статью он не вышел

18:35 Jun 24, 2015 

Thanks to everyone who contributed to this. Most of the answers were right, so I chose the one I thought most suitable in style.
OWatts is right in saying that stature is not necessarily physical, it is also possible to speak of moral stature.

12:27 Jun 24, 2015 

The book in your link is a Russian-made dictionary of idioms. Ordinarily, all such nonnative sources are suspect, but in this case the usage examples they give are perfectly fine. Not much to look at and not much of a brain (to a lesser extent) make for fairly idiomatic English. The problem is however, that you extrapolated that construct mechanically to "build," and that's where it all falls apart. Any other questions, feel free to ask.

04:15 Jun 24, 2015 

I like your versions. And I don't think 'stature' is appropriate here, as it describes a person's height (at least that's what dictionaries say), while стать is not only about height.

20:33 Jun 23, 2015 

curiously so, across the languages

15:05 Jun 23, 2015 

He wasn't powerfully built, had no strong physique, didn't appear formidable at first glance