Tag Archives: Dragon

Tree of the dragon

Bonsai has been done in LEGO before but this wonderful take by Isaac Wilder gives it new life with this stunning dragon shape! At first glance this could just be another bonsai tree but closer inspection reveals it’s true nature. Isaac uses some fantastic techniques to create the dragon head shaping like the use of the rubber band to hold various bars to keep the organic design. And the simple transparent green stud blends in well while still serving as the eye. The base is the same as the official bonsai set so this will look right at home on any fantasy bookshelf!

Dracaena Marginata (Dragon Tree)

A flying purple people eater

HBO’s House of Dragons has nothing on Dan Ko. Dan has crafted an adorable dragon rider as part of the yearly Creations for Charity fundraiser. Both the rider and the dragon have short limbs that extend from big cylindrical pieces for the torsos, almost like a couple of fantasy corgis. We’d be delighted to catch a glimpse of this duo flying overhead.

Dragon Rider

The pagoda and the dragon tree

Sometimes little details get lost on big LEGO models. This is not the case for Marius Herrmann’s latest LEGO creation. This one is big! At least 50 bricks high not counting the antenna. We are looking at a model loosely inspired by ‘The Legend of Anchin and Kiyohime’. I am not at all familiar with the story so I’ll just take Marius’ word that it is about unrequited love. After being rejected one of the characters transforms into a dragon to trap the other in a temple. This is beautifully translated to this build where we can see a tree with lavender foliage violently wrap itself around a Pagoda. I love how subtle yet evident the dragon shape is hidden in the tree. If you focus on the temple you’ll lose the dragon. But if you focus on the tree the dragon is most definitely there.

Kiyohime (清姫)

Is that a solar flare or a fire dragon coming to roast me?

Andreas Leander brings another excellent LEGO build to the Summer Joust with this fiery dragon! This dragon competes in the Gradient category with its yellow to orange scales. Like the sun itself, this dragon is hard to look at with the fire that burns from within. It raises its glorious head high, preparing to expel a stream of fire at those it finds unworthy of witnessing its majesty. Half and quarter rounded tiles run up and down the dragon’s neck, hearkening wonderfully to warm scales. The best part of the build for me are the natural elements making up the mane and beard. Leaves and flower studs wreath the dragon’s neck and chin with burning plumes of fire. Makes me wonder if the horns are made of brimstone… I’d ask, but I don’t think the dragon is taking any questions at this time.

Fire dragon

Verdant dragon may cause a brushfire

Mythical dragons are no stranger to the LEGO medium, especially those of the elemental variety. But BobDeQuatre has provided us a nature-themed version as rare as a four-leafed clover. Two gorgeous, leafy wings spring up from the dragon’s wooden back, adorned with the occasional pink flower. A line of vines lead up to the beast’s rooted face, providing the same angular features as its scaled, traditional brethren. But the real success here is the design of the dragon’s arms and legs. Formed of rock, they blend into the build’s setting, leaving me to wonder where the landscape ends and the mythical wonder’s body begins.

Protector of the Vale

Dragon pagoda but subterranean and also in a cave

Ever since the pandemic I haven’t been on a holiday. So my expectations when it comes to holiday destinations have become very high. I almost expect them to look as magical as this LEGO subterranean Dragon pagoda in a cave by Jaap Bijl. I have to be honest, English being my second language, I had to look the word subterranean up. And it turns out to mean ‘done under the earth’s surface’ or ‘secret/concealed’. And now I am not a bit closer to understanding whether this Dragon pagoda is either under the earth’s surface or very well concealed. So I decided that this Dragon pagoda is secretly hidden underneath the earth’s surface.

The dragon cave

What strikes me about this creation is the use of colour. The cave is dark grey, the base of the temple is grey, the water is sand green and the soil in the cave is sand blue. All muted colours go great with the lavender foliage and the details on the pagoda. They almost make the lavender look a bit greyish. And then bam in the centre of it all there is this light blue pagoda roof which really pops. The pillars supporting the bright blue roof are adorned at the top and the bottom with stone carved dragon heads. You really have to zoom in on the temple to spot them but they are done exceptionally well.

