Studio Ghibli films are known for unusual and fanciful vehicles like the floating castle of Laputa from Castle in the Sky, or the glider from Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind, but few vehicles are more iconic than the walking, and at the end of the film, flying, castle belonging to the enigmatic magician Howl. The enchanted structure made from buildings, round cannon turrets, fishlike fins, and a large rusty face complete with riveted tongue, all walking along on four spindly chicken legs, poses many challenges to any builder, but Sakiya Watanabe works magic and brings it to life in bricks like never before.

When building something so iconic, choosing the right parts can be challenging, as there is nothing conventional about the outer surface of the castle. How do you form a cohesive model out of such a chaotic inspiration? (I’ve tried myself once before – it wasn’t easy!)

The organic curves of the castle’s surface are tricky to get right while still including plenty of attachment points for the little houses, gears, and pipes that cover the sides. Uncommon parts from the Galidor theme are used to great effect for chimneys, pipes, and those spindly chicken legs.

The builder shares a behind-the-scene peek at how those curved walls were created. The starring part here is the humble 1×2 plate with hole, stacked in alternating orientation, to create a gently-curved SNOT surface.

In this in-progress pic showing the lower portion of the castle you can see the eyes are made from a variety of round elements like wheels, gears, and rims.

But if you are wondering what that outer ring is, that comes from Ninjago spinner discs carefully deconstructed to remove this metallic element.

Once again, Sakiya Watanabe is at the vanguard of NPU, finding ways to recontextualize LEGO elements long forgotten by most. And the results are magic.