The Magazine for LEGO® Enthusiasts of All Ages! Issue 40 • July 2016
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LEGO Mecha Returns! Robot Building with Benjamin Cheh Ming Hann Building Mech Frames with Kelvin Low & J Dennis Seth Higgins and his Transforming Robots!
Instructions AND MORE! ISBN-13: 978-1-60549-069-4 50895
9 781605 490694
We’re In Canada Too! St. John’s, NL
EVANSVILLE, IN Phoenix, AZ
Issue 40 • July 2016
Contents
From the Editor............................................................2
People A Transforming Brick?..............................................3 Building Transformers and Gundam................7 J Dennis: Mini Mecha Maker..............................12 Benjamin Cheh Ming Hann: Mecha Master..........................................................16
Building Kelvin Low, also known as: Chubbybots!.....24 You Can Build It: Gamera MINI.............................................................30 Duncan Lindbo’s Mecha MOCs........................40 The Mecha of Spencer Rollins...........................46 You Can Build It: Classic Space Mech...............................................48 BrickNerd’s DIY: MINI Gundam...........................................................56 Miniland Scale Chinese Figures.......................64 Minifigure Customization 101: Ultraman!....................................................................69
Community Community Ads.......................................................78 Last Word.....................................................................79 AFOLs............................................................................80
From the Editor: Hi! This issue revisits a theme that is popular for most people: mecha. We already did an issue on this a couple of years ago and it seemed like a good time to update.
July 2016 Issue 40
Of course, some articles got sidetracked— we have a Gamera build? That’s not mecha! Well, it’s sorta close, and it looks cool, so I made instructions. There’s also some other mecha instructs too.
Publisher John Morrow Editor in Chief Joe Meno Photography Editor Geoff Gray Proofreader John Morrow Japanese Bureau Editor Nathan Bryan West Coast Editors Todd Kubo Ashley Glennon LEGO Ideas Correspondent Glen Wadleigh Contributors: Jared Burks, J Dennis, Kevin Hall, Benjamin Cheh Ming Hann, Seth Higgins, Duncan Lindbo, Kelvin Low, Moko, Spencer Rollins, Tommy Williamson, and Greg Hyland. Many thanks to the websites who have served as mirrors for BrickJournal:
You’ll also find interviews, some short, some long, with some of the newer mecha builders out there. Since most mech builders are in Asia, there are challenges to getting articles from there, but this issue has a couple of builders from the Far East. There’s also some other builders from places a little closer, like the LUG I am a member of. It’s nice when there are LUG members who are that skilled in building. This almost makes articles easy to do. Almost. Have fun reading and building! Joe Meno, Editor P.S. Have ideas or comments? Drop me a line at admin@brickjournal.com. I’m open to suggestions and comments and will do my best to reply. P.P.S... Yes, BrickJournal has a website — www.brickjournal.com! Twitter? Yep, there too — http://twitter.com/brickjournal. Facebook? Yup — http://www.facebook. com/group.php?gid=58728699914&ref=mf. Or you can scan the bottom codes with a QR reader! P.P.P.S. If you want info on a subscription, you can go to: http://twomorrows.com/ index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=78&products_id=616 or scan below! Website
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About the Cover: Benjamin Cheh Ming Hann’s mecha, the Imperator is readied for a mission. Photo provided by Benjamin Cheh Ming Hann. About the Contents Page: Benjamin Cheh Ming Hann’s mecha, the Balrog, takes up a defensive stance. Photo provided by Benjamin Cheh Ming Hann.
