Builder Mihał Ch regularly wows us with epic scenes from fantasy and folklore. Inspired by the “Dwarf Tales” category of this year’s Brickscalibur contest, Mihał crafts a massive 64-stud square slice of a Dwarven fortress under siege from a colorful crew of goblins. While short in statue, these Dwarves put up a mighty fight with cannons and spell blasts echoing through the hall.
Delve deeper for more pics of this epic Dwarven hall under siege
When we checked in with Louis of Nutwood last week, the builder took to the seas on itty bitty sailing ships. This time Louis puts those ace LEGO skills to work at colossal scale with the impressive Fortress of Hyrrefur. The castle features distinctive brickwork that incorporates SNOT techniques, profile bricks, and sloped corners for an impressive chiseled look. That intricacy extends to the rocky base with nary a foothold for would-be invaders.
The fortress is even more impressive up close.
Click to explore Hyrrefur Fortress from every angle
Take it from me: there are few things as epic in life as seeing a rally car going full pelt over a jump. Mike Sinclair has added a LEGO freeze-frame to the gallery of big sends! Mike says he studied a variety of rallies to come up with the layout, and I’m reminded of the famous Fafe jump at Rally de Portugal. And as jumps go, that’s probably the best of the lot! The highlight of the scene is the trail of dust that this particular car is leaving in its wake, but the details are just as realistic. The banner across the apex of the jump, the many cameras ready to capture the moment, and the distance markers for those crews looking for bragging rights. In fact, the only thing missing is… Er, the co-driver?! That’s some drive if it’s all been done without pacenotes!
I’ve never visited Japan in winter, but it sure looks lovely in LEGO in this scene from BrickiboT. The Shinto shrine is entered via a gate in the rōmon style, which BrickiboT achieved in LEGO using 10 nets sandwiched between 1×1 red tiles on the bottom and 1×1 curves on top. (that’s over 3000 pieces just for the curved roof sections alone!) Inside the gate stand brick-built statues of Fuijin and Raijin, the gods of wind and storms.
A look at the full complex reveals more details of Shinto tradition, like the wooden ema tablets where wishes are written, strung up, and later burned.
BrickiboT created this scene as part of the Roguebricks LUG 2024 Rogue Ronin collaboration at Bricking Bavaria. We also loved these entries from Mark van der Maarel and felix-workshop.
Oh, have I mixed up my franchises again? Maybe I should lay off the eggnog during my Halo Infinite playing sessions. I immediately recognised Ben Brickson‘s superb LEGO beam emitter as being from that universe. It looks remarkably more peaceful than I’ve become accustomed to, though… Perhaps the Covenant are still on their Christmas vacation. Or they got accidentally beamed up by a passing USS Enterprise. I mean, it’s perfectly feasible that they would come across a Halo installation, right? They’re only separated by a few hundred years. Wait, maybe the phasers are where they got the idea for their plasma weapons! Or – OK, OK, I’m putting the eggnog down now…
A thing that Alex Eylar does really well with his LEGO creations is set a mood. Sometimes, often actually, that mood can be deeply unsettling. You don’t need to read the title to know this is an iconic scene from Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. Here we see an already deranged and inebriated Jack Torrence taking family advice from a ghostly Delbert Grady. The advice in question was chilling and unwholesome, even for 1980 standards; and let’s just say nothing went well for anybody. It turns out this wasn’t the only deeply unsettling bathroom scene in the movie. Alex, if you go on to build the nightmare fuel that was the green bathroom, I’m pretty sure I’ll be damaged goods forever.
I’m no vegetarian, but even I couldn’t help feeling a little unsettled by the meat-packing district featured in the Book of Boba Fett series. I’d wager that it had a similar impact on Darth Bjorn, as he’s created a LEGO Star Wars diorama that is undoubtedly inspired by the same scene. It was pretty grisly, and this build has the same vibe. In part, that’s down to some nice texturing from Bjorn, as well as just the right amount of Star Wars-y greebles. But it’s also down to some of the off-white on the walls. That’s not a LEGO colour – not an official one, anyway. If you leave your older white parts out in the sun for too long, they’ll start to go yellow. For nice, polished display creations, that can be a problem – but it’s perfect for applications such as this!
