Koraidon(?) – BigBrickBlog

Project Overview

This will be an absolute mammoth of a write up as this is by far the longest I have ever spent on a single project. There were many times when I wanted to just give up and move on to other more exciting projects, but I’m so proud of the fact that I never did. Throughout the course of the build I amassed an incredible 481 photos documenting the process and was helped by a host of talented builders, who will all be referenced throughout! Without further ado, let’s dive into a journey which started over a year ago!

The Beginnings

The origin’s of this build date back to Brickworld 2024, where I made a host of new friends from the Lego constraction community. After spending a whole weekend learning the dark arts and secrets on how to build creatures and characters, I was incredibly inspired to give it a shot! Specifically, some of my friend’s builds that inspired me included the vibrant colors of Aiden’s (@aiden.builds) Blyrakas, the dynamism of Michael’s (@J6Crash) Sagittarius, and the perfection of Nathan’s (@woomy_world) Karashishi. During convention tear down, they even showed me the internals of their builds and taught me how to use a variety of different techniques to capture a desired look. Overall, I was just itching to build something when I got home, but first I needed some Bricklink orders to acquire some of the constraction basics. In one of the orders, I was recommended by Nathan to grab the Ninjago Rising Dragon Strike head as well as the Ninjago Firstbourne printed eyes. He had used these in his Tempura Dragon, and having a prefabricated head design was much easier for me to start out on. After putting the combo together, I realized a very vague resemblance to the relatively new legendary Pokémon Koraidon, and the concept was formed.

I was particularly happy at the time with my usage of minifigure handcuffs to connect minifigures arms in which held the unicorn horn spikes! That said, this assembly didn’t end up making the final design.

The initial head design that started it all!

Reality Check

Although much more challenging than I had initially expected, my first draft was complete in no time. I had received feedback from many builders online helping me with part suggestions and giving me a lot of positive feedback. I felt like everything was going great, but in reality the build was going terribly. Ignoring the fact that it just didn’t look great, I reflect now that my vision for the project was all over the place. A large problem that had been brewing from the start was my lack of decision making. I never committed to fully making Koraidon, but I also never differentiated from the key features Koraidon has. This is where the name Koraidon(?) came from, and as can be seen in the final product, this issue lasted throughout the entire build process. From a technical standpoint, I was also all over the place. Although I knew the parts I “should” be using, I was executing things all wrong. I would often use parts that although a similar shape, had very different textures and curvature. In the end, my first attempt is brutal yet somewhat poetic to look back upon. Luckily, I was slapped into shape by some great friends that kept things 100% real with me. Positive reinforcement can be helpful, but left unchecked, I had convinced myself I knew what I was doing, when in reality I was completely lost.

I want to especially highlight the feedback from @sir_iggs and Nathan, who gave me the much needed reality check. Nathan’s advice is great to read if you want to learn more about Lego texture work!

Factory Reset

Feeling very defeated after my first effort, this project got put on the back-burner… For a longgggg time. I was very busy moving into an apartment for the first time during the start of my second year of university, among other things, but mostly I had no drive to return to this project. After successfully completing the ZaZa Dragon however, I figured it was time to return. This was a big turning point for the project as it was the point where I started putting a lot more thought into everything I built. I tried to be much more intentional with the parts I was using and the shape language I was conveying. In the photos below, you can see what was left after tearing much of the project apart to start over as well as my first serious additions.

The first addition I was actually decently proud of was the 3×3 Quarter Dome into the Wedge Slope. It was slotted in using a mixel joint to taper towards the body.

Improving

From there, I worked closely with Aiden and Nathan to make sure every new addition to the build was very calculated and had thought put into why it was there. In hindsight, I might’ve asked for help too many times, but oh well I think they still like me. The biggest area of improvement for me was the hair.

This was something Nathan had highlighted as the most important area to fix because it didn’t make sense. With my second draft, I made sure the hair had a nice flow to it, with all the Chima Feathers facing the same curvature. Some other important additions that took place around this time were the arms and the spikes on the back, both things I ended up being very proud of!

The Final Hurdle

The last struggle, and thing I had postponed the most, was the legs. There were two big problems here: They had to be strong, and I had no idea what they were supposed to look like. After over-complicating the design at first, Nathan helped me simplify the upper leg using simple shaping of system slopes and Dino tails to get a nice oval shape. As for the structure, I should’ve known better than to try and learn from Michael (@crash.or.build). Famous for how *stable* his builds are, I took inspiration by making the lower legs practically out of jelly. This proved to be a major issue at conventions, but with a little belief and a lot of struggle, it could stand on its own!

The End.

Seeing this build stand up for the first time was a real thing of beauty. I was really proud to have finished it (especially a week before Bricks Cascade) and see many months of hard work pay off. I admit there are many flaws with the build, particularly in his… thickness… but that’s ok! I learned more about building in this one build than I could’ve ever imagined, and it was so fun to get help from pretty much everyone I knew in the Lego community! The build was able to be displayed at Bricks Cascade as well as BrickWorld Chicago, and now sits in a box awaiting its next opportunity. I want to thank all the people who contributed to this build, big or small your inputs helped! The full list of collaborators is listed below.