Those orcs surely had something sinister planned for their prisoners, but luckily for these poor souls, the King’s cavalry arrived just in the nick of time. Paul Trach‘s latest LEGO scene might not include any grand castles, but it’s got some action-packed fig posing and lovely autumn colors. Of course, the star of Paul’s scene is that ingenious jungle gym-esque cage made of tubing and robot arms.
Samurai, geisha, bonsai and futons can only mean one thing: Japan. A fishmonger’s cart with a samurai’s house is the latest fantastic entry by jsnyder002 for the Traveling Salesman category of the Classic Castle Competition. A bit of a frequent flyer here at The Brothers Brick, two of his most recent contributions Birds of a Feather and Jewel are excellent.
People line up on the colorfully cobbled street for a sample of fresh fish from the small cart in front of the beautifully crafted samurai home with the bonsai-like tree. The black and white walls, the red and grey tiled roof and the beautiful accents of gold and black trim, including the lovely tessellated path, all add to the texture of this wonderful little scene.
No house would be complete without an interior, and this one is no exception: a sword rack, table, chairs and armor stand comprise the furniture downstairs, while upstairs is a simple futon.
The first thing that catches the eye in this wonderful scene by Polish builder Kalais is the drama unfolding on the raising drawbridge as our fearless knight takes on the undead. The king and his wizard watch from the finely crafted parapet of the highly detailed tower, and on the other side, a pair of dark mages summon the dead horde under a red skull flag. Will our hero survive, or will he fall into the azure blue water?
The main castle wall makes great use of LEGO’s large prefab castle walls, and they really look like they belong there—no easy task. Supporting the wooden meeting house are what look like the ribs of a ship, but my favorite feature is the octagonal tower. I love the style, part usage, design, and roof of many colors. The dark rocks at the bottom of the diorama give the impression of a high tide mark covered with seaweed.
With just over a week to go, the Classic Castle Competition keeps bringing out the hits with this compact creative build by David Leest. He says “Built as a gift for a Lion Knight War Hero, the manor stands proudly above the waterfall”. This towering manor does stand very proud indeed! The battlement is crafted using a stepped technique, with subtle patched brickwork that makes great use of yellowed bricks (usually the curse of many a LEGO fan). The beautifully detailed textured roof and wooden entrance also use a variety of techniques to give the whole model an authentic lived-in feel. The armed guard, standing among the flowers and wild grasses, serves to give the model a sense of scale – it’s bigger than you first realize.
The main feature of this castle is the stunning archway over the river and the balcony where the hero stands with his fair maiden. Another armed guard looks on, while the maiden’s father takes in the view. The techniques David has used to create the different trees, the variety of foliage and the bubbling churning rapids, are wonderful. A home fit for a hero!
For lack of a better term, I find the “evil castle” subtheme to be the most under-represented among historical LEGO builders. I certainly love the sight of a LEGO castle situated upon a hill, surrounded by green trees and happy-looking peasants as much as anybody. But there is a special character to builds which take a darker and more fantasy-inspired direction, such as this ominous creation by ZCerberus:
A master of big, evil castles (such as these twin towers we covered a while ago), the builder brings us this wonderfully eerie scene that takes many turns from the usual castle build. Particular highlights are the battered castle walls, the exposed wooden structures and the keep, which looms high above as if to impose its master’s will upon all below. The choice of lime green for the swamp works really well, and I can’t help but wonder what foul creatures live within it. The black, gnarled trees and the circling wyverns evoke further mystery and trepidation. Overall, the color scheme portrays very well the darker tones the builder chose to express here.
This delightfully creepy castle is part of a collaboration between the builder and myself to launch the next chapter of the Guilds of Historica collaborative roleplaying project on Eurobricks, which is sure to promote some fantastic building and storytelling in the coming weeks. If you’re interested, check out this list of our other collaborative castle builds, including stories and additional pictures, made for the new chapter.
It’s Christmas time and preparations are well under way in the LEGO building world. Markus Rollbühler‘s collection of Christmas ornaments for his family’s Christmas tree are complete and this year’s theme is Harry Potter. Thankfully Markus has stuck with some of the lighter moments from each of the seven Harry Potter boks, a challenge especially given darker nature of the later books. Microbuilds are often a real building test requiring ingenuity and a real knowledge of all the LEGO parts – Markus has both. Blades from minifigure weapons become wings, minifigure hands become quidditch players in flight and the trigger for a stud shooter becomes Buckbeak’s head!
