The return of LEGO Elves?

I wish.
That’s why I (Mansur “Waffles” Soeleman) along with my friend Tom Loftus decided to take a break from our usual spaceships and build something fantastical. Our usual greys became pinks and lavenders, our usual mechanical greebling became wild, organic foliage. Tom wanted to build a tree, I wanted to replicate some of Scotland’s coastal cliffs. Combined with recent plants in wild colours and the release of the Acorn Boy and Night Protector in the recent Collectable Minifigure Series, our collab build became an homage to LEGO Elves.

The Edge of Elvendale

We are fans of the bygone LEGO Elves theme which ran from 2015 to 2018. Its signature look was bright colours, cute dragons, and wonderful characters with elemental powers and matching outfits, albeit they were the less favourable minidolls. In short, it was a Tolkien-esque fantasy version of LEGO Friends. Despite there being an established lore (which I admit I’m unfamiliar with), Tom and I decided to make something original, but with a similar aesthetic.

Two halves. Tree by Tom (Inthert). Cliff by me (Waffles).

The Edge of Elvendale

Tom always wanted to build a big intricate tree using all sorts of LEGO pieces for the trunk and branches. Inspired by Grant Davis’s usage of wedges and curved slopes, Tom decided to expand on the technique by adding Technic panels to his arsenal of parts. To top it off, his combination of lavender and medium lavender leaves evoke the colours of LEGO Elves. As a result, the tree is as fantastical as it can get. It’s not directly influenced by the White Tree of Gondor from The Lord of the Rings, but one might see the resemblance. Thankfully, those acorn dwellings are hopefully unlike anything you’ve seen.

The Edge of Elvendale

Meanwhile, some people like to think there is an ongoing feud between Star Wars vehicle builders such as myself, and the landscape/terrain builders. Really, it’s more of a friendly rivalry combined with jokes, and to be fair, both categories of builders do a bit of the other. As a betrayal of my spaceship builders squadron, I have been looking to build more landscapes. What better place to take inspiration than Scotland, where I live? The seaside rocks and cliffs fascinate me, especially the way the water can erode them to be angular looking.

The Edge of Elvendale

The excess of grey wedge plates is a result of having lots of LEGO Star Wars sets. When you build with as few studs as possible for spaceship MOCs, the bigger plates are left unused. Making seaside cliffs using those larger angled plates was a eureka moment for me. It became a mission to layer them into a big mass of rock until it looked believable. When displaying this collab build at the recent Bricktastic show in Manchester, a geologist actually complimented the accuracy of the jagged cliffs. The colour blocking of dark tan, dark grey and light grey gave this rock a natural coastal look.

The Edge of Elvendale

To keep it from being barren and grey, I spammed and spammed foliage with both vines and leaves in natural green and the fantastical lavender that matches Tom’s tree. The Acorn Boy from Series 22 Collectible Minifigures even came with small toadstools that were a welcome addition to populating the terrain.

And last but not least were the elves, a combination of the Acorn Boys (and girls) combined with the Night Protector CMF, with their light aqua heads swapped out for flesh tones. We used whatever Elvish hair LEGO has to offer, from rare wigs from LEGO The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, to the colourful hair from the Elves theme.

The Edge of Elvendale

This build, titled The Edge of Elvendale, is just the edge…
We hope to continue to expand upon this fantastical collab with more reimagining of LEGO Elves and other fantasy worlds. After all, there are many more wonders out there…

Check out more builds by Tom and myself!

3 comments on “The return of LEGO Elves?

  1. Dan

    Very nice, great work!! My daughter and I love the Elves sets so much, I wish Lego would bring them back!

  2. swinte

    Our family loved the Elves sets and we’d love to see them return. Ever since they were retired there is a huge gap in the lineup for kids who aren’t interested in princesses or the more bland world of Lego Friends.

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