Sometimes castle-themed builds can lean heavily on the grey bricks to the exclusion of all the other colors in the LEGO palette. That’s definitely not the case with Jaap Bijl, whose fascination with color has made us big admirers of his LEGO creations. For this latest work, “New Area Discovered,” Jaap plays with negative space rather than a central building, taking inspiration from the towering architecture in Balder’s Gate 3. Jaap brings in his favorite color, purple, to contrast with the gold, including an unusual Ninjago snake blade. Greenery is blow-out bright, with ghostly beards adding otherworldly texture. For vines, Jaap unfurls round sprues. Looking past the splashy parts, the model demonstrates some wonderful castle brickwork, especially the round mosaic courtyard. The scene looks deserted, but I would suggest making a perception check with those 20-sided dice just in case…
Category Archives: LEGO
New machines and a new ally for Aloy! LEGO reveals new Horizon Adventures set [News]
Hot on the heels of the LEGO Horizon Adventures video game, LEGO has announced a new playset in the Horizon universe: HORIZON ADVENTURES ALOY & VARL VS. SHELL-WALKER & SAWTOOTH (77037 ). The set follows 2022’s LEGO Horizon 76989 Tallneck and lets fans assemble new machine beasts with added play features. While the Tallneck set was designed for builders aged 18+, the new set is rated for ages 9+ and, like the new video game, should be accessible to younger fans while still looking great alongside the older model. Containing 768 pieces, it offers one of the highest piece-to-price ratios from a licensed set. ALOY & VARL VS. SHELL-WALKER & SAWTOOTH is available on March 1, 2025 and can be pre-ordered now for US $44.99 | CAN $59.99 | UK £39.99.
Steady your bow and read on for more details on the machine beasts from the Horizon world!
Bootstrapping a botanical brewery in LEGO
Scandinavian folklore is full of tales of little people living in the woods and meadows. Swedish builder Peter Ilmrud gives us a glimpse of one community of fairy folk who have made a lingonberry cidery out of an old boot. Peter incorporates DUPLO and Scala elements alongside wildflowers from the Botanicals line and many custom flowers and berry bushes in the vibrant display.
Break out your magnifying people for a better glimpse of what these wee cider makers are up to!
This LEGO bust would make a fine addition to any collection
One thing that Star Wars – and especially – the prequels, for their flaws – does really well is villains. One look at Darth Maul or the Emperor and there’s no doubting which side they’re on. But really, none of them looked as villainous as the skeletal General Grievous, whose likeness has been captured by Sakiya Watanabe (N.A.B.E_mocs). In builds where the cybernetic and natural collide, texture can be a useful tool to differentiate between the two, and this is a fantastic example. Grievous’ armour is almost entirely studless. It’s wonderfully organically shaped, too – a touch of irony therein, perhaps! In contrast, his fleshy bits (for want of a better phrase) are rougher. His esophagus (I think that’s what it is) is all studded plates, while the red eyes use anti-studs to perfectly accentuate their organic nature.
What do you get when you cross knights in shining armour with the frog prince?
If you want to bring a bit of whimsy to a fantasy LEGO creation, a good place to start is making your characters animals. Oh, and giving them a massive sword. That’s the angle that Dan Ko has gone for in this charming duo. Both the frog knight and his snail steed are full of character – and clever parts use! Our knight in croaking armour has some fantastic leafy webbed feet, and the ski for a cross-guard is a neat idea for this asymmetric sword. The snail, meanwhile, has caterpillar tracks wound up to form its shell. Although I must admit – and this might be a niche reference – that with those bright yellow eyes, it reminds me of the slugs from the LEGO Rock Raiders video game. Perhaps they’re distant cousins?
Tell us what they’ve won, Sir Gene Wood!
Anyone of a certain age or otherwise taking a sick day from work knows the glitzy phenomenon that is the daytime Game Show. Family Feud was a good one. I’ve spent many-a-day yelling at the TV while watching some goober lose $400 for their team because he thinks M&M’s are a common thing found in a sandwich. Martin Studio has LEGO-fied the game but also gave it a Classic Castle-themed twist. Here we see legendary factions The Lion Knights feuding against The Black Falcons. Falcons are ahead by 20 points but all it takes is a missed guess by some foolhardy squire to turn the odds in the Lions’ favor. This delightful diorama can be found on display at the LEGO House in Billund, Denmark through 2025, just in case you happen to be visiting LEGO headquarters.
