In recent years, “Castle” building has begun to encompass more and more non-military scenes, which is a pleasant change of pace. Well-tended gardens, so prevalent on the estates of the wealthy during the middle-ages, however, are still relatively rare. That’s why it was a nice surprise to see this lovely garden diorama by Joshua.
I particularly enjoy when a build just grows organically, after you sit down, and start putting things together. The idea just flows and in the end, you have something pretty amazing.
This particular idea started out just with the broken wall at the very back of this old, decayed manor. It grew from there, and eventually worked it’s way into what you see now.
This was a fun project for me to figure how to take something so fragile and get it safely from one corner of the country to another. So the base is entirely modular and comes apart, and the rockery can be moved around.
To see more of the decayed manor, see my flickr gallery!
It’s not the first time Sauron’s mighty tower has been blogged here, and it probably won’t be our last. But this latest version is bite sized and amazing:
Built for MocOlympics on MOCpages by Space Cadet Ian Spacek. Ian has integrated lighting to make the eye and lava flow have an eerie malevolent glow adding real atmosphere to the build. I just love how all the orange glows reflect off the bottom of the tower, and of course the eye!
Luke Hutchinson is one of the current top medieval builders and this creation shows why. This is a build that he built nearly a year ago and never posted because he didn’t feel it was quite right. The majority of builders just post whatever they make as soon as it is done. Letting a build sit for a time and then coming back to it later can give you a much better perspective. I call it letting a build ‘age’. Another sign of Luke’s build skill is the standard to which he holds himself. This build wasn’t posted originally because there were a number of aspects with which he wasn’t happy. A good builder doesn’t build to get the “Wow, awesome build!” comments but should be pushing themselves to ever greater things. Do I think this build is striking? Yes, I do. The unique colors, mixed with Luke’s trademark roof profiles and textured walls really make this pop for me. But I’m also very happy to see that Luke is willing and able to self-critique and push himself to a higher level. Well done, sir!
Patrick Massey builds great fantasy environments, then stocks them with entire armies of figures. But like the landscape we featured previously, much of his scenery is so gorgeous that it demands to be enjoyed unpopulated as well, to appreciate all the little details. Fortunately Patrick seems to feel the same way. The result: pure LEGO scene-porn!
César Soares (Cesbrick) presents another vibrant depiction of medieval fantasy with this wizard’s cottage. I am delighted to find a new patch of color in each corner that blends purposely with the rest of the diorama. Be sure to visit the builder’s Flickr photostream to see more photos of this highly detailed work.
I really like the look and feel of this bit of desert by Jonas Wide. It depicts a merchant’s apprentice as he leads two heavily laden camels across the desert. Jonas really captured the look of wind-swept sand dunes and the subdued color scheme is surprisingly attention-grabbing. I have to admit that the current fad of putting a border around every castle creation is getting old but it really works here. The stark black outline makes the random patterns of the sand dunes pop!
This microscale map by THE BRICK TIME Team shows a fictitious continent called Northland. Despite being microscale, the creation is actually quite large, measuring the footprint of four 48×48 stud baseplates. Check out the detail photos on Flickr.
Dan Harris (macsen_wledig) has built a temple with this magnificent mosaic as the center point. He’s also provided interesting history related to the obscure Roman god whose temple he chose to build. Make sure you check out the full gallery to take in the lighting effects, as well as his other Roman builds.
There is a new hangout for Medieval-Minded among us! Merlin’s Beard was started earlier this year and it is doing quite well. If you are at all interested in the ‘Castle’ genre, historical or fantastical, you really should check it out. There is a lot going on over there, from challenges and tournaments to convention-planning and role play. The Lands of Roawia Roleplay (formerly Lands of Classic-Castle) is hosted there, along with the infamous Rival Brawls. If you want to hang out with friends, new and old, stop in, put your feet up and knock back a few cold ones with the folks at Merlin’s Beard!
(Banner by |T|itus)
When we featured Castor Troy‘s collection of Vampire Hunter steampunk vehicles back in June, the French builder was still hard at work on the centerpiece, the Vampire’s castle. Well now the diorama is complete! And what a whopper this impenetrable-looking Gothic masterpiece is…
