Tag Archives: Ben Cossy

The grass is sand greener at the Black Raven Inn

When Black Falcon knights need room and board between tracking down bounties on Wolfpack hooligans, where better to stay than Ben Cossy‘s beautiful Black Raven Inn? Ben’s latest medieval LEGO build innovates on classic half-timbered designs. I especially apprecaite the mix of white bricks with tan and sun-yellowed white to give the plastered walls a weathered look, constrasted with the dark brown timbers. For the foundation, Ben plays with a new technique of offset stacks of 1×1 tiles clipped to tubes. While the building is striking on its own, the sand green landscaping and voluminous trees really sell the scene.

The Black Raven Inn

For details how how he pulled off that unique foundation and to hear what inspired this amazing build, watch and listen as Ben guides you through the process.

If you, like us, give this inn a ten, then consider revisiting Ben’s past models featured on TBB.

Johnny Thunder and the Plunderers of the Misplaced Coffer

An intrepid adventurer in a wide-brimmed hat enters a desert temple containing Anubis statues, with a sinister rival in tow. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? What? Indiana who now?! No, we’re referring to Ben Cossy‘s latest masterpiece! It depicts the Adventurers heroes of yesteryear – Johnny Thunder, Pippin Reed, and Dr Kilroy Lightning – in hot pursuit of their erstwhile antagonists, Baron von Barron and Sam Sinister. You can see why they were drawn to this structure. The massive Anubis statue at the back, framed by that broken ring, is striking! It’s almost Stargate-esque – a testament to Ben’s architectural skills. As for Johnny Thunder, it’s a good thing he has that torch in hand. There’s always the possibility of snakes…

Temple of Anubis

A bold color towers above the rest

It’s not very often you get to have bold, beautiful colors like pinks and lavenders in LEGO Castle-style sets or builds. This is what brought builder Ben Cossy to construct this amazing scene! Wanting to experiment with non-traditional colors for a castle build, Ben chose the color palette of pink and lavender for the tower and surrounding landscape. The whole scene has a great flow and movement, from the lower areas to the tower’s top. Browns and tans help with the color blocking of the tower, keeping the greys from dominating. There are some really cool building techniques at work in the build here, and Ben kindly goes over it all in a video. I recommend checking it out if your interests lie in the details behind the scenes.

Ametis Tower

Surprisingly, this squid is not attacking the lighthouse

Based on the drawing of a child, this fascinating LEGO build has been cleverly constructed by Ben Cossy. The original drawing describes a squid taking on the role of a lighthouse and inking boats which are going by too fast. The squid build uses multiple tentacle pieces from the Gargantos Showdown set while blending different shades of green together in the formation of the body. The ships are miniature in their size with quarter circle tiles portraying sails. Looks like one has already been caught speeding!

The South Mole Squid

There is also an informative video that demonstrates some of the techniques used in creating this scene.

A most tranquil shrine for a traveler to warm their feet by the green fire

While fans of the fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire may have a very different association with green fire, you can’t deny that these little flames bring a touch of charm to this fantasy scene by Ben Cossy, where scattered trees drop their bright pink blossoms on the pale green forest floor among the crumbling ruins of grand statues. A road-weary traveler enjoys some strong tea while they wait — maybe for the rest of their traveling group, or for inspiration. Whatever they’re waiting for, I can’t think of a more peaceful place to do it.

Shrine of The Green Flame

I’ll take the next train; this one looks a little crowded…

Ben Cossy was inspired by the PS4 Spider-Man game and wanted to capture the Mr. Negative subway battle in brick form. But, with no Mr. Negative minifigure to turn to, Ben adapted his idea into a classic Spidey/Venom throw-down. The kinetic energy imbued into the combatants and the subway car battle damage is an excellent example of storytelling in vignette form. But, looking past the action, you’ll see that Ben’s captured all the details of a subway car wonderfully, from the brick-built doors to the numerous ads and posters. Although we have to wonder about the “Wayne Technology” ad. Is this a continuity error, or are the multiversal shenanigans getting that far out of hand?

Venom VS Spider-man - Subway Brawl

This Spider-Man scene features some pretty massive spoilers…maybe.

The first trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home made it pretty clear that Sony and Marvel are looking to double-down on the multiverse-hopping success of Into the Spider-Verse. Thanks to a spell cast by Dr. Strange, Tom Holland’s Peter Parker will be facing off against foes from previous Spider-Man film eras, including Alfred Molina’s Doc Ock from 2004’s Spider-Man 2. And if the villains from these different movies can show up in the MCU, you have to wonder, “Who else might be along for the ride?” It seems the worst kept secret in history is that this film will feature Tom Holland joined by Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, each reprising their own version of the Web-slinger, for three times the wall-crawling action. Of course, that’s not confirmed. It might just be speculation. It could be that the internet rumor mill has gone haywire and is setting legions of Spider-Fans up for disappointment when Tom Holland is left to fight these villains all by his lonesome. If that’s the case, Ben Cossy has us covered with this delightful diorama that imagines what it might be like if all three Spider-Men went up against a Sinister Six composed of Electro, Mysterio, Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, Kraven the Hunter, and Sandman.

