Bug Fest: Tary's MOCs

Our latest Parts Festival, Bug Fest – where we've sent LEGO® Ideas 21342 The Insect Collection to five amazing builders and asked them to create original models – continues today! 

Tary (@nobu_tary on Twitter and Instagram) is famed for his LEGO food and robot builds, and his Bug Fest builds do not disappoint! Let's see what he has to offer.

Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
LEGO® Ideas 21342 The Insect Collection
US$79.99/ £69.99/ 79.99€/ AU$124.99
1111 parts
4 September 2023
This article contains affiliate links, we may get a small commission if you purchase: Set 21342 on LEGO.com

My own MOCs are often inspired by single unique elements. 

Working with a limited selection of parts and thinking up different ways to use them was a new experience for me, and one which I very much enjoyed. 

LEGO cherries

The first part that inspired me was Plant Plate, Round 1 x 2 with Leaf (3565). 

It's an element that was released earlier this year in the Donkey Kong sets, but since I hadn't picked any of those up, this was a brand-new part to me.

 

The new leaves are unique in their shape: we've never had large rounded LEGO leaves before. The old palm tree leaves (eg. Plant, Palm Leaf Small, ID 6148) have a rough, jagged shape. Thanks to this new element I was able to create these cute cherries without needing to construct a leaf from multiple pieces.

I also used Minifigure, Utensil Candle (37762) which was recoloured in Lime for The Insect Collection set. It's a great part for making plants, as multiple elements can be used to create a variety of lengths of stalks, stems etc.

 Lego pineapple

Flipping the palm leaf elements around made me think of the leaves of a pineapple. Laying the leaves in a random fashion made quick and easy leaves for this fruit. 

I think that this is a useful element for creating LEGO plants and fruits as the generic shape doesn't represent any particular leaf.

Sci-Fi effects

I noticed that The Insect Collection contained lots of Tile, Modified 2 x 3 Pentagonal (22385) in Medium Azure and Trans-Orange.

I used the elements in pairs to create a hexagon which, in a tessellated arrangement, looked like an effect from some Sci-Fi video game. By attaching a transparent support behind the assembly, you can create a magical shield that repels enemy beams.

Bug Mech

Finally; whenever I buy a new LEGO set, after building it I love to reuse the parts to make a robot. That's exactly what I did here. I find that by playing around and finding new uses for the parts in a set, you can discover new connections and techniques that will improve your building skills and MOCs. 

READ MORE: See what Moko came up with using the same set for inspiration 

If you're inspired by Tary, why not get hold of set 21342 on LEGO.com yourself?

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