Top 17 Most Amazingest LEGO creations EVAR in the Whole Universe and the Future

Many of you have linked me to a feature on the Huffington Post blog today, which touts itself as presenting “The 17 Most Awesome LEGO Creations Of All Time.”

Now, there are a lot of cool creations in this list, many of which I think are awesome. But this post still bugs me for a number of reasons:

• The hyperbole. If you’re going to claim to have the Most Awesome LEGO Creations OF ALL TIME, then maybe your blog post shouldn’t just look like you did a Google search for “LEGO” and picked seventeen things you thought looked cool. Research plz?
• The number. Why ARE there seventeen images? Seems a rather esoteric amount. And they’re not in any particular order. What’s the deal?
• The time frame. All of these images seem relatively recent. Some of the creations, like Jack Skellington and the John Lasseter bust, have been posted online only within the past several weeks or so.
• The credits. There are none. Who made these creations? Where are the photo sources, so I can see the artists’ other creations? It doesn’t say. Isn’t this like netiquette rule #1?

But I digress. Obviously, as an AFOL myself (and a little bit of a fanboy snob), I’m bound to disagree with this post and these choices. And I do, but that’s the thing — you can’t really posit something like this; it’s almost completely subjective.

With all this in mind, I decided to compile MY “Top 17 Most Amazingest LEGO creations EVAR in the Whole Universe and the Future.” In no particular order. Enjoy.

1. The Walker/The Bog Man by Jørn Rønnau

When I think of awesome LEGO creations, this guy is the first thing that comes to mind. From afar, it looks like a weird murky figure of a man, but up close you can see that he’s just made of a ton of light grey LEGO elements. How you plan to build something like this, I have no idea. (Source: The Ultimate LEGO Book)

2. ROBOTA by Marc Beurteaux

We’re getting all the grey LEGO out of the way first. As a film maker myself, you knew there was going to be at least one animated entry on this list.

This film was a huge inspiration to me when I set out to make “Little Guys!”, and it’s creativity and detail has not lost any of it’s luster over time. Funny and heartfelt and just well-done.

3. Plastica by LEGO Master Builders

I remember seeing this LEGO band at some toy store when I was a kid, possibly FAO Schwartz. The animation of each of the band members, and how it synced to the music, was all really well-done and impressive. If I recall correctly, the song they played was called “Just Imagine…” a LEGO tagline at the time. I couldn’t find a video of it, but apparently it now lives at the Toy and Plastic Brick Museum in Bellaire, OH.

EDIT: It would also appear that Master Builder Erik Varszegi was one of the people who worked on it.

4. Mount Rushmore by LEGO Master Builders

This was always a cool one. I really appreciate the work that goes into something of this scale, and found it fascinating to learn that it was designed in profile-based sections to get the shape of each face right. (Source: Brick Kicks Magazine Winter 1991-1992, The Ultimate LEGO Book)

5. LEGO Wall-E by Joe Meno

Joe’s LEGO Wall-E is one of the more accurate of the many Wall-E MOCs out there, and it has the added distinction of being made before the movie even came out. I love the eyes on this one – really helps capture the character.

6. Skull by Monsterbrick

Tip of the hat to David Pickett for showing me this. The curvature of the head and the clever use of elements leaves me speechless. Plus, it’s a skull.

7. Rebirth of New Orleans by Nathan Sawaya

Most people know Nathan Sawaya for his figurative sculptures, but I really dig this more whimsical piece from him. Based on kids’ concept drawings of new buildings for New Orleans, the color palette and tone of this piece is really great.  I also love the way he captured the squiggly nature of the drawings.

8. Boo’s Door by Alex Eylar

What can I say, I’m a Pixar fan. This one, in addition to being super detailed, is awesome for one reason: the costumed Boo minifigure. That’s gotta be one of the most clever things I have ever seen.

9. The 17th Warrior by Phall Master

There are many LEGO mecha creations out there, but I really like this guy. Reminds me of a Tokusatsu-style warrior you might see on Ultraman or something. More really clever element use, especially the phone receiver cheeks. I would love to animate this guy, even though he’s probably very fragile.

10. Stegosaurus by Henry Lim

Another shout-out to David Pickett for pointing this one out. The scale and quality are just incredible. Made in his living room over 7 months… just insane! And I mean that in the best way possible.

11. The Capitol Building by LEGO Master Builders

This was one of the first Master Builder creations I got to see in person, when the 1998 LEGO Imagination Celebration truck tour stopped in Central Park. Really impressive. About 10 minutes later, it started pouring.

12. Astronauts by LEGO Master Builders

I came across this in the book “World of LEGO Toys” by Henry Wiencek. I dig the astronauts’ poses and expressions, the curvature accomplished with just normal bricks, and the groovy space detailing.

13. King Tut’s Burial Mask by LEGO Master Builders

Another Master Builder creation. This one taught me that slopes were another option for carving out a likeness, as opposed to just bricks. (Source: Brick Kicks Magazine Summer 1992)

14. Indiana Jones layout by Brian Williams

I saw this thing at Brickworld 2009 and was completely blown away. Motorized parts, lighting effects, all shadowboxed and combined seamlessly. This is one that you really need to see in person, though it’s well-documented photographically.

15. Surfer Hippo by Francie Berger

Another favorite from when I was a kid. Colorful, detailed, fun. Love the hippo’s smile, too. I seem to recall having an iron-on t-shirt with this guy on it. (Source: Disney Adventures Magazine, November 1991)

16. Times Square by Sean Kenney

One of my favorite of Sean’s creations. The amount of detail is sick, from the tourists to the billboards to the buildings themselves. I personally dig the “Wicked” poster and the guys sitting on the red staircase.

17. Anything by the Arvo brothers

I’ve talked about these guys before. They’re responsible for the Iron Man seen in the Huffington Post blog. They need to be stopped. I mean, really.

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So those are my picks. If you’ve got more info on any of these, feel free to shoot me an e-mail. Everyone’s got their favorite cool MOCs. What are some of yours?