If there’s one thing that continuously impresses me about the gaming community, it’s the creative ways that people demonstrate their passion for the games they love.
As a gamer who keeps an eye on the amazing things that the LEGO community is creating, it feels like more and more people are paying homage to their favorite games by creating incredible models from their bricks.
Here is a list 20 of my favorite LEGO models based on video games.
StarCraft Hyperion
Sven Junga built this incredible replica of the Hyperion from StarCraft. The detail and scale is just mind-blowing. Check out his Flickr galleries to see more of his StarCraft models — they’re all really well done.
Hylian Shield (Twilight Princess Version)
Build by Remi, this is one of the best ‘prop’ models I’ve ever seen in LEGO form. The detail is outstanding, and it looks like they got absolutely everything *just* right. Really impressive.
Table Top Arcade Case
As impressive as many of the models on this page are, they aren’t very functional. That’s where this table top arcade game comes in. Everything except for the electronics is made entirely of LEGO bricks. It plays games like Pac-Man (duh), Space Invaders, and Donkey Kong. Huge props to Ben Fleskes for such a cool creation.
Bioshock Infinite City of Skyholm
When it comes to sheer ‘wow’ factor, this LEGO model of Skyholm is quite possibly the most stunning on this list. Imagine Rigney really nailed the Bioshock style. Also: I would totally buy this set. Get on it, LEGO.
NES
It’s one thing to tackle a scene from a game, but it’s something else to tackle a console. For us 80s kids, there is no console that will ever live up to the NES, and CK Tsang did an incredible job of recreating it in brick form. Yes, the zapper is a little bit small, but this is about as good as it gets.
Mecha Bowser
When it comes to art, one of the hardest things to do is to take someone else’s creation and put your own spin on it without losing what makes the original so great. In this case, Zane Houston absolutely nailed it (the jaw is even mechanical).
Chocobo
There have been tons of LEGO Chocobos made over the years, but in my opinion, this is one of the best. Yes, there may be larger ones, and yes, there may be more detailed ones. But this one by Carl Merriam captures the true feeling of a Chocobo better than others.
Half-Life 2 ‘Jalopy’
Ah, the jalopy from Half-Life 2 (based on the Dodge Charger). If you’ve played the game, you undoubtedly have fond memories of this thing. Designed by Adrian Florea, this LEGO recreation is dripping with detail and does a great service to the in-game original.
Portal Vignette
A lot of Portal models have been built over the years, but of them focus on the turrets or the guns. While those models are impressive, I’m particularly fond of this vignette. It’s very creative, and captures the mind-bending reality of the game just about perfectly. You can see more images of the model here.
Mega Man Mosaic
There are a lot of really great LEGO mosaics out there, so I felt like I should make room for one on this list. This is one by andy_0306uk of my favorites, both for its accuracy and creativity.
Hyrule
This is one of the more clever LEGO models I’ve seen. This is a scaled map of Hyrule from the original Zelda game. Each stud represents 16×16 pixels, and the total map is 256×88. Hat tip to madoruk for creating such a cool model.
Halo 3 – M247 Mongoose
This is definitely the smallest model on this list, and maybe that’s why I love it so much. I generally build small vehicles like this, and can appreciate all the little details that Chase Lewis had to get right on this Mongoose.
Bubble Bobble
When it comes to gaming, Bubble Bobble was my first love. The game was challenging but fair, and it’s the first multiplayer game that I remember playing. With that in mind, I was really excited to discover these Bubble Bobble LEGO models by the Arvo Brothers. They’ve created a lot of other Bubble Bobble models as well, but these ones are my favorites.
Halo 4 Battle Rifle
This LEGO battle rifle from Halo 4 is absolutely insane. It’s life-size, chock full of incredible detail, and even has some gameplay functionality built into it (no, it doesn’t shoot, but there are some cool moving parts). This was created by Nick Brick, and he’s also created a lot of other impressive weapons from the Halo universe.
Bioshock Big Daddy
Created by Pate-keetongu, this is probably the best representation of a video game character I’ve ever seen in LEGO form. The brick choices are perfect, the scale is just right, and the entire model just feels like it came right out of the game.
Mass Effect 3 Reaper
Ah, the Reaper — one of the most terrifying monsters I’ve ever encountered in a video game. This LEGO model was created by Imagine Rigney. The scale is absolutely huge, and the half-broken city adds a really nice touch.
Final Fantasy VIII GunBlade
Final Fantasy VIII was definitely one of the most memorable games in the series. Here, Rythmik has created an amazing tribute in the form of a LEGO GunBlade. I’m totally blown away by this.
Luigi & Yoshi
Here, Dirk VH has created two of Nintendo’s most iconic characters in brick form. Check out his other work for more great models of classic Nintendo characters. This is Master Builder quality stuff.
Doom Cacodemon
When Doom first came out, it was unlike anything I had ever seen. In that sense, Bart De Dobbelaer has done the game justice, because I have never seen a LEGO model quite like this one. It’s stunningly accurate (and in no way square, which is always a challenge with LEGO building). A great tribute to a legendary game.
Mass Effect UT-47 Kodiak Drop Shuttle
This model was created by N-11 Ordo, and it’s just about as perfect a representation of a Kodiak Drop Shuttle as you will ever see. Though he admits that the design of the ship leaves it less than sturdy, I don’t really care — this thing would look awesome on any bookshelf.
