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.

Not exactly a LEGO Rivendell...

Titled “Temptation” and haunted by an enormous black monster, Ben Cossy‘s latest LEGO diorama feels like it’s set in an alternate Middle Earth where our heroes face down their worst desires made manifest, rather than struggling quietly against the thrall of the One Ring. Ben shares that he’s glad to build something in the fantasy/castle theme that doesn’t require quite so much green (or gray, for that matter). The autumnal color palette of the trees contrasts beautifully with the white architecture.

Temptation

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We all remember our first castle

The Castles line holds a special place in the hearts of us Adult Fans of LEGO (AFOLs). For some, a Castle set gifted during childhood brought us back into the hobby as grown-ass adults. For MaxMaMoc their first castle is easy to remember as it dates back to just a few days ago. It’s an impressive creation for a first castle; who am I kidding, it’s impressive even for a seasoned castle builder. I really enjoy the stonework, waterfall, and action going on throughout this diorama. It’s made clear that, even if they’re not primarily into castles, their attention to texture and detail is phenomenal. A quick perusal of their Flickr stream confirms that detail is important to this builder. One detail that is also of note is this seems to be our first time featuring this particular builder, at least under this name. Let’s give them their well-deserved TBB bump and with creations this well-detailed, we look forward to whatever else they may get into.

My first Castle

LEGO Creation of the Week (#3): “The course of true love never did run smooth” by Elias Hübner

Every week readers of the The Brothers Brick Telegram channel choose the Creation of the Week: one project that impressed all of us the most. Week #3 brings us the first winner of 2023, Elias Hübner with his amazing The course of true love never did run smooth. The build got 34% of the votes, crushing all of its competitors!

This stunning brick-built masterpiece full of mediterranean feel is for sure one of our most favourite builds of the month. And in case you missed the original post, you can read it right here.

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"The course of true love never did run smooth"

Parting is such sweet sorrow, until we meet again my love

LEGO castles are often grey, or dark grey. When they are a part of Hogwarts, they are mostly tan. Not this castle created by Elias Hübner. This castle is dark tan, combined with warm colours like nougat and some olive green. Which gives this creation an almost mediterranean feel. There is a lovely big tree in the middle of the square and the castle itself is overgrown with lush foliage. It is nice to see one of my favourite new parts, the Minion hair, being used in fan creations. And it gets used quite a lot! There are little sprouts popping out of the ground everywhere you look, which makes the square look a lot less polished and more realistic. Enough about sprouting Minion hair, focus on the lovely couple saying their goodbyes as the man is called to the battlefield. Leaving his loved one behind with noting more than the promise to return to her.

"The course of true love never did run smooth"

Out, out brief candle

LEGO love doesn’t always last. This creation by Kit Nugent is proof that sometimes even in LEGOland love ends prematurely. Kit created a massive church. I wouldn’t dare to guess how many bricks high it is. In the middle of the shot we can spot a woman mourning the loss of her lover who perished at the battlefront. Kit used not one, but two types of boats to create details in this creation. It is weird that something as big as a boat can be considered a detail. There is a ‘wooden’ rowing boat hidden in the altar piece. The boat is used to frame a wooden statue, which works perfectly. The other boat is a rubber boat that is used to frame a doorway. Best thing about this shot is the amount of light that appears to come through the enormous window and puts the scene with the lovers in the spotlight.

"Out, Out Brief Candle"

Kids truly are a labour of love

We feature a lot of LEGO medieval buildings here at TBB, but medieval interiors are less common. However, this one by Martin Gebert really hits the ball out of the park. We are treated to a lovely royal bedroom, which is obvious not only by the sheer size of the room, but also by the elaborate furniture in it. In the middle of the room there are two beds. The bed of the king and queen features a canopy made out of carved wood and heavy curtains keeping the couple warm and private. The other bed is a lot smaller. It’s the baby’s crib and is also adorned with curtains. While the curtains on the parents bed are made out of slopes, the curtains on the baby’s bed are made using a plastic minifigure skirt. Can you spot all the kids the royals regret having?

One is not enough, they said...

