Over the past three years, Jakob Kaiser and his LEGO building community, The Workshop, have an annual castle collaboration themed on Gothic builds and time of day. First Gothic: Mistlands focused on dawn. Gothic II: Twilight explored dusk. Now, comes the grand finale: Gothic III: Noctural, with Jakob’s showstopper contribution: Moonshade Cathedral. The massive diorama is a masterclass in medieval brickwork, landscaping, and presentation and the builder’s most impressive work to date. Let’s take a closer look!

Jakob’s epic work began with just the round window, an elegant ring of hinges, socket joints, and bars, that remained largely unchanged over the 3 month build. Dark grey spires and flying buttresses followed as Jakob filled out the cathedral façade before moving on to the rest of the build. There are so many details to appreciate, like the gargoyles, roosters and microfigs decorating the church, the use of sprues as spire toppers, and the pointed arch over the cathedral doors. I especially like the smooth curves on the gatehouse roof, created by locking tiles through a piece of concealed netting.

Sometimes large castle builds can be visually hard to parse because of the overwhelming amount of grey. That’s no issue with the Moonshade Cathedral thanks to excellent use of geometry and shadows to make the architecture shine, as well as a judicious use of fall foliage around the build. This rustic shrine hidden on the backside of the diorama is especially cozy. Jakob finishes off the build with custom lighting that lets every flame flicker, perfect for a night-themed build.

To fully appreciate the creation, it’s best to, as Jakob says, let the model speak for itself. A video tour shows gives an intimate look at the finished creation. Past videos on Jakob’s YouTube channel show off the build process.