After the trap of Marco De Bon’s Ghostbusters, and the most recent Japanese armor by Andrea Montuori, this time we bring you directly into one of the most successful video games of recent years. Indeed, Nicola Stocchi made with bricks LEGO a work that takes inspiration from Horizon Zero Dawn! Let’s find out all the details of the work and some information about its creator together.
LEGO Passion – Let’s discover Nicola Stocchi
Nicola Stocchi told us that his first memories of bricks date back to when he was very small, but the most special set for him was the 8635, the truck from the first LEGO agents series. “It was an expensive gift for the time. My father gave it to me as a gift for having passed the eighth grade exam, without my mother’s knowledge, ”says Nicola Stocchi. The love was therefore great, and since then he has never left the bricks, and then in 2013 he began to use the design software as well. LEGO Digital Designer.
Horizon Zero Dawn
We asked Nicola Stocchi how the idea for his new creation was born, what inspired him, here’s what he told us about it.
“This work is inspired by Horizon, a video game series populated by giant dinosaur-robots with beautifully designed and loaded with weapons (of which they have been fans from day one). The desire to build them with bricks was immediate and, after having built the Devour Thunder in 2018, I wanted to do them in series. So here I immediately launched on the biggest: the Collolungo. I also built other smaller creatures with the aim of making a kind of collection, and now that the second chapter of Horizon is out I am spoiled for choice for the next projects “.
Nicola Stocchi told us that he almost exclusively used 3D software to design all his MOCs. The physical construction is a next step, which he needs to test the project and bring any changes back to the digital file.
A truly complex project full of pieces
“Questa MOC account 7391 pieces, which I would never be able to recover from my stocks. I have been stocking up on Bricklink for years now for everything I need. I have also created a beginner’s guide for those who have never approached buying bricks online. Among the most expensive and difficult to find were the yellow cables for the legs, which is why in the instructions the color was changed to light bluish gray ”, says Nicola Stocchi. “The measurements should be about 30 × 35 cm, for aheight of 94 cm. All armor plates, torso, legs and base are modular. That is, they can be easily assembled and disassembled to make transport easier. Given the weight, the head is also designed to be removed and transported on a special base “.
And then he concludes: “the project saw a primitive version made in 2017. The legs were articulated and posable, but for this very reason it could not support the weight. The only solution would have been to use external media (unacceptable). The definitive version was developed between 2019 and 2022, with stiff legs this time, planted in a solid base “.
Nicola Stocchi then told us that among the most creative points of his work he cannot fail to mention the head and its connection with the neck. The latter had to be inclined, very thin and at the same time able to support the huge disc head. Goal reached!
Present and future
The works of Nicola Stocchi have been exhibited in some events such as the Bologna Brickil Modena Nerd, Lucca Comics and this year at Model Expo Italy. The news does not end there, however. In fact, Nicola is already working on other Horizon Zero Dawn creatures built with LEGO and intends to return to the world of cars of Mad Max Fury Road. After these two strands, he says, he still has many other themes that I can’t wait to explore!
Nicola Stocchi, whom we thank for sharing his passion and his work, is part of the group of enthusiasts Orange Team. If you want to see more of his works, you can take a look at his Instagram profiles and Twitter.