Kickass Lego Custom Creations!

I'm kind of becoming obsessed with Lego over again. I say "again" because I had a lot of it as a kid (my first Lego was pre-minifig!) and then I sold it all. And then about ten years ago I got a couple of Star Wars sets. And then I sold it all. And then I got the giant Death Star, and I've recently picked up a couple of the newest sets. 

But what really amazes me are the custom creations that are being churned out and shared on Twitter. These guys must seriously be insane-genius engineers who think in five or six dimensions. I have no idea how you even begin to plan out models like these, nor how you would even start to gather up all the necessary pieces - IN ALL THE RIGHT COLOURS! My head is spinning right now. I am incredibly jealous that I have not developed this skill and am astounded that Lego is not yet a recognized course of study at University.

A few custom creators instantly spring to mind, starting with this recent piece by Iain Heath who is Ochre Jelly on Flickr...

In the immortal words of Ryan Reynold's Green Lantern. "I KNOOOWWW, RIIIGGHT??!" And it's not even just the fact that he has managed to create accurate, instantly recognisable models of the Adventure Time cast TO SCALE with each other, but just how brilliant is the diorama design in general? And how the hell is that rainbow unicorn thing staying up there?

Lots more after the jump!


Definitely check out his photostream as he has a ton of worthwhile stuff. Other favourites include this very jolly Totoro and friends:

And I also love this creepy ghost bastard from Spirited Away...

In his other galleries you'll also find characters from Kick Ass, Tron and plenty of other stuff.

I have so many unanswered questions when looking at these models. How long have these guys studied their craft? How many pieces do they own? Do they photograph it and then recycle it or keep it forever? I AM DEADLY SERIOUS HERE. You think of Lego as kid's stuff but this is some serious craft. And art. It's arts and crafts. It's a deadly skill. It's like those specialist guys who take years to manufacture the perfect sword that can cut a school bus into thin slices.

My favourite Lego builder, however, is probably Alex Schranz who goes by to Orion Pax on Flickr. He has a billion different things he's built and it was extremely difficult to narrow it down to just a couple of favourites. Every childhood franchise I've loved, he has pixelated into Lego.

I mean, seriously, check out this:

And if you look at the close-ups in his gallery you'll be enchanted and bewildered by just how detailed that to-scale Ecto-1 actually is.

And do you guys (and gals) remember M.A.S.K. about the guys that wore techno-masks and had vehicles with guns and blades and shit that popped out? (You know what I'm talking about - they were working over time. All the time. Fighting crime!). Well check out this transforming version of the good guy's base complete with transforming hero truck...

And speaking of transforming (smooth... real smooth...) he has recreated a ton of Transformer. Probably a literal ton now I think about it. My faves are dopey T-Rex Grimlock who - holy shit - actually transforms:

 And, of course, everybody's favourite, Optimus Prime...

 I mean how the hell do you figure something like this out? I don't even recognise half of the pieces! At first I was delighted and awed but now I am genuinely frightened and confused. This is enormous!

And an honourable mention to the honourable Tim Gould who goes by Gambort on Flickr. He hasn't spent as much time dipping his bucket into the great pop culture well, but you can see his original creations as well as these stunning versions of some old favourites.

Behold Robocop's nemesis, the indiscriminately shooting, mighty ED209!:

And I am charmed by this minifig scale diorama of Max Rebo's band (sadly minus Droopy McCool).

I am actually going to name my firstborn "Droopy McCool". Regardless of gender.

I posted these because I find them super exciting and I think I am going to dabble in the amazing universe of custom Lego creation myself. Please look out for my own misshapen, ridiculously simple customs in a coming update. And if I'm going to show mine then I'd love to see yours. And then maybe we can get back to focusing on the Lego.