The Final Fantasy video game franchise has been going strong for over thirty years, but of its many incarnations, the 1997 Playstation release of Final Fantasy VII continues to hold a special place in my heart. TBB regular Moko has reignited my nostalgia with a beautiful rendering of the game’s protagonist, Cloud Strife. What really makes this version of Cloud unique is Moko’s commitment to remaining faithful to the original in-game character design. Like his 32-bit counterpart, brick-built Cloud is a little blocky and rough around the edges but full of brilliant charm. I love that the figure is fully poseable, and Moko did an excellent job of capturing the character’s iconic golden, spiky hair. It would be great to see the game’s other characters recreated in this style. The post This brick-built Final Fantasy character takes it to the “limit break.” appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Matt...

There have been many entries in the continuing Isles of Aura saga, a series of floating islands creations, but I wanted to spend some time touring Isaac and John Snyder’s latest effort: the Town of Khevroa. We’ve previously featured models from the Isles after the concept’s genesis as Models Inspired by Music and later with Brother Stevens’ Sunset Slumber among others. However, this latest scene has some great examples of packing a lot of detail and building variety into one small town. The builders have thought of everything — the frosty village includes quite a selection of businesses and town staples such as an inn, apothecary, bakery, and even a laundromat. They have also utilized an impressive array of roofing techniques which should serve as an excellent tutorial for anyone looking to break into the castle-building scene. I particularly like the dark blue peaked top of the gazebo, which doesn’t use any...

Sometimes I wonder which would be the slower vehicle — the paver that lays asphalt on roads, or the Zamboni ice resurfacer. While I’m pondering over it, here’s a Zamboni build to add to your city ice skating rink for all minifigure inhabitants to enjoy a smooth slidin’ surface to skate on, courtesy of de-marco. And best yet, you can build it yourself with these video instructions. The post Is the Zamboni the slowest vehicle ever made? [Instructions] appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Edwinder

Prepare for action in hostile territory with Ben “Spaceship!” Smith’s phenomenal APC transport, the DT-92 Rigellian Dropship. Technically, I’ve led off this article with the money shot of the rear 3/4 of the ship, because I am enamored with Ben’s gorgeous engine arrangement. There are crisp lines to follow all over the ship and clean color blocking in its asymmetrical form. The dropship deviates from the predominantly aerodynamic characteristics of the spacecraft we’re used to seeing in TV and movies – which is a great subject to explore as we approach SHIPtember when many in the spaceship-loving LEGO community will put out massive plastic spacecraft in a tight timeframe. The dropship has some really fun bits scattered throughout the model but one of the features I think gets a little lost in the dramatic photo lighting is the VTOL engines that appear as if they would actually swivel on 2×2-stud turntables...

Sometimes the best designs come from constraints. When it comes to LEGO creations, builders are constrained by the size of their collection or the colors that LEGO elements are available in. In the case of this lovely model of a Bullfinch by Peter Ilmrud, one of the constraints is a glass dome from Ikea to keep his creations dust-free. If this looks familiar, there’s a good reason. We recently featured Peter’s Aladdin vignette also designed to fit under a glass dome. This Bullfinch, based on the LEGO Ideas Birds set 21301 fits perfectly atop a snow-covered branch, looking rather stately. I can almost hear chirping. The tree is skillfully constructed to fit inside the glass dome, without feeling too cramped, or too minimal. The curved wall at the base provides a nice anchor to the scene and the use of loosely poured ice-cream scoops as freshly fallen snow is perfect. The...