Every year, the Iron Forge lets LEGO builders join in a tournament to see whose techniques and creativity will reign supreme with the winner getting the chance to battle an Iron Guilder 1-on-1. The final round just wrapped, during which participants were tasked with making creations featuring the air scoop engine element over a two-week period. While the judges evaluate entries and select this year’s champion, we’re giving each of the eight final builders a spotlight, starting with Xiheng Xu (@little_monk_mocs). The builder only joined the afol community a few months ago, but in that short time has made an incredible impression with builds spanning a range of themes and styles. And in the Iron Forge, Xiheng demonstrated both incredible speed and nimbleness, presenting 18 builds, many of which are in dialogue with other participants. Let’s have a look at them all!

Xiheng brings out the emotive quality of the intake engines, using them as eyes for this adorable WALL-E. Supplementing the main build, an engine in brown doubles as the bot’s boot-turned-planter. In Iron Forge tradition, this creation incorporates both seed elements from the previous rounds – the eggshell/crown and the minifig chair.

I am Groot? I am GROOT! I… am groot.

We’re loving this fast food tray with the seed part used to hold golden fries. A torn bag and a piece of an instruction manual add texture to this miniature tableau. This one evokes the miniature food of LEGO Masters winner Ian Summers.

One of these dongles is not like the other! The builder plays with how the engine’s opening resembles a USB cable.

Several builders this year were inspired to create dancers using the seed parts. Xiheng steps onto the dancefloor with this couple, whose long limbs evoke the dancers of Rickard Stensby.

Competing in the Iron Forge isn’t child’s play! Here, the builder not only shows off the seed part as Grogu’s years, but he invents an impressive pram to carry “Baby Yoda.” Using blue antennae for frog legs is my favorite detail.

Conveniently dropped on #JohnnyThunderThursday, this exotic build riffs on multiple builds from other builders with tiki statues and a monolithic youtube logo.

In this bathroom tableau, engines are used for a soap pump, a toothpaste tube, and a faucet. In Iron Forge tradition, Xiheng sneaks in a few frogs, used here as toothpaste. Could this whimsical NPU be another tribute to Ian Summers, perhaps?

Xiheng stared the Forge with an out-of-season Christmas build, and for this build, he summons the spirit of Halloween where engines serve as tombstones and brickwork. It’s also a tribute to opponent Grant Davis’s swaying ghost machine.

The Iron Forge can get pretty intense. Sometimes you just need to take the piss out of the competition.

Following up on Baby Yoda comes regular old Yoda! Here the same green engines serve as eyes and nose.

While ot named as a Star Wars build, this sci-fi catwalk definitely feels like it comes from a galaxy far far away, evoking the ports of call made by Iron Builder alum Tim Goddard. The seed part is conspicuously used for vertical pylons, but did you notice the triangular arrangement in the five corners of the walkway? That’s some impressive geometry!

Next up, a handsome house for Squidward! As in the first round, Xiheng evokes the clean look of his creative hero Eli Willsea.

Marvel at this second build from the MCU – a strikingly screen-accurate arc reactor.

Marchikoma comes early with this spider tank on the hunt for a mischievous monkey-bot. This build is a sequel to a build from competitor Grant Davis.

The Botanicals line has shown that practically any element can be incorporated into clever plant builds, so why not a few engines? The seed part is incorporated both as green leaves and as part of the grey pot.

I love the color scheme on this unconventional bot that incorporates engine throughout its body.

Xiheng rounds out this year’s Iron Forge with a medley of tributes, most notably Grant Davis’s DVD screen saver and Ideas pop-up book. With several direct callouts to the Iron Builder, could this be a future match-up in the Iron Builder competition? First, we’ll have to see if Xiheng’s many builds can win over the judges. The competition is stiff! Stay tuned for spotlights of the other seven builders!