Posts by Jake Forbes (TBB Managing Editor)

Majestic Mayan Temple of Kukulcán towers in LEGO

The Temple of Kukulcán, dubbed El Castillo by the Spanish, is the heart of the Mayan city Chichén Itzá, now a UNESCO Heritage site and Mexico’s most visited archaeological attraction. Jakob Escher, no stranger to large-scale LEGO building ambitions, took on the challenge of constructing the sacred site at minifig scale. Jakob painstakingly recreates the 365 steps spread across the four sides, flanked by the toothy maws of Kukulcán. The massive model impressed visitors at the recent Paredes de Coura Fan Weekend in Portugal, captured here along with many other impressive creations from international builders.

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Behind the bricks at The LEGO Store

Have you ever wondered what’s behind the pick-a-brick bins at your favorite LEGO Store? Contrary to persistent rumors, there are no elves or advanced Mindstorms robots running the show back there. Builder Dominique Boeynaems takes us behind that Employees Only door to reveal a warehouse full of shelving, boxes, and a pallet truck that should be instantly familiar to anyone who has worked in retail. There’s always something charming about LEGO builds dedicated to the less glamorous aspects of city life and Domnique’s build certainly captures the satisfaction and grace that comes from a well-organized space. The shelves are especially delightful, tightly packed with a mix of colored tiles with a few recognizable micro builds like the Hogwarts Express, Disney Castle, and a botanicals bouquet. It’s nice to see the minifig employees finding joy as well in this adorably mundane vignette.

The Imp and the Mother of Dragons lock eyes across stairs

With Targaryens and their dragons once again fighting to control the Iron Throne (and Sunday night TV), what better time than to revisit the Breaker of Chains? Martin Studio recreates the Meereen Throne Room, where Daenerys ruled for 3 seasons before marching on Westeros. This was done as an entry into the Summer Joust “Stairway Tales” category. And what a grand staircase it is, filled with details to match the look of the location from Game of Thrones. While keeping to the original’s muted color palette, Martin brings out a little more contrast to great effect. I love how the dark red and orange show through the seams between white tiles on the stairway, recreating the mortar on the screen version. And the mix of outward-facing tiles, plates, and ingots recreate the engraved landing beneath the throne. The choice of minifig parts to recreate Missandei, Jorah, and the rest is spot on. It’s an exquisite remake of an iconic location, and just a great set of stairs.

A half-timbered, full-hearted fairy house

There’s beauty in clutter. Unconstrained by the LEGO Group’s internal design standards, builders like Satnis creations push the limits of construction into a mix of architecture and collage. Satnis’ Fairy House is a colorful, traditional cottage design packed to the rafters with clever and unconventional parts usage. Wands and tubes are wedged into place for the half-timbered effect. Shutters hang on by tension alone. Rocks and foliage are created from surprising elements placed so meticulously that I suspect tweezers were involved. Satnis uses controlled chaos to create an utterly charming and cozy cottagecore masterpiece. I love it.

Atomic age traditions of the nuclear family

Kids. They grow up so fast. One day they’re playing with LEGO and coloring books, the next they’re asking hard questions like, “Dad, why is our family different? Why do we wear these cardboard robot suits?” Builder duo Les Foutch‘s charming scene captures a moment between father and son that is both silly and heartwarming. Les Foutch were inspired by the cardboard robot from Collectible Minifigures Series 23, seen here bound inside the family album. The builders do an admirable job enlarging the retro robot costume for father and son, recreating details at two different scales. The child’s bedroom is wonderfully detailed with matching furniture and storage solutions that look like they could have come from Ikea, and shelves packed with everything a child could need, like Star Wars microbuild vehicles.

This scene was displayed by Les Foutch, members of Canadian QuéLUG, at last month’s Exposition Deux tonnes de briques. Looks like a magnifique show for all involved.

Steer clear of these surly Sea Raiders

The right minifigs can elevate a build by making a scene come alive, suggesting a story much bigger than the LEGO model on display. The motley crew of pirates assembled by Bryckland have clearly seen their fair share of action, gaining infamy for their raids, but no shortage of glory too with close-calls and daring adventure too, I’d wager. Bryckland’s longship is a wonderful design, with a hull made of horns and rounded Technic elements, invoking ancient reed boats. Considering the sails are made from Hungarian Horntail wings, perhaps the hull is made of dragonbone or some other fantastical substance. The diorama is elevated by the patch of roiling blue sea. Where will this voyage end? Perhaps with a little pillaging at one of Bryckland’s past ports of call.

LEGO chess pieces ready for war

There are no shades of grey on the battlefield of chess — only black and white. Builder Herbert Lee explores that stark contrast with a pair of opposing pieces that are as commanding as they are elegant. The White Queen is almost entirely monochrome, with only black contrast for the eyes and hidden mixel joints to allow for regal posing. Herbert mixes soft, rounded parts for the queen’s dress with sharp horns and egg shells that should make you think twice before accepting her gambit.

