There are only a few weeks left to build like a pirate! Our pi-RATS & BUG-aneers contest is about to sail off into the horizon with a ton of loot up for grabs. To put it simply, build a pirate creation inspired by a non-human crew. Feeling a bit stumped? Don’t yet know what you want your crew to be? I have a few simple ideas that may elevate your minifigures!

Figbarf

We all know it’s a ton of fun to mess around with minifigs. Figbarf, as some of us call it, is a darn good time. However, most of the custom figs we see have minifigure heads—and that can get a little boring. For our Pi-RATS & BUG-aneers contest, we are encouraging maximum creativity, a touch of goofy, and a hint of wacky. So if you are pressed for time and don’t have access to custom figs, why not try making some of your own with what you have on hand?

Most LEGO Animals have either a longer antistud underneath or a bar connection. The dimensions of a minifig neck width are the same as a stud, so many animals can actually replace a minifigure head! Mini-dolls have a thinner bar connection for the neck, allowing animals like the frog and the crab to attach securely.

I dub these dastardly denizens of the deep the Crusty Crew!

If you don’t have any such animals, you are also allowed to use any of the costumed minifigs. Those are most common within the collectible minifig packs that many of us have hiding here and there. But you can get creative with those too, switching up parts of each to find a wonderful pun, an inspiring crew, or just some wacky characters.

In 2010, the Atlantis theme was introduced, and with it, many strange sea creature hybrid minifigs were unleashed upon us. All of them fit perfectly on a minifig head, and with a little bit of ingenuity. they can be placed on a mini-doll (hollow 1x1 round studs are your friend… for Friends!).

Animals are also fair game! Give a frog a pirate hat! Slap some muskets instead of horns on a cow! Remember the Rancor from Star Wars? Give it Cutlasses instead of claws! Your characters might be accidentally adorable and inspire their setting!

Yes, you can also use animals! Aren’t they adorable???

Brick-Built Buccaneers

Another way to make your crew is to build them from the brick up! If you can’t find what you want from animal or minifigure part selections, you can always build your characters too. The benefit of brick-built characters is that you can make them any size you want.

Minifigure-sized custom builds can be quite easy with the number of bars and clips we have to choose from. Take a look at this scene from fellow BrickNerd Ted Andes that could serve as inspiration.

Ted Andes, a fellow Bricknerd, makes awesome brick-built characters, like these ants!

Ted kindly shared a break-down of his ants to share here. We’ve taken the picture and broken it down even more if you want to recreate it for your pirate crew.

In order to make your very own BUG-aneer, here is a parts list.

4 Arm Mechanical, Battle Droid (black)
2 Arm Mechanical, Straight with Clips at 90 degrees (Vertical Grip) (black)
3 Bar 1L with Clip Mechanical Claw (black)
2 Pneumatic T Piece (black)
2 Brick, Modified 1 x 1 with Studs on 4 Sides (black)
2 Plate, Modified 1 x 1 with Verticle Clip (black)
2 Plate, Modified 1 x 1 with Tooth Horizontal (black)
1 Plate, Round 1 x 1 (black)
2 Plate, Round 1x1 (for the eye, whatever color you want)

You can also combine brick-built features with minifig parts in the ultimate brick and figbarf! Take a look at these examples using a few pieces to replace the heads of minifigures to create new characters.

The inspiration just keeps on coming! Check out builders like Pascal, Caleb Angell and Morgan190 who all make great use of custom minifigures. LEGO itself has even gotten into the game with these lever-headed robots from Agents 8971 Aerial Defense Unit set.

Hopefully, these ideas have sparked your imagination. Now set sail on the high seas with your custom crew of dastardly privateers and inhuman rapscallions, and cause a ruckus on your building table! Go nuts, good luck, and most of all, have fun!

Read up on the full rules for the contest here, it ends at the very end of the month! The clock is ticking!

Which is better in your opinion, figbarf or brick-built figures? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Do you want to help BrickNerd continue publishing articles like this one? Become a top patron like Charlie Stephens, Marc & Liz Puleo, Paige Mueller, Rob Klingberg from Brickstuff, John & Joshua Hanlon from Beyond the Brick, Megan Lum, and Andy Price to show your support, get early access, exclusive swag and more.