Combining medieval combat with big-box convenience, Jon & Catherine Stead bring us Swords ‘R’ Us, the one-stop shop for blades of every kind. And not just blades, but spears, shields, clubs, tridents. Anything you need to vanquish your enemies can be found here.
Get your list and saddle up, ’cause we’re going shopping.
I really enjoy seeing examples of nature reclaiming abandoned spaces. Brick2 “Art”
has recreated this effortlessly in LEGO form with this scene of a tree taking root in an old castle.
There’s a lot of wonderful detail to be found in this build. The use of bars and whips in the construction of the tree adds a natural look to the trunk. Surrounding the tree, you’ll see other signs of nature looking to find purchase with some well placed mushrooms and tree roots.
Beyond this, we’re afforded suggestions of past castle life with a mix of scrolls, jars, and bottles discarded alongside weapons and the skeletons of the castle’s last inhabitants.
Let’s not forget the castle itself. Brick2 “Art” has composed this build with lots of subtle details suggesting the age of the citadel. And the arches along the sides offer the promise of more castle to explore. A final touch to this is how the light in this scene really adds to the composition, pooling the color centrally and making for quite the haunted scene!
Psst! Hey you! Yeah, you there, on the other side of the screen. Interested in making a trade? What I’ve got on offer is this exceptional LEGO dockside scene by Bryckland. Note the texturing of the walls, and the angled tiles making up the roof. You don’t see that kind of thing just anywhere! Still looking for more? Well, what about Bryckland’s careful choices in minifig positioning, hmm? Each one of those figures is telling it’s own story, and it really brings the whole scene to life. Oh, you like the idea of a story! Well Bryckland’s written one to go along with the build on their Instagram. But first, do we have a deal?
According to Joe (jnj_bricks), this delightful mediaeval house is a “forgotten forest dwelling.” But with such bright colours, I certainly won’t be forgetting it any time soon! The reddish brown and tan walls aren’t exactly unusual in castle-themed builds, but the purple roof, lime green terrain and yellow foliage really make the whole thing pop. It’s more than just a colour experiment (as Joe himself describes it), as there’s some great parts usage and techniques in there. The walls and ceiling are haphazard enough to enhance the fantastical feel, but the highlight has to be the use of book covers as detailing on the eaves!
This LEGO castle, Burg Birgstein, from builder Birgitte Jonsgard gives us a peek at what life may have been like in the Middle Ages! The castle flows upward with lovely focus points along the way, starting with the washer cleaning their clothes in the stream. Guards keep watch around the entrances, walls, and towers in the off-chance someone attacks. An owl perches atop some chimneys–even wildlife had things to do in a castle! The color blocking of this ancient fortress gives depth to each section. I love all the design choices of the build, but I’ve got to draw your attention to the twin peaks in the middle! These feature a clever use of a drill piece where the spikes give texture to the spires.
LEGO builder AfroEngineer enjoys 21325 Medieval Blacksmith Ideas set so much he created this lovely Tudor House as a companion piece. The bright color palette draws the eye into the build, particularly the blues. The light blue of the house’s second story is a great choice! It contrasts nicely with the brown detailing and the gold windows. The roof tiles are created with the help of overlapping minifigure seats. The overhanging vines and the gaps in the roof tiles lend a weathered, lived-in feeling to the home.
The interiors of the house are just as amazing as the outside, too. They feature great brick-built furniture and homey decorations that speak to the lives of the residents. I like to imagine they’re mapmakers and end up on all sorts of wild adventures! They probably have the blacksmith watch the house while they’re away.
As usual, Bart De Dobbelaer brings us a treat of a scene with this detailed LEGO diorama portraying a pair of would-be poachers about to face off with their worst nightmare: a mother. While the monstrous creature is fascinating with its bright plumage and—are those all eyes?—it’s the scenery itself that really draws my attention as a builder, because the thick bushes are splendidly done, especially for how simple they are, combining two types of leaf elements stacked around a flower stem element.
As it turns out, I’m a genius. Do you know how I know? I took one of those online quizzes that said, “only geniuses can solve this puzzle.” I solved it in no time, and fifty clicks later, after giving them my date of birth and credit card info, they told me I was a genius, so in your face, jerks! Once you recover from that sick burn, you might take a look at this new LEGO Midievel Modular Street built by Peeters Kevin who is clearly an absolute genius and not just because the internet says so. This is chock full of thoughtful details, from the archways to the ramshackle roofline. Even the little birdhouse is genius. Or is it ingenious?
Everyone knows that an Archelon is a species of marine turtle that went extinct during the Late Cretaceous period. What this LEGO build supposes is, maybe they didn’t and then a hermit community built a castle on one’s back. Archelon Castle by Fraser Ratzlaff is a fanciful, Mindstorms-powered, articulated creature with 4 independently swaying appendages, an anatomically correct mouth masticating a lobster, and oh yes—the entire beast (and affixed castle) slowly rotates 360 degrees. Hitch a ride as we explore the intense environmental storytelling of this build that took almost two years to create.
These amazing brick-built trophies by Markus Rollbühler are for the winners of “The Rich and the Poor” category of the Brickscalibur castle-themed LEGO competition. What is so striking is the many layers entwined in these two figures. From a purely aesthetic approach you can marvel at the creative use of brown scarves for crumpled pant cuffs, the One Ring to accent the boots or the pearl gold beard plate for some dazzling epaulets. From a metaphorical perspective, appreciate the contrasts: the goat as a helper vs the goat as a pet. The gold coming from the land vs the gold coming from currency. Then notice what each man extends in their hand and think of what they are plotting. Whoa! Sorry to get so deep there but I can’t help it with such a great build.
One of the best parts of the LEGO hobby is the lovely LEGO online community that comes along with it. Some builders share their building process on instagram in their stories. Brian (St. Louis Brick Co.) is one of those people who takes their followers along on their building journey. Brian decided to build a castle in sand green and olive green. That’s a decision that might sound like a strange choice, but if you ask me, it works out wonderfully in the end. Not all castles need to be grey! Building in sand green also sounds like an immense challenge because you are quite limited in the bricks you can use, and I always admire builders who limit themselves as a challenge. I love the use of the brick with axle hole and the ornamental fence for windows is quite clever.
If you take a close look at some of the other pictures of this creation, you’ll notice that there is also a niche created for a sand green statue of a king, which is a very nice touch.
Most of the time, when a lone warrior faces off against a dragon—well, it doesn’t end so well for the warrior. Not so with this strong and stalwart fellow by Dan Ko, who looks like he got the better of this fell beast without breaking a sweat. This small-scale build has some mighty sweet part usage, from the brow of the dragon’s head made from the front part of a mech torso to the long and twisted spine made from robot arms and teeth. But I think my favorite part has got to be the large beard made from the hair of a Minifig.