Glossary AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO) NLSO (Non-LEGO Significant Other) MOC (My Own Creation) TLG (The LEGO Group) BURP (Big Ugly Rock Piece) LURP (Little Ugly Rock Piece) MECHA (a large armored robot on legs, typically controlled by a pilot seated inside) MECH (a large piloted combat robot)
GUNDAM (sci-fi media franchise featuring giant robots or “mecha”) SNOT (Studs Not on Top) POOP (Pieces—that can be or should be made—Of Other Pieces) LUG (LEGO Users Group) LTC (LEGO Train Club) DARK AGES (usually teen years, when you drift away from building) STUDS OUT (building where the studs on bricks face the viewer)
LEGO®, TECHNIC, MINDSTORMS, Belville, Scala, BIONICLE, ExoForce, Mars Mission, World City, and other LEGO theme lines are trademarks of the LEGO Group of companies. All articles, photos, and art are copyright BrickJournal Media, LLC 2011, TwoMorrows Publishing and the respective writers, photographers, and artists. All rights reserved. All trademarked items are the property of their respective owners and licensees. Subscriptions are $55 Economy US, $66 Expedited US, $87 International, or $23.70 Digital Only and can be purchased at www.twomorrows.com or payment sent to: TwoMorrows Publishing, 10407 Bedfordtown Drive, Raleigh, NC 27614 USA. The editorial/advertising office address for BrickJournal is: BrickJournal Editor, 5610 Briar Oak Lane #510, Raleigh, NC 27612 USA or admin@brickjournal.com. First Printing. Printed in China. ISSN 1941-2347.
BrickJournal and its staff would like to thank the LDraw community for the software it makes available to the community, which we use for making all of the instructions and renderings in this magazine. We would especially like to thank Kevin Clague for his continued upgrades of the LPub tool that is a part of2the LDraw suite. For more information, please visit http://www.ldraw.org.
People
A Transforming Brick?
Photos by Moko Moko, a LEGO builder in Japan, is one of the best LEGO mecha builders in the world. One of his most recent builds is one his most clever builds—a transforming LEGO brick.
The brick is enlarged 3x from an original LEGO brick to allow for all of the hinges and other parts to fit. Completely folded, the brick hides its contents until the bottom is revealed.
From the form of the well-known 2 x 4 studded brick, Moko has created a robot that unfolds from the brick body.
This model is a great showcase of Moko’s ingenuity. The robot itself has a lot of poseability, thanks to multiple
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ALTER EGO #142
ALTER EGO #143
ALTER EGO #144
DRAW! #32
BRICKJOURNAL #39
DAVID SIEGEL talks to RICHARD ARNDT about how, from 1991-2005, he brought the greatest artists of the Golden Age to the San Diego Comic-Con! With art and artifacts by FRADON, GIELLA, MOLDOFF, LAMPERT, CUIDERA, FLESSEL, NORRIS, SULLIVAN, NOVICK, SCHAFFENBERGER, GROTHKOPF, and others! Plus how writer JOHN BROOME got to the Con, Mr. Monster’s Comic Crypt, FCA, and more!
DON GLUT discusses his early years as comic book writer for Marvel, Warren, and Gold Key, with art by SANTOS, MAROTO, CHAN, NEBRES, KUPPERBERG, TUSKA, TRIMPE, SAL BUSCEMA, and others! Also, SAL AMENDOLA and ROY THOMAS on the 1970s professional Academy of Comic Book Arts, founded by STAN LEE and CARMINE INFANTINO! Plus Mr. Monster, FCA, BILL SCHELLY, and more!
MARK CARLSON documents 1940s-50s ACE COMICS (with super-heroes Magno & Davey, Lash Lightning, The Raven, Unknown Soldier, Captain Courageous, Vulcan, and others)! Art by KURTZMAN, MOONEY, BERG, L.B. COLE, PALAIS, and more. Plus: RICHARD ARNDT’s interview with BILL HARRIS (1960s-70s editor of Gold Key and King Comics), FCA, Comic Crypt, and Comic Fandom Archive.
Super-star DC penciler HOWARD PORTER demos his creative process, and JAMAL IGLE discusses everything from storyboarding to penciling as he gives a breakdown of his working methods. Plus there’s Crusty Critic JAMAR NICHOLAS reviewing art supplies, JERRY ORDWAY showing the Ord-Way of doing comics, and Comic Art Bootcamp lessons with BRET BLEVINS and Draw! editor MIKE MANLEY! Mature readers only.