Mind if I barge in?
New Hashima, the sprawling cyberpunk LEGO fan collaboration, is known for its towering buildings, but thanks to builders like Gerrit, the futuristic city is home to some impressive vehicles as well. The Aerox C-1 Heavy V8 Twin Engine ICS is a powerful flying tug that can move hover barges around New Hashima with ease. I love the blend of futuristic tech and mundane utility in models like this, but what I love most about Gerrit’s creation is the colors! Purples, azure, and bright yellow orange all contrast nicely with the dark grey utility. Those anime engines and the purple tower evoking a tug’s steam pipe give the vessel an eye-catching profile.
You’re in good hands with the Imperial Medic Team
Being dispensable, famously banging your head on a doorway, or generally missing your targets can be taxing on the health of your average Imperial Stormtrooper. Thankfully, when calamity strikes, this LEGO stormy presented by Auto’s Builds is in the very capable hands of two Imperial Medics and also the cold steel hands of Medical Droid 2-1B. They’ll have this fellow back in the field and missing his targets in no time. He’s in for the best healthcare Emperor Palpatine’s Imperial medic team can provide; and based on the annoyed looks on their faces, I’m guessing it’s not much.
Announcing the TBB custom LEGO advent calendar for December 2024 [Feature]
As many of our regular readers are aware, come December each year, we here at TBB open up all the LEGO advent calendars, showing off each day’s builds along with some choice witticisms from the staff. Well, of course we’re still doing that this year, but we’ve also decided to add on an additional, TBB-exclusive advent event this year. From December 1st to the 24th, we’ll be posting the instructions for 1/24th of a custom Christmas model, designed by me. Has your Yuletide interest been piqued? Read on to find out more!
Read on to find out how you can participate and for the set’s parts list
Fall in love with this beatiful autumnal temple and waterfall
Journey back in time to Edo-era Japan with this spellbinding “Pagoda by the Lake” by felix-workshop. The part that looms largest, of course, is the majestic multi-tiered temple, with its striking red coloring and the artful curves of its pagoda roofs (inspired by the real-life Seiganto-ji temple and nearby falls). Such roofing has always been a challenge to achieve with standard LEGO bricks, at least until 21060 Himeji Castle and 10315 Tranquil Garden gave us a new upturned roof piece. However, given the minifig scale, felix-workshop opts for a more complicated—and more rewarding—technique to achieve the slopes of the roof, stacking and curving rows of rounded plates. Don’t let the artistry on display distract you from all that’s going on, however—can you spot fishermen fishing, merchants traveling, assassins planning their attack, a Buddhist monk, and a happy couple drinking tea?
Paleolithic paleontology beneath the LEGO ice
We know what dinosaurs are these days. Big, reptilian-avian creatures that roamed the Earth millions of years ago, doing cool dinosaur things. But what would early humankind have made of fossils, had they found them a mere 10,000 years ago? This is the question that photomark6 is pondering. It’s a superbly staged photograph! The eye is drawn to the T-Rex fossil around which the scene revolves. But the bright colours of the minifigures make us focus on the real story here. What are they feeling? Wonder about this new discovery? Fear, that it might break out of the ice and devour them? Or cold, from their outfits that don’t look particularly well-suited to the ice and snow? (I know which one I’d be feeling the most!)
Santana starship is a smooth addition to the Star Wars fan canon
While Star Wars fans eagerly await more reveals of the next season of Andor, over in the Factions role-play community, LEGO builders are busy adding new stories and ships to that galaxy far, far away. Simulterious introduces the Santana light freighter, a ship built for speedy hauls and avoiding Imperials. Based on concept art from the artist Spacegoose, the Santana features smooth teal curves and four impressive ion turbine engines. Simulterious incorporates chain links for a ring of greebly texture, a technique also used in their brilliant take on the classic B-Wing Starfighter.