LEGO brings out the inventor in all of us. Personally, I never managed to design much other than spectacularly un-aerodynamic aeroplanes and houses that look like they were designed by a mad, colourblind architect. However, some clever folk can make some truly impressive LEGO creations. Here are five of the best YouTube has to offer.

Combination safe

Everyone has their little cache of precious things, their personal treasures. No matter if your treasures are interestingly-shaped rocks and weird feathers, diamonds and designer stuff or 1980s Star Wars figures in original packaging, you need somewhere safe to store them.

What could be safer than an actual working combination safe? Maybe the lair of a covetous dragon, but apart from that, nothing, that’s what.

Desktop computer

It saddens me to say it, but the vast majority of desktop computers are hideous things. Boxy, dull-looking monoliths without the slightest thought given to aesthetics, computers are perhaps the most depressing purchase for the trendy and design-conscious.

To brighten up your PC, reach for your LEGO stash. The case in the video above may look like the lair of a tiny, plastic supervillain but the beauty of LEGO is that you can take a design and make it your own. Depending on what bricks you’ve got laying around you can re-case your PC in whatever colour or combination of colours you fancy. The really ambitious could even modify existing LEGO sets to house a computer…

3D printer

A LEGO model that can build LEGO models? Welcome to the future!

Sure, the process is slow, requires very specific software and the only models that ‘Makerbot’ can currently put together are very simple, but it’s nevertheless impressive. It’s can’t be long until some clever clogs improves on the design and makes a machine capable of putting together far more complex models or perhaps even replicating itself…

Hamster elevator

Everyone loves to spoil their pets, that’s why diamond collars and those bags you can carry little dogs in exist. The market for luxury products designed for hamsters is a little limited, but with a handful of LEGO and a bit of patience you can install a private elevator in your hamster’s home, allowing him/her to enjoy levels of luxury usually reserved for the super-wealthy.

Toilet-flushing robot

The age of the service robot is finally here!

Why flush your own toilet when you can have a robot do it for you? After years of waiting, we’ve finally taken a step towards having Jetsons-style domestic robots. A loo-flushing robot made out of LEGO may only be a small step, more of a tiptoe in the right direction, but it’s a step. Best bit? the flushbot will thank you for allowing it to flush for you, ensuring you don’t feel bad for leaving him in the bathroom all the time.