Fan builds Super Mario Bros. 3 airship with Legos

Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988) for the Nintendo Entertainment System is considered one of the best video games in history. Images of the game's mischievous Koopa Kids, spooky castles, and memorably themed worlds are permanently burned into gamers' minds.

Julius von Brunk of New York (who calls SMB3 the "Cadillac of games") found a new way to honor the game that never truly gets old. He built one of its notorious airships entirely from Lego pieces.

Von Brunk told CNN Geek Out why he chose the classic game as his muse:

"Super Mario Bros." was an early platform game with dozens of levels, power-ups, enemies and depth, which made it an ideal universe for me to latch-on to and create many tributes to in my artistic media. The series itself is like nothing else the world has seen previously, with so many original themes and elements – from the music to the game synopsis. Sure, at the end of the day, the games boil down to a standard "hero saves the princess" cliche, but it's the deliverance and originality of the worlds and characters which makes it unique on its own; let's not forget the Lewis Carroll-inspired ideas which went into the original game's creation – which of course is an endless stream of imagination in its own respect!

His custom airship even features Mario and Luigi at the helm.