Tag Archives: Bart De Dobbelaer

Greenhouse symbiosis on Exobudria 9

Once again famed LEGO builder Bart De Dobbelaer is the Supreme leader when it comes to fleshing out unsettling alien worlds. In his own words he tells us; “With little to no natural light keeping greenhouses on Exobudria 9 seemed impossible. But thanks to a clever symbiosis with the indigenous insects, the light and warmth of their hives proved to be exactly what the plants needed.” True to his style, he provides just enough clues to entice you in, like the opening scene of a great sci-fi movie, then leaves you wanting to know more. Like what exactly are those plants for? What’s with all those greebly bits? And why is space so damned creepy? Check out our Bart De Dobbelaer archives that will likely answer none of these questions but is enticing as heck anyway.

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A motorized microscale LEGO castle fit for the gods

LEGO builder Bart De Dobbelaer has left the details of the backstory sparse for this microscale castle beyond the fact that it is a home for gods, but it certainly captures my imagination. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t remind me just a touch of Laputa: Castle in the Sky, but this massive structure has some features that not even Laputa could claim. Surrounded by a ring of guardians, there’s a huge maze weaving through the entire castle grounds.

Additionally, the turrets spin and rotate thanks to some clever gearing and motorization, surely making the maze even more challenging.

Solve the Blue Mystery of Neptune’s Garden

One thing legendary LEGO builder Bart De Dobbelaer is quite good at is taking us to unique alien worlds. Take Neptune’s Garden, for instance. Whether it be the eerily luminescent jellyfish or the shale-like rocky structures, I can easily get lost in all these amazing details right up until I run out of oxygen, which wouldn’t be very long. Bart tells us that ocean exploration is dangerous (well, duh!) but when Blue Mystery manufactured their OFE (Ocean Floor Exploration) units, a new world opened up. It turns out there’s big money in ocean exploration as Blue Mystery emerged as a Fortune 500 company. But many of their autonomous units were lost to the depths, never to be seen again. The company went under both figuratively and literally. What happened? Did they find something that would best be kept hidden?

Care to plumb the depths?

Kandor is cool but R’lyeh is rockin’

We’ve seen ships in a bottle, and decks of cards in a bottle, but Bart De Dobbelaer is the first builder I know to combine glassware with the elder gods. Rise of Cthulhu features not only the great tentacled meanie, but also the city of R’lyeh doing a wicked impression of a lava lamp. The city was built brick-by-brick inside the bottle thanks to a small hole in the back; a process that is certainly madness-inducing.

Beware the rings of Llyria Y9

Few LEGO builders do other-worldly creations quite like Bart de Dobbelear. His latest creation is a super bit of sci-fi workmanship, inspired by a digital piece from another artist. At first glance, I wondered if there had been some photoshop trickery at play to achieve the repetition of the rings, but on closer inspection, they are indeed four distinct rings. (I really should know better than not to expect such attention to detail from Mr de Dobbelaer!) The greebling is superb, but the real skill lies in the restrained use of pieces. In doing so, the build can show off its tremendous physical depth while keeping the look of the rings consistent. Moreover, they look simultaneously ancient and futuristic. Quite what the rings are for is unclear, and Bart says as much in his description. However, he does mention a few “mysterious disappearances”, with caution being warranted at night…

… So you’d better have your wits about you, as he has treated us to a night-time version of the build as well! The blue light wire is something Bart has used to great effect before, and understandably so – it really elevates the build to something truly alien. If we don’t hear from this TBB favourite for a while, it may well be because he got too close to the rings on Llyria Y9…

What adventures await on this mysterious alien world?

In a galaxy far away, an astronaut takes a break from space travel to investigate an unusual planet. Bart De Dobbelaer has created this colourful LEGO scene which shows mechanical pillars topped with layers of vibrant plants. The display uses a wide range of pieces from the Clikits theme, including pink suction cups as the flowering sections of several plants. The spaceship has a compact design and features a flexible tube that is interwoven around a cockpit chair from the Hero Factory sets. Let’s hope there’s nothing too sinister going on with this strange alien world.

