Posts by Jake Forbes (TBB Managing Editor)

A LEGO castle where dreams take flight

Three years before Disneyland transported American families to fantasy worlds, Efteling park in the Netherlands brought fairy tales to life with European flare. Dutch builder Lucas Firestone makes his debut with a LEGO tribute to that theme park’s signature dark ride, Droomvlucht (Dream Flight), with his interpretation of the castle. Lucas does a great job capturing the castle’s dreamlike dimensions, with towers that jut out at gravity defying angles. Binoculars make for wonderful parapets. As much as we love the Disney Castle, it’s great to see other theme park landmarks in LEGO.

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Middle Eastern megacity is a triumph of LEGO collaboration and creativity

Every day we see incredible LEGO creations built from one person’s imagination and collection of bricks. When builders come together for collaborative LEGO builds, not only are we blessed with scenes of incredible scale, but the mix of builder styles harmonize to create to create something truly special. One such collaborative project debuted at BrickFair 2024. Organized by George Hawes and Michael Willhoit, the “Medinat Al Musawrah” collaboration depicts a fictional Middle Eastern walled megacity. The other contributers are Brian O’Leary, Intense Potato, Detroitika, Evan M, Renobricks, Ryan K, Skooby C, and Zach Bean.

This impressive scene captures the sort of 80s urban sprawl that inspired sci-fi works like Blade Runner. (Fittingly, many of the collaborators also participated in last year’s truly epic New Hashima cyberpunk collab at BrickWorld Chicago). But it’s real-world cities, like Cairo, Algiers, and Kowloon that inspire the grounded sense of place.

Continue on our tour of this epic Middle Eastern megacity collab.!

Magnificent painted owl springs to life

It’s the rare creation that can make you forget you’re looking at LEGO bricks while also making you love the LEGO medium even more. I know that the stunning “One Fell Swoop” from TBB alum Nannan Zhang is a LEGO model, but all I can see is a vibrant painting of an owl coming alive, so perfectly is the concept realized. The explosive creativity can literally not be contained!

Looking closer at the technique on display, the owl’s feathers are the flashiest. Chima wings in earth blue, mech swords in gold, surfboards in minifig and mindoll scale in vibrant coral make for a striking mix of plumage, and the dark red ruff of chima armor plates is magic. I love the shape of the eyebrows and especially the addition of boomerangs for extra dimension. The pale yellow eyes are a fun connection to the painting theme, sourced as they are from the Van Gogh Starry Night set.

Perhaps my favorite technique is the subtle gradient peeking through grille plates. That, as well as the tube of yellow paint and the unpainted moon, sell the illusion of a painting in progress. Hot dogs and cables used for motion lines further play with the mix of flat images and dynamic sculpture. It all adds up to a masterpiece that makes the most of LEGO form, colors, and connections.

Nocturnal ninja life takes its toll

Atop the bell tower, a solitary warrior confesses her sins to the moon. This striking scene from Clockwork Bricks is a master class in contrast and perspective in LEGO. The foreground elements are dimly lit so as to appear all black against a night sky lit by the pink moon. Pagoda tile rooftops are a popular theme in LEGO architecture, but Clockwork Bricks manages to innovate here, incorporating tires into the tiles and a dragon’s wing for extra flare. Larger tires make up the bell. Brick-built clouds and micro builds of distant mountains sell the forced perspective.

Clockwork Bricks built this evocative scene for the 2024 Summer Joust competition, where it won top prize in the “Pick Your Poison” category.

The Emperor would be pleased by this LEGO AT-ST at UCS scale

The Imperial AT-ST scout walker is secure in the S-tier of all-time great Star Wars vehicles and frequently shows up in official LEGO sets and fan creations. It’s been 18 years since the beloved “chicken walker” received the UCS treatment, making it prime time for a remake with modern techniques and parts. Carl Greatrix took on this challenge and created perhaps the most screen accurate AT-ST we’ve ever seen in LEGO.

The legs, side-mounted cannons, and especially the rear, feature just the right amount of greebling (the decorative bits of tubes and texture that give Star Wars vehicles that gritty garage aesthetic). A few judiciously applied custom decals push the accuracy to the next level. Perhaps most impressively, Carl engineered the legs with enough strength to balance this notoriously tricky top-heavy design without support.

Carl is no stranger to building screen vehicles in incredible detail as he works as a senior model designer for the official LEGO video games from TT Games. Revisit our interview with Carl for a deeper appreciation of how LEGO gets brought to life in games.

Love is in the air and on the stairs in this medieval LEGO village

She was a high-town girl, raised in comfort. He lived in low-town, busking for coin. She hears a hum on the whispering wind. Could it be love? All that keeps these two apart is a short flight of stairs. Tomasz Bartoszek captures this romantic moment in LEGO with a scene that is packed with medieval detail and incredible parts usage. The brickwork throughout features some lovely SNOT (studs not on top) techniques, especially on that heavy wall through which the staircase rises. My favorite details are the large door that uses gaps between bricks to look like wooden planks, and the slate roof that integrates capes for a truly ramshackle look. The distinct colors and building techniques for the high and low towns make this scene of star-crossed lovers really shine.

