Don’t fall asleep looking at this build – you’ll feel rather sheepish

Character master Oliver Becker has crafted this charming scene of a shepherd and his flock (of, er, one sheep). Now this might sound odd, but I’m actually glad there’s only one sheep here. Not because I’m ovinophobic, but because if I started counting sheep, I’d surely fall asleep and miss the rest of this great build! The sheep is very good, chewing away on the grass, with its spindly legs. (Well it’s chewing with its mouth, but you know what I mean.) And any build that uses X-pod covers is a good one in my book. But the shepherd is where the whimsy really comes into this scene. He’s a great caricature, using inverted arch pieces twice – in his boots and for his face. He’s quite rotund though. Maybe that’s where the rest of his flock went…

Couting The Sheep

How it’s made: nano-fig special

Ever wondered how LEGO’s nano-figs are made? Caleb Schilling has given us a sneak peek at their production line mid-manufacture. Bet you thought it was all ABS and injection-moulding, eh? Think again! Now I’m no expert, but I believe that inside this machine, there are tiny little gremlins (smaller even than nano-figs) armed with tridents, who carve these pieces out of coloured plastic. These tools of theirs are wonderfully versatile. You can see two of them sticking out the side, which when pulled presumably give the gremlins a poke, so they know which shift to be on. Some older ones also seem to have been re-purposed for the conveyor belt. How resourceful! It’s a wonder such production methods aren’t used elsewhere, really.

(Hm? What do you mean, I’ve failed the trial period for TBB’s production expert…?)

The Factory

Visit the town hall in this quiet LEGO city

There’s a quiet beauty to this masterful LEGO structure by builder Lukasz Liwnik. So many clean lines and un-pocked walls show that the minifig citizens of this village take good care of their town hall. I love the bright shades of white, tan, and gray contrasted against the darker, deeper colors of the surrounding concrete and foliage. And speaking of foliage, those trees are absolutely gorgeous, utilizing the three leaves plate to cover up the inner-shaping of the hedge. But nothing beats the technique used to make those second-story windows. What a simple, elegant solution to a complex shaping problem in brick!

Town Hall

Taking a look at the back of the hall, Lukasz has also included a fountain, sculpture garden, and produce vendor looking to sell his wares. And all of the other minifigures look so busy in their various poses throughout the scene. I hope I get to see more of LUGPOL’s town layout soon!

Slicing at life with a pixilated pitchfork

Confused by the title? Sounds like an impossible task, much like participating in the Iron Builder competition where two LEGO builders try to use a single part as much as they can. And IB gladiator Jonah Schultz has taken a huge stab at using the Minecraft trident in this “slice of life” scene. It contains such ingenious use of the wrong end of the weapon, throwing tons of sand green diamonds all over the place for various fencing and knobs. But don’t miss the drainage grate, composed of the trident’s prongs.

Slice of Life

Cut through the swamp, they said. What could go wrong, they said.

This scary LEGO swamp scene is brought to you by Caleb Schilling. It’s his first entry into the new Iron Builder competition so that means job security for us and scores of entertainment for you. Speaking from experience, Iron Builder is difficult so, like our adventurer, Caleb is probably feeling like he’s waist-deep in peril right about now. The seed part this time around is the Minecraft Trident. It’s been used to excellent effect several times in this swampy scene. Among the spooky creatures lurking in the background is a shadowy Woody. Unsettling stuff, indeed!

Into the Unknown

Hook a brother up, will ya?

This LEGO creation by Duncan Lindbo imagines a world in which man and machine work together as one. Our Minifigure driver in the cockpit there spends the day moving heavy steel beams with the help of his mech. Sometimes such strenious activity can work up a mighty thirst (for the human, not the mech) and that’s why it’s nice that this powerful robot arm is gentle enough to grasp the fellah’s boba tea and hand it to him. I’m sure the bot asks for nothing in return except a little gratitude from time to time. I just love it for its striking blue color scheme!

Oobaru side

Summer 2023 LEGO Star Wars sets unveiled at Comic-Con, including buildable Chewbacca and Ahsoka series playsets [News]

San Diego Comic Con today saw LEGO reveal three upcoming sets in the Star Wars product line. Ahead of the hotly-anticipated Ahsoka series coming to Disney+ in a little over a month, we get two colourful sets depicting starfighters old and new from the Star Wars universe. The T-6 Jedi Shuttle makes its first appearance in a LEGO set since 2012, while the E-wing makes its first appearance in New Republic colours alongside an all-new ship for antagonist Shin Hati. Shin is herself part of a minifigure line-up featuring many of the Ahsoka series’ main characters. In addition to these two playscale sets is a buildable Chewbacca, depicting the lovable wookiee in a 2,000-piece, 18″ (46cm) sculpture. All three sets are available for pre-order now from LEGO.com, and will be released this coming September 1st.

