From Sand Elves to Frank Herbert’s DUNE, these desert dwelling minifigs are an oasis of creativity [Minifig Monday]

Believe it or not, Tatooine is not the only desert world to inspire amazing minifigures. There’s also Jakku. And Jedha. And Geonosis. And Pasaana. And… You know what? We’re not looking at any desert worls where Jedi have set foot today. Instead, for this week’s Minifig Monday we’re looking at original designs from the worlds of fantasy, literature, history, and military sci-fi.

Leading us into the desert today is Jacob Manahan, whose Akhanii desert elves are an imagined ancient kingdom from which civilization flowed. Jacob selects a nice assortment of printed body parts with folds of cloth and timeless jewelry (and I see Horizon‘s Aloy split across two different figures).  Those blue eyes suggest the presnce of a certain spice on this world…

Speaking of Spice, builders Parker (lego.frenzy) and Woudt (_standaartwoudt_) recently collaborated on a series of fig builds based interpreting the characters of Frank Herbert’s Dune, without leaning the official figures from the excellent Dune Atreides Royal Ornithopter. Parker’s series leads with this ensemble. I love the choice of the Haunted Mansion employee for Paul’s sullen face. The Sardukar soldier is epic and menacing. Parker even slips in a brilliant mini-build with that innovative Sandworm maw made from light nougat shields clipped in a ring.

Woudt’s spin on the characters have a very different look reminiscent of the 1980s version of the film from David Lynch. I especially like the builder’s take on  Baron Vladimir Harkonnen.

Woudt is no stranger to DUNE creations. This take on Leto II is as inspired as it is grotesque. Please, Denis Villeneuve, don’t stop with a trilogy! We need the God Emperor!

Speaking of God Emperors, Hakan (the.lego.detective) also created this omnipotent human-sandworm hybrid that evokes the trippy cover art of the original release.

Before this beomes a God Emperor of Dune appreciation post, let’s move on… to Ancient Egypt! Expansion Bricks provides a pair of historically grounded fig builds, starting with this well-toned Medjay. Their historical reality is complicated, but in pop culture, Medjay are basically the Pharaoh’s special forces.

The builder also assembled a pair of corrupt Egyptian priests who go by the Jackal and the Falcon, the latter sporting Jaffar’s minifigure head.  An excellent assortment of accessories has me feeling very nostalgic.

beyondb0nes joins the deset caravan with this pair. On the left, Cataphract Ardashir the Protector is inspired by the Sassanid Persian Empire and wears armor mixing viking and Ninjago elements. Prince Hassan ibn al-Nurani draws from the Abbasid Caliphate and wears Jaffar’s iconic headpiece.

Red Impala has created sci-fi soldiers for every terrain, but especially like this desert ensemble, designated Squadron Vanta-7. The heavy units are wearing Resistance Trooper helmets and pack some incredible brick-built armaments. The drone is a great design too, making good use of wagon wheels.

Bot builder extraordinare zakar.ion closes out our desert excursion with this pair of Badland wanderers. Robots and proto-humans like these are created by nomadic villagers and given sentience by a strange substance endemic to the desert world. Zakar’s friend dryptopic provided excellent lore for the characters.

That’s enough desert builds for today. After all, I don’t like sand. It’s coarse and rough and irritating and it gets everywhere. Happy Revenge of the Fifth.

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