LEGO DINOSAURS! Builder WILLIAM PUGH discusses building prehistoric creatures, a LEGO Jurassic World by DIEGO MAXIMINO PRIETO ALVAREZ, and dino bones by MATT SAILORS! Plus: Minifigure Customization by JARED K. BURKS, stepby-step “You Can Build It” instructions by CHRISTOPHER DECK, DIY Fan Art by BrickNerd TOMMY WILLIAMSON, MINDSTORMS robotics lessons, and more!
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BACK ISSUE #89
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“Eighties Ladies!” MILLER & SIENKIEWICZ’s Elektra: Assassin, Dazzler, Captain Marvel (Monica Rambeau), Lady Quark, DAN MISHKIN’s Wonder Woman, WILLIAM MESSNER-LOEBS and ADAM KUBERT’s Jezebel Jade, Somerset Holmes, and a look back at Marvel’s Dakota North! Featuring the work of BRUCE JONES, JOHN ROMITA JR., ROGER STERN, and many more, plus a previously unpublished cover by SIENKIEWICZ.
“All-Jerks Issue!” Guy Gardner, Namor in the Bronze Age, J. Jonah Jameson, Flash Thompson, DC’s Biggest Blowhards, the Heckler, Obnoxio the Clown, and Archie’s “pal” Reggie Mantle! Featuring the work of (non-jerks) RICH BUCKLER, KURT BUSIEK, JOHN BYRNE, STEVE ENGLEHART, KEITH GIFFEN, ALAN KUPPERBERG, and many more. Cover-featuring KEVIN MAGUIRE’s iconic Batman/Guy Gardner “One Punch”!
“Bronze Age Halloween!” The Swamp Thing revival of 1982, Swamp Thing in Hollywood, Phantom Stranger team-ups, KUPPERBERG & MIGNOLA’s Phantom Stranger miniseries, DC’s The Witching Hour, the Living Mummy, and an index of Marvel’s 1970s’ horror anthologies! Featuring the work of RICH BUCKLER, ANDY MANGELS, VAL MAYERIK, MARTIN PASKO, MICHAEL USLAN, THOMAS YEATES, and more. YEATES cover.
“All-Captains Issue!” Bronze Age histories of Shazam! (Captain Marvel) and Captain MarVell, Captain Carrot, Captain Storm and the Losers, Captain Universe, and Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers. Featuring C. C. BECK, PAT BRODERICK, JACK KIRBY, ELLIOT S. MAGGIN, BILL MANTLO, DON NEWTON, BOB OKSNER, SCOTT SHAW!, JIM STARLIN, ROY THOMAS, and more. Cover painting by DAVE COCKRUM!
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“Bronze Age Adaptations!” The Shadow, Korak: Son of Tarzan, Battlestar Galactica, The Black Hole, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Worlds Unknown, and Marvel’s 1980s movie adaptations. Plus: PAUL KUPPERBERG surveys prose adaptations of comics! With work by JACK KIRBY, DENNY O’NEIL, FRANK ROBBINS, MICHAEL W. KALUTA, FRANK THORNE, MICHAEL USLAN, and sporting an alternate Kaluta cover produced for DC’s Shadow series!
TwoMorrows. The Future of Comics History.
COMIC BOOK CREATOR #13 COMIC BOOK CREATOR #14
KIRBY COLLECTOR #67
KIRBY COLLECTOR #68
MICHAEL W. KALUTA feature interview covering his early fans days THE SHADOW, STARSTRUCK, the STUDIO, and Vertigo cover work! Plus RAMONA FRADON talks about her 65+ years in the comic book business on AQUAMAN, METAMORPHO, SUPER-FRIENDS, and SPONGEBOB! Also JAY LYNCH reveals the WACKY PACK MEN who created the Topps trading cards that influenced an entire generation!
