How did the jaguar get its spots? For this incredible LEGO model, from tires and more

Automaker Jaguar’s mottos are “delete ordinary” and “copy nothing,” and those mottos could just as well apply to builder Sakiya Watanabe, who, over just one year of building characters and creatures, has constantly pushed boundaries with LEGO parts use. Take a close look at the builder’s latest model and you’ll find surprises throughout. The face is dense with clever solutions, like a turkey nose, fabric tongue, and minifig arms. The rock base hides a Scout Trooper helmet, Power Miners monster mold, and what I think is a DUPLO baby hippo.

But the most exciting technique is the Jaguar’s spots, created by inverting tires and using minifig hair or brick configurations inside to create organic shapes. Perhaps there’s a bit of homage with Sakiya’s jaguar to DeRa’s incredible tiger, current on display in the Masterpiece Gallery in Billund.

Following in the footsteps of other master character modelers like Nathan “Woomy World” Don, Sakiya explains that when building models like this, the head sets the scale, so it’s the parts selected for key facial details that set the scale of the entire model.

For the body, Sakiya iterated on the technique used on his bald eagle model using flex tubes to create an armature upon which to clip on body segments.

To learn more about Sakiya and his building journey, read our interview from earlier this year.

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