Posts by Jake Forbes (TBB Managing Editor)

Chicken Dreams – a peck of clucking good LEGO hens (and instructions to make your own!)

It started with a dream – the dream of AFOLSs Carson Lacey and Syrdarian who dared prompt a new building challenge for the community: NovHENber. Frogs and crabs have had their time. Now let the chickens rise to the top of the pecking order! One builder who answered the call and has been strutting her stuff all month is Kristel Whitaker, who just finished her series of ten hens, starting with this plucky lady. This is an extraordinary build of a totally ordinary bird, living her modest egg-laying life on a bed of cozy ~~chopsticks~~ straw.

Only at the end of the series does Kristel reveal the nine fanciful fowl that followed were actually the first chicken’s dreams, with each microbuild becoming a piece of an impressive MOC with a brickbuilt dream bubble housing the peculiar and prodigious poultry. Each of these hens deserves a moment of appreciation.

Fly the coop with us as we meet all of Kristel’s amazing hens!

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Do you have the Guts to build Berserk in LEGO?

Elden Ring and other From Software games have been a major influence on LEGO builds in recent years, but long before Dark Souls, another Japanese series wore the Dark Fantasy crown – the manga and anime series Berserk. Vietnamese builder Liivii forges anime characters and mecha from bricks and for their latest creation, they turned to Guts, Berserk’s violent antihero. As built by Livii, Guts is wearing the evolution of his armor infused with the Beast of Darkness. The builder recreates the Berserker armor with its many jet black ridges using all System elements, and most importantly, captures Guts’ bestial slouch as he lurches towards his next battle.

Build your own LEGO Enterprise D & Shuttlepod with these free instructions

On November 28th, LEGO ~~boldy~~ boldly goes to the final frontier with Star Trek 10356 U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D. We found this Black Friday release to be a stellar build, albeit one that asks a lot of your wallet and shelf space. During this year of big sets and big price tags, “the one I can afford” memes have flourished, with builders sharing their microscale spins on premium releases, and the Enterprise has spawned a few impressive fan builds. We were especially taken by this version from 2Bricks, which includes the Enterprise D, shuttlepod GWP, and minifigures. 2Bricks was kind enough to share the instructions so that you can build your own mini Enterprise!

With the holidays approaching, if you’re looking to Trek the Halls with Borg and Holodecks, 2Bricks has created instructions for a full Advent Calendar of Star Trek microbuild instructions that you can order here.

But first, start with the free instructions for the Enterprise D and shuttlepod. As Picard sings so merrily, make it so!

Click to view the instructions for the microscale Enterprise D and Shuttlepod

Color us impressed by this Middle Eastern medieval library masterpiece

When you think of medieval LEGO builds, you probably picture a lot of grey bricks (or yellow, if you’re feeling extra nostalgic). In this spectacular scene from German builder Marcel Veit, there’s nary a grey brick to be found. Instead, we’re treated to carpets, mosaics, and bookshelves popping with rich colors. The build was created for the Arabian Knights category in this year’s Brickscalibur competition, but with all those hues, it’s clear Marcel also has his eyes on the “Cerulean Count” prize – a bonus award for builders who get creative with color.

While Marcel has collaborated on RogueBricks projects, it’s been a full year since he’s shared a personal MOC, making this immersive build all the more exciting. Marcel is a builder whose clean designs, ingenious use of elements, and command with color have influenced many other builders. And while Middle Eastern settings have become more common in the Castle community, Marcel was an early advocate of exploring that setting in MOCs.

What I love about Marcel’s builds, and especially this one, is how dense with detail they are. Furniture, potted plants, lamps, and fixtures are both innovative and cohesive. The raised mosaic carpet looks so plush. Like a good book, I want to curl up and lose myself in Marcel’s world.

Aren’t you a little short for a Mûmakil?

War elephants were a staple of combat in North Africa, but what makes them legendary in the battle against the Romans is Hannibal’s march across the Alps. Builder Tylar pays tribute in LEGO to Hannibal’s last standing elephant, Surus, at the battle of the Trebia. Cloaked in red with a howda on its back, Surus might look a little small by Oliphaunt standards, but he is surprisingly close to scale for the now-extinct North African elephants used by the Carthaginians. Tylar completes the scene with wintery terrain on the Trebia banks and a fun mix of historical minifigs, including some Roman soldiers with wolf hoods.

