As shown at this year’s Brickworld, Bob Carney‘s Neuschwanstein does not disappoint. This castle is massive and simply gorgeous. It really captures the grandeur that King Ludwig was going for, though I’m certain without the whole “bankrupt my country” thing. Bad idea, that.
Anyway, fantastic castle. Mr. Carney has plenty of work-in-progress pictures on his site, as well as some photos of the real castle and a bit of history. Check it out!
Ever wonder why creations with the LUGpol logo are so awesome? If you are in Warsaw on July 10 and 11, you can stop by the Museum Of Technology (Muzeum Techniki) to see the best LUGPol creations in person and mingle with their members. The exhibit lasts until the end of September and features creations from varied themes and includes large city, castle, and Star Wars dioramas and much more.
There’s something about the controlled chaos in Kevin Fedde‘s Rogue Castle that just grabs my attention. Good guys, bad guys, unsuspecting sailors, and fantastic work on the architecture of the castle itself. It all just works for me.
This shapely pool, by Katie Walker, is incredibly elegant. I would love to have that built for real, in full scale. This builder, though new on the LEGO scene, is definitely showing us how it’s done, eh?
Let’s all learn from our good knight’s example–remember to separate your light colored clothing from the darker colored clothing, less your pristine white uniform end up a lovely shade of pink:
Matthew Hurt does an excellent job of illustrating the frustrating problem of discovering one’s pink laundry! On a side note, I do like the simplicity of the vig. The mockery of one knight to another makes it all the better.
It’s really nice to see so much colour in a castle creation. Wochenender makes great use of simple techniques in this technicolour manor. I’m especially partial to the birds nest on the dark blue roof.
But beware the origins of the cuisine. The food at Felix Greco‘s may not be organic, though I suspect it may be free range…
jdarlack serves up a special serving with this little “tablescrap”. Brilliant use of the pig there. This is one of those creations that get me wondering “Why didn’t I think of that?”.
Luke Watkins (Derfel Cadarn) is known to build some highly detailed castle dioramas, and they all have intriguing backstories. This one is no different. I really like the diagonally oriented houses and the rich flora of the village. All this beauty is contrasted with a sinister story depicting the burning of a girl. Find out what’s going on by reading the story.
Catching up on my backlog of product news are the advent calendars for 2010. The City Advent Calendar has a focus on miniature toys and includes an almost naked Santa in a shower, lolwut? The Castle Advent Calendar has a nice array of minifigs and selection of castle accessories. I don’t know anything about their availability across different countries, but I hope they’ll be broadly available.
The Cathedral of St. Francis of Assisi looks impressive and a fine work of architecture that would be based on something a real landmark, but little would you guess that Tony Sava‘s amazing LEGO cathedral is actually fictional, based on St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City and Chartres Cathedral in France.
If one is not impressed enough, what you see on the outside walls simply scratches the surface of what’s inside. Tony designed and built a nave to fit a full congregation for a proper wedding ceremony or weekly mass.
Built intricately with stained-glass windows that are perfect for ambient lighting to flow through, it embraces the very same atmosphere of stepping into an embodiment of a holy sanctuary.
The cathedral is full of detailing that will make your eyes wander in awe, such as a piped organ to fill the halls with heavenly music.
A red-carpeted aisle and a pulpit and accessories like the floor candle holders add to the detailing.
Building with such details is not without its toil. From concept to completion took about 5 months with serious architectural and blueprint planning with layouts and dimensions.
The finished work and time spent is definitely an architectural piece to appreciate and be in awe of.
These are two sets that I made for Classic Castle’s Chess Challenge, which ends tonight. I had a lot of fun with these. I’ve never made two matching creations in different scales before.
I’m hooked on Chess sets now. I think I’m going to do some more…
