Platformers from the PlayStation/Nintendo 64 era had an iconic style to them. Marin Stipkovic nailed this style with a LEGO diorama containing recognizable elements from Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back.
There are several cool features shown in this album, one of which is a hidden garage with Crash’s kart from Crash Team Racing. The garage can be lit up by activating one switch to open the windows, and another to turn on the lights.
When Luke Hutchinson burst on the scene, he seemed to single-handedly reinvent how LEGO Castle should look. His creations introduced a level of detail, weathering effects, and off-the-grid angling unlike anyone else’s builds. I was lucky enough to see some of Luke’s stuff “in the brick” at the Great Western Brick Show in the UK a couple of years ago — it’s even better in real life than in pictures.
The style has rapidly become something of a standard for Castle, and for me, it now takes something special to catch my eye. This lovely build by Jacob Nion did exactly that. Jacob brings us a furrier’s yard – the latest in a great model series of Skaventown, a fantasy town with a mixed population of humans and the Skaven, Warhammer gaming’s rat people.
Aside from the obvious fun usage of hair, hats and capes as furs, what I like here is the feel of actual work being underway. All too often Castle scenes look over-posed and artificial, the figures little more than dressing for the buildings. As for Jacob’s buildings, the roofing and woodwork are excellent, and are set atop walls which actually look like weathered stone, rather than an emptying out of the builder’s brick bins.
Too often a desire for texture and detail can end in a messy creation, the eye pulled this way and that by unnecessary clutter. It’s a tricky balance, but I reckon Jacob has nailed it. What do you think?
I have a house rule that I can’t sort new minifigs into their bins until I’ve used them in at least one build. As a result, the Banshee from Minifigures Series 14 has been collecting dust on my desk for almost two months. But thanks to Halloween, her wait is finally over! With this build, I wanted to capture some of the eeriness of Halloween and there’s no place eerier than a graveyard at night.
You can see the color version of this photo here.
Here’s a cheery little scene from Brother Steven, full of vivid colors and and delightfully simple skyboat. I love the fascinating mix of characters interacting here; they’re far more diverse than scenes like this usually dare portray, and the build is better for it, lending it credence as a festive autumnal market.
When the talk turns to awesome mechs, Simmon Kim has plenty of them. His latest diorama of a desert outpost looks quite thrilling. The combination of tan, olive and dark bluish grey makes a perfect сoloration for a military mecha, while the curved road baseplate is a nice addition to the landscape. You’d better choose another route or get ready to give battle…
David Frank and his wife, Claire, have a great collaboration going on. She writes the novels and he builds the scenes. David’s most recent build features a manor house, battle scene and giant river boat from Claire’s newest book, An Altered Fate.
David is famous for his massive builds, crowded with incredible detail, and this one is no different. The architectural detail on the manor itself is awesome and really catches the eye. However, unlike many gorgeous buildings that I’ve seen done in LEGO, David has continued on and given life to his mammoth manor. The battle scene, many small details, a blown out wall, the cliffs and the landscaping all combine to give this huge creation a real sense of “life”. Not to mention the beautiful river boat, which is in a class all of its own. I had the pleasure of inspecting this build up close and personal at BrickCon and there is a really a plethora of detail packed into this thing. Definitely check out the other pictures for more details of this wonderful build!
David Hensel is turning towers blue with this beautiful azure magician’s tower. David based the model on an enchanting painting by artist Péah. While the entire model is filled with the sorts of complicated techniques and detailing David is accustomed to using, I particularly like the brick-built blue embellishments over the smaller building’s window. That’s a great detail many builders would have left out.
Summer’s officially gone, but summer creations are always in. In this model by Italian builder Devid VII, a perfectly adorable little crab needs to beware lest he be swept away by the crashing tide.
Deborah Higdon brings us this charming set of brick-built bookends portraying seasonal happiness. The little crab shack is just too cute — a perfect use of its parts, the water in particular. Look closely, and you’ll see that even the books are LEGO too.
This 1915 Rolls-Royce 40/50 Silver Ghost was modified to carry the first Premier of the Soviet Union, Vladimir Lenin. A magnificent example of artistry in auto-making to begin with, the heavy modifications turned this Silver Ghost into a terrifyingly capable machine perfectly suited for the far northern reaches and harsh winters of the Russian homeland. The model here by Karwik well captures that capability by placing it in a diorama climbing a snow-covered hill beneath a gnarled tree.
Brick to the Past is a British collective (and veritable Who’s Who of top-notch castle builders) that focuses on large historical LEGO displays. The team finally unveiled its 2015 opus at the STEAM expo this month, and it’s a real humdinger! Entitled The Wall, it’s an expansive and gorgeously detailed slice of Romano-Celtic life along both sides of Hadrian’s wall.
The Roman side features a full minifig scale fort, villa, temple, bath house, milecastle and town. Whilst the Celtic side features an Iron Age village, farmhouse and standing stones. All laid out amidst some great contoured landscaping and a long snaking section of the famous wall.
If I recall correctly, we reported on a community poll that LEGO conducted a few years ago, to gather suggestions for possible future LEGO themes. And if also I recall correctly, a large number of you cried out for a Roman theme. So while we wait and hope for LEGO to finally see the light, I thoroughly recommend you get your fix by checking out all the detailed photos of this awesome display.
Castor Troy spent the past year working on this massive 6 feet tall creation depicting a fantasy guild of vampire hunters. The elaborate pillar consists of varying techniques of rock work as well as embedded structures, and on top are buildings depicting different ethnicities uniting to fight the vampires. Check out more details of this colossal creation on Flickr.