Comprehensive KELLEY JONES interview, from early years as Marvel inker to presentday greatness at DC depicting BATMAN, DEADMAN, and SWAMP THING (chockful of rarely-seen artwork)! Plus WILL MURRAY examines the nefarious legacy of Batman co-creator BOB KANE in an investigation into tragic ghosts and rapacious greed. We also look at RAINA TELGEMEIER and her magnificent army of devotees, and more!
UP-CLOSE & PERSONAL! Kirby interviews you weren’t aware of, photos and recollections from fans who saw him in person, personal anecdotes from Jack’s fellow pros, LEE and KIRBY cameos in comics, MARK EVANIER and other regular columnists, and more! Don’t let the photo cover fool you; this issue is chockfull of rare Kirby pencil art, from Roz Kirby’s private sketchbook, and Jack’s most personal comics stories!
KEY KIRBY CHARACTERS! We go decadeby-decade to examine pivotal characters Jack created throughout his career (including some that might surprise you)! Plus there’s a look at what would’ve happened if Kirby had never left Marvel Comics for DC, how Jack’s work has been repackaged over the decades, MARK EVANIER and other regular columnists, and galleries of unseen Kirby pencil art!
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People
Transformers and Gundam Article and Photography by Seth Higgins
Background
Seth Higgins Age 21 Graphic Designer
When I was about five years old I started playing with LEGO bricks and have been hooked on them ever since. There hasn’t been a year in my life since then that I haven’t played with or not gotten something LEGO. I hit a new jumpstart of building in about 2009 when I discovered the many communities of LEGO builders on the internet. This is when I started to really develop my skills as a builder. Seeing all the creations that others had made with the same bricks I had made me want to create LEGO versions of things I grew up with. I liked a lot of robot and mecha shows growing up and one of my favorites was Transformers. My mom found out that the NCLUG group had a LEGO display every year in Chapel Hill, NC and e-mailed the
group about me being able to display some of my transformers in the show. It was there I met Joe Meno and the rest of the NCLUG group and started displaying with them at shows with several different types of displays. I have built mecha probably more than any other type of building theme. My top two mecha building styles are Transformers and Gundam. I’ve been building Transformers for about seven years and Gundam for about three years. It is amazing how much improvement I have seen in my building skill and style. I keep working to improve my building style because you can never stop getting better at doing something. Work has cut my building time but I still find time to enjoy my addiction.
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People
Benjamin Cheh Ming Hann:
Mecha Master! Janus Ja IWM TypeB44 (User Experience Prototype)
For Benjamin Cheh Ming Han, a 33-year-old LEGO fan in Malaysia, it’s a childhood dream to be recognized for his building, but it was only a matter of time. As a kid, he always imagined that one day someone would want to look at his work, and his mech models have been getting the attention of LEGO builders worldwide by being featured on LEGO blogs such as the Brothers Brick, Bricknerd, Tilesorstuds, Hellobricks, and by many other bloggers all around the world. He has also built a presence on Facebook with many followers. However, with all the attention, he doesn’t want the spotlight for himself.
Article by Joe Meno Photography by Benjamin Cheh Ming Hann
Talking to him on a Skype call, Benjamin is a very casual and energetic speaker who is grateful for the attention, but wants to share his building to inspire young kids. He displays his MOCs in his hometown, Malacca, at a local department store (Parkson Mahkota Parade) “to show the kids and to others that LEGO is something you can build with. Go ahead and build anything—it doesn’t have to be exactly like my models, but they inspire more kids. They say, ‘Hey, that man built that, and I can try it out.’ “Some people thought I did the display to sell my work, but no, it’s not for sale. It’s to inspire kids and adults alike. It’s for show—some adults and kids don’t know about LEGO. It’s important that I get the message to the kids, the small kids , the next generation to encourage them to build something good, even something better than my MOCS.”
Hann’s first mecha.
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Hann started building mecha when he was young. His first inspirations were Transformers and the Gundam series. He was very curious as to why these robots were so transformable and unique in the way they were constructed. He would think about where the guns were placed on a mech, and that curiosity drove him as a kid. From there, it wasn’t long before he began figuring out how to build them in LEGO. If he liked the robots so much, could he build it in LEGO? He answers, “I got a lot of LEGO parts, but not the special parts out now, just lots of basic parts from the sets in the ‘80s and ‘90s. I started building robots then and have been enjoying it since.”
