Titled “Temptation” and haunted by an enormous black monster, Ben Cossy‘s latest LEGO diorama feels like it’s set in an alternate Middle Earth where our heroes face down their worst desires made manifest, rather than struggling quietly against the thrall of the One Ring. Ben shares that he’s glad to build something in the fantasy/castle theme that doesn’t require quite so much green (or gray, for that matter). The autumnal color palette of the trees contrasts beautifully with the white architecture.

The monster itself uses a large number of LEGO cloth elements, such as capes from small and large figures.

What I like most about this diorama myself is the wonderful landscaping beneath the trees — rockwork built sideways from a variety of curved and straight slope pieces integrated beneath a studs-up surface with water, pathways, and even a tiny island in a stream.