The forest moon of Endor is the scene of the Star Wars equivalent of the Teddy Bear’s Picnic, where a coalition of Ewoks and Rebels (oh, and some Jedi) defeated the might of the Empire once and for all. It’s a scene that has been rendered in LEGO many times, to great effect. Abe Fortier (AKA Hypolite Bricks) has joined the fray with a superb effort! Often, these dioramas are dense with vegetation and trees; it did take place on the forest moon of Endor (not Endor itself!), after all. Abe’s isn’t quite as densely populated with plants, but that might be for the better here. It gives some space to focus on the scene’s protagonists and antagonists – and the superb landscaping. It looks like it gave the good guys a better line of sight to take down that AT-ST, too!
All the Empire wanted to do on Mimban was bring peace and prosperity, install a regime loyal to the Emperor, and eradicate the hostiles. Arthur Behe takes to LEGO to show what happens when those “hostiles” fight back. Seen during Han’s brief tour with the Empire in Solo: A Star Wars Story, Mimban is a literal swamp and a figurative quagmire for the Imperial forces. Arthur’s Imperial base, with all of its sensors and greebles, imposes on the inhospitable world perched atop rocks and surrounded by sand-green sludge. I love the dynamic terrain, with a speeder bike swooshing under the gangway. Almost as impressive as the building technique is the number of Swamp Troopers Arthur managed to recruit for the diorama!
There is so much to appreciate about Mark van der Maarel‘s Edo-era Japanese diorama in LEGO, but it’s the red leaves against the newly fallen white snow that draw me in like an ukiyo-e woodblock print. The central cottage is charming and full of details of everyday life. A bundle of reeds over the window made from broom elements is a great touch. Towering over the cottage is an incredible wall made of interlocking brick-built stones (Mark gives credit to collaborator Marshall Banana for this technique). Down by the river, a woodcutter kneels as a samurai approaches on horseback. While Mark doesn’t offer a story, I imagine the woodcutter has a blade hidden in the cottage and soon leaves won’t be the only red splashes in the snow.
Mark’s build was part of the Rogue Ronin collaboration displayed at the Bricking Bavaria event in Germany where over 30 members of the Rogue Bricks community participated. We also adored felix-workshop’s award-winning contribtion.
Dantooine is first mentioned in the very first Star Wars film, a throw-away bit of worldbuilding that made George Lucas’ galaxy feel so much more lived in. Since then the world has shown up in games and books, and now, thanks to builders Jonas G and WG Productions, we can explore the outer rim world in LEGO form. First up, Jonas shares an industrial farming outpost run by Republic sympathizers. Jonas absolutely aces the monolithic Imperial architecture with gorgeous curved corners, a thin window, pinstripes of red, and a mandatory dose of greebles. The massive Blba tree is just as impressive, insanely dense with leaves. Minifigs tell a story of resistance with Republic troops securing thermal detonators, while a Sith helm is used on a scarecrow.
While Jonas’ many Star Wars builds focus more on the galaxy’s heroic forces, WG Productions favors the Dark Side. Here we see the Sith troopers seizing a transport station for the Sith Empire. Using dozens of rollers skates for the rail is a brilliant technique. Both builders coordinated on the terrain to ensure consistency in the Dantooine ecosystem.
Dantooine seems like a lovely planet, whatever side you’re allied with. What a relief the planet was too remote for Grand Moff Tarkin to use as a demonstration for the Death Star’s power.
Scandinavian folklore is full of tales of little people living in the woods and meadows. Swedish builder Peter Ilmrud gives us a glimpse of one community of fairy folk who have made a lingonberry cidery out of an old boot. Peter incorporates DUPLO and Scala elements alongside wildflowers from the Botanicals line and many custom flowers and berry bushes in the vibrant display.
Break out your magnifying people for a better glimpse of what these wee cider makers are up to!