Considering how action-packed a theme like LEGO Castle can get, it’s often surprising that some of the most interesting medieval creations are ones where there’s no sword fighting or sieges at all. Enter Marcel V and his tranquil build, the queen’s chamber. Featuring all the necessary royal amenities such as luxurious garments, enticing perfumes, and under-appreciated handmaidens, this is one bedroom to make any queen the envy of all other monarchs.
Antonio Cerretti has brought a marvel of the ancient world to the brick with this stunning Roman temple and courtyard. When many of us LEGO fans saw the Roman soldiers in the collectible minifigures lines, we envisioned a scene like this with legionaries standing in formation before their eagle, perhaps just returned from a campaign in Gaul or Africa. But although I’ve seen a few impressive Roman armies so far, it’s Antonio’s masterful recreation of Roman architecture that sets this model apart. The pure white marble columns and reliefs are beautiful, and the sheer scale of the temple and courtyard is amazing — over five feet in length and featuring around 130 minifigures.
Another day, another great build from nobu_tary. This time we have a knight that clearly didn’t skip leg day and could probably do more damage to you with a kick than with a stab from that polearm. Standouts here are the great head, which manages to make a thick plume work, as well use of a new Nexo Knights pointed piece to great effect. The loincloth made of a minifig-scale banner piece (from the Knights Kingdom theme) is also a nice touch.
What’s not to love about this giant crossbow siege engine from sanellukovic? We’ve got great landscaping creating a believable patch of terrain, and there are figures and assorted equipment providing a genuine sense of military activity. Then, to top it all, check out the fantastic medieval contraption which genuinely looks like it’s straining at the leash to fling a massive spear at somebody.
You can almost hear the enormous SPOING! this thing would make when fired. I wouldn’t want to be on the other end of this when it was used in anger.
I’ve been waiting for more people to utilize o0ger‘s roof building technique since it was posted last December. As o0ger showed us then, when you alternate the direction of stringed one-by-one cones they make a pretty snazzy-looking Spanish tile rooftop. At least one other builder has incorporated o0ger’s technique into a build of their own. And now the technique’s inventor himself has decided to show us how it’s done, with this fantastic harbor scene:
If you want to incorporate new building techniques into your own builds or share some of your techniques with the LEGO community, I recommend checking out the LEGO Techniques Flickr Group for inspiration.
Patrick B has created a beautiful village scene, vaguely reminiscent of the architecture of Skyrim. It looks like the perfect place to settle down and raise a little tribe of Nords. There’s a real sense of a living town here, created in no small part by the angled buildings and irregular stone paving. The landscaping provides an interesting base for the model, and the whole thing is nicely broken up with the patches of horticulture — check out the wheat on the right and the little garden on the left.
Patrick has built a number of models in this style recently. I particularly liked this large tavern…
LEGO castles are a well-practiced art form at this point, so it takes a lot to impress us here at The Brothers Brick. But this pop-up Himeji Castle has left us dumbfounded! According to Japanese builder talapz, whose pop-up Kinkaku-ji temple and Todai-ji temple we’ve featured previously, it took 15 months to complete and weighs 12.5 kilograms (27.5 pounds).
Amazingly, the pop-up and folding action is done entirely with the friction of LEGO pieces, because no glue was used to keep the bricks together. Even when the castle is folded down to its “storage” mode, it measures in at 70 x 70 x 11.5 cms (27.5 x 27.5 x 4.5 inches).
The Master Chef himself, known to most as Simply Bricking It, has been on a roll lately, creating awesome build after awesome build. His disheveled desert scene is quite eye-catching and utilizes some uncommon LEGO pieces and colors. The scene immediately made me think of the builder’s “Blacktronalds” build (that helped him earn the title of Master Chef) as both feature dual-pillared, tan-colored structures with splashes of rare LEGO colors in the same unique style.
I watch a lot of movies. Hell, I even review them occasionally as part of my job. Unfortunately, I still miss a few important titles. The Princess Bride was one such movie, until a few days ago when I found myself with a copy of it and a couple of free hours. It seems serendipitous then, that W. Navarre has created a LEGO version of the infamous “Machine” from the torture scenes in the movie:
Be sure to check out the builder’s photostream for detailed shots as well as a full build of the Pit of Despair. And if you need more Princess Bride, I highly suggest a video by CineFix that studies the differences between the movie and the real life book.
There’s something to be said for beautiful photography. Sad Brick has given us this elegant castle on a simple black background. The castle itself is full of lovely technique and part use. The gate and bridge are quite clever. I love the spires using the modified 1×1 tooth piece and the unikitty horn.
Letranger Absurde gives us a lovely dragon crest, perfect for decorating our new throne room. I like the simplicity of the build. The blue helps the dragon stand out well, which is excellent as the dragon has excellent shaping. It’s very clear and recognizable.
Cinderella’s castle is iconic. The tall spires and bright blue roof are highly recognizable to anyone who’s walked through the front gates of Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom. Delayice‘s version is far, far smaller but just as beautiful in its size, scale, and excellent technique.
This small-world version makes excellent use of the brick-profile bricks, and the spires are tall and recognizable. The landscaping is simple and effective.