Tomasz’ build won the runner up spot in the 2024 Summer Joust Competition “Stairway Tales” category.

Tradition meets tomorrow in this Cyberpunk Chinese-style inn

Cyberpunk isn’t a genre one typically associates with subtlety, but for his latest LEGO creation, Quian Yj achieves just that balance. At first glance, this multi-story inn looks like a building you might see today, or any time during the Qing Dynasty. But look a little closer and you’ll notice that the signs are neon and the roof tiles are transparent, perhaps a solar layer to power this waystation of the future. Honestly it makes a lot of sense that old buildings would be retrofitted for a cyber future rather than razed and replaced with 80s industrial vibes. I appreciate the mix of window styles (including the stained-glass from the Brick Bank) suggesting a building that has undergone regular repairs and updates over a century or more. Even with a sci-fi work like this, Quian Yj’s architectural builds feel so cozy and lived-in. I wonder if the inn has any vacancies?

Two hot takes on the dog days of summer

In a tradition old as time, Iron Builder competitions see two top builders in the LEGO community face off with a serious of dueling creations based around a “seed part” that must be featured in each build. As summer 2024 comes to an end, two fresh-faced challengers vie for the title of Iron Builder in “Battle Red Cauldron.” After coming out swinging with a cool Harley Quinn, Eann “Miscellanabuilds” McCurdy turns up the heat with slice of backyard life. Cauldrons are cleverly employed as a propane tank for the grill, while also appearing as chimney and dogfood dish. It’s the brick-built pets who steal the show. Their personality, combined with the slick studs-free setting, evoke a stop-action cartoon more than a LEGO model.

Maven of microscale Geneva D ripostes by doubling down on the dog – hot dog, that is – with a life-size frank made from interlocking cauldrons. Minifig arms make for surprisingly effective mustard, and Wolverine claws in green, used by Eann for grass, return here as relish. A pair of cauldrons make for a convincing ketchup lid, but it’s the recessed cauldron representing a tomato on the label that scores the knockout punch.

Meat and more are back on the menu in LEGO Isengard

After weeks without elevenses or second breakfasts, with naught but Ent-draughts to sustain them, you can feel the joy when Merry and Pippen discover Saruman’s private food stash. MorlornEmpire (secondary account of Eli Willsea, aka ForlornEmpire) recreates the scene in a delicious LEGO vignette. The builder is no stranger to Lord of the Rings vignettes, and again he showcases his eye for screen detail with dynamic composition at miniature scale. The lattice roof is my favorite feature, providing a nice contrast from the color and textures on the stone walls. Look carefully and you’ll see that the floor is flooded, but not so high as to ruin those barrels of Old Toby.

The scene was created for the Middle Earth LEGO Olympics 2024 for a final round duel against Isaiah Kepner, who ended up winning the competition with his tribute to Rohan’s Golden Hall feast.

Start your plasma engines, the LEGO F-Zero GP is about to begin!

While these days Nintendo’s F-Zero might be best known as providing a stage and combatant in Smash Bros, the franchise was once among the crown jewels of Nintendo platforms. Each game pushed the hardware limits of its generation to create a thrilling sense of speed, and the colorful hovercrafts and their alien racers added a layer of story and lore never before seen in a racing game. Nintendo super-fan Clément pays tribute to the intergalactic grand prix with a LEGO starting gate and three racers: the Wild Goose, Golden Fox, and Sonic Phantom. Clément nails the chunky aesthetics of the N64 era, when the franchise went 3D, witch each vehicle’s colors and silhouette instantly recognizable.

If Clément’s take on Nintendo’s space racers has you feeling the need for speed, consider revisiting the Brothers Brick speeder circuit for other zippy hover vehicles.

The lotus and the damselfly

Mattia Careddu takes us on a journey to Sri Lanka with a LEGO version of the Nymphaea Nouchali, or Blue Lotus, the country’s national flower. The model makes good use of Hero Factory cocoon elements as petals, and syringes double as stamens. Admiring the flower is a Prodasineura Sita, a species of damselfly endemic to the island nation. Minifig hands make for excellent hairs on the delicate insect’s spindly legs. Care Creation regularly finds inspiration in unusual LEGO elements or subjects not typically seen in LEGO models. This tiny model does both!

Dear John Deere combine delivers delightful detail

What is it that makes John Deere farm equipment such a compelling subject for LEGO builders? Maybe it’s the highly-specialized machinery that make a seemingly impossible task like harvesting acres of grain as easy as mowing a lawn. Or maybe it’s just the iconic green and gold colors. Reddish Blue makes their Flickr debut with an incredible John Deere combine harvester at minifig scale. The model packs in a remarkable amount of functionality through technic elements, without compromising the aesthetics of the best City vehicles. RB maximizes play features and utility with optional front treads and a trailer for transporting the header. Even if you’ve never stepped foot on a commercial farm, you can’t help but appreciate this impressive model.