Great castle architecture always grabs my attention. I’m continually amazed when builders find new techniques for medieval roofing, brickwork, or half-timbering in LEGO. Gabriel Midgley has quickly become a favorite castle builder and the Procession of the Vampire Lord shows why. Just look at that doorway. Forming arches from partially connected 2×1 plates is nothing new, but the three nested archways here with a half-stud offset is epic. The color gradient on the half-timbered top, using a mix of profile bricks on their sides, is gorgeous – especially when paired with the red and blue windows. Cheese slopes allow smooth curves for the tower side. And as with all of Gabriel’s builds, excellent landscaping, thoughtfully composed minifigs, and custom lighting turn a great architectural build into immersive world-building. This is truly a castle build you can sink your teeth into!
Tag Archives: Castle
Epic LEGO Moonshade Cathedral is a midnight masterpiece
Over the past three years, Jakob Kaiser and his LEGO building community, The Workshop, have an annual castle collaboration themed on Gothic builds and time of day. First Gothic: Mistlands focused on dawn. Gothic II: Twilight explored dusk. Now, comes the grand finale: Gothic III: Noctural, with Jakob’s showstopper contribution: Moonshade Cathedral. The massive diorama is a masterclass in medieval brickwork, landscaping, and presentation and the builder’s most impressive work to date. Let’s take a closer look!
Click to see more of Jakob’s impressive cathedral!
Crusading LEGO knights get a horned visitor
While LEGO’s official Castle sets have stuck to European and fantasy inspirations, adult fans have been increasingly inspired by Middle Eastern architecture for medieval builds. This immersive scene from Alberto Ulfhednar has Classic Castle knights playing crusaders in a grand walled city. The arches, weathered brickwork, and clever supports (love the use of roller skates!) are all excellent, but the standout technique is the cracked street. The camera work is beautifully done, with the angle and depth of field putting the viewer in the scene. It could almost be a historical build if it weren’t for one mysterious rider. Is the rider hinting at epic worldbuilding in Alberto’s imagination, or is this the D&D city of Al-Qadim, and the rider is a canonical Tiefling looking for a quest?
LEGO Master Michal Horáček’s medieval village is a towering, teetering triumph
Czech builder and LEGO masters winner Michal Horáček is a true artist at erecting big, rickety stonework in LEGO. It must help that he lives in Prague, one of the most architecturally exciting cities in the world. Over the past year, between contributing to a Tim Burton exhibition and collaborative builds with others like poMOCník & dirigent, Michal has been working on a massive medieval city showcasing his unique style. The central building in the tableau — the red town hall and adjoining tower and astronomical clock — is heavily inspired by Prague’s own Old Town Hall.
Ramshackle brickwork and half-timbered buildings have long been in vogue with castle builders, but usually with a Norman or Tudor influence. Michal’s buildings incorporate Gothic flare with elaborate (bordering on chaotic) detailing that captures the flamboyant style that swept through much of Europe during the late Medieval period. Michal draws on a wide range of parts to add texture, with stone facades that rival Star Wars ships for greebly goodness.
While Michal recently debuted his town at a local event, he plans to keep expanding the scene, including adding a church and more houses. We can’t wait to see how his village grows!
Don’t tread on this fortified troll fort
LEGO builder Fedde Barendrecht finds an innovative way to show off his troll and orc collection as well as enough tank treads to furnish an entire platoon. You had to have been collecting the Castle line back in 2008 to acquire so many orc and troll figures. That’s back when Katy Perry kissed a girl and liked it. Also the economy crashed but the incidents were likely unrelated. The aforementioned tank treads adorn the walls of the fortress giving it a-uh-fortified fort feel. To quote Fedde: “Quickly assembled frontier forts trolls throw up on newly ‘acquired’ territories to ensure their holdings stay held”. Isn’t that how 4Chan was founded?
A stately villa for the Dragon Knights (and their goats)
During LEGO’s 2010 Castle revival, Kingdoms, the Dragon Knights got a whole new look with earth green tabards and a new crest. The faction was also framed as overtly villainous, focusing on prisons and siege weapons. Builder Tom Studs prefers to imagine that the Dragon Kingdom isn’t all about oppression and scheming and that their knights deserve a charming chateau. Tom’s seed part for the striking tower roof design was inspired by a previous Iron Builder challenge with the teal cylinder. The manor roof, made up of 1×1 round tiles, is gorgeous and apparently held in place by Majisto’s magic. Great castle techniques abound, from the round SNOT tower design to the lovely weathered brickwork to the clever lattice window made of interlocking brackets. Of course, the villa is also home to the pair of goats “liberated” during the Mill Village Raid.
Spooky scary skeletons spell doom for the Lion Knights
In the LEGO photography hobby, light and focus are as essential to the creative process as which bricks to use. Photomark6, a member of the BrickCentral photography community, specializes in shots where the camera is brought down into a diorama, giving the viewer a minifig’s view of the action. (And he manages to sneak a cat into every scene!) With spooky season upon us, Mark delves into the darkness and captures the likely final moments of the Lion Knights as they walk into a necromancer’s trap.
