Tag Archives: Battle

The 1864 Battle of Dybbol won Best Battle Scene at Brickfair, Virginia

Sometimes a LEGO creation can be small and still impressive. But sometimes it can be on such a grand scale, that it takes a team of friends to make it happen. That is the case with this stunning Battle of Dybbol scene built by Hunter Erickson and friends. In the builder’s words; Prussia under Wilhelm I and his foreign minister Otto Von Bismarck sought to unify the German states under one banner through careful diplomacy and war. One example of this was the 8-month-long Second Schleswig War between Prussia and Austria against Denmark. The German Confederation thought it was unacceptable that Denmark sought to further integrate the majority German Duchy of Schleswig into the Danish state in 1863. This was seen as a violation of the London Protocol that ended the First Schleswig War in 1852. War was inevitable and in 1864, Prussia and Austria invaded Denmark. That is the scene depicted here.

The Battle of Dybbol, 1864

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War makes gingerbread boys into gingerbread men

“Man the gumdrop cannons! We’re on General Kringle’s naughty list this year!” Builder Mike Sinclair gives us a LEGO scene that has the Christmas season fighting against itself. Maybe you’re rooting for St. Nick and his elven troops, armed with a present catapult and cannon. But if you’re like me, you’re on the side of the Gingerbread Kingdom. With their cookie castle surrounded by a chocolate moat, these confectionary combatants aren’t about to crumble under pressure. The fortress is a beautiful mish-mash of classic castle shapes laced with bits of icing and other sweet treats. It’s an extremely well-executed fusion of themes. And, much like the smell of gingerbread, it’s got me hungry for more!

Gingy's Revenge

Beware the cannonball in this LEGO Pirates battle

The LEGO Imperials are totally overwhelmed in this Pirate battle scene by Faëbricks. The design of the black and brown sloop is exquisite, lean and ready for a fight. And yet, it still doesn’t steal attention away from the scene as a whole. The same can be said of the port structure: beautifully textured and colored, it looks as if it’s seen its fair share of weathering. But it’s clear that the current cannon fire is creating a bit more damage than years of wind and water. Gaping holes in the gate and foundation show that the pirates are clearing winning this fight, with one more cannonball about to make contact in this frozen slice of the action. Good luck, Imperials! You’re going to need it….

Les aventures d'Henri Quart - Chapitre 4 - Saint-Iseult

Minifigs galore from the Hundred Years’ War

Travel back in time with this LEGO battle scene from the Hundred Years’ War by builder Hunter Erickson. This build depicts the Battle of Poitiers, fought between the French and the English in the year 1356. This was but one of many clashes in this series of armed conflicts fought over the French throne. Edward, the Black Prince, led the English forces in this battle, while King Jean II led the French forces. This LEGO scene depicts the battle much the same an artist would have painted the event at the time of the conflict. Layering the background, the sky behind some brick-built hills achieves a great forced perspective. I just love the colors of the plates and bricks making up the rising dawn! The scene is densely packed with minifigures engaged in deadly combat. In blue are the French, fighting to push back the ever-advancing troops of the English. And waving across the battle from the mounted soldier is St. George’s flag, wonderfully rendered with round plates, studs, and clips to capture cloth in motion.

The Battle of Poitiers, 1356

The outcome of this battle will side with the English, despite the two-to-one odds against them. King Jean II was captured, along with one of his sons. Their ransom and the peace talks would take another four years to complete, but eventually, hostilities ceased in 1360 with the Treaty of Bretigny. England regained Aquitaine, was paid the ransom for Jean II and his son, and renounced the claim on the French throne. However, this peace was fleeting–hostilities resumed ten years later, continuing the Hundred Years’ War.

A bridge over bloodied waters

The Peninsular War of 1807-1814 saw the forces of Spain, Portugal, and Britain take on Napoleon’s French army in a struggle for control of the Iberian peninsula. Gary Brooks has picked one of the war’s many battles as the subject for his first LEGO creation in two years — and it’s a diorama worth waiting for. The imposing stone bridge over the River Côa plays host to two opposing armies, in a scene over 100 studs in width…

Combat of The Côa, 1810

Read on to see more of this spectacular build

Everyone has their own demons

I do not need to tell you guys that LEGO is a lovely medium to express your emotions. We quite often see creations being made to celebrate special times in a person’s life. Bart de Dobbelaer however shows us LEGO can also be used to express the harder times in life. In this creation, a single white figure is battling their inner demons. The demons look really quite bizarre and scary. The Hidden Side eyes gets used for the demons eyes. This isn’t a far stretch but it is very fitting and creepy looking. Not using white on the demons but going with yellowish-green further adds to the contrast between the demon and the white figure. At first, I thought the mutant T-Rex head or jaw was used for the jaw of the monster but upon further inspection, this is not the case. The jaw doesn’t open horizontally but vertically which for some reason freaks me the hell out. Thank god our hero is equipped with a big weapon to fight this three-headed monster.

