Tag Archives: Dwalin Forkbeard

A terrifying tree (and a lesson in awful alliteration)

Its name might not be as catchy as Whomping Willow, but you still won’t want to get too close to talented Ukrainian LEGO builder Illia Zubashev (AKA Dwalin Forkbeard)’s “Mysterious Shrub”. Just ask the two soldiers in this scene! One is being dragged under by the tree’s roots, and I fear the other may not last much longer. Perhaps that’s why it hasn’t earned a catchy name – no-one lives long enough after meeting its gaze to give it one. Thankfully, Illia’s diorama is built at a safe distance, so we can ponder the question ourselves. The Swallowing Spruce? The Odious Oak? The Brutalising Birch? I would find out what type of tree it is, but I’m not about to ask it to find out…

The Mysterious shrub

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Greenskin gang is ready to rock in this LEGO tribute to Warhammer

While unlikely as an official license, the cartoonishly bellicose world of Warhammer is a perfect fit for  LEGO creations. Both feature bright colors, over-the-top characters, a devoted fanbase, and hand-crafted universes in miniature. Our favorite Warhammer Fantasy builder Dwalin Forkbeard usually stans for Team Dwarf, but for his latest diorama Dwalin moves to Greenskin pastures with a Night Goblin outpost he calls Hooda-Rock.

Hooda-Rock

Dwalin grounds the base in a lovely bit of rockwork sculpted in the shape of a goblin’s pointy hood, with an orange path to provide visual interest. A peppering of mushrooms and details like the hanging bones and tasty rats make up for the lack of greenery. Both setting and minifig accessorizing perfectly capture the brutish and nasty charm of the Greenskins.

Gryb

In addition to Night Goblins, the rock is home to Squigs, the surly cave-dwelling beasts raised as war mounts. Both the full-grown Squig’s red dome head and balls used for the baby Squigs are sourced from the Beast Master’s Chaos Chariot set. In fact, it was those parts that inspired Dwalin to make this build. The results are a delight, whether or not you’re a fan of the source material, and hopefully the start of more Greenskin builds in the LEGO x Warhammer world of miniatures.

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A stout building for bitter warriors to cure what ails them

Dwarves of the Warhammer universe take their beer very seriously. No warrior worth his salt would get drunk on pig swill. Only barrel-aged stouts will do.  Dwalin Forkbeard, builder of all things dwarven and steampunk, treats us to a proper Dwarven Brewery in his latest LEGO creation. Dwalin recreates a dry stone building technique of stones stacked without mortar – a tricky technique to pull off this well with LEGO bricks. The stonework is paired with a riveted rooftop, copper detailing, and a pearl gold brewing apparatus peeks out from the back of the structure to heat the wort for a heady brew. On this day, the brewery has guests of dishonor, as Dwarven slayer Gotrek and his chronicler Felix look thirsty for a pint of Korben’s Finest.

Dwarven Brewery

 

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This Warhammer-inspired LEGO diorama is fast in friendship and in enmity

What do LEGO dwarves have to be resentful of? Well, elves got their own fondly remembered line, orcs featured prominently as Castle foes for a spell, and dragons appear in multiple themes and get their own zodiac calendar year. Oh, the indignity! We can’t know what animus brings motivates the dwarven king in Illia Zubashev‘s grand diorama, but chance are it involves gold, elves, or grudges. Probably all three.  Illia calls this creation The Hall of Grudges of Karak Izûm, a sacred site for dwarves of the Warhammer ilk. It’s a truly grand scene where a lone minifig king and the holy Book of Grudges are dwarfed by a hulking statue and a towering wall of brick and stone, showing the immense scale of the underground dwarven empire. Illia employs a solid mix of profile bricks, offset tiles, and SNOT work (studs not on top) in the impressive wall and floor. The chonky statue of dark grey and gold makes impressive use of 2×3 rock tiles for a chiseled beard. But perhaps the most striking element of the  scene is the diamond window of jutting trans light blue crystals.

The Hall of Grudges of Karak Izûm. Night

The evenly lit scene represents the hall at night. Even more striking is the daylight version, where light shining through the crystal window transforms the underground scene.

The Hall of Grudges of Karak Izûm. Day

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This LEGO tower evokes mad scientists, crazy experiments, and, er, video games

One of the great things about art (and yes, LEGO building is an art form!) is that people can draw on their own experiences and environments to find new meaning in a creation. Illia Zubashev came up with an in-depth backstory to this teetering tower. Apparently it’s the abode of a maverick scientist and inventor, which should come as no surprise – I mean, just look at it! As interesting as the description is, though, I didn’t register any of that when I first saw this. What popped into my head was the video game Sable. It’s completely unrelated, but it just has the same sort of vibe. So sorry I didn’t heed your fascinating description, Illia. At least I can appreciate what a good build this is!