A story of young love and a lovely mosaic floor

We all love LEGO but love is only the subject of fan creations every once and a while. Thank god there have been a lot of LEGO love creations lately. One of them is made by Nathan Smith. We can spot a young squire sitting on a ginormous tree branch, singing a song to the eldest daughter of the king. It must be a serenade, a very catchy love song, or a Taylor Swift cover as the woman in question is looking quite love-smitten back at her admirer. There is an intricate mosaic on the floor which you would almost look over seeing how well the tree branch is made. The balcony with the arches is also very well put together. Placing the arches diagonally in the shot makes it look that much more dynamic. I wonder where their love story might go.

A Love Story, part 1

A warm winter retreat

LEGO builders John and Isaac Snyder collaborated to bring us this magnificent winter tavern. It’s packed to the top of its steep roof peaks with great detail, and you can just feel the inn standing as a bulwark against the blustery winter winds. I particularly love the snowy forest surrounding the tavern, which makes it feel much more immersive than a stark building on a bare setting. You could (and should) spend some time poring over the intricate parts usages through the build, but take note especially of the Thor’s hammers surrounding the door; I’ve seen them used as stonework before, but they fit so well here.

The Wayfarers' Den

Prepare thyself to be school’d, mediaeval style!

You know what we don’t see a lot of in LEGO castles? Monks and monasteries. Which, given their importance in the Western medieval world, is a shame, even if knights and castles are more exciting. Thankfully Ben Smith is on hand to scratch that scholarly itch. Ben is clearly a learned man when it comes to wall texturing. There’s a huge variety of tiled parts on show in the weathered walls, giving it a mix between graceful architecture and the reality of what time does to buildings. I like how the bust above the doorway makes use of a forestman’s hat (a part closely associated with LEGO castle folklore, of course) in grey, as a shield. Very meta.
Scholarly discussion

Look at this terrifying LEGO deer. Or, on second thought, don’t

A lot has changed since the Black Falcons first appeared in LEGO canon. There have been a lot of new parts introduced, and minifigures have become a lot more expressive. Both are ably demonstrated by Ids de Jong here. The terrified faces combined with those helmets give a definite Monty Python “run away! run away!” vibe. And they’re right to be bricking it: Ids has created something rather unsettling called a Hirska. No big deal, just an all-seeing, oversized deer that apparently doesn’t take kindly to being looked at the wrong way. Or being looked at at all, for that matter. You know what, why don’t we all admire the quaint tree and rockwork instead? I don’t fancy adding ‘running scared from a deer demi-God’ to my personal repertoire of facial expressions any time soon…

Hirska

The grand market suqare of Rindael

I love a good LEGO diorama every once and a while. The grand market square of Rindael by Ids de Jong features all the things we fancy when it comes to a medieval LEGO creation. We get beautiful Tudor-style buildings, which are exceptionally well done. There are hardly any gaps in the walls and those that happen to be there are intentional. We also get multiple castle factions: Black Falcons, Elves, Cyclopes, Snake folk, and Centaurs. There also happens to be a Faun herding a small flock of goats. Which happens to be another thing that we like to see spruce up a medieval creation. One thing I also always like is well-designed figures and there are a whole lot of those visiting this lovely market. I love seeing how some city, collectible, and licensed-themed parts lend themselves wonderfully to the castle theme as if they were designed to go there. Now if you’ll excuse me, I am going to look for the stall that sells roasted chestnuts.

The grand market square of Rindael

Majisto’s Tower updated in majestic style

Hot on the heels of the last classic 1990s LEGO Castle revamp we featured, comes John Tooker with this mega re-imagining of 1906 Majisto’s Tower. Released only in North America, the original set featured just 195 pieces. John has used a little more than that to recreate some of the set’s key features in stunning detail! The printed dragon motifs are now brick-built from gold bricks and look great. The brickwork has been given a similar treatment. This might be my favourite bit, as it’s done so well that the original printed wall pieces can be used and blend in seamlessly with the new techniques. These aren’t the only pieces to be re-used, though. The flag, horse’s cowl, and the cart wings all carry over some of the set’s charm without appearing out of place. Same goes for the minifigures. Now that’s some wizardry Majisto would be proud of!

Majisto's Tower Reimagined