Tag Archives: Brickscalibur

Double, double toil and trouble; nice warm water and soapy bubble

I know this year feels like it’s going quickly, but surely we’re not in October already are we? We featured one LEGO witch here last week, and now Markus Rollbühler has graced us with another one. They couldn’t be more different, though, apart from the green skin and black robes. Oh, and the clever parts use! Some black curved arches lend some graceful shape do this witch’s dress, while the cauldron makes use of an inverted tire. I’m not sure what’s happening with that little mouse, though. Is she giving it a bath? That must be it. The green bottle in her other hand is clearly bath lotion. Nothing nefarious happening here, no sirree…

Brickscalibur 2023 Trophy: The Witch

In the golden forest, a LEGO dragon blocks the way

When I first spotted this exquisite LEGO creation by F.S. Leinad, it was most definitely the dragon that made me stop for a deeper peek. It’s such a beautiful agglomeration of parts and connections forming the small beast. With a neck made from a robot’s foot and horns from minifigure goggles, there’s so much to love about its construction. But you may not see the forest for the dragon, so to speak. These yellow-foliated trees are a wonder! They form such natural shapes with their trunks and boughs, providing an irregular, natural look that’s a far cry from the standard LEGO leaf parts. I’m absolutely taking notes on this one!

"More afraid of you than you are of it"

Scrying on your LEGO competition in the Brickscalibur contest

You can tell it’s once again Brickscalibur season when Markus Rollbühler is showing off his enviable LEGO trophy-building skills. Until January 15th, builders will be submitting their best Castle-adjacent creations for a chance at a prize. This devilish warlock seen mid-scrying spell is the trophy for the Medieval Micro category, and it’s an astounding creation! Markus’s ability to make the plastic bricks appear to be flowing cloth is superb, as are all the accoutrements to the spellcaster like the candlesticks and pile of papers. But enough talk – I need to get building if I’m going to have a shot at taking this home! Check out the Brickscalibur website for all the categories and rules if you’re interested.

Brickscalibur 2023 Trophy: The Warlock

This snowy inn takes medieval construction to new heights

In this frozen wilds scene, Jake Hansen (Mountain Hobbit) has brilliantly captured the feel of a rough and snowy wilderness. The fatigue of that poor traveler comes right through in this image, thanks in part to the steep stone stairs with the snow collecting in their cervices. Thankfully, the traveler has reached a warm and inviting inn and can now claim a well-earned night’s rest. But, were I the traveler, I might take one lap around the inn and enjoy its shades of blue, and the intricate roof awnings. There’s always time to appreciate good craftsmanship. Besides, if you just climbed 1000 feet, what could a lap around the inn hurt?

The Inn on the Mountain Pass

The many perspectives of medieval art

It’s always fun to see LEGO builds explore art history, such as this medieval scene from Joe (jnj_bricks). This build explores those fun and strange perspectives found in Europe’s medieval artwork. If you look up some of the art, you’ll find paintings and drawings where the foreground and background scenes are sort of pushed together with perspectives not achievable in reality.

Scripted Days

This build of a monk busy with penning a manuscript shows off such angles between the front and back scenes. This allows for great detailing in both the foreground and background. The monk and his surroundings are chock full of incredible details, like the billowy robes and the tapestry behind the scribe. The castle through the door stands out with the texturing of its walls. This is an incredible idea, and a further example of LEGO as an artful medium.

Sand castles don’t last forever, even ones made of the Sands of Time

This LEGO hourglass is something magical with its grains building a castle as time passes. Builder Simon Liu presents this unique hourglass for the Brickscalibur contest. As time moves, so does the construction of the castle. And when it’s complete, time is up. It’s a clever idea to showcase the passage of time and life. Being an hourglass, it represents the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The build uses a wonderful assortment of tan pieces to give the castle definition. There are even some walls and bits in the top portion of the hourglass from the last sand castle. The build also makes some good use of gold pieces to give the timepiece a gilded elegance. This is a really cool design and idea, and is certainly one of my favorite time-related LEGO builds.