Can you work out the scene depicted in each ornament?
Classic Castle’s 14th Colossal Castle Contest comes to an end December 31st, and we’re seeing a ton of great builds as the competition winds down. Builders are vying for prizes and titles in a number of castle-related categories. Some of the best entries I’ve seen are in the Medieval Warship category. When I was a kid I dreamed of being a Viking, so longships are a particular favorite of mine. Mark of Falworth brings us a great ship with his Moravian Warknar:
Paul Trach built another good looking longship, complete with an icy base:
I’ve also entered my own, though my Viking sailors didn’t make it on board for photographs before a mishap resulted in the ship’s destruction.
What stands out about all three ships is the lack of the prefabricated hull pieces common in many designs. Brick-built hulls are time-consuming and can be challenging, but the flexibility in hull shape and design really pays off. If you haven’t seen the rest of the entries, make sure to take a look over on Classic Castle!
No, you won’t hear the sound of sneakers squeaking on a gymnasium floor or the satisfying bounce sound of one of those heavy rubber balls slamming into your opponent’s face. In Mark Erickson‘s version of the game, all you’ll hear is the plunk of bowstrings, arrows whizzing past your head, and cheers from the blood-thirsty cheers. Sounds like fun… I guess.
I love that Mark included loose “arrows” scattered across the ground and stuck in the walls of his LEGO scene. They give this simple little scene a sense of mayhem and chaos.
“Dwarven Trade in Dale” by soccorsnyderi is a brilliant little snapshot of life from J.R.R. Tolkein’s fictional city. It was inspired by the architecture of Dale from The Hobbit, as well as a rendition of Venice by fellow builders Jonas Kramm and The Brick Vader. Everything about this entry for the Traveling Salesman category of the Colossal Castle Contest is captivating. A Lord surveys the goings on from the guarded manor house while a parrot rests on a finely detailed roof, and dwarven weapon-smiths hawk their goods to eager customers in this busy little corner of Middle Earth. There is so much going for it, I can’t decide what I like the most, the angled building, the beautifully textured walls, the sloping street or the upside down roof.
The building techniques used demonstrate not only the versatility of LEGO bricks, but the builder’s clever creative techniques and attention to detail. The three buildings each have completely different designs, but clearly still belong on the same street. Did I mention they all have full interiors too?
To quote the creator himself: “The dwarves of Erebor sell many of their fine wares in Dale before continuing on their sales circuit to Mirkwood. Their skill in smithing and quarrying fine gems is well known.”
A pair of LEGO birds, built from tiny feather elements, have found a home above a cozy hideaway in the woods. The contrast between the autumn leaves and bold blue roof are what immediately caught my attention, but jsnyder002 has packed this fantasy hermitage with little details and clever building solutions that I just keep finding more of every time I come back for another look.
Paul Trach takes inspiration from the World Of Warcraft movie for his latest LEGO creation — a scene depicting The Guardian Font. Here, Medivh, the titular Guardian, takes a break from creating a stone golem for a refreshing dip in the rejuvenating Mana Pool. Or at least that’s the story I’ve made up in my head around this fabulous model.
The tan and sand green colors work beautifully — a pleasant change from the traditional gray and brown of much Castle and Fantasy LEGO building. And the curved wall and double staircase are obvious highlights. But that backlit pool and the floor command all the attention. Normally I’m not a fan of the loose-brick “crazy paving” flooring style, but when it’s used like this, allowing the creation of an epic circle of runes, then I’m all in favour of it.
The other side to this year’s MOC Olympics finale madness was built by none other than Slovenian builder Deus Otiosus. Check out this amazingly detailed and rather mossy arena. The crumbling brickwork and throne are quite impressive, but my favorite details are the wonderfully expressive brick-built characters and the and fire-breathing dragon. Just look at that cone of flame erupting from the lizard beast’s mouth!
I think that the character sitting on the throne looks more jester than king, but that only adds to the madness of this LEGO creation. Deus Otiosus’s opponent in this LEGO duel to the death is W. Navarre, with his stupendous arena battle between a gladiator and a tiger. I certainly don’t envy the judges this year. To find out who was victorious, head over to MOCpages.