The dark towers demand that you enter

While not a copy of the famed Two Towers from the Lord of the Rings novels, this dark castle from LEGO builder Poul-Erik Borre is exactly what every dark sorcerer needs.

Wizard's Tower 1

The symmetrical architecture immediately grabbed my attention, forcing my eyes up the highly-detailed stonework. I was impressed to see so many light lime-green bricks and dark-green bricks used as a contrasting colors against the black. The trees continue that same color palette. Looking more closely, I spotted a clever use of light lime-green hair pieces as all of the leaves and blossoms.

Wizard's Tower 2

What I also didn’t realize at first was that there are actually three towers, not just two. A truly impressive fantasy creation.

A dragon build that tips the scales

I’m a Sagittarius, and that’s about as far as my knowledge of the zodiac goes. But this Libra Dragon by Woomy World has me wondering if I should study it more. This majestic beast, emerging from the clouds with horns that form a scale to measure a cosmic balance is so much more interesting than those little newspaper horoscopes. Why didn’t anyone tell me it could be this cool?

Libra Dragon

Stunning pixel dragon breathes pixelated fire

Formed in a pixel art style, FukuTaku has created this fabulous looking dragon. The build is based on Dragonlord, from the Dragon Quest games. There’s a real sense of heat coming from the model, with fire erupting out of the dragon’s mouth. The warm colour scheme of the stomach also contrasts nicely against purples and pinks of the body. You can tell this model must have required a lot of planning by the large amount of 1×1 plates used in its construction. This build adds so much more detail to the original design in a colourful and vibrant way.

The spineless worm got what he deserved

Most of the time, when a lone warrior faces off against a dragon—well, it doesn’t end so well for the warrior. Not so with this strong and stalwart fellow by Dan Ko, who looks like he got the better of this fell beast without breaking a sweat. This small-scale build has some mighty sweet part usage, from the brow of the dragon’s head made from the front part of a mech torso to the long and twisted spine made from robot arms and teeth. But I think my favorite part has got to be the large beard made from the hair of a Minifig.

When The Smoke Is Going Down

Smug Smaug Sits Smartly in the Spotlight

There are a lot of Lord of the Rings LEGO creations out there, but Geneva Durand brings something extra to this offering. The great dragon Smaug sits atop a golden horde – pretty standard there – but this horde is lit from below with a warm yellow glow. The dragon’s form is excellent, with a good mix of red colors and a solid wing design featuring curved tile to create texture. Triangle tiles are clipped and wedged upright to create the creature’s spine, and golden horns are used to give him a grumpy expression over the Mixel 1×1 round printed tile eyes. The mix of golden-toned elements, chromed gold coins, and under-lit transparent elements, though, is what made this build stand out to me. Mainly because I wonder if Smaug’s body heat is melting that pile of gold, or maybe he just farts fire. Well, whatever it smells like, this build looks great.

Smaug

Want more LOTR goodness? Check out some other featured builds!

Smaug the brick-built dragon

We’ve seen LEGO Tudor-style buildings before, and quite often the building is the main focus of the creation. We’ve also seen LEGO brick-built dragons before, and just like the Tudor-style buildings, they too tend to be the main focus of the creation. Not so for KitKat1414, however. They built an amazing Tudor-style house to represent one of the houses of Lake Town and it is lit! No literally, it is on fire!

The (New) Master of Laketown

For the woodwork on the house, Kitkat1414 used window frames and filled those in with bars to represent the wooden beams. In other places, the window frames were filled in with cheese slopes representing stained glass windows. Often these types of buildings can be very earth-toned, and while that’s mostly the case for this one, if you look closely you can spot quite a few colours being used. There is a lot of sand blue and even some lavender hidden in the roof, and the house gets a dark green door which complements the dark red Smaug in a lovely way. The dragon itself is a true work of art and there are multiple parts used in very clever ways. One that really deserves a quick mention is the use of the Bionicle minifigure legs for the dragon’s nose bridge and eye sockets. The last part that deserves a little highlight is the angled bar with stud used to represent icicles. And naturally, there are quite a few Tolkien references hidden in this wonderful build. Can you spot them all?