I have to say, Kraven’s an interesting choice to round out the villain roster. He’s the one character in the line-up who hasn’t appeared in a live-action film as yet. Which doesn’t mean we won’t see him. But who would you cast?

Time for a swim

Here’s the thing, my LEGO collection is seriously outdated. I haven’t kept up with the newest sets for a few years, and I’m not familiar with the latest parts. Plus, all the teal that I own date back to pre-2006, so… you get the idea. But sometimes these limitations can push a builder to create something more interesting. When I see this Seahorse and Moorish Idol build by Ben Cossy, I can immediately appreciate every brick that has gone into it (and name each one on the top of my head). Using just a few standard, classic parts, Ben captures the essence of the two sea creatures quite effortlessly. The exposed studs on these creatures resemble textured scales of their real-life counterparts. The layered plate construction on the Moorish Idol and flexible hose spine on the seahorse add to the realism. This marine life build is genuinely calming and even reassuring to look at. It’s like they’re telling me, “Hey, it’s ok. You don’t need the latest parts to build something cool.”

Seahorse & Moorish Idol

Take a deep dive into our archives to see some more ocean-inspired builds!

Rebel against the blockade in the Rebel Blockade Runner

Are you a smuggler tired of being boarded by an Imperial cruiser? Or an Imperial politician with sympathies to the Rebellion? Or maybe you’re a starship captain looking for something that packs a punch? If you said yes to any of these questions, you need a Rebel Blockade Runner, particularly the one seen here designed by Ben Cossy.

SW Microfighters: Rebel Blockade Runner

Created to emulate the white and blue paint scheme of the CR90s from Star Wars: Rebels rather than the Tantive IV from A New Hope, everything seen here is as gorgeous as it looked on screen. This Rebel Blockade Runner incorporates the best of microscale design. I love the cockpit part of the ship by the way it fits exactly how an actual CR90 would look. The gun turrets on top, bottom and sides show that this isn’t a ship to mess with, and the use of the mechanical claw piece increases the playability of the guns.

I think the best part of this design is the smoothness of it all. Perfect angles and curves, as well as detailed hardpoints when screen accuracy is needed. I’m not sure how Ben created the angled port and starboard sections of the ship, but they look fantastic. Any Rebel commander looking to bust through an Imperial blockade would want something that looks this good.

It’s the little things that cause the biggest problems

When running a Super Star Destroyer it is often easy to overlook the smaller nuisances that could cause potential turmoil. Trip hazard in compartment 4412 on deck 206, that one toilet that won’t flush by the aft galley, that doohickey shaped like a cowboy hat that keeps buzzing for some reason; all can spell tragedy when left unchecked. The imposing sight of the Star Dreadnought Executor alone was enough to frighten an entire star system into submission, so it was easy to dismiss a lone one-man rebel A-Wing as a laughable insignificant detail. Ben Cossy recreates the scene in Return of the Jedi when one such laughable insignificant detail crashed into the Executor’s command bridge, thus sending the flagship hurtling into the Death Star II. (The first also destroyed by small, laughable rebel spacecraft.)

Arvel Crynyd's Sacrifice

He calls it “Arvel Crynyd’s Sacrifice” and excellent details abound, including making use of spring shooter darts and antenna as part of the explosive effect. Meanwhile, a myriad of minifig headpieces create texture for the black smoke. The minifig officers run like the dickens as the hapless crew members do…whatever it is they do with those switches and knobs. Crynyd was posthumously awarded the New Republic Medal of Bravery for turning the battle tides in the rebel’s favor, and we can’t help but root for the underdog. If you too like the notion that the little guy can take down a vast oppressive empire, you should check out this previously featured instrument of death that was ultimately crushed by “teddy bears.”

A droid strewn jawa junkshop

Capturing atmosphere in LEGO is an art, and it’s an art that Ben Cossy has mastered in his moody model of a Jawa junkshop. Its cleverly built sand crawler interior is combined with sophisticated photography, conjuring up that distinctive Tatooine feel. Having scavenged through his LEGO bins, Ben has decided to showcase the elusive TC-14 as the Jawa’s latest prize find. The silver protocol droid works as a glistening visual foil, backlit by the glowing red furnace grill. It’s a neat cinematic trick that renders the whole scene believable and somehow resonant with the Star Wars universe.

Latest Find

Detail abounds in this Clone Wars LEGO diorama

This epic creation by Ben Cossy takes me to a galaxy far, far away. The use of white and dark gray bricks to create the landscape is incredible. I’m also impressed with the way the Republic base was incorporated into the snowy cliffside, and notice the Death Star parts used as the fuel storage tanks.

See more of this huge LEGO Star Wars diorama