Various views of KMS SV88 Seryye Volki Mark II mecha.
He tried to build all the good robots, but also went to building the bad robots and bad characters. He liked the bad characters more because they looked cooler with dark colors, such as dark and gray. This colors attracted him, and that’s why his mechs are generally dark bluish grey. As Batman would say in The LEGO Movie, “I only work in black and sometimes very, very dark gray!” Hann’s building started in 1994, but had a Dark Age. During this time, he kept in touch with the hobby by collecting LEGO catalogs. Hann eventually returned to the hobby in 2007 after college and starting a job in Singapore, when he began building mechs. Since then he has built (and rebuilt) about 50 mecha models. Building models is a tactile experience for Benjamin. He has tried building with LEGO Digital Designer, but as he says, “I gave up on LDD a long time ago because it’s too time-consuming for me. Just to turn the parts around—oh my gosh, really?” Instead, he has a different approach—hands-on. When asked about how he articulated joints in his mecha, Hann answers: “ I did some research on engineering parts in terms of the real mecha Gundam and how they operate their legs. I always get some reference from illustrations mostly, and how they draw outlines and how legs are drawn and how the legs turn this way and that way. I also get some reference from LEGO sites and LEGO builders to study the articulation design. From there I say, ‘Okay this part I’ll use and maybe I’ll improvise it from there.’ I try to make the model look better. I don’t mean to copy others to make the model look the same—the challenge isn’t there. It doesn’t work that way. I prefer to study from other models and try to improvise. There’s more fun to it. “
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Building
Kelvin Low, also known as: Chubbybots!
Above and below: Kelvin’s mecha, named G-Core.
Article by Joe Meno Photography by Kelvin Low Kelvin Low is a 35-year-old builder in Singapore. In the daytime, he helps out in his family’s business stocking and supplying materials for the oil and gas industry as well as the construction industry. In his off-hours though, he is busy building his version of mecha models. Some of them are anime-based, but he also makes others of a more whimsical nature. He goes by the nickname Chubbybots, a name he went by during his Gundam-making days, and later named his Flickr page after. BrickJournal chatted with him online about his building and models. Kelvin started building ever since he could control his two hands. He also dabbled with model kits, K’Nex and many other construction toys along with LEGO when he was young. He also had a Dark Age where he stopped building at around the age of 10. He got back into building much later, and has been seriously building LEGO MOCs for the past two years. Kelvin mentions two factors in his return to LEGO building: “When my first son was born, I could no longer find time for my Gundam model kits. With LEGO, I can leave a model and continue when my son is asleep!
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“The second reason was seeing fellow LEGO builder Kos Brick’s Titanfall model. His mind just went ‘wow...is that even LEGO?’ Then I told myself, ‘why not give it a go,’ and here I am now!”
Sunken, an underwater-based diorama set in the future, where iron relics are mined from the sea bottom.
When asked about his favorite themes, it’s pretty easy to see where his building style came from—his answer is quick: “Mecha and Mixels! Mixels are the best stuff LEGO has produced!”
Kelvin’s MOCs are the result of some planning, and some playing.
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You Can Build It MINI Model
Gamera MINI Design by Kelvin Low Instructions by Joe Meno
One of Kelvin Low’s many models is of Gamera, the giant turtle that has been seen in many Japanese monster movies. Kelvin talks about the model: “This build came about for the Alien Month on our Facebook Group Lego MOC Challenge. Each month, there is a specific theme where all the MOCers will come to build together around. I built Gamera as not many people have build Kaiju-related aliens. Gamera happen to be my second-favorite Kaiju after Godzilla!” The MOC has a lot of articulation for its size and uses the small ball joints that are available with the Mixels sets. This model will take a little patience in getting the assemblies built and added, but the result is a perfect monster to destroy a microscale city!
