Of all the partnerships in the LEGO library, none is more cinematic than the Lord of the Rings. While sets like Rivendell are rapturous enough just sitting on a shelf, with amazing lighting and post-production, LEGO Lord of the Rings MOCs can transport you right to Middle-earth. Valenque is a builder and photographer who blends official sets, custom landscaping, and VFX to create immersive scenes from Tolkien’s books and the films they inspired. The builder’s latest borrows a Hungarian Horntail to recreate an epic meeting from the posthumously published Children of Hurin. The minifig of Túrin is supplemented with a digital dragon crest on the helm to match Alan Lee’s illustration.

Valenque has previously captured scenes from the Hobbit and Rings trilogies, like this scene of Gandalf igniting pinecones to ward off goblins on the slopes of the Misty Mountains.

I especially like the atmosphere in this shot of Thorin’s company of dwarves strung up in Mirkwood before Bilbo introduces the spiders to Sting.

Valenque has been recreating Middle-Earth scenes for over a decade. Here’s hoping we’ll continue to see these inspiring builds for years to come.