Time Castle

There are secrets hiding in this library’s collection

There’s nothing like going to the library to discover something new, even if the library is made of LEGO. Jesse van den Oetelaar presents a small window into a magical library chock full of secrets and rarities. Made for this year’s Brickscalibur contest, this build has great textures from top to bottom, with details galore to explore. We see two stories to the building with books and artefacts from floor to ceiling. Let’s take a closer look at some of the details on the second floor and its railing. There’s some nice parts usage with wand elements standing in for the railings filler spokes. The bookcase has colorful tiles for the books filling the shelves, a classic method for full bookcases. I love the use of tan Technic pins for all the candles. Their unique shaping is perfect for such an illuminating portrayal.

In the Realms of Unreality, your wish is my trophy

Even if this wasn’t for a contest we’d feature this LEGO Genie anyway because: 1) it was built by Markus Rollbüller and whatever that guy does turns to gold and 2) see reason 1. I mean, do you really need another reason? He was named The Brothers Brick Builder of the Year in 2021 so you know he’s got to be good. But if you need another reason to love this Genie, it is a trophy that can be had over at Brickscalibur if you enter and win in the Realms of Unreality Category. Be sure to refine those rendering skills as this is a digital-only category. Despite this fact, this trophy is not merely smoke and mirrors but actual LEGO bricks that you can presumably rub in the privacy of your own home. While you’re mulling over those possibilities, check out why, as TBB writers, Markus Rollbüller makes our wishes come true.

Brickscalibur 2022 Trophy: The Genie

A big city on a peaceful island in microscale

What I love about LEGO microscale builds is how it can shift how we see the smallest of LEGO parts. Joe (jnj_bricks) brings this build to life for this year’s Brickscalibur contest in the Medieval Micro category. The city does feel alive with movement from the waterfalls and the vibrant greenery throughout the cityscape. Taking a look at the staircases, they have nice usage of the grooved brick piece at an angle for the stairs. There’s also some nice usage of the 1×1 horizontal clip piece in the buildings and their details. Stacked, the part offers some cool textures to the walls of the leftmost building. My favorite parts usage, though, comes from the battle droid legs for some fine arcing details. You can spot them on the highest spire and the causeway behind the winged minifig statue. There are many more details, so take your time exploring the build. Can you spot the Woody hat?

Peaceful Shores

A real estate opportunity you’ll want to snap up

Love traveling, but hate the act of leaving home? Consider buying a plot on the Wandering Mountain, courtesy of builder Level_Bell. This mobile monolith has an urban center that’s always on the move. With a magnificent castle, scenic waterfalls, and a bustling mining industry, there’s always something to keep you busy. And you never know what you’ll see outside your window, because the surrounding scenery is constantly changing. Whatever direction our ancient tortoise god decides to go in is where you’ll call home. Inquire today because this exciting opportunity is going fast! Well, as fast as a tortoise walks, at any rate…

The Wandering Mountain

It’s time to knight the knights

LEGO builder gGh0st has crafted a medieval market full of Muppet mayhem. All 12 of the Muppet Collectible Minifigures have traveled into the past for a chaotic romp in the Middle Ages. It might take some time to spot them all, but as your eyes search the scene, you’ll have the joy of taking in all the wonderful build work on the various castles and taverns and such – from the ingots used as bricks, to the drum kit made from food in the market. But maybe avert your eyes when you get to that guillotine…it’s like a kind of torture to have to watch that show.

The Muppets in the Middle Ages

Farmhands down, this is a great trophy

This exquisite construction by the one and only Markus Rohlbühler brings together two of my favorite things in the LEGO hobby: non-minifig scale and trophy construction. Handed out as an award for this year’s Brickscalibur contest, this darling farmhand is quite the amalgamation of curved slopes. With studs pointing every which way, the maiden’s blue dress proves well-crafted. And the little detail of her rolled-up sleeves, made using the bottom of the facemask from Ninjago’s Zane, is absolutely stellar.

Brickscalibur 2022 Trophy: Farmhand

If you’re interested in even more like this, check out this excellent orc trophy by Markus that we featured late last month.