It takes a hearty fellow to live so high up among the clouds with so few safety railings, but this idyllic scene by Roanoke Handybuck and Carter Witz makes me feel just a bit braver than normal. Each structure in this village in the clouds has a unique shape, and some include just a touch of weather-worn details. The slender supports and stacked dwellings give the scene a charming, if not slightly precarious feeling. But the citizens certainly don’t seem to mind.
The best LEGO builds tell a story. Take this one by Carter Witz, which begins with a simple premise: what if a magic portal separated a land of summer from a world of winter? What happened to divide these two realms? And what will it take to bring them together again? While you’re pondering those answers, be sure to appreciate the rich combination of plates, tiles, sloped bricks, and plant elements to achieve the textured greenery. Same with the variation of elements that make up the ancient, weathered stone wall. (I count at least twelve different kinds of brick in that wall.)
Here’s a better view of the opposite side, where winter still reigns. Rather than simply duplicate the topography of the summer half, Carter added mysterious ruined columns topped with drifts of snow. Enchanting!
Check out this wonderful sandstone stronghold by LEGO builder Carter Witz! The crenellations here are beautiful, creating that classic castle shape with plenty of texture embedded in the walls to break up all the flat surfaces and the occasional slab of dark tan. I also appreciate the occasional curve in this boxy fortress design, be it the arched window insets or the perfect use of the 1×1 quarter round tile under the projected battlements throughout the build. Thoughout the build, you can findthe occasional inventive use of a loose minifigure hand to recreate a tree branch, an architectural detail, or a ribbon. All that said, Carter’s use of color steals the show! Azure doors, leafy lime trees, and the blue outfits of its inhabitants stand in glorious contrast to the sandy walls of this fortress.
There are so many bright pops of pigment in this goblin outpost LEGO scene by Carter Witz. Terrain of lime and yellowish green is dotted with golden flowers and trees sporting pink leaves, standing in stark contrast to the brilliant blue of the cascading waterfall and rich brown of the gobbos’ watchtower. The palette is incredibly immersive, reminding me heavily of the Elves theme from years ago. And amid the colorful scene, Carter sneaks in some terrific designs with the round concrete foundations of the outpost, the cute cave entrance on the left, and the craggy textures of exposed rocks utilizing studs in all directions. The use of slopes and exposed studs in trans-clear throughout the waterfall is a real triumph, too. I can almost hear the rushing water as it cascades down the goblins’ hill!
There’s the age-old question of why the chicken crossed the road, but it appears it doesn’t apply at this tidy chicken farm by LEGO builder Carter Witz because there are no roads here. Instead, these birds are stuck at home with their tiny wings, because this chicken farm is on a floating island. With lovely autumnal colors and a rustic vibe, this build has everything we’d want from a floating island habitat. The stone doorframe on the house is a great detail that makes the structure feel sturdy despite its precarious location, and there are lots of other great details like the shingled roof and the adorable chicken coop.
It’s been a while since we covered the fourth of 8 builds from the second round of the Starfighter Telephone Game, or STG, so lets do a recap as we highlight the final build in the series. The STG-2 Beyonder, built by Simon Liu, the spaceship legend himself, made for a super strong finish for the whole game. For those not in the know, the game includes eight builders, passing along a spaceship design that they reimagine and redesign with each subsequent build. As such, the form and function can shift and change in dramatic ways from the first ship to the last. The bright green canopy surrounded by white angular canopy pieces smooth out the cockpit and compliment the triangular shaping achieved with the left and right roof tiles that Simon pulled from the Bone Demon set. Dark grey mock-wings stretch out from the green, white, and blue fuselage while gold tiling on the engines can be seen peeking out from behind the craft. Unfortunately Simon hasn’t provided much of a look at the back. Thankfully, the front is so beautifully built it’s worth appreciating on its own. The greebly, detailed interior of the cockpit feature’s many LEGO fans’ favorite frog piece as this sleek ship’s pilot.
While LEGO builder Carter Witz tells us he has kept this design pretty simple I’m still smitten with it anyway. Granted it doesn’t have mind-blowing techniques and complex gear trains but you can go a long way with a well-appointed layout. I love the trees, the smiling minifigures and the rock patterns. That waterfall though really makes the piece special. The look and feel takes us back to a specific time in LEGO history right in the sweet spot of childhood memories. You know, before all the backaches and sore knees. This builder frequently takes us to special places. Check out the Carter Witz archives to see what I mean.
The baby Yoda figure has been on my wish list since the first time I saw it. Carter Witz used it in their latest creation. It is either meant to represent Grogu and his little play hut, or it is meant to represent Yoda on a micro-scale. The creation is called (baby) Yoda’s hut, so my guess is it is up to you to decide.
The tree looks nice and lusciously green and the roots covering the little hut are a very nice touch. Carter used a mix of elephant trunks, spider legs and dinosaur necks to create the roots and the trunk of the tree. Indy had to hand in his whip to create vines and roots. I am not sure what the brown flower stem is meant to represent, but I am digging how it looks!
After another year of waging war, both sides of the conflict put down their blasters and held a holiday celebration. Builder Carter Witz displayed the historical setting that took place a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.
Let’s look at this on a deeper level. I’ve never seen that model of AT-AT before. It’s very detailed and fits perfectly into the scene, lifting Vader to the top of the tree to place the star. The large columns are both beautiful and straight-up Empire, with Imperial lighting helping light the room. And what’s in the kegs by the window? Cider? Cocoa? Coaxium?
This build goes to show that not everything has to be about fighting and blowing stuff up. You can use good and evil forces from the darkest of moments to create holiday cheer and warm feelings towards everyone. Isn’t that right, Mr. Wampa?
Most artists I know are usually intimidated by a blank canvas. That doesn’t seem to bother this painter adding color to an otherwise monochrome landscape, by Carter Witz. By choosing to make most of the landscape unpainted, Carter is able to use some great LEGO parts that come in limited colors, like teeth, claws, and horns, and even a few skeleton arms. Plus, as a bonus, the green frog serves as a large paint blob spilling out of the bucket. It’s a happy accident that Bob Ross would be proud of.
I told myself today was going to be the day I get stuff done. This was going to be the day I didn’t procrastinate with silliness online. But then I took one of those “what kind of dog are you?” quizzes and they cited me as a basset hound when I fancy myself as more of a golden retriever and now I have that to deal with. Among all this important online research, I stumbled upon this serene LEGO scene by Carter Witz. I like the golden leaves, the haphazard texture of the roof, and the fact that the trail and river interrupt the base structure. Now I pretty much don’t want to get any work done anymore. I just want to relax in Carter’s world for a while. You can also go down the rabbit hole of unproductivity and check out Carter’s other fantastic layouts. Basset hounds enjoy rabbit holes, don’t they?
There’s a lot to like in Carter Witz‘s atmospheric LEGO model of a sunken ruin. Above the waters, we’ve got twisting vines and an excellent selection of parts to create the impression of aged, decaying stonework. And then plunging below the surface, we have a clever change in tone from light grey to dark, with fish flitting between the columns, and weeds choking the lake bottom. This is a well-put-together model, but as with many of the best LEGO creations, it’s the sense of story, the questions it prompts in the mind of the beholder which elevate it into something special. What was this ruined structure? Which ancient civilization built these broken arches? And what terrible cataclysm saw it flooded? Who is the man in the canoe? Where is he going? And what sauce will he cook that chicken in?
