Tag Archives: Castle

Dragons! Knights in shining armor! Trebuchets & ballistas! From enormous LEGO castles buttoned up for battle to peaceful village market scenes, we’ve got your LEGO Castle needs covered right here.

A small homage to a great civilization

There has been a large influx of Mesoamerican architecture LEGO creations recently, including temples, sports and even the Aztec Feathered Serpent god. Simon NH adds to this collection with this microscale Maya city. Seeing Mesoamerican architecture in its golden age is quite refreshing, as all the overgrown decrepit temples can slowly start looking similar…

Simon has used many different techniques to build quite a variety of different kinds of steps – from functional to ornamental. The little town has a very organic layout built into rolling hills, with houses, temples and platforms scattered around in a very believable way. It is amazing how much detail the builder managed to get onto such a small footprint, most notably the leg used as a waterfall, the circular pattern in the center of the city and the buildings on the gray platform. The landscape is great too, using all sorts of curved tiles and quite exotic colours for the river’s water.

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The grace of disgrace: an incredible resurrected dragon

It appears Aaron Newman has developed an affinity for flying elements in his LEGO creations, as they appear in several of his latest builds. Floating and flying parts are nothing new, but few builders take the effort of going the extra step to make them look this good (presumably by digitally editing out the supports–or maybe learning black magic and making parts float for real!).

Aaron has used his editing and presentation magic on more than just the flying draconic skeleton. The purple light emanating from the circle on the ground was achieved with a glass table and a lot of effort, while Aaron says the backlit stained glass windows were just as difficult to get right. We should not ignore the actual LEGO build though. It is all about atmosphere here and every part helps create it. The architecture with the circular design of the hall gives a nice focal point to the scene, and the impression is finished off by the ground texture, passing from a cobblestone floor through a circular section of the tiling into a clean glowing purple area. And if you are, like me, wondering what makes the little purple gaps between the “stones” of the circle, Aaron has revealed the secret: purple quarter-circle roller coaster tracks!

TBB Cover Photo for August 2018: Enchantments, potions and magic!

August is an enchanting time of year — here in the Northern Hemisphere, people are taking summer vacations and looking forward to the heat waves ending as we head into autumn, while in the Southern Hemisphere winter begins drawing to a close. Far more enchanting than the mere changing of the seasons, this magical scene by César Soares is TBB’s cover photo for August 2018. The diorama depicts a wizard’s workshop, replete with potions, ingredients, and arcane equipment. Spend some time getting lost in the details, but make sure you get out before the wizard returns!

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Dare you face the giant lord in his Profaned Capital?

One of the more interesting video games in terms of story recently has been the Dark Souls series with its subtle lore. Revan New has created this visually impressive diorama of the Profaned Capital from Dark Souls 3 with hardly any description, save for it being inspired by said videogame. With imposing pillars and arches set in a rocky environment, this is definetely one of the most memorable areas of the game.

See Yhorm the Giant upon his dark throne

A new kind of old temple in the new world

Mesoamerican temples lend themselves naturally to LEGO, with their blocky shapes and colours that are often abundant in collections, namely grays and greens. There seems to be an influx of Mayan and Aztec temples lately as you might have noticed on The Brothers Brick, and we have the Summer Joust competition to thank for this. One of the creations built for this contest is this one by Andreas Lenander

The first thing that catches our attention is the dark tan ground, a change from the expected greens that are used in similar creations. While I like the contrast that green gives, tan is probably more realistic. The sand and olive green overgrowth on the temple is an interesting colour choice, joined by dark green, which looks almost black in the photo. This darker colour gives a strong impression of wet moss, setting the scene in a particularly dank swamp. Some of the more unique parts usages include the Statue of Liberty headgear used as serpent’s head ornaments and the brown treads used as vines.

A chapel that won’t be assaulted

With their towering stone walls, crenelated turrets, and ornate decoration, medieval churches could almost be seen as castles–an idea helped in no small part by the frequency of medieval clergy acting like their secular counterparts. So whether this structure by KevinyWu belongs to the church or the state, the Fortress of St. Jocosa certainly prepared for what the world may throw at it. The fortress’ foundations are a nice bit of rockwork, giving a great feeling of a tiny castle perched upon a lonely rock, and the winding path leading to it, while using simple techniques of stacked dark tan plates, cuts a striking line through the scenery.