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Parts List
(Parts can be ordered from Bricklink.com by searching by part number and color) Qty Color Part Description 2 White 15070.dat Plate 1 x 1 with Tooth Perpendicular 2 White 15208.dat Plate 1 x 2 with 3 Teeth In-line 2 White 15209.dat Tile 1 x 2 with 2 Teeth Vertical 2 White 32474p01.dat Technic Ball Joint with Axlehole Blind with Eye Pattern 7 Dark Tan 3023.dat Plate 1 x 2 2 Lime 3003.dat Brick 2 x 2 1 Lime 3004.dat Brick 1 x 2 2 Lime 3005.dat Brick 1 x 1 7 Lime 3022.dat Plate 2 x 2 4 Lime 3023.dat Plate 1 x 2 4 Lime 3039.dat Slope Brick 45 2 x 2 1 Lime 3049b.dat Slope Brick 45 1 x 2 Double / Inverted 2 Lime 6091.dat Brick 2 x 1 x 1 & 1/3 with Curved Top 3 Lime 6141.dat Plate 1 x 1 Round 4 Lime 11477.dat Slope Brick Curved 2 x 1 2 Lime 15573.dat Plate 1 x 2 with Groove with 1 Center Stud, without Understud 6 Lime 47457.dat Slope Brick Curved 2 x 2 x 2/3 Triple with Two Top Studs 4 Lime 50948.dat Slope Brick 3 x 4 x 0.667 Curved with 2 x 2 Cutout 2 Lime 50950.dat Slope Brick Curved 3 x 1 2 Lime 55236.dat Technic Bionicle Barraki Spines 1 Lime 61678.dat Slope Brick Curved 4 x 1 4 Lime 87087.dat Brick 1 x 1 with Stud on 1 Side 2 Lime 99207.dat Bracket 1 x 2 - 2 x 2 Up 2 Dark Bluish Gray 2540.dat Plate 1 x 2 with Handle 1 Dark Bluish Gray 3002.dat Brick 2 x 3 2 Dark Bluish Gray 3004.dat Brick 1 x 2 2 Dark Bluish Gray 3005.dat Brick 1 x 1 1 Dark Bluish Gray 3020.dat Plate 2 x 4 1 Dark Bluish Gray 3022.dat Plate 2 x 2 2 Dark Bluish Gray 3023.dat Plate 1 x 2 2 Dark Bluish Gray 3039.dat Slope Brick 45 2 x 2 6 Dark Bluish Gray 3040b.dat Slope Brick 45 2 x 1 1 Dark Bluish Gray 3048b.dat Slope Brick 45 1 x 2 Triple 1 Dark Bluish Gray 3660.dat Slope Brick 45 2 x 2 Inverted
Qty Color Part 2 Dark Bluish Gray 3665.dat 2 Dark Bluish Gray 3666.dat 2 Dark Bluish Gray 3710.dat 3 Dark Bluish Gray 4032b.dat 2 Dark Bluish Gray 4085c.dat 1 Dark Bluish Gray 4590.dat 10 Dark Bluish Gray 14417.dat 2 Dark Bluish Gray 14419.dat 1 Dark Bluish Gray 14704.dat 1 Dark Bluish Gray 47457.dat 1 Dark Bluish Gray 47759.dat 2 Dark Bluish Gray 50950.dat 1 Dark Bluish Gray 51739.dat 6 Dark Bluish Gray 54200.dat 4 Dark Bluish Gray 60478.dat 2 Dark Bluish Gray 61252.dat 1 Light Bluish Gray 64867.dat 1 Dark Bluish Gray 85984.dat 2 Dark Bluish Gray 92946.dat 4 Dark Bluish Gray 93273.dat 9 Dark Bluish Gray 99780.dat 1 Green 3023.dat 1 Black 60470b.dat 1 Light Bluish Gray 3023.dat 3 Light Bluish Gray 14418.dat 6 Light Bluish Gray 14704.dat 1 Light Bluish Gray 48336.dat 5 Light Bluish Gray 99781.dat
Description Slope Brick 45 2 x 1 Inverted Plate 1 x 6 Plate 1 x 4 Plate 2 x 2 Round with Axlehole Type 2 Plate 1 x 1 with Clip Vertical (Thick U-Clip) Plate 1 x 4 Offset Plate 1 x 2 with Ball Joint-8 Plate 1 x 2 with Socket Joint-8 with Friction and Ball Joint-8 Plate 1 x 2 with Socket Joint-8 with Friction Center Slope Brick Curved 2 x 2 x 2/3 Triple with Two Top Studs Wedge 2 x 4 Triple Slope Brick Curved 3 x 1 Wing 2 x 4 Slope Brick 31 1 x 1 x 0.667 Plate 1 x 2 with Handle on End Plate 1 x 1 with Clip Horizontal (Thick C-Clip) Wedge 4 x 4 Fractured Polygon Top Slope Brick 31 1 x 2 x 0.667 Slope Plate 45 2 x 1 Slope Brick Curved 4 x 1 Double Bracket 1 x 2 - 1 x 2 Up Plate 1 x 2 Plate 1 x 2 with 2 Clips Horizontal (Thick C-Clips) Plate 1 x 2 Plate 1 x 2 with Socket Joint-8 with Friction Plate 1 x 2 with Socket Joint-8 with Friction Center Plate 1 x 2 with Handle Type 2 Bracket 1 x 2 1 x 2 Down
