This magical island by Ids de Jong is framed by a shimmering trans-light blue base. But don’t let this small island fool you, it is home to quite a few animals (nine after I triple checked). After the great base, the feature that calls to me is the small, sandy beach. It fits snuggly in the build and offers just enough room to sit-down and do your reading. The impressively tiled rooftop and SNOT stonework is a step up from Majisto’s other hangout while keeping to the wizard’s color scheme.
A medieval market will always be the busiest at harvest, and Jesse van den Oetelaar has built a scene to make you feel the commotion. While the castle walls are built straight, everything else shows its age and wear, or as Jesse says, “worn down by carts, feet, and time.” I particularly enjoy the low camera angle as it brings us right into the market.
Upon closer inspection, the nice part usage can really be seen. Technic pins with a bar inside create a gathered bundle of grain. The precariously stacked harvest looks ready to topple.
And a mix of hammers and ingots cause an uneven surface for people to travel, as this aging minifig found out the hard way.
Jesse’s diorama marks a welcome return to posting after a two year absence. It’s great to see that the builder has lost none of his talent for half-timbered houses and depictions of bustling medieval life!
The last couple of LEGO builds we’ve featured from Sandro Damiano have all been just small parts of a greater whole. Slowly but surely, Sandro is building up an enormous modular castle world. It’s a rapidly-growing settlement! This is already the 5th segment, and number 6 is apparently on its way too. What’s impressive – aside from the modularity – is how all the sections stand as great models in their own right. The latest addition is a medieval market village. This portion is well over 100 studs long! And that means there’s plenty to explore…
Click here to take a tour around the market!
With 1371 pieces, 31168 Medieval Horse Knight Castle is the flagship of the Creator 3-in-1 line this year. Packed with play features in any configuration, and sporting a new Castle Faction – the Horse Knights – there’s a lot to enjoy. But how does it stack up compared to castles of yore? Let’s put this latest LEGO castle through its paces before it’s debut on August 1st, when you can bring it home for $129.99, US $149.99 CA, £109.99 UK.
The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
German builder Gerrit Gottschalk’s latest LEGO creation titled Ronin’s Refuge depicts the struggles of a solitary life, in another time and on another continent. In feudal Japan, a “ronin” was a masterless samurai who had either lost their lord through death, disgrace, or had left their service. The term is often literally translated to “drifter”, making Gerrit’s choice of a watery location for this reclusive warrior’s hideout almost poetic. A muted colour palette draws the viewer’s eye, revealing some clever parts usage (minifigure skirt as a dish, and chain links as an architectural element? – “ii desu ne!“)
This is just one of the many 2025 Summer Joust builds featured here on The Brothers Brick. The online contest closes on August 1st and there are some striking entries, so put the final touches on your castle-themed works in progress and join the fray!
There’s no time like the present to find your creative voice with LEGO. Today’s guest is another builder who only recently began sharing their works online and already they are making quite a splash with fellow AFOLs. Luke, aka cathedralofbricks, creates castles and vignettes that blend gothic architecture and fantasy through a romantic lens.
Over just a few months, Luke has created an impressive body of MOCs. We’re excited to sit down with Luke to learn more about how he found his creative voice in LEGO as someone coming to the hobby later in life.
Now that we all have cars and bikes, it can be hard to imagine just how important a method of transport boats once were. Sailing was the best way to transport a decent volume of cargo a long way at relative speed (well, unless you were landlocked, of course). Peter (forestArcher) is building up quite the repertoire of rickety LEGO medieval buildings, and for the Summer Joust castle competition, he’s tackled a seaside residence! This one is receiving some vital supplies by boat. And although it’s brilliantly built by Peter – the different angles at work are great, particularly that yellow house – I can’t help but think whoever lives there might need them, lest this precarious pad falls into the sea!
There are plenty of other Summer Joust builds trickling in – take a look at some of the ones we’ve featured in our archives, and be sure to keep checking back for more!