Inner Struggle

A castle ready for anything

With the dawn of the day, Crow Knights once again begin their dutiful watch over the land. Builder markus19840420 gives us a beautiful glimpse of the Crow Knights as they keep the kingdom safe.

Crow Knight Outpost

An incredible LEGO build resulted from hard work and tedious craftmanship. The way the water flows across the area’s base is stunning, especially how it flows off the edge like a waterfall. The plant life is perfectly placed. I admire the use of white in the tower walls. It’s not usually a color used unless the castle is nearly completely white, but here it works, contrasting enough with the grey to make the yellow and black of the Crow Knights’ uniforms pop.

A turn of a wrench and a dollop of grease et voila!

LEGO creations are true to the adage “a picture is worth a thousand words” in that they can tell amazing stories without any text. And even though Bart De Dobbelaer has provided a story alongside his creation, this one can speak for itself.

Bot Wars 2086 - the Repairman

The backdrop of rusty and grimy metal – effortlessly conveyed with simple colour choices (dark grey metal, dark orange rust, and sand green algae) – tells you a lot about where we find ourselves. This isn’t a peaceful, pristine repair shop. No, it’s a rough and tough place. Those walls have seen some stuff. The bold colour choices extend to the numerous bots as well, with their rusty metal frames being complimented by a smorgasbord of fun parts usages in red and yellow. If you’re a LEGO parts monkey like me, you’ll have a heck of a fun time trying to identify everything used to build these bots. Lost in the chaos is the titular repairman himself, doing what he can to strap these bots together and keep them running. While I have hope he can fix some of these robot folks up, the story might not have a happy ending for all of them, as the smattering of loose yellow and red parts tell the story of those bots that didn’t make it to the party.

Really, it’s just a classic invasion scenario

It seems like the old ways aren’t quite forgotten yet, and they’re not about to go quietly, either. In this diorama by Carter Witz, an alliance of Lion Knights, Royal Knights, and Forestmen are invading a modern City hamlet. It looks like the classic army has embraced some new tech, though, as one of the Forestmen rides a new-style horse, and both sides of the clash are built with excellent modern techniques.

Attack of the Classics!

In fact, don’t let the amusing storyline cause you to overlook the details in this build, which is rife with complex approaches to achieve its polished look. From the carrot tops embedded in the building’s wall to the upside-down teeth above the windows, Carter spared no expense to make the scene come to life.

Attack of the Classics!

The migration that gave the Romans migraines

If you like history and LEGO, Hunter Erickson is a builder you need to check out. His most recent build represents a violent slice of the late years of the ancient Roman empire. The builder gives a very detailed description on Flickr, so make sure you check it out.

Völkerwanderung 375-476 A.D.

Besides being very well posed in an immersive battle scene, the minifigs are quite realistic in their design. The little autumn forest on the other side of the diorama is more than just a background though — if you look closely, you can see it serves as cover for a handful of Germanic archers. And the trees are quite well built as well!

Using the force to fight to the Teth

With the recent launch of Disney+, there’s been a lot of buzz about The Mandalorian, the latest Star Wars series to hit the TV screen. Builder Jaap Bijl reaches back into Star Wars’ televised past with a Star Wars: The Clone Wars duel between Obi Wan and the bounty hunter Cad Bane. The purple planet of Teth is well-represented here, with nicely sculpted rockwork and enough tonal variety to keep things interesting.

Clone Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi vs. Cad Bane

Both characters are locked in a fierce battle, complete with sabers waving and guns-a-blazing. While they may be the stars of the show, my favorite element in this scene is the black and gray tree. The leaves are cleverly sculpted from curved slopes, along with a few ball and socket joint connections.

The Black Breath

If you are like me, you’re probably thinking the world could use more LEGO creations inspired by The Lord of the Rings. Am I right? Who is with me on this? As it turns out, Cole Blood (who, in my opinion, has the coolest name in the history of the world) has answered all our prayers with this stunning piece he calls “First Appearance of the Ringwraiths”. Having no physical form, the wraiths are cleverly depicted as hellish black apparitions that seem to seep into the landscape. The orc heads on pikes, the toadstools, and the small flowing stream create excellent visual cues throughout. Stay tuned, because this is merely one piece of a larger Second Age collaborative series we’ve been covering that Cole is participating in with his equally talented friends. I will eagerly wait, right after heading over to the registry to change my name to Rex Awesome or something.

First appearance of the Ringwraiths