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Building
Duncan Lindbo’s Mecha MOCs! Article and Photography by Duncan Lindbo
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My name is Duncan Lindbo, and I dig giant robots! I’m a 25 year old software developer, currently living in North Carolina. I got into LEGO at a young age, and unlike many AFOLs, I never went through a “Dark Age”. I’ve always been a fan of sci-fi and fantasy, and I find mecha especially appealing because of the technical/ engineering challenges involved in building them—both real ones and LEGO ones! I strive to make my mecha as flexible as possible, while still being fairly sturdy. To that end, I rarely use “illegal” techniques in my MOCs, aside from a few small details here and there. I almost never build digitally: I’ve yet to come across a LEGO CAD program capable of simulating the weight of a MOC and its effect on its balance and joints. I’ve got a selection of some of my favorite MOCs here, and you can see additional pictures of them and many more on my Flickr page: https://www.flickr.com/photos/124874271@N06/
Pink Nightmare The Pink Nightmare is based on the “Landmate” mecha design by manga artist Masamune Shirow. This design can be seen in many of Masamune’s works (and their anime adaptations), most notably Appleseed and Ghost in the Shell. Landmates are small mecha with a distinctive control scheme: The lower arms fit the pilot’s arms like a suit of armor. When the pilot moves their arms, the upper arms mimic their movements. Many Landmates are capable of flight thanks to wing-like anti-gravity generators on their backs. The Pink Nightmare was directly inspired by one Landmate in particular: At the end of Appleseed Ex Machina, the protagonist Deunan Knute flies a customized, bright pink Landmate. The Pink Nightmare isn’t an exact copy of this design; the anime version has a much more slender profile compared to the Nightmare’s stocky one, and the scale of the two is wildly different (regular Landmates are around 8-10 feet tall, the Nightmare would be more like 25). Notes: This build was tricky for a couple of reasons. First, it was important that not only was there room for a minifig to stand in the cockpit, but that the cockpit armor split open from multiple points. Second, despite it being more common now thanks to Friends and Disney Princesses sets, dark pink is a hard color to work in! There’s a lot of slopes, wedges, and curved pieces that aren’t produced in that color (at least, not yet). I spent around $70 to get a large amount of pink parts, around 10-12 of each part available in dark pink that I thought might be useful. In the end I probably only used about half of them, but since I don’t build my MOCs digitally first, I wouldn’t have been able to build this without having the extra parts to experiment with.
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Building
Kevin’s creation.
