Category Archives: Building Techniques

Not sure what SNOT is? Want to learn innovative new ways to create awesome LEGO models of your own? Peruse our posts about LEGO building techniques to pick up tricks & tips from the best.

Building a LEGO countryside to soothe the soul [Guest Feature]

This landscape is an homage to my grandmother, as I’ve always seen her surrounded by nature, living in a house between two mountains with a large garden and forests. As you can imagine, this moc has a special place in my heart.

The idea for this moc came, as usual, from wandering on Pinterest to seek inspiration. Pinterest is packed with fantastic arts of all kinds, making it really easy to gather inspiration, even if AI art is spreading there like crazy nowadays. One day, I came across a series of pixelated microscale landscapes such as valleys with villages, hills and fields that caught my attention. At first I thought it was yet another AI image, but I was informed it came from a human – Franek pixel art. The person behind it even made a game, so beautiful.

Every time I hike or just wander in mountains, plains, or forests, I’m always getting inspired by nature like this. Just the sound of birds singing repairs the soul. Seeing a waterfall, a nice path through trees or a rock partially covered with green moss, it just makes me want to build something – that’s why I love doing terraforming. Unfortunately, these are the hardest to recreate for various practical reasons such as space, parts, or even time. Yet, on microscale though, those issues are kind of solved because those landscapes can be represented without having to turn a living room into a modelling convention.

Learn how the build came together after the break

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Chicken Dreams – a peck of clucking good LEGO hens (and instructions to make your own!)

It started with a dream – the dream of AFOLSs Carson Lacey and Syrdarian who dared prompt a new building challenge for the community: NovHENber. Frogs and crabs have had their time. Now let the chickens rise to the top of the pecking order! One builder who answered the call and has been strutting her stuff all month is Kristel Whitaker, who just finished her series of ten hens, starting with this plucky lady. This is an extraordinary build of a totally ordinary bird, living her modest egg-laying life on a bed of cozy ~~chopsticks~~ straw.

Only at the end of the series does Kristel reveal the nine fanciful fowl that followed were actually the first chicken’s dreams, with each microbuild becoming a piece of an impressive MOC with a brickbuilt dream bubble housing the peculiar and prodigious poultry. Each of these hens deserves a moment of appreciation.

Fly the coop with us as we meet all of Kristel’s amazing hens!

Build your own LEGO Enterprise D & Shuttlepod with these free instructions

On November 28th, LEGO ~~boldy~~ boldly goes to the final frontier with Star Trek 10356 U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D. We found this Black Friday release to be a stellar build, albeit one that asks a lot of your wallet and shelf space. During this year of big sets and big price tags, “the one I can afford” memes have flourished, with builders sharing their microscale spins on premium releases, and the Enterprise has spawned a few impressive fan builds. We were especially taken by this version from 2Bricks, which includes the Enterprise D, shuttlepod GWP, and minifigures. 2Bricks was kind enough to share the instructions so that you can build your own mini Enterprise!

With the holidays approaching, if you’re looking to Trek the Halls with Borg and Holodecks, 2Bricks has created instructions for a full Advent Calendar of Star Trek microbuild instructions that you can order here.

But first, start with the free instructions for the Enterprise D and shuttlepod. As Picard sings so merrily, make it so!

Click to view the instructions for the microscale Enterprise D and Shuttlepod

Living the Highland Life: Creating A Scottish Castle in LEGO [Feature]

When I volunteered to help run the new Tales of Old game (it’s a medieval LEGO RPG!) on EuroBricks in September 2025, I had no idea I’d have a massive castle keep sitting in the middle of my build area a month later!

In the game, I created a character named Duncan, who is loosely based on real-world medieval Celtic and Gaelic cultures. Duncan has a Scottish tam hat from the bagpiper CMF, and kilted-torso from the Highland Warrior CMF, plus he sports a large black mustache and BrickArms claymore.

Pour yourself a wee dram and join us for the rest of this Highland building adventure

An Ode to the Goatherd: designing a pastoral LEGO diorama [Guest Feature]

LEGO diorama expert Anu Pehrson is back as a guest contributor to give a behind-the-scenes look at her latest creation, a large scene that highlights LEGO fans’ favorite farm animal, the goat, as well as the minifigure who tends it. If you’ve ever wondered how some of the big builds we feature go from concept to completion, Anu has documented her process for us from first bricks to final touches.

You may recognize Anu from some of her previous builds we’ve covered, including a giant minifigure-scale recreation of The Wall from A Game of Thrones. Check out our articles about Anu’s previous LEGO builds here. Continue reading →

Mind the gaps in this glorious, shambling LEGO medieval market

A medieval market will always be the busiest at harvest, and Jesse van den Oetelaar has built a scene to make you feel the commotion. While the castle walls are built straight, everything else shows its age and wear, or as Jesse says, “worn down by carts, feet, and time.” I particularly enjoy the low camera angle as it brings us right into the market.

Upon closer inspection, the nice part usage can really be seen. Technic pins with a bar inside create a gathered bundle of grain. The precariously stacked harvest looks ready to topple.

And a mix of hammers and ingots cause an uneven surface for people to travel, as this aging minifig found out the hard way.

Jesse’s diorama marks a welcome return to posting after a two year absence. It’s great to see that the builder has lost none of his talent for half-timbered houses and depictions of bustling medieval life!

A dawn of translucent dark pink

Bart De Dobbelaer uses a stunning mix of only four colors to provide a powerful piece. Illtranor, Tree of Dawn provides us with a story of creation, civilization, and pride. Bart has a wonderful poem to accompany this beautiful build. With only four colors used, they are used very well. Sitting on a dark grey base, a deep back tree trunk provides a strong depth behind the white and translucent dark pink blossoms and branches. And the city that has grown up around the tree so perfectly matches the tree’s color.

Castles in a modular forest

We recently shared a round-up of LEGO castles by master mason Ben Hauger, but we turned around for a minute and not only did he make a few more castles, he changed the foundation. Yes, these two new castles have all the great features of his previous ones, but now, we get a modular base.

See more of Ben’s latest castle

A John Deere built as well as the original

In recent years, LEGO has released some new, modern farm tractors, but Christoph Ellermann has delivered us a classic from the 1950’s. While the design is simple and elegant, it is the part usage that cements the look. First, we have a technic gear from the 1970’s standing in for the iconic red wheels.

Next, yellow rubber bands provide the detailed paint job, and finally simple minifigure hands give us the cutting blade.

Build your own Star Wars AT-RT Scout Walker with these free instructions from Creativbricks [instructions]

Does the sticker-shock of the 327th Star Corps Clone Troopers Battle Pack have you lamenting that a decent LEGO AT-RT is out of reach? While we found the official LEGO version to be an improvement over past incarnations, this fan design from French builder Creativbricks is even better, and with these free instructions, you can build your own from common LEGO elements.

Free instructions for the AT-RT follow

Run-down never looked so good [Building techniques]

This public market style bike shop by adotnamedstud uses the metal gate element to attach shingles along different angles for a great weathered look. The addition of a small utility pole, a satellite dish, and rooftop foliage adds visual interest. I also like the compact tool drawer in front, made with modified tiles.

Everyone loves a building kit

To anyone who has built a model kit of the non-ABS type of plastic, you can probably feel the texture of the these plastic frames. I love every ounce of detail that Oshi has included, down to the last sprue. As someone who has built both plastic models and LEGO, it is a great combination of worlds. In looking at the details of the “model parts,” don’t miss a wonderful start to the actual car model. It looks like Oshi has selected “green forest” for the model’s final color. I don’t believe that is an official LEGO color, but I trust the builder that it will look incredible.