Storm Tower

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A spaceship of a different color

Like the old saying, “a horse of a different color,” this LEGO spaceship by Dwalin Forkbeard is quite unique. Not only is it fairly uncommon for spaceships to be brown, most spaceships don’t have wings such as these either. With all the ships out there, it’s refreshing to see one that is distinctly different. The brown spaceman provides the perfect opportunity to build a ship that suits him, and this does it so well. The angles, landing gear, and barrel booster are all pleasing to the eye.

Spaceship

If you enjoy this model, check out other builds by Dwalin Forbeard. And while you’re at it, take a look at all of the space builds in our archives.

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The age of men is over, the time of the Mecha-Orc has come!

Well, now I’ve seen everything! Direct from the imagination of Illia Zubashev comes this hearty band of LEGO orcs armed with a mech suit, a rocket pack, and one huge rocket launcher. I absolutely love the colors here! The greens of the orcish skin and dark tan of the terrain provide wonderful contrast with the safety yellow and of this troop’s equipment. Unorganized and organic patters interplay with neat black-and-white checkerboards and safety striping. It instantly signals that these devices are out of place in this setting. And yet, the hints of rust and a few haphazard patch jobs apparent on the modern equipment still anchors this scene in reality (or at least a reality where fantasy has been gut-checked by sci-fi). May this platoon have much success in its raid of the nearby kingdom of Cyber-Elves.

Rokkit Launcha Trakk.

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Mr. Sande over the Lavender Islands

When LEGO released the 43181 Raya and the Heart Palace I knew it was only a matter of time until someone used the dome panel for a hot air balloon, mainly because the part had been released a year sooner in 41252 Poppy’s Hot Air Balloon Adventure as part of the balloon. Thanks to Ilya Zubashev the wait is over. The presentation of this creation is just sublime! The background matches with the colours of the base of the build and contrasts with the main focus of the creation. It makes me want to get over my fear of heights and hop into an air balloon to discover some undiscovered part of this big planet while watching the sunset from your own little basket.

Mr. Sande over the Lavender Islands

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Moon Train Station is in a theme of its own

The latest LEGO build by Ilya Zubashev appears to be a theme of its own. We get a train station which would qualify this build as a train-themed build. But then again there is a model of the moon on top of the train station. The ground is rocky, grey, and filled with craters, just like the moon. So this is either a train station to the moon or a train station on the moon. Which would qualify this as a space build. When we take a closer look at one of the figures, we find a dwarf. The architecture of the station looks Victorian or older and quite castle-like, which would make this a castle-themed build. Could it be steampunk?

Moon Train Station

I don’t know, but I do know that I really like it. One of the things that stand out the most to me is the use of the raised snake as an architectural detail near the door. The combination of the viking wheel and the Big Ben clock dish. And last but not least, the design of the lamp posts using the fishbowl helmet.

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I spy with my little eye

LEGO wearables are always an interesting challenge to create. But this set of Steampunk goggles by Dwalin Forkbeard would feel right at home on a full cosplay outfit, even if the rest weren’t made of bricks. This 1:1 scale creation is the perfect use for those super cool trans blue and pearl gold Ninjago windscreens, and I can’t get over how awesome the two pearl gold animal tails look when combined to make the swooping frames. And of course, don’t miss the strap, which is made of brown chainlinks.

Brothers Norn's Binozoomers

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When you have a lot of DUPLO and need to use it

I tend to shy away from integrating DUPLO into my LEGO collection as I perceive it as being cute, clunky, usually covered in toddler puke, and just not for the likes of serious builders like me. But then again in the hands of a talented builder such as Dwalin Forkbeard he can turn something cute and clunky into a masterful work of art. Take this currier vehicle, for instance. It uses a couple of clunky DUPLO parts and mixes “regular Legos” into it for a cohesive feel. The end result is like something out of The Fifth Element or Blade Runner. Check out the other times we’ve been totally smitten by this builder’s work. And if you’re inclined to build with DUPLO yourselves, then you’re in good company.

Courier

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Warhammer Gyrobomber dishes out the ordnance

Though I’ve never dabbled in the Warhammer universe, I’ve appreciated the art, figurines, and inspiration that it’s provided to its fanbase. This render of a Gyrobomber built by Dwalin Forkbeard was inspired by the Dwarven flying machines in Warhammer Fantasy Battles. Piloted by only one dwarf, the dual-rotor machine features plenty of artillery to lay waste to the battlefield. The curves of the cockpit are wonderfully modeled with brick-built sections and angled plates. Golden and brass details embellish the body and contrast the light and dark bluish-grey pieces of the mechanical sections. The different-sized doors used for rotor blades are an inventive element of the model, as well as the golden crown used as an exhaust port.

Gyrobomber

The view of the tail reveals the main engine behind the cockpit. I appreciate the variety of pieces that Dwalin used to model this steam-powered design. The attention to detail is fantastic and the form of the model is alluring. The information he provides really shows you how formidable this bomber could be with just one brave pilot.

Gyrobomber

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