Ghalad Grommash the Bust

Much like orcs, some builders get attention by just existing. While Orcs face any number of judgments about their character and culture due to their appearance, builders like Steven Howard garner a fandom by making intensely detailed models. A spaceship and figure crafting legend, Steven is an accomplished builder with a seeming ability to perfectly render his ideas into LEGO models. This bust, loosely based on Grommash Hellscream from World of Warcraft, is somewhat of a first for Steven, since he usually crafts full bodies for his characters too. Not that he doesn’t plan on trying to build one eventually, once he can get ahold of all the parts. After all, this orc’s head is not small by any since. I’d wager this whole build is probably bigger than the upcoming Mighty Bowser and it packs a bigger visual punch to show it.

ORC

Masterful usage of a plethora of textured Technic pieces gives life to this mighty warrior’s luscious locks. Dark tan slopes and wedges are layered to create the many levels of Grommash’s face while a mouthful of teeth and fangs sit bared for intimidation. Steven mentions that a majority of these pieces came from the Jurassic Park T-Rex set but given the colors used, I bet he means the older Rampage set and not the newer Break-out set. My favorite portion of this is the eyes though, which use upside-down minifigure eyeball heads inside of grey helmets for those bags under the eyes.

ORC

Below the “life-like” head, an altar of sorts doubles as a stand. Displaying an aggressive, orc-skull seal above a collection of shields (pulled from the original Viking Ship set from 2005). Below that sits the simplistic but apt lettering of “ORC.” Given how much space spelling out all of Grommash Hellscream would take, I’ll forgive Steven for going with the easier, more simplistic version. After all, this looks absolutely fantastic and I’m sure more than a few WoW fans wouldn’t mind having a bust like this on their shelf.

ORC

The LEGO Helmets team may be sticking to wearables (and one droid head), maybe one day we’ll see more busts in this style. Getting ahold of the intellectual property isn’t an issue for Ghalad when building something like this but it’s a hurdle that LEGO has to jump for every new character or story they wish to feature. Still, one can hope for easy-going between fellow nerds when it comes to setting up deals between LEGO and any IP. Until that, all gets figured out, enjoy this piece from afar with envy.