Builders like Hunter Erickson are a gift, using their talent for creating compelling LEGO scenes to share another passion in a way that makes learning fun. For Hunter, that passion is history, especially obscure military history from both the ancient and modern worlds. In his latest scene, Hunter takes us back to Ancient Egypt with a rendition of The Battle of Pelusium from 525 BCE. Persian king Cambyses II overcame the much larger Egyptian army thanks to a clever bit of psychological warfare: they brought cats to the front lines, knowing the Egyptians would be afraid of hurting the sacred animal.

Aside from his knack for mustering ancient minifig armies, Hunter is wonderful as usual in the presentation, staging the scene with a framed brick-built sky and a lovely patch of terrain, as we appreciated in his LEGO tribute to the Hundred Years’ War.