Some LEGO creations are downright magical, featuring the very best of scientific advancements to put on a marvelous show! And the same can be said of the inspiration for this miniland-scale build by Daniel Church. Based on the 2006 film The Prestige, Daniel employs LEGO-compatible lights to recreate this ultimate magic trick from the movie, transporting Hugh Jackman’s Robert Angier in front of the audience’s eyes using fictional tech provided by Nikola Tesla. And given the technique displayed in this brilliant recreation, I’m equally moved!
Posts by Kyle Keller
A deluxe hotel for the deluxe LEGO traveler
With tons of LEGO bricks in pastel colors and plenty of curved lines, Hotel Deluxe by Andrew Tate really packs a punch of brick built nostalgia. The business is alive with the hustle and bustle of so many minifigure travelers, carrying in their luggage, dining at the patio tables, snapping shots of the impressive façade, or even sunbathing on the roof. The round windows in light aqua have got to be my favorite touch here, forming what would be a quartet of rectangular windows into a circular portal through the use of some 6-wide arch pieces.
And if you’re looking for things to do while staying at the Hotel Deluxe, be sure to check out all the other amazing LEGO buildings by Andrew in our TBB archives.
New LEGO sets for August 2024 now available for purchase [News]
Summer is in full swing for the northern hemisphere, and LEGO fans are discovering a massive wave of new sets releasing on the LEGO website today. With offerings from Star Wars, Marvel, Technic, LEGO Ideas, and other themes, there’s plenty to have a gander at. I’m particularly excited about releases like LEGO Technic 42182 NASA Apollo Lunar Roving Vehicle – LRV, LEGO Star Wars 75389 The Dark Falcon, and Marvel 76297 Dancing Groot. Of course we won’t be able to cover everything, but check out all the highlights from this month’s new releases below. And if you want to see all the sets that just hit the virtual and real-world store shelves, head on over to the LEGO website (US | CAN | UK).
Check out our favorite sets in the August wave below!
Take your party to the top of Ravenspire in this custom LEGO Dungeons & Dragons campaign
To say that this year’s release of LEGO Ideas 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale has had an impact on the LEGO fan community might be the understatement of the year. D&D remains as popular as ever in the role-playing game community, and the joining of a custom-made game with custom-made LEGO models delights all kinds of builders. One of those builders, Luis Saladrigas of LEGO Masters US Season 4, has gone above and beyond with an epic creation depicting a fantasy campaign. Check out the whole thing below, but be sure to read on for tons of details as well.
Check out more details in this massive creation below!
A pair of experts in LEGO bot-jitsu
It’s not every day we get to see a pair of pugilist automatons like in the “RoboDojo” by LEGO builder Rubblemaker. As Light Gray lands a powerful flywheel kick, we can see the sparks shoot out of Dark Gray’s noggin. Each bot looks wonderfully posable, capable of all kinds of bashes and blocks. But my favorite bit has got to be the pair of gold wheels in the back wall. It feels like such an appropriate fusion between martial arts decor and machinery.
If I ran the zoo, it would be filled with LEGO animals
Something’s not right in this LEGO scene by Jonah Schultz. Maybe it’s the fact that these zoo animals should be in their enclosures. Maybe it’s that evil look we’re getting from the giraffe. But most likely, it’s the baseball bats that have been fashioned into a wonderful turnstile. Jonah pushed the limits of that part thanks to the ongoing Iron Builder competition between himself and Maxx Davidson.
So much metal in Tony Stark’s wardrobe!
The first one may have been made in a cave from a pile of scraps, but Tony Stark now assembles his LEGO Ironman suits in the most technologically advanced garage in the entire Marvel universe. We get a peek into this workshop of wonder all thanks to br.ickelangelo. Featuring six Iron Man minifigure suits in total, there’s plenty of detail packed into this vignette, whether it’s the old Stark Expo plans in a crate in the corner or the battery charging a suit on a stand in the background. I particularly like the robotic arms in the front-and-center apparatus, ready to peel our favorite superhero out of his souped-up tin can.
Exciting excavation awaits with this O&K RH 120 C backhoe created in LEGO
LEGO builder Beat Felber sure loves construction equipment! Whether Liebherr, Komatsu, or in this case Orenstein & Koppel, Beat gives them their due in brick form. This particular model in the O&K livery of red and white is a 1/28.5 recreation of the RH 120 C excavator, fully motorized for the toughest jobs. And despite this functionality, there’s no skimping on the details either! Check out all the intricacies around the treads and where the boom meets the front of the cab.
Even death in LEGO can be a beautiful thing
This LEGO creation by nu_montag is a gentle reminder that all things must come to an end. Made for this year’s Bio-Cup under the theme Feeding Challenge – Herbivore, we see the remains of an animal amid dry grasses and other ornamental vegetation. There’s some expert techniques at play here, including the graceful curve of the skeletal spine, the shaping of an exquisite skull from Technic bits, and the use of yellow Znap wheels for some brilliant flowers.
Pensive Paul Atreides contemplates the future of the Dune-iverse in this LEGO mosaic
Using only seven colors of LEGO 1×1 round plate, mosaic master Ethen T captures the very essence of Timothée Chalamet’s turn as Muad’Dib. With filt-plug equipped and the background of Arrakis displayed in orange and yellow, this singular image goes a long way toward conveying the emotion of Dune: Part Two. And the way that Ethen manages to create the collar of the stillsuit using only grayscale is impressive at this scale and in this medium.
Always the optimist, Apex Legends’ Pathfinder is psyched to exist in LEGO form
Featuring a sweet Dick Tracy-style noir outfit, Pathfinder from Apex Legends comes to life in LEGO thanks to the work of Eric Tsai. There’s quite a bit of expert character craft here, especially in the recreation of this MRVN unit’s signature abilities: a sweet grappling hook on the left arm and a zipline gun on the right. I adore how the bot’s myopic noggin is put together, as well as the smiley face on his chest replaced with a mustachioed 1×1 tile.
A year-long LEGO Castle project documented on YouTube
One of the perks of having friends in the LEGO hobby is being able to see their projects develop over time, transforming from rough sketches and multi-colored foundations to beautiful works of art on their way to a convention. And over the past year, we’ve had the chance to look in on Caleb Schilling‘s process as he developed his Island Castle build over on YouTube. The work was on display at Brickworld Chicago this year, and the completed work is quite a sight to behold! Featuring an array of earth tones, a gorgeous galleon, and an army of conquistador-style minifigures, this scene displays an overwhelming number of interesting techniques bringing it to life. My favorite among them has got to be the design of the large palm trees, relying on 1×1 slopes to create bands of texture running up the bent trunks.
If you’d like to go back to the start with Caleb, he’s got all 8 videos lined up in an Island Castle playlist over on YouTube for every LEGO Pirates and Castle fan out there.










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