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Lego builds from steampunk to sci-fi (pictures)

Powered by Lego bricks, veteran builder Matt Armstrong lets his imagination run wild from the Old West to the far reaches of space.

Tim Hornyak
Crave freelancer Tim Hornyak is the author of "Loving the Machine: The Art and Science of Japanese Robots." He has been writing about Japanese culture and technology for a decade. E-mail Tim.
Tim Hornyak
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RU-KRAZY

California-based Lego artist Matt Armstrong (aka Monsterbrick on Flickr) has been creating amazing brick works for decades and works in an eclectic range of styles.

He works as a martial arts instructor in San Diego, but when he's off duty he's furiously building stuff with Lego. Armstrong recently showed off some of his latest creations at Star Wars Days at the nearby Legoland. They included this colorful take on the astromech droids of "Star Wars" such as R2-D2. This one is called RU-KRAZY.

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Vintage camera

When he's not teaching martial arts, Matt Armstrong loves dressing up in 19th century costumes and re-creating the tools of yesteryear in Lego, including this old bellows camera.
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Steampunk gun

Steampunk objects have figured prominently in Matt Armstrong's works over the past years. This heavily stylized gun makes use of many unusual Lego pieces.
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Wrist blaster

The 2011 sci-fi Western film "Cowboys & Aliens" starring Daniel Craig featured wrist blasters that inspired this creation by Matt Armstrong, perfect for obliterating Lego extraterrestrials.
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Top hat

In true steampunk style, this top hat sports an elaborate Lego hatband and some Lego goggles.
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Sextant

Sextants were once essential for marine navigation, and are still manufactured in plastic and metal. This Lego sextant by Matt Armstrong is a tribute to this valuable sailing tool.
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Telegraph

A Lego salute to another essential 19th century tool, the electrical telegraph.
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Gatling gun

An ancestor of modern machine guns, the Gatling gun was invented by Richard Gatling in the early 1860s. This Lego re-creation is one of Matt Armstrong's most elaborate works. Its barrels actually turn when the handle is cranked.
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Telescope

In reference to his Lego telescope, Matt Armstrong described his trial-and-error approach to building: "I try out different schematics...put pieces on and take them off...not every creation is a work of art."
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Silver bullet special

This vintage shooter has its own silver-colored bullets for slaying Lego beasts. For more retro creations by Matt Armstrong, see his collection here.

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