Peruse pictures, press releases and pre-order links presently!

An Astounding LEGO Aegis of an Aureate Aesthetic

I have a bit of a weakness for life-size recreations in LEGO form, so this beautiful green and gold shield by Peter Ilmrud most certainly caught my eye. The odd angles of the outer gold band are mesmerizing in this blocky medium, creating a non-standard yet fitting silhouette for the creation. And the stripes of sand and dark green composing the interior fill color, again set at an atypical angle, pair nicely with the pearl gold trim. But the 3-D dragon head at the center is the real all-star here. Utilizing both Technic and System pieces, the sculpture incorporates some notoriously-difficult-to-use pieces into the fierce visage. Any knight would surely think twice before attacking a knight wielding this beauty.

Avalonian Heraldic Shield

Is a LEGO builder’s work – or a church – ever truly finished?

I used to live down the road from a cathedral, and the one thing I have noticed about them and churches is that more often than not, they seem to always have scaffolding up somewhere for restoration work. This is based purely on anecdotal evidence of course, but I will use Margrabia Mokotowski‘s beautiful LEGO church as another datapoint to support this dubious claim! Inspired by a real church in Margrabia’s native Poland, it wouldn’t look out of place as the centerpiece of a medieval township, even with the heavy weathering in evidence with some nice texturing. The ever-present scaffolding, though, belies its true setting in a modern-day LEGO city. It’s funny how a few minifigures and safety barriers can change the context of a whole build by a few hundred years!

Church_2

LEGO reveals 76417 Gringotts™ Wizarding Bank – Collectors’ Edition, available this fall [News]

Earlier today, LEGO announced the next set in the Harry Potter theme: 76417 Gringotts™ Wizarding Bank – Collectors’ Edition. Consisting of 4,803 pieces, this mammoth construction features both the above-ground wizarding bank and the catacomb of vaults below. All told, the set is an impressive 29.5″ (75 cm) tall, 12.5″ (32 cm) wide, and 10″ (25 cm) deep, and comes with 13 minifigures including Harry, Ron, Hermione, Hagrid, Bellatrix, and Griphook. The set also includes the iconic Ukrainian Ironbelly that the Golden Trio ride out of the top of Gringotts in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Designed to be compatible with 75978 Harry Potter Diagon Alley, 76417 Gringotts™ Wizarding Bank – Collectors’ Edition will be available for purchase through LEGO stores and their website on September 4 (September 1 for VIPs), and will retail for US $429.99 | CAN $559.99 | UK £369.99.

Take a stroll through the bank below

Wyrms: like dragons, but cuter

Supposedly, the difference between dragons and wyrms (and wyverns, and drakes) lies in the number of limbs they have, and whether they have wings or not. That may be so, but the name “wyrm” just sounds cuter than the others, don’t you think? Maybe that’s why Jonah Schultz refers to this adorable little LEGO guy as a wyrm, even if it technially has too many limbs to be one. That minifigure-leg snout is too cute to belong to a fire-breathing monster! How do we square this particular circle? Maybe Wyrm is its given name? Wyrm the Dragon. Yeah, that sounds fitting! If a little confusing…

The Wyrm's Treasure

Winning at Minecraft, fatherhood, and LEGO

You may have noticed that the LEGO corner of the internet is currently awash in builds featuring the Drowned trident from Minecraft sets. And that must mean we’re amid another round of Iron Builder. Defending champ Caleb Schilling channels his love of LEGO minecraft with this tribute to the wholesome meme known as “Are ya winning, son?” The perfect recreation of the pixelated game on the son’s computer monitor is spot-on (and a great use of the skeleton head 1×1 plates I was drooling over in this recent review). The look of the two brick-built characters is wonderful, especially the little details like how the kid’s shoes bend outward slightly at the ankles, or the 1×1 brick with a stud on the side for the father’s mouth. And the trident part definitely takes center stage, used brilliantly in the legs of the desk. Intertwining the prongs to form a right angle is quite the pro LEGO move!

Are ya winning, son?