Mark of Falworth is on a roll. Fresh from wowing us with his LEGO medieval bazaar, now he brings us the latest thing in Castle-era artillery — monstrous ballistae mounted on the back of elephants. As well as the nicely-built siege engines, the beasties are equipped with armour and tusk-blades, creating a formidable war machine either at range or up close and personal. I’d hate to be on the receiving end of a barrage or charge from these bad boys.
LegoLord says he hasn’t built anything for four years, but this impressive castle shows those skills haven’t grown rusty through misuse. The landscaping and lake are nicely done, and the fortress itself has a realistic feel, as if it had been built over centuries, reinforced by a succession of nervous Lords. Far too many LEGO castles are starkly symmetrical, whereas this build has different heights and styles of tower dotted around the external wall.
Zooming in on the details pays dividends — don’t miss the central keep atop its plug of rock, tan walls and red rooftops offering a nice contrast to the surrounding gray and brown. But it’s this close-up view of the walls which reveals the effort LegoLord has gone into to avoid the dreaded BGW — “Big Gray Wall”. The buttressing, the scattered inclusion of textured bricks, the nicely-placed patches of foliage — all come together to create a convincing impression of weathered stonework.
Brick To The Past is a collective of British builders who specialize in large-scale historical dioramas in LEGO. We’ve covered some of their previous masterpieces, including a huge Roman camp and section of Hadrian’s Wall, and their recreation of the streets of Victorian London. We recently interviewed leading member James Pegrum about BttP’s impressive Battle of Hastings display. As if that wasn’t enough for 2016, the gang’s latest effort is this enormous diorama depicting a section of Anglo Saxon Britain in 793AD.
As you’d expect from such a large model, there are numerous areas worthy of your attention. An obvious highlight is the monastery under attack by Viking raiders…
Click here for closeups of this incredible diorama
It’s that time of the year again… Time for the annual Colossal Castle Contest! We’ve already featured a few of this year’s CCC entries, but the amazing creations just keep coming. Paul Trach is even labeling his CCC builds, presumably to promote the contest. His adorable little dogsled is full of baked goods and weapons – everything you need to survive the harsh winter weather.
Mark Erickson is well known for his castle and medieval-themed builds and his latest creation is a grand one. Entitled ‘The Grand Bazaar’, Mark has created a beautiful, bustling, colourful market scene packed with details and nice techniques. This bazaar has an exotic feel of the east with a camel, trees from warmer climes and a rare sighting of a yellow parrot. The architectural details are lovely, with arches constructed from bricks and slopes and a great combination of colours.
There are a great many details that require a closer look, but for me the combination of colours is the highlight of this build. I love the blue tiled roof with hints of sand and olive green on the more official ‘town hall’ looking building on the right. The use of the Belville oriental carpet as a canopy adds a lovely flash of bright red, while sand red makes a rare appearance on the sloped roof of the building to the left. A really captivating scene.
Yesterday we got a look at more of the new City sets, and this morning we saw LEGO’s new BMW motorcycle. For a more fantasy twist, take a look at the Nexo Knights sets for 2017. We don’t have word on the price or part counts for the new sets yet, but I spy a number of new elements. Check out all six new sets below.
If you still haven’t picked up any of this year’s Nexo Knights sets, check out our reviews of Axl’s Tower Carrier, General Magmar’s Siege Machine of Doom, The Glob Lobber, Macy’s Thunder Mace, Aaron Fox’s Aero-Striker V2, and the stand-alone figures. And remember, many of this year’s Nexo Knights sets are currently on sale on Amazon.
This evil little floating rock was summoned into existence by Henry F, and it has a sinister feel that I love. The gray rocks have a cloud-like look that really makes them feel like they are floating, and the pillars give it a very elegant look. The genuflecting skeletons give it just the right amount of comic relief!
This was built for Colossal Castle Contest XIV.
Aaron Newman‘s latest dragon is this beautiful sand-green and and gold beast. As we discussed in our interview with Aaron earlier this year, he builds in the style of official sets, so the dragon is completely poseable and quite sturdy unlike many fan-built LEGO dragons we highlight. I’d love to have this creature sitting on my desk, perhaps leaping into battle.
Yautis of Agimel, builder Djordje dubs this fierce fighter. I don’t know what the name means, but it sounds fitting for a warrior such as this. The whole character is well sculpted, but the helmet is amazing. The way the claws weave together to form a silver helmet is splendid, with two points of yellow revealing the beady eyes beneath.
Castles are a popular type of creation in the LEGO fan world so it takes something special to really stand out from the crowd. Christope has certainly managed this in his latest build, Laslan Castle. I’m used to the muted tones of medieval life but orange, yellow, lime?? The use of such bright colours is very refreshing and actually works incredibly well for a this castle scene. As well as the great use of colour, there is also some lovely LEGO stonework to admire with the castle walls and the angled stone steps to the front entrance.
Don’t miss the details around the dock and the little merchant stall in the right-hand corner. This closer view also reveals the amount of work that has gone into creating the lovely textured stonework.
I am a sucker for medieval dioramas and this one, by Polish builder Toltomeja, is particularly good. The variations in the buildings while maintaining the color scheme really makes this little town pop and I especially like the structure of the cranes that tower over the hustle and bustle of the wharf.
There is so much story-telling and minute detail going on in the build, I could sit and stare at the pictures all day. You really have to check out the brilliant fretwork this builder has created using hand-cuffs over the archway.
The Game of Thrones universe is full of amazing structures, including a ginormous wall of ice, pyramids, and even a castle half-melted by dragonfire. But my personal favorite has always been Pyke, an ancient castle built upon the cliffs of the Iron Islands of Westeros. Anu Pehrson‘s LEGO version of the Greyjoy stronghold is breathtaking. Anu, who won an award for this creation at BrickCon recently in Seattle, perfectly captured the rickety towers connected by rope bridges and the eroded, mossy cliff faces. There’s even salty brine covering the lower rocks!
The landscaping in this large LEGO creation are worth a closer look, with blocks of green breaking up the gray cliffs.