Miniland Scale Chinese Figures Article by Kevin Hall Since I was young, I could remember seeing footage and photos of LEGOLand, which always inspired me as a young builder. One year when I visited the LEGO World Show in Sydney Australia, they had a display featuring a part of Miniland from LEGOLand. The intricate details of the buildings at that scale were phenomenal, but it was the Miniland scale figures that really impressed me. Around thirty years later I ended up working as a designer at LEGOLand in the UK and got to spend every day in the park, and of course, as much time in Miniland as possible. Even though I had been building Miniland scale figures and buildings for quite some time before arriving at LEGOLand, being at the park allowed me to study the different techniques and use of parts to create more realistic and detailed displays.
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As an artist, I am inspired by the world around me—from places I have visited such as castles and
theatres, to various people in my life; from ballerinas and ice hockey players to DJs and breakdancers. One of my favorite Miniland models I have created would have to be the Chinese traditional wedding couple, which was inspired by my amazingly creative wife, Brenda, who is from Hong Kong.
Traditional Chinese Wedding Couple Wanting to create a model that was close to me, I didn’t have to look far. Spending time in Hong Kong visiting my wife’s family and friends, I immersed myself in their culture, experiencing their long-lasting traditions and, of course, their amazing food. After returning to the UK, I set myself the task of bringing the colorful traditions of the Chinese culture to life at Miniland scale. Luckily for me, having my wife looking over my shoulder while I was designing the figures was very helpful. Not only could she help with getting the details as accurate as possible, the fact that she is a toy designer really helped. I spent a few days researching photos of traditional Chinese dress and studied photos I had taken from museums while on my holiday in Hong Kong. After going through different themes of dress, I decided to create a traditional wedding couple, since we were recently planning a
wedding banquet for ourselves in Hong Kong.
The Design As I wanted to create the figures as accurately as possible, I did a lot of research and based the designs on a series of images and photos of traditional Chinese wedding costumes and styles. I usually break the figures up into three sections: the body, the limbs, and the head. The three main colors for both figures broke down into red, black and touches of yellow. I used tan for the faces and hands.
The Groom The basic dress of the groom was a long, flowing shirt that comes down to around the shins and has splits up each side to the hips. Then a sleeveless jacket or vest is placed overtop, usually with toggles instead of buttons. I used wing plates on each side of the legs to represent the slit up each side, and tiles placed vertically on the front and back which gave the impression of the long flowing shirt. These are all held on with 1x1 bricks with the studs on the side.
A closer look at the couple.
The main torso is just made up of plates, and again bricks with the studs on the side to add the black tiles to the sides, which bulked out the torso a bit on the sides. This then creates a divide that looks like the groom is wearing a separate top over the long shirt. Most Chinese traditional groom costumes also have a large silk ribbon that wraps around them, going over one shoulder and under the opposite arm. Attached to this is a bundle of silk ribbon that is made to look like a large flower on the wearer’s chest. Using a round 2x2 plate with a round 1x1 plate in the center, both in red, I attached them to the front of the torso with another 1x1 brick with a stud on the side. Then using small plates built into the torso in red, the torso looks like it has a ribbon wrapped around it. Plus placing a red 1x2 tile on the right shoulder made it look like the ribbon came over the groom’s shoulder. The legs were added on to the bottom using plain black 1x1 bricks with plates for feet, and a 1x1 tile to give the shoes a bit more bulk. Having one foot facing in a different direction that the other gives the model a more realistic pose. The arms were built with red plates, to look like they were part of the shirt, thus creating the illusion that the groom is wearing a vest that is black. I had one arm straight and another bent to keep it not so symmetrical and bring a bit of movement into the figure. The head, I tried to keep simple as traditionally the headpiece is a simple small cap that fits the top of the head. I added a round 2x2 plate for the top of the hat to give it a more round, fitted look, and the red round 1x1 plate finished the model off. Of course I used the standard construction for a Miniland head, using a jumper plate under the head to give it a chin, and then joined it to the torso with a 1x1 tan plate for a neck.
A look at the detail of the groom.
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