Jakab Kovács doesn’t color inside the lines when it comes to castles. Sure, he built a traditional tribute to the Black Falcon fortress that was hosted at LEGO House, but he’s also made a purple castle, cloud castle, and, for his latest project, an undersea castle.
Jakab eschews the typical Atlantis or mermaid tropes, finding a look that draws on an almost Czech Baroque style with its pointed domes. I love the subtle angle of the castle wings, the orange and yellow accent colors, the undersea garden plots and their fences, and the minifig faction with the wispy bodies and white hair. I wonder what a full series set in this world would look like? Are there manta ray mounts and pet eels? Do these folk trade with surface dwellers? I’d happily spend more time in this undersea haven, but alas, it’s time to come up for air.
This blacksmith shop by LEGO builder kofi beautifully achieves a lifelike tumble-down esthetic in what I’m sure is a rock-solid build. In fact, I’m fairly confident that the only loose parts or “gravity connections” in this scene are the sacks, the blade resting on the anvil, and perhaps one of the coins, but even purists on this matter will surely appreciate the added effect of these set dressings. Kofi’s use of light grey LEGO elements in only the stony path and the forge’s rockwork walls and chimney lends history to this scene, leaving the impression that this structure was built from stone quarried from the very spot it stands. Capped with that striking and weathered tile roof, this can only be the creation of a LEGO fan worthy of Iron Builder status.
98283, Brick, Modified 1 x 2 with Masonry Profile. In our house, we call it a “brick brick.” And Ben Hauger uses it perfectly. Its use is spread out and in two different colors, giving a wonderful pattern to the castle. Given that the “brick brick” is my wife’s favorite piece, how appropriate that the Falcon’s Roost castle is said to be the Lady’s keep. Be sure to fully zoom in on this photo to enjoy all of the part usage, from the minifig handcuffs in the coat of arms, to the growing vines and tiled rooftops.
Ben’s castle creations are always big endeavors and spectacular to study, so it’s a rare treat that we get two new builds in one week. Ben’s dragon–or wyvern–flies above a falling knight. A beautifully structured dragon over a wonderful rock cropping.
Read on to see some of Ben’s classic castle creations
When it comes to colorful and highly detailed microscale builds, Jeff Friesen stands out as a true master. He wrote the book (several, actually) on creating clean builds that capture cities, castles, and fantastic worlds in miniature. Jeff’s latest build started as a study of hedge gardens, like the one seen in the foreground. However, once he started adding a building to the background, his imagination took over, and it grew to become an amazing sprawling castle structure that reminds me of campuses like Harvard and Cambridge.
One of my favorite tree builds is the upside-down eggshell used for what looks like a willow tree, and, of course, a green minifigure hairpiece makes the perfect shrub. A few tall pine trees provide a nice contrast to all of the much shorter trees and plants.
Minifigure fans are in for a treat when LEGO Ideas 21358 Minifigure Vending Machine arrives this June. LEGO pulled out all the stops in celebrating popular themes from the past, including Fabuland, Paradisa, Pirate, Classic Space, and of course, Castle. Even the set’s fan designer gets the minifig treatment! The set contains 16 minifigures in total, some of which are duplicates, but I doubt many will mind as they’re the ones fans could vote on and are likely to be the most popular figures: Classic spacemen in teal and gold, and perhaps most excitingly, two new Castle Factions – Kraken and Griffon factions. Of course you’re not just getting 16 figures with the set. Most of the 1,343 parts go towards the fully-functional retro vending machine in cherry red. It’s a very fancy Kraken Knight delivery device that no doubt many LEGO fans will have fun filling with custom gachapon prizes. LEGO Icons 21358 Minifigure Vending Machine will be available early to LEGO Insiders on June 1 and to everyone else from June 6 for US $179.99 | CAN $219.99 | UK £149.99.
Read on for the full gallery of pictures and details on this amazing retro set