Sisyphus, and the LEGO Ideas set 21305 Maze, which we interviewed him about last year.

Index Previous Next