Every scene can teach a lesson, and this scene has taught me not to wonder into deep caves. According to Tkytko, that is where Raus’zod has the Weeping Skull Mausoleum. The scene is full of clever details with great building techniques. And all those details come together to create a rather scary lair.
Take some time to look over the entirety of this entry to the Summer Joust competition.
This build by dicken liu is exactly what I love about the LEGO community. In theater, they call it the “yes, and” principle; you take what you were given and go further. Dicken took the Lego 76968 Tyrannosaurus Rex set and went further…all the way to Godzilla! To look at it, you’d think Dicken had made a career of studying fossilized kaiju. But, of course, Godzilla will never die, so we will never know if the skeleton is accurate.
Castle has been on a wonderful resurgence of late, and Goran Maksimovic adds some great personality to the mix. A wonderful little tower is being scaled as one of the culprits falls. Each of the four faces seen on the minifigs tells a great story of the action scene. It can take some effort going through minifig face designs, but Goran shows us the effort pays off in the enjoyment of the scene.
When I first glanced at this design, I thought it was a retake on the 2023 Concorde set (10318). But Kurt’s MOCs has done better than that with the North American XB-70 Valkyrie, a supersonic bomber from the Cold War era. Only two Valkyries were produced as it was only a prototype from the arms race for faster and higher flight. Kurt displays a strong skill with digital LEGO work on this minifig-scale design.
Kurt’s renders of military jets come highly researched and immaculately detailed and are always accompanied by in-depth facts and history that make his digital LEGO creations an excellent resource for aviation buffs.
Mediterranean architecture — like Mediterranean living — has a unique flavor to it, sun-kissed and rooted in tradition. Andrew Tate has captured a beautiful slice of it with his latest modular-style creation. While Andrew mentioned some of the really difficult connections (the SNOT shutters offset ever so slightly), so much of this building is very “normal” LEGO. Relax and take in those pleasing right angles! Even with new LEGO elements that come out every season, never underestimate the beautiful work that can be done with a standard LEGO brick. For an extra old-world touch, rather than use tiles for the sidewalk, Andrew uses the brick-embossed brick for the entire base…or as we call it in our house, the “brick-brick.”
Which is the best retro LEGO theme – Classic Space or Classic Castle? Richard Young (IamKritch on Flickr) dares to suggest, “why not both?” with the amazing Wolftron theme. Created for the Eurobricks Summer Faction Festival, Richard starts with a reimagining of the icond 6075 Wolfpack Tower, sticking with the retro colors to imagine a bold new future for the notorious scoundrels. (For those familiar with unreleased LEGO themes, you may see a resemblance to the “Greytron” designs.)
Of course, no LEGO space faction is complete without a roster of minfigs. The Wolftrons sport a mix of classic space accessories as well as some thematically-appropriate helmets. In addition to the brick-built robot, the faction includes an actual wolf. (What wouldn’t we have given for that wolf mold back when the Wolf Pack first debuted!)
Click to sink your fangs in more of the Wolftron faction
LEGO has launched Rebuild the Galaxy, and builder lego_m.art has answered the call with a Blacktron version of the Star Wars snow speeder. Classic Space meets classic Star Wars using the new trans-yellow windscreen. The test pilot may look nervous, but the build is solid. I particularly love the classic space substitute for the rear harpoon.
Marble? Plaster? Jin Chen has chosen LEGO for this rugged bust. Titled La Marseillaise, the face is modeled on the revolutionary spirit of France as sculpted by François Rude on the Arc de Triomphe. The monochromatic palette with a single point of light showcases the wonderful depth of this carved brick build.
Jin, who won LEGO Masters China in 2023, displayed the bust, along with his other incredible LEGO sculptures, at China’s AFOL fest last month where it won a trophy for best styling.
Tragically, the delicate bust did not survive the journey home. The revolution is over.
The Lands Between are a vast and deadly place where the glowing Erdtree towers as a guiding light and source of hope. Builder Nathan Hake has taken inspiration from Elden Ring for this truly epic LEGO creation, but his intent is to depict the Tree of Life itself. A massive black sea serves as the model’s base, giving way to an island of rock, overgrowth, and a tree that should not exist. The enormous tree is rooted on the very end of the precipice, giving a perception that it may tip the whole island. As Nathan put it, ” I wanted the island to look untouched by man but have enough structure to seem like a phenomenon created by an other worldly being.”
A closer look at the rocky cliffs shows the literal hands of these divine beings as they seemingly lift the tree heavenward.
Behold more images of this incredible Elden Ring inspired diorama
Upon first examination of the colors of this frosty LEGO castle by Olle Moquist, I spotted something buried under the snow and ice…a raised baseplate! Olle does a great job of seamlessly incorporating this raised baseplate in the build. From there, I climbed the steps to a beautiful brick-built, wooden door under the watchful eye of the wyrm.
The raised baseplate has become a piece of the past. These vacuum-formed bases peaked in the ’90s with 31 different raised baseplates being used across many sets, but we haven’t seen a raised baseplate in over a decade. Olle’s brings this chilly baseplate from 2002 and 2006’s Belville sets, warming our hearts with nostalgia for the old ways.
Today’s moment of peace and tranquility comes from the Golden Vallé vignette by Rémy (Rilbist). By Rémy’s own description, this family has lived in peace for quite a while at their windmill. I won’t ask Rémy how many plant stems were used, but they provide the most amazing texture for the field of wheat to frame this windmill.
By adding varied height in the vignette, Rémy creates a natural flow to the field while also hiding the base of build itself, leaving the viewer with the texture of the dried wheat field.
This spectacular model came in second place in its category in the Summer Joust. For a full list of winners, catch up with our Summer Joust 2025 roundup.
When I first saw Andreas Lenander’s Ancient trade I thought the skiff was moving across the sea of tiles. With one look at the skiff’s bound pontoons, you can hear the creaking and feel their texture. But past the boat, there is still a full island to explore…
The open-air structure is not only true to the Polynesian-inspired setting, but it allows us to see more of island life. Like coconuts being harvested, cleverly made from minifig acorn hats. Andreas has long been sharing amazing island builds with a more Mediterranean flavor, so it’s refreshing to see the builder branching out with new palm tree techniques, like these chunkier trees made from stacked barrels.
The footpath down to the beach showcases Andreas’ skill at rockwork. The nested, with SNOT curves makes for an inviting place to gather crabs or conduct trade.
If you like this ocean oasis, be sure to check out Andreas’ other island builds, like the Falcon Chapel.