Click to see inside the fortress

Towering in the sky, watching over the clouds

There are such things as classic themes in LEGO builds, like Castle or Space, but there are also very well-established motifs that can fit into these broader themes. One such motif that is often visited by many builders over what is now decades is floating rocks. Marcel V. takes inspiration from some of the more famous floating rock builds to bring us this cute little floating watchtower.

The best part is the watchtower, in my opinion. It has a unique polygonal shape with a cute little dock and very good colour work. Notice that the door is actually a window piece wedged in front of the wall. There are a few other examples of unconnected bricks used on it as well, a technique people seem to either love or hate, but in this case it works really well — connecting the piece just for the sake of it would not change the look of the creation anyway. Besides the watchtower itself, the little landscape adds just enough colour to set the mood and give the titular tower a nice contrast.

This island marketplace has everything you want; from LEGO bricks to... LEGO bricks.

Builder John Snyder calls this creation “The Island of El Harraz,” and while I believe that this could be a part of an island, it is probably not the whole deal, considering where the camel and ostrich would go, why the denizens would have a market and what the structural integrity of medieval buildings would be on such a small sandy island. That aside, the creation is just sweet. Until a few years ago, Middle Eastern-inspired builds were rare, but lately, we’re seeing more of this established style of architecture (that is at least as deserving of attention as the classic European utilitarian military forts).

There is a nice composition to the whole scene, with buildings set up rising higher the further they are from the front. The colours used are simply perfect, and anyone who’s lived in or visited the areas that inspired John inspired would recognize them. This is all topped off by vivid minifigure action staged throughout the diorama, such as the ostrich looking on from the side with a surprising amount of character.

A towering castle of a different age

LEGO bricks and their interlocking system allows for certain architectural shapes stone or clay brick could never take, giving rise to many fantastical castle creations, much like this one by Zachary Milenius. The builder takes a unique turn with the choice of setting though; expected grays and earth tones give place to yellow and white with red brick showing through the cracks – a colour combination immediately recognizable to every LEGO pirates fan growing up in the 80s and 90s.

Click to discover more of the island’s secrets!

Deep in the forest, a magical and mysterious abode awaits...

A fantastic piece of fantasy just popped up in the form of the home of the white lotus priestess by jaapxaap. Jaapxaap’s use of a wide variety of angles and bright colors help create a building that feels both wonderfully organic and magical. I wouldn’t have thought of doing a purple roof, but it works really well here and compliments the orange and brown hues of the surrounding terrain. A number of fun little details can be spotted in this build, including wild looking toadstools, a brilliant brick-built stork, and plenty examples of the priestess’ signature flower. You will even find a small porch with a telescope, perfect for any astrologer.

Those who defy the feathered serpent

It seems strange that given how well-received LEGO creations of Mesoamerican architecture are, they are relatively rarely seen in the online LEGO building community, as if they were lost in a jungle. Hidden somewhere deep in the jungles of Flickr, an ancient temple built by Aaron Newman has been discovered, caught in the middle of a human sacrifice, which has angered Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent himself!

The temple serves as scenery for an engaging story hinted at by the builder in the photo’s description. The deity is beautifully sculpted and positioned, giving a convincing impression of graceful motion in the air. I love all the details across the temple, but the altar at the top is definetely the best part. A bit of greenery spilling around the temple and the excellent minifig action complete the scene, greatly aided by the very fitting and expressive background.

Alright stop, Warhammer time

The Warhammer fantasy universe offers tricky inspiration for LEGO builders. When a fandom is founded on detailed models and painted miniatures, the thought of replicating those creations in another medium can be intimidating, and there’s also the question of how to make it interestingly different. Dwalin Forkbeard pulls this trick off admirably, with this LEGO diorama of Karak Kadrin, the mountain fortress home of a band of fearsome Dwarven warriors. The impressive stone face above the gate might grab all the initial attention, but don’t miss all the texture and the gold details in the construction — nice touches which prevent the walls becoming an unbroken mass of dark grey.

Aside from the looming fortress and the mountain, this creation impresses with the detailed activity and smart landscaping in front of the gate. I particularly liked this band of warriors heading out into the wintery wilderness past the statue…