The black skeletons with double-long limbs are especially frightening, the minifig equivalent of those terrifying lawn skeletons that loom over trick-or-treaters. And nothing screams horror like chains hanging from the ceiling. Mark uses some scary good techniques in the castle backdrop; the hinge bricks work great as cornices. In the background, Szazz Tam from the D&D Collectible Minifigures watches the knights fall. Can the Lion Knights turn the tides? If only skeletons were allergic to cats…
A life of solitude among the LEGO waves
Working on fortified outposts in the sea must have been quite lonely back in the day. Little supply boats would be your only connection to the outside world, and possibly your only human contact, too. What do you mean, that sounds quite nice?! Anyway, we’ve got LEGO builder Bryckland to thank for that particular train of thought. There are loads of great techniques on display in this diorama from days gone by. The palm tree is one of the best I’ve seen, making use of upturned eggshells; and there’s a pair of binoculars masquerading as a doorknob which I really like. The hexagonal tower looks great too, leaving the square LEGO grid to provide some interesting shape. Same goes for that superb little supply boat! I’m not sure I’d want to rely on a rowboat for entertainment, but give me an internet connection and a mini-fridge and I’d take up residence here in a jiffy.
Telling tales of medieval bravery, one LEGO diorama at a time
While castles (and particularly some LEGO castles) are often impressive in isolation, it’s easy to forget that in the mediaeval age, they were often just a part of a larger settlement. Over on Flickr, Baptiste (lebrickoleur) has provided us with a reminder of that fact. And in some style, too! It’s quite a sizeable build, but the section of castle wall we’re presented with is indicative of a much bigger structure than what we see here. The details such as the walkways or wooden coverings demonstrate an acute knowledge of fortress architecture!
That know-how is evident within the garrison, too, as you can see from this rear shot. This build is entirely modular; Baptiste has been building it in sections, each one corresponding to a chapter in an overarching story. It starts in the small wooden hut in the corner, and finishes in the banquet hall within the castle walls. It’s a fascinating way to go about the build! You can examine all 10 sections on Baptiste’s photostream, and if you speak French, you can read the story too. Magnifique!
The Great Grape Chapel Showcase
Medieval marketplaces are a popular theme with LEGO castle builders, but you’ve never seen one with colors and creative lore like this! Tabaya‘s bustling scene introduces the Fellowship of the Wine, a sacred order dedicated to the fermentation of the sacred grape. The monastery is built from a distinctive mix of flame yellowish orange, medium lilac, sand green, and brick yellow. It’s a color combination I’ve never encountered before but really sings, especially paired with fall foliage. Tabaya’s model is filled with playful architectural choices, influenced, no doubt, by limited parts in the chosen colors. But the builder also celebrates the playful connections possible in LEGO without the constraints of historical accuracy or realism.
Tabaya excels at fantasy minifigs and has created the perfect ensemble to bring the scene to life: The Fellowship of the Grape. I like to think that consuming the magical wine grown by the order turns the hair purple. The six statues, each holding a different sacred object, give the fictional church specificity. This is great world-building.
Fire Breathing Fortress reforged in epic collab from LEGO pros
In their professional capacity as LEGO designers, Chris Perron and Wes Talbott have collaborated on some of the best fantasy sets ever released, including Rivendell and the Red Dragon’s Tale. So what do these friends get up to when they’re off the clock? How about an epic reimaging of a beloved ’90s castle with modern building techniques and design aesthetics? The massive build debuts at the upcoming Skærbæk Fan Weekend event, but for those who can’t make it to rural Denmark, the builders graciously offer a detailed tour of this house of the Dragon Masters.
Click to explore the reforged Fire Breathing Fortress!
Majisto trades his magical workshop for a spellbinding tower
When LEGO first introduced the wizard Majisto, I was confused that this affable bright blue Merlin-type was working alongside the Dragon Masters, who with their black and red color scheme, halberds, and mustaches were coded “bad guys” to young me. So while Majisto did have his own tower (and chariot!) back in the day, it felt wrong… like a version of Gandalf who sided with Saruman. A new builder on the scene, Lego Library, offers up a home for Majisto that trades Dragon Master darkness for fairy tale splendor, and it suits the blue mage to a T. Lego Library employs stellar stonework in both the rock foundation and tower walls to achieve a perfect profile that avoids right angles. I adore the blue pointed roof that mirrors Majisto’s hat, and the coral accents add a nice patchwork element. It’s a perfect mix of nostalgia and modern techniques and an amazing debut from Lego Library.
What are your thoughts on the perfect home for Majisto? Is this Wizard Tower the place he was always meant to live, or do you miss Majisto’s alliance with the Dragon Masters?