She sees the flowers and she wants them painted black

The LEGO Botanicals sets have offered a steady source of bright colors and inspired plenty of builders to arrange their own bright bouquets. For Taylor (@bricksandchaos), whose builds explore “elegant unease,” flowers became a way to express feelings ranging from elation to anxiety. Her blooms don’t blossom – they writhe. Taylor’s monochrome flower series riffs on Botanicals designs using all black parts, supplemented with spines and tentacles that fuse beauty with seething unrest.

Taylor’s latest MOCs add red eyes to each flower and hand-like prongs at the end of the tendrils to chilling effect. Do these roses stop to smell the humans?

More of Taylor’s flower series follows

Take a break from winter’s chill with this sunny summer palace in LEGO

LEGO castles, both official sets and fan creations, tend to focus on medieval fortresses, but most of the royal palaces still standing in Europe are built around gardens, not garrisons. Palaces like this one from Swedish builder Mikael Norling. While the builder doesn’t list a specific inspiration, the design, with the mix of light nougat and white, captures the aesthetics of 17th and 18th-century palaces inspired by the grandeur of Versailles. The Baroque touches use boomerangs, forks, ferns, flowers, and more to provide texture and detail.

Take a tour of the palace gardens after the break

Team Rocket, bricking off at the speed of light

There’s been plenty of chatter about which Pokémon will make the cut for the first waves of LEGO sets, but there hasn’t been enough talk about the true MVPs of the franchise: Team Rocket! Korean AFOL nunsseugae brings the trouble and makes it double with brick-built versions of James and Jess and their most dangerous Pokémon partners – Meowth and Wobbuffet. The builder has created dozens of Pokémon over the years, but this foray into villainous trainers is my favorite of nunsseugae’s creations so far. The hair and posing are perfect, and of course, James has his rose.

Of course, for all their bluster, James and Jessie aren’t truly wicked. Evil has a face in the Pokémon world, and nunsseugae has built that too!

Vicious TIE Viper is ready to SHMUP some Rebel scum

In these parts, NoVVember always has two Vs in celebration of the Vic Viper starfighter and the memory of builder who inspired the tradition. Builder WyndGekko shows that the tradition is also held in a galaxy far, far away with this fresh upgrade to her 2022 TIE Viper design. The ship bears all the necessary traits of a Vic Viper – the twin prings, single dorsal fin, and rear lateral wings – while also looking like a design that might have been heisted from the Seinar Test Facility, alongside the TIE Avenger. Viper traits aside, it’s one of the best custom TIEs I’ve ever seen, especially for the color-blocking on the struts and the subtle greebling.

Feeling nostalgic for NoVVember? Check out our extensive Vic Viper archives.

LEGO rings in 2026 with new Garden, Architecture, and Art sets

Today LEGO revealed three attractive new display sets for adult builders across a range of themes. LEGO Art 31218 Japanese Cherry Blossom Landscape doesn’t adapt a particular iconic work but rather evokes the style of ukiyo-e style in a lush and textured scene. LEGO Architecture 21064 Paris – City of Love takes iconic Parisian landmarks (some of which have appeared in brick before) and assembles them in a stylized shadowbox. Finally, and probably of most interest for readers of this site, LEGO Icons 11372 Autumn Cottage Garden is the third “Gardens of the World” set and combines a Tudor-style cottage (complete with a tiny gnome!) and fall foliage, including a new leaf mold and two new bird prints. We have two observations from this mix – first, an English autumn set in January? Second, LEGO is really blurring the line with these themes. As with the Fauna Collection and Restaurants of the World, traditional themes seem less important for these non-IP 18+ sets. Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

LEGO Art 31218 Japanese Cherry Blossom Landscape| 1892 Pieces | Available January 1, 2026 | US $139.99 | CAN $179.99 | UK £99.99

Bring colour and nature into your home with this LEGO Art Japanese Cherry Blossom Landscape (31218) building set for adults. Inspired by the beauty of springtime in Japan and the country’s Ukiyo-e artists, this brick-built 3D Japanese wall art features Mount Fuji, a teahouse, a bridge, a waterfall, flying Japanese cranes, and cherry blossom, ‘Sango-Kaku’ maple and Japanese umbrella pine trees.

