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.
Tag Archives: Black Falcons
Find coastal serenity at the Black Falcon’s chapel
TBB regular Andreas Lenander shares with us what appears to be a continuation of his LEGO Black Falcons seafaring creation. Titled “Falcon Chapel,” it depicts what seems to be an island with a coastal structure. Rockwork in the foreground, a sand trail, and coastal greenery (utilizing barrels for the trunks of the palm trees) draw as much attention as the white stone building. This structure’s brilliant color would serve as the focal point of the build, were it not for the flowering vines growing on the side of the chapel and the multicolored roof. It gives the scene a weathered look, bring realism to the building. I assume the lantern-bearer at the edge of the small wooden dock is patiently awaiting the visitors from Andreas’s prior build.
Black Falcons are on the move
LEGO ships come in various shapes and sizes and are captained by different factions. Builder Andreas Lenander transports us to a scene where the Black Falcons are embarking on an adventure. The builder shows off with the construction and placement of the sails, as I’m sure those things weigh quite a bit. Undoubtedly this portion of the build presented a challenging task as well as a unique approach to a frequently visited part of a ship build. Brick-built sails are not unique, but the approach here diverges from the often-seen use of borrowed capes and other fabrics and provides depth and volume to the overall build. Although the sails are great, a closer look at each shipmate intrigues me as I try to determine where the hairpiece was borrowed. I see a couple of familiar options- Ariel? Leia? Finally, the water caught my attention. Although the approach is simple, it almost seems obvious now. I don’t know if this builder utilized a groundbreaking approach to depicting water via LEGO bricks, but I sure enjoyed seeing it for the first time here.
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.
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.
A castle as classic as can be
The Black Falcons have proven to be the most popular of the 80s LEGO castle factions, but despite having a few small castles, one thing they never got was a proper large castle of their own. Enter Steven Erickson with a redux of the iconic 6074 Black Falcon’s Fortress from 1986, a set so beloved that LEGO re-released it in 2001. Steven’s version is a significant upgrade from the original 404-piece set, bringing the tiny fortress up to a respectable size and adorning it with modern techniques while still retaining the old-school feel.
Look at this terrifying LEGO deer. Or, on second thought, don’t
A lot has changed since the Black Falcons first appeared in LEGO canon. There have been a lot of new parts introduced, and minifigures have become a lot more expressive. Both are ably demonstrated by Ids de Jong here. The terrified faces combined with those helmets give a definite Monty Python “run away! run away!” vibe. And they’re right to be bricking it: Ids has created something rather unsettling called a Hirska. No big deal, just an all-seeing, oversized deer that apparently doesn’t take kindly to being looked at the wrong way. Or being looked at at all, for that matter. You know what, why don’t we all admire the quaint tree and rockwork instead? I don’t fancy adding ‘running scared from a deer demi-God’ to my personal repertoire of facial expressions any time soon…
Gorgeous crenellations adorn this Black Falcon fortress
I cannot get enough of the beautiful LEGO stonework on this Black Falcon castle by Michał Kozłowski. The long, slender slopes reaching up from its walls and forming the battlements atop them add such height to this construction. Those expertly textured and colored walls reach up to two dark, sleek roofs capping a duo of spires. It almost completely distracts from the enemy horde trudging through the vegetation on the ground below. Festooned with birch trees, this plot is where our invaders have set up a ladder to breach the walls.
Thankfully, this fortress is armed with a heavy duty ballista to take out any enemies that make it over the bulwark. I think this design is top notch, and definitely my favorite part of the build.
A crusade to distant worlds
While knights in armour might often be associated with big grey castles, they did venture much further east in the (often ill-fated) crusades. Andreas Lenander has applied this scenario to LEGO’s own Black Falcon knights. Despite the sun and those hot-looking outfits, they look quite content to be living here! To be fair, it’s much more colourful than their typical monochrome abodes. This style of architecture does require some different techniques than you might expect in typical castles. I’m drawn to the domed roofs on the two larger buildings, each made using half a planet — specifically, I believe it’s Endor and Bespin. Talk about an out-of-this-world idea!
This dragon is ready for a hot knight out
The Black Falcon faction has their hands full trying to combat Yzur, the Fireheart in this scene by seb71. The color scheme on this mythical beastie is en fuego! The blocking of red, dark red, black, yellow, and gold feels organic without being monotonous. And the sculpting on the limbs and tail is downright perfect, making the build feel complete. Even the dragon’s fire breath is a wonderful blocky construction, much to the chagrin of our mounted knight. I particularly like the sculpting of Yzur’s face, with excellent use of the Brickheadz eye piece. Even without the cryptozoological wonder, the background stands up on its own. Check out that delicate wispy pine behind our crimson menace!
Giant LEGO monastery inspired by a Classic Castle faction
Debuting at Brickworld Chicago back in June, builder Casey McCoy represents LEGO’s Black Falcons well with this epic monastery. And this creation is jam-packed with awesome details! Let’s start with the exterior walls, which alternate between gentle curves and harsher slopes. All of this on top of a beautiful smattering of textured brick that draws the eye to key points: the ornate stonework around the entrance, the elegantly simple bell tower, or those stunning stained glass windows. I appreciate the common architectural themes between the upper and lower structures. However, with the addition of beveled corners and more intricate stone work on level #2, the build tells a story of the later addition of the upper section, perhaps after the monastery was established.
Explore more of the monastery below!
Spiders are not the only forest creature to be wary of
LEGO nostalgia is a big thing these days — and I’m not just talking about the footprint of the colossal 10305 Lion Knight’s Castle. Sigmund Haugland has big-ified the legendary yesteryear factions of the Black Falcon knights and the Forest Guardians in this amusing scene. Our brave Falcon knight must be suffering from a bout of arachnophobia, given the way he’s pointing his spear at the poor spider. The Forest Guardian is taking advantage of the situation to lob a net over the unsuspecting soldier. Perhaps he’s in league with the spider? I’m never sure whose side they’re on. These forest dwellers sure give off some chaotic-good vibes. Either way, both protagonists in this picture are full of character. I like the use of the closed eye for the mouth on both characters – despite using the same piece, they both have very different expressions. The door handle is nicely done as well using a pair of antlers.
This castle’s a keep-er
There were few LEGO sets as a child that were precious to me, but one that was just perfect was the Black Falcon Fortress, and in this miniaturised digital form, ZiO Chao has realised a favourite set of mine that I needed to share! In building this in a miniature scale, ZiO hasn’t compromised on detail at all. Everything that made Black Falcon’s Fortress a great build can be found here too.
Let’s explore more of this diminutive fortress here