Sometimes a “sketch” of a bigger LEGO project can turn into stunning work in its own right. That’s certainly the case with Roanoke Handybuck‘s towering pirate village, where using stilts in place of terrain creates negative space that heightens the fantastical architecture of arches and overhangs, accentuating the surreal beauty. Maybe the results can inspire you to find a hidden masterpiece in your own unfinsihed LEGO projects.
Jeff Friesen has been delighting LEGO fans with his microscale cityscapes for years, maintaining a clean isometric look that looks rendered but is very much real bricks. For his first build of 2025, Jeff erects a gilded city of waterfalls and aqueducts that could have been pulled straight from the beautiful Monument Valley mobile games. Like all of Jeff’s cityscapes, it’s an immersive experience that rewards peeking around every arch as you imagine life in this fantastic place.
If you’re curious about Jeff’s process and inspirations, our interview with the prolific builder is a great place to start.
It is hard to put my finger on it, but British trucks often have a look that somehow immediately marks them as British. Case in point, my new Lego DAF XG, as operated by Manners Transport from Northumberland. I think it is mainly the colour blocking, with contrasting red and bright light yellow elements.
Manners specializes in transporting farming equipment, such as combine harvesters. However, since I already have a combine harvester transport, this model was going to carry a tractor instead. I picked a Deutz-Fahr tractor because its bright green colour contrasts nicely with the truck.
When I posted a picture of the tractor model last week, fellow Dutch truck builder Legorigs wrote that I ought to be able to fit two of them on a trailer. Such a great idea! This was not part of my plan, but two tractors are obviously better than one, so I built a second example.
Let’s see how this plan came together
As it turns out, LEGO minifigures love the LEGO botanical sets just as much as you do! In this green (and red and pink and…) build by James Zhan, a madcap bunch of renegade biologists have created a ginormous bouquet of flowers in their lab. They’re a month early for Valentine’s Day but I’m sure whoever these are for are going to be delighted. Someone might want to take a weed-whacker to the plants overgrowing the corners of the lab. You need to establish control before the plants start to turn on you!
Be sure to check out our coverage of the official LEGO Botanicals line in the archives and remember; don’t feed the plants, no matter how much they ask!
Aside from a handful of Raya and the Last Dragon sets, LEGO has never explored traditional South-East Asian architecture in official sets, which is a shame, as you can see from this minifig-scale Thai wat built by Brigitte Jonsgard. Brigitte perfectly captures the steep, tiered roof with ornate chofa jutting out like horns. Snaking dragons along the stairs welcome guests into the temple. Birgitte shares a video of the full buddhist complex, with wat and stupa, over on flickr.
Birgitte has a talent for ornate houses of worship. This stave church from her native Norway is one of the most striking LEGO churches I’ve ever seen.
When it comes to building LEGO mechs, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone with as much experience and expertise as Moko. The Japanese builder has been posting and sharing robotic creations with us for 20 years, going back to 2005 and this sad little Gundam! Moko’s latest big project, this incredible combining Mechazord, was one of our most popular articles of 2024. Today Moko is sharing techniques for building mech heads like these.
![LEGO Mech Heads Vol 2 [How to Build]](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54261995754_40705b0ddb_b.jpg)
Follow along as Moko guides you through the advanced techniques used to build heads like these from simple parts you probably already have in your collection.
For more mech head tutorials, check out Moko’s previous video with four different styles.
Wherever there’s a medieval LEGO city – like this amazing build by Jaka Kupina – there’s a jumble of joyful jumping jesters to entertain the townsfolk. I hope that blacksmith isn’t disrupting the show, but if his hammering is steady enough, the minstrels may be able to incorporate it into their song. The guards may not have a great view of the festivities, but look at how big their roof is! As Shrek would say; “do you think they’re compensating for something?”
With LEGO, you can turn something as industrial and gray as chains into something organic like a tree. Fedde Barendrecht shows us how, and I believe it involved clicking chain parts together end-to-end, connecting each unclicked end to the barrel-made tree trunk, then twisting the chain into a roughly a tree-shaped mass. Top it off with a wiley raven and you have the makings for an epic neighborhood showdown. Raven:1, Lino:0.
The twisting mass of teeth and bone called Yamikamikusari is the incarnation of a portable shrine that governs reincarnation. This incredible LEGO model also represents a reincarnation of sorts for its creator, Pan Noda, a builder of immense talent and steady reinvention. Pan seems to have found a new muse in the shape of the DUPLO ball tube, featured here in red and used in two other amazing builds late last year. It’s such an un-LEGO piece, curved and studless, defying connection to a bigger build. But Pan manages to tame the tubes, finding the perfect way to nest rings of 2×1 round plates inside to turn an innocent preschool toy into a nightmarish maw. Pan’s shrine construction is also beautiful, incorporating chains, nets, and Modulex elements to create a structure that seems carved from wood, not built of blocks.
With such talent and imagination, it’s no wonder Pan Noda made our shortlist for Builder of the Year.
With the Brickscalibur submissions window closing, this week saw a surge in amazing medieval builds being shared, while Iron Forge challengers were challenged to get their head in the game. All this and more news from around the LEGOverse gets summed up with style by our friend ABrickDreamer!
This crisp mountain scene by LEGO builder Nicholas Goodman is a lesson in atmosphere. The visuals are engaging – strong and clean, conveying depth and detail with terrific balance in both color and texture (studded and smooth) – but also evoke the other senses. As my eye is drawn in, I can practically smell the frozen air and hear the slushy hoof-thumps. The scene itself is deceptively simple, leaving much room for imaginative interpretation. Will the “Guardian of the Pass” and his faithful companion warmly welcome this traveler? Has he come with the thaw to relieve their solitary duty? Or is this chilling moment a prelude to mounting conflict between two nations…
Did someone say spooky LEGO haunted house? Where are those Hidden Side kids when you need them? Builder Jeff Chapman is back with another stunning recreation of a Salem landmark shrouded in ghost stories. This time it’s the Joshua Ward house, built in 1784 in the brick federal style. What makes it noteworthy is less the architecture (which is lovely with all that dark red!) but it’s haunted legacy, as the mansion was built on the site where a zealous sheriff had his home and makeshift witch prison during the infamous witch trials.
As we’ve come to expect from Jeff, the presentation is impeccable, with the building resting on a dynamic patch of terrain littered with fall leaves from that amazing tree. The climbing vines are especially effective, incorporating snakes and claws amongst the leaves. While the brick red walls are uniform in color, Jeff packs in detail, from the great keystone arches over the windows to the added weathering on the chimneys. Jeff guides you through the build process and tells the full haunted history on his always-entertaining Spooky Brixx channel.