Built In Sixty Bricks

With so many of us building off-the-shelf LEGO Star Wars sets it’s easy to forget that once upon a time LEGO didn’t come with instructions, and the only boundaries were all in the mind.

And so Brick Fanatics decided to test its build team to create iconic scenes from Star Wars out of exactly (not up to) sixty bricks. With the challenge accepted they put their reputation on the block and over a week produced a series of vignettes from A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi and The Last Jedi.

		The first micro build depicts the opening scene from A New Hope with both the Star Destroyer and Tantive IV – and – the surface of Tatooine incorporated into the build. Dominating the scene is the Star Destroyer which was very simple, says Dimitri, who based it on an earlier version produced by LEGO. Remarkably the Tantive IV only required ten pieces!

		For his second of build, Dimitri decided to depict the Lars homestead. The most impressive features of the build is the vibrant blue sky which really helps create depth and sets the scene. The sandcrawler itself has the right amount of texture and angles to make the build instantly recognisable, and the dome and vaporator add a touch of authenticity.

		To complete the triptych Dimitri opted for the Death Star trench run. Having already modelled a larger version he now had to reduce the scale and detail level down while still retaining the texture of the trench walls without over-greebling. The design of the X-wing was one Dimitri had already mastered, but the minimalist TIE Advanced prototype is all new.

		What really stands out in this escape the space slug scene is the level of detail in the Falcon itself. Considering how few bricks Dimitri used for it, all the necessary angles are covered beautifully. The slug is made with a mixture of slopes to create the cut-out cavern look, and the transparent rod gives the ensemble a dynamic look.

		No set of Star Wars builds could be complete without the iconic I Am Your Father scene. Though the two pivotal characters are as minimalist as you can get it’s very clear who they are, and the elements in the rest of the diorama fill out the location perfectly. Dimitri wanted to include a backdrop but ran out of bricks.

		This vignette proved a real challenge. Using tiles to cover the floor studs quickly cut into the brick count, leaving little inventory to render Jabba, Jabba’s throne, the trap door, Han Solo in Carbonite. No matter what Dimitri tried he was always one or two bricks over. Eventually, using some clever building techniques for the arches he brought it in.

		Say what you will about the last Star Wars movie, some great imagery – including the Crait speeders tearing up the salt flats – came from it. Dimitri’s design centred on the printed half tile piece with grill pattern and used clips and hinges to give the ski speeder the right look. The base and plume are the icing on the cake!