The Black King is no slouch waiting for his knights and rooks to keep him out of check. Armed with a jagged sword and Kylo Ren’s chiseled abs, he looks ready to pwn a few pawns. I appreciate the asymmetry introduced by a single metallic grey Bionicle chest piece as a pauldron.

Seeing these two pieces, I can’t help but imagine a full board of such characters readying for battle. For more interpretations of the ultimate test of cerebral fitness, see the creme de la creme of the LEGO chess world in our archives, with everything but Yul Brynner.

Look and see her, how she sparkles, it’s the Brick Unicorn

’80s animated film The Last Unicorn is a true gem. Like the best fantasy films of that era, it can be scary, sad, romantic, and haunting in a way that kid flicks since rarely aspire to. Also, the theme song slaps. One fan caught under the film’s spell is LEGO builder Gino Lohse who pays tribute with a mesmerizing triptych poster. The central panel mirrors the original movie poster with the terrifying red bull menacing the eponymous unicorn. I’m impressed by Gino’s use of bold colors, layered plates, and flame shafts to create the burning intensity of the bull. And the typography of the title perfectly matches the iconic font.

The ensemble of characters on the left is equally accomplished, especially King Haggard with those piercing blue eyes and wispy hair made from feathers. The castle on the right looks simpler at first glance, but features some very clever use of negative space to create the winding road. With its sophisticated layering, creative mix of elements, and artful framing, Gino’s model continues the trend of LEGO art pieces like the Gotham City Skyline of blending 2D and 3D to stunning effect.

A colorful blast to the medieval past

A medieval LEGO scene with nary a brick in black, white, or grey? It’s harder than you might think, but castle fan Klaas de Wit proves more than up to the challenge with the village of Tranquil Brook, “where everything is calm except the colors.” The bustling tableau makes up for the lack of swords and masonry with vibrant foliage, brightly painted buildings, a traveling goldsmith, and plenty of livestock. The colors and church steeple remind me of a Scandinavian village in the summertime. Klaas’ model is a great reminder that sometimes adding constraints can be a great way to unlock creativity.

Klaas built the Tranquil Brook for the first round of the Summer Joust, an annual contest for LEGO Castle fans that always inspires amazing medieval builds from the LEGO community. We can’t wait to see more colorful Castle creations in the days to come!

Who wouldn’t take an apple from this sweet old woman?

The Evil Queen’s witchy disguise in Disney’s Snow White is a frightening sight, but as captured by LEGO Master Dicken Liu, she’s downright adorable. The witch’s scale lets cloth elements seamlessly drape around her hunched form, and the brick-built elements emphasize curves and canted angles that turn LEGO rigidity into a cartoon come to life. Dicken includes some sly Disney nods in that characterful face. The beady eyes are sourced from Moana’s rooster companion Hei-Hei in the Disney Duos set, and the nose appears to be an unpainted prototype of Alice’s hairpiece. Once again, Dicken impresses with his innovative techniques and knack for character. Why not take the witch’s apple, let your dreams come true, and revisit some of our favorite Dicken Liumodels?

Arresting LEGO Medusa will rock your world

Medusa, she of the snake hair and stony gaze, remains one of the most captivating figures from Greek mythology. She even made an appearance back in Series 10 of the Collectible Minifigures line. Builder Kooky Bricks honors the hip and tragic monster with a diorama worthy of an Olympian. Here we see Medusa facing off with a would-be slayer in the ruined temple of Athena. At this larger scale, made from 14,619 parts, Kooky Brick is able to pack in incredible detail in both the figures and the setting. Medusa’s scaly body is achieved by overlapping rows of plate teeth, a great effect that feels both organic and a very solid snake form. As impressive as the figures are, it’s the temple itself that leaves us spellbound.

Gaze on for more mythic details!

It takes a lot of NERV to build LEGO mechs from Neon Genesis Evangelion

Nearly 30 years after its debut, Gainax’s groundbreaking anime Neon Genesis Evangelion continues to captivate an international audience with its radical take on the mech genre. Whereas most mecha convey the bulk of heavy army, the Evangelion units are sinewy bio-machines suggesting a fusion of man and demon. LEGO builder Marco de Bon is no stranger to mechs (as you can see in our archive), and last year he created perfect poseable models of EVA Units 00, 01, and 02. For his latest diorama series, Marco shows a talent for microscale cityscapes to match his mech building prowess. Prototype Unit-00 towers over a district dominated by sandy hues and disc shooter windows. The elevated brick-built highway is particularly effective.

Shinji’a iconic Unit-01 straddles a gorgeous mix of mini high-rises. Landing gear axles make for perfect rooftop satellite arrays, while shooters above the highway capture the sci-fi aesthetic of Tokyo-3.

If Marco’s diorama’s have you humming Cruel Angel Thesis and craving more EVAs and Angels, synchronize with our Evangelion archives.