This colourful home office decor piece comes in a black lacquer shadow box frame and has 2 display options. It can be mounted on a wall with a hanger or freely stood on a flat surface.

The artwork’s waterfall flows beyond the frame so that on a wall it pours directly out, or can be adjusted to spill out onto a flat surface. This LEGO 3D wall art set offers a calm, immersive and mindful experience for adults as you build the set from LEGO bricks. A treat for yourself or a Japanese gift idea for women and men who are art lovers, this model includes instructions to guide you through a creative activity.

LEGO Architecture 21064 Paris – City of Love | 958 Pieces | Available January 1, 2026 | US $79.99 | CAN $99.99 | UK £69.99

Embrace your fascination with Paris and its iconic landmarks with this collectable LEGO® Architecture Paris – City of Love (21064) home decor building set for women, men and adults aged 18 and over. Create a display piece that makes a stunning architectural gift idea for you or any history or travel lover. Explore the starry sky and cityscape as you build. Discover the details of the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, the Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre. Finish the set with the decorated ‘City of Love’ brick and the brick-built frame, then hang it on a wall or display it on a shelf in your home or office. As you create the framed wall decor artwork, enjoy enhanced building with the LEGO Builder app, zooming and rotating with 3D instructions while saving and tracking progress – all from within the app. This premium set will appeal to you or any creative adult who loves history, travel or Paris architecture, and it makes a great gift for LEGO building fans. Set contains 958 pieces.

LEGO Icons 11372 Autumn Cottage Garden | 1102 Pieces | Available January 1, 2026 |US $119.99 | CAN $149.99 | UK £99.99

Capture the essence of autumn with the LEGO® Icons Autumn Cottage Garden (11372) model building kit for adults. Craft a seasonal centrepiece bursting with autumn colours. Unwind as you build each intricate detail, then rearrange the trees, plants and cottagecore decor elements to create a vibrant display for the home or office. Inspired by storybook cottages, this addition to the Gardens of the World collection features birch, weeping willow, blue spruce and maple trees, plus seasonal flowers. Other highlights include a sundial, birdhouse, vegetable cart, a garden gnome and a stream with stepping stones. A cottage with a cosy kitchen and woodland creatures including robin and nuthatch birds, a squirrel, frog, and snail add the final touches to this model – a perfect gift for adult fans of creative home decor. Build smarter with the LEGO® Builder app – zoom, rotate in 3D, track your progress and follow step-by-step digital instructions. Contains 1,102 pieces.

Monster Mash collab is an NPU smash

Halloween may be in the past, but we’re still haunted by a collab of classic movie monsters reinterpreted in LEGO by top character builders.

Fresh off winning the 2025 Bio-Cup, Hlebo Bas gets back to the mad NPU science with this wild and inspired take on Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Both the good doctor and his alter ego feature wonderfully expressive faces from a fun mix of parts. Just as impressive is the sinewy sense of movement that the builder excels at.

Another Bio-Cup alum, GiiKei, unearths this stunning Mummy. The delicate limbs wrapped everything from rubber bands to minifig helms to balloon panels looks phenomenal in the leonine pose, but the showstopping piece here is the buildable Rey face painted gold.

Click to see the rest of monster mash, if you dare

Villains unite – sinister figs of the LEGO multiverse [Minifig Monday]

What’s a hero without a good villain? Or, better yet, a whole rogue’s gallery of baddies in every flavor. This week on Minifig Monday, we celebrate custom LEGO creations of villains – both familiar faces from comics and original characters.

Llano (femmefromtheblock) gets things started with this hot take on Mr. Freeze. It’s just one of the builder’s growing ensemble of #dcllanoverse Bat characters. The pale blue and pearlescent works so well for Gotham’s coolest villain.

Redbirch Bricks is back with this “midi-fig” spin on Bane, from the infamous Knightfall arc. The villain’s minifig legs as arms perfectly sell his venom-fueled muscles as he breaks the Bat.

Click for more villains from the world of comics, Warhammer, and fantasy