Dieselpunk Mechs and Military Hard Suits – [Minifig Monday]

Mechs and minifigs have been near and dear to the Brothers Brick for as long as we’ve been covering LEGO fandom. It’s always a thrill when builders bring a specific and fresh aesthetic to a favorite genre, and that’s definitely been the case with Brickbot Studios, Red Impala, and Zakar.ion – three builders who are absolutely crushing it with military mechs at an intimate perspective. The trio collaborated last week on trench warfare dieselpunk mechs inspired by the 1920 setting of mr_werewolf, with each builder bringing a personal spin to the theme. This week on Minifig Monday, we’re spotlighting this collab, but also some mortar blasts from the dieselpunk past from some top builders of yesteryear playing in a similar sandbox.

Leading this week’s charge is the PZM-7 Śmiały from Red Impala. Swift, merciless, and armed with an anti-mech rifle, this unit looks ready to leap over trenches like a Winged Hussar. (The lore that these builders share alongside their brilliant builds is half the fun!).

Brickbot Studios responds with theStahlschreiter 44 “Trench Reaper.” My favorite flourish is the moustache on the mech. The builder brings a touch of Warhammer sensibilities to this Death Korp diesel demon.

zakar.ion brings up the rear with the PZM “Heavy Shell” Automachine, which the builder describes as walking shield. Of course with that wicked machine gun arm, it’s not purely defense. I love the mix of slick armor plating with brown wiring.

Back in 2021, Mihał Ch also played in the 1920 sandbox and made a PZM-7 Śmiały and attendant soldiers. Over on BrickNerd, Marco den Besten captured a detailed history of this particular collab.

Now we’re going to take our diesel-powered time machine way, way back to pay tribute to some of the mini mech vanguard of the AFOL world, starting with A. Yates and this LFM-2 CLOMP from back in 2007. Even with all of the new parts being added to the LEGO catalog, it’s interesting how many techniques endure, like minifig hand for fingers.

Hoon Kim is another hard suit legend, fusing greebles with utilitarian might. This pair hail from 2015.

Marco Marozzi is a true artist whose mechs supplement LEGO with decals (and the occasional creepy doll parts) with bold, personal designs. Most of Marco’s mechs skew more cyberpunk, but this 1930s themed Italian mech, the Semovente m47 Audax, seems more appropriate for today’s lineup.

Finally, this spry little mech from 2010 is called Dr. Flambé’s Doom Walker and it’s builder is someone you definitely know if you follow LEGO sets. These days he is perhaps best known as one of LEGO’s main Botanicals designers, but  Theo Bonner (Titolian) got his start sharing madcap mechs and other silly mayhem. Thankfully he still supplments his official design work with amazing fan builds like this Ice Planet mech from last year.

That’s it for this week’s Minifig (okay, mostly mech) Monday. Next week we’ll take a break from the grizzled battle characters and look at the lighter side of minifigs!

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