Behold where the fate of the galaxy is decided

In the far future, the Galactic Council prepares for another lengthy debate. Bart De Dobbelaer has constructed this fascinating creation, which shows alien council members seated around a strange centrepiece. The spiked orb is encircled by train tracks in medium azure and, according to Bart’s lore about the build, the orb might be an artificial intelligence unit used to assist in the governing of the galaxy. The layout of the model almost looks like a city due to the variety of protruding structures and piping details. Medium azure features again, creating a colourful outline around the build while contrasting against the grey. With an intriguing orange glow emitting from below the orb, it leaves the observer to wonder what mysteries lie in the depths of this structure.

Wizard and the genie

LEGO artist Bart De Dobbelaer has created a new fantasy masterpiece. This overgrown wizard’s tower overlooking a genie’s resting place is full of story and creative part usage. The pink water surface is created using a play mat from this Clikits set. The tower peaks are a wonderful usage of this Duplo engine element! The foliage is exceptional and really ties the whole creation together. Bart is known for his unique and creative fantasy creations and this is no exception! And if you have the time, check out the story he wrote to accompany the build.

Raiders of the lost nest

As usual, Bart De Dobbelaer brings us a treat of a scene with this detailed LEGO diorama portraying a pair of would-be poachers about to face off with their worst nightmare: a mother. While the monstrous creature is fascinating with its bright plumage and—are those all eyes?—it’s the scenery itself that really draws my attention as a builder, because the thick bushes are splendidly done, especially for how simple they are, combining two types of leaf elements stacked around a flower stem element.

Even weirdo space-demons have play dates

If there’s one thing LEGO builder Bart De Dobbelaer has taught us is…um…he’s probably a weirdo space-demon. I mean, seriously! Check out this offering, for example. He captions it with “Can Timmy come out and play?” Then goes on to say that “even demons have play dates”. That is all. We’re left to fend for ourselves as to the how and why this is all happening. I mean, I’m sure there’s a good lesson in here somewhere about great textures, and the use of lighting in your LEGO creations. But I’m pretty certain by now that Bart has tentacles and at least one proboscis if not several. Check out what I mean with all his alien weirdness in our archives.

A miner bit of peril

LEGO builder Bart De Dobbelaer has a particular style, and that style is full dioramas set in science fiction spaces. Thankfully for us, Bart’s very, very good at it. This latest diorama takes place on an unnamed asteroid, though it reminds me a bit of Hoxxes IV’s radioactive zone from Deep Rock Galactic. But whatever the location, it’s not going to be around long enough for it to matter, as it’s currently in the process of disintegrating, spurting great jets of yellowish flame from a fissure, which is lit from below. The mining rigs with their dark blue highlights all have a jagged aesthetic bristling with antennas.

Been spendin’ most their lives living’ in a Theives’ Paradise

Renowned LEGO builder Bart De Dobbelear tells us that “The golden city ruins of Kadena were renowned for their loot and riches.” Oooh! It’s ours for the taking, then. Look at all that beautiful gold! Book my flight, I’m calling in sick! But then he goes on to say; “Many thieves tried their luck, but only a handful escaped the clutches of the city’s guardians.” Wait, guardians? I knew there would be a catch! Cancel that flight. I am not sure if the crazy-haired crab-robots or the two thuggish-looking fellows are the thieves or guardians. Perhaps the guardians are unseen and they’re even bigger and hideous-er than what is pictured here. Either way, I want no part of it. My sense of adventure ends right at making cheap and awkward intros but it really goes no further than that. I’ll just be happy with the pay TBB gives us. Wait, they pay us, right? Don’t they? It’s hard to keep track when everything is direct deposit these days.

While I work that out with TBB’s Human Resources Department, you can check out why Bart De Dobbelear is in a league of his own when it comes to creating fabulous textures and far-out alien worlds. Wait, do we have a Human Resources Department?