lego world

i had a plastic building set as a boy - not lego - but an architectural kit that allowed you to build the frameworks of buildings. i remember one morning coming downstairs to discover that my dad had built a suspension bridge out of it. i couldn’t have been more than six so you can imagine both my surprise and awe that such a structure could be made out of the little plastic sticks and bits.

when i was a boy, lego consisted of five colours. black, white, yellow, red, and blue and maybe green. i used it to build cars, houses, guns, spacecraft and even a hockey rink. my brother and i used the little pieces for pucks and the long pieces for sticks! i loved that it came with little windows, and doors, and eventually green panels that were supposed to represent grass.

since that time lego has undergone many, many transformations through the model kits, to the computerized mindstorm sets.
but, i am still amazed by what people can build out of the little plastic bits called lego.

for example, this is a volvo made entirely out of lego!!


up in scotland, warren elsmore has built a six metre long - yes folks that’s six metres - version of the forth rail bridge. at his website he very generously provides linked images of the actual bridge alongside images of the component replica elements of his own bridge.

if you like transportation and want to see it rendered in lego then this guy ralph savelsberg’s work can’t be beat!

still in the realm of lego transportation, andrew harvey has assembled a whole set of working trains out of lego which can be viewed in a lovingly assembled collection of videos.

at alastair disley’s site, he has very generously linked to three exhibitions of lego buildings which are simply incredible! when you go to this link you will see three images. click on any of them to travel through to a page of photographs .....

for the mathematically inclined, andrew lipson renders mathematical sculptures to astonishing effect.

eric harshbarger is a professional lego constructor. if you go here you can see the entire portfolio of his works. my favourite? well hard to say, but i really like this grandfather clock.

nathan sawaya is another professional lego constructor. where nathan’s work stands out from the rest is that he is often working with the human form.

finally. this is so incredible you may not believe what you are seeing.