Every scene can teach a lesson, and this scene has taught me not to wonder into deep caves. According to Tkytko, that is where Raus’zod has the Weeping Skull Mausoleum. The scene is full of clever details with great building techniques. And all those details come together to create a rather scary lair.
Take some time to look over the entirety of this entry to the Summer Joust competition.
As a LEGO set designer for Elves, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Zelda, and Wicked, it’s fair to say that Wes Talbott knows a thing or two about bringing fantasy to life at minifig scale. Last year, the builder’s Fire Breathing Fortress reimagining with Chris Perron took our breath away. Now Wes is back with a trio of vignettes titled Dungeon Dangers. The first scene stars a hideous slime made from trans green macaroni tubes from the Dreamszzz sets. My favorite technique is the spiral columns decorated with thorny vines in metallic silver.
Wes was so pleased with the vignette design of a hexagonal base framed with three columns that he kept the pattern across the full serries. The crystalline spider sparkles, but again its the corners that capture my eye with an innovative technique for stalagnate columns. Apparently Wes came up with the concept a few years ago but never had a chance to use it until now. Spider eggs made from clusters of clamshells is another standout technique.
Wes’ final fantasy vignette follows, along with a bonus from the builder
Swedish builder T-86 never misses a chance to enter a medieval building challenge. And when possible, this LEGO storyteller uses a challenge to reveal a new piece of the fantasy world of Dandelume. The builder’s latest addition is diorama and scenes featuring Bryndon the Bard, a fixture of the sprawling stone city. Here on the steps to old town, we see the city’s oldest wall and the interplay of rich and poor at this busy gate. T-86 references older builds in color schemes and lore while making the location feel specific and new.
![[The Bard of Old Town]](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54755706431_107baea0a6_b.jpg)
Even though the majority of the build is grey bricks, T-86 packs it with sophisticated techniques that keep it visually interesting. The sidewalk mosaic uses a mix of tiles and cheese slopes in alternating orientations to make concentric rings. And the arches made from loosely fitted headlight bricks looks wonderful.
![[The Bard of Old Town]](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54756038690_b2fe39b103_b.jpg)
See some earlier builds of Dandelume below
LEGO will soon be venturing into the Marvel Spider-verse for the next line of Collectible Minifigs, but you don’t need to wait until August to find weird and wonderful fig creations of the arachnid (and arachnid adjacent) variety. Today on Minifig Monday we’re catching a bevy of bug and spider flavored figs and mini builds in our web!
Kicking off this week’s lineup is The Seamstress by Brennan (brickbot_studio). Animation fans might recognize this wicked weaver from the film the post-apoc “stitch-punk” film 9. Brennan has made some incredible mini character builds but this might be my favorite thing he’s ever shared. Excellent use of the Samukai minifig head from Ninjago.
Keeping to the spinstress theme, we have the Song Weaver by Aris (bricks.for_bricks). This arachnid character brings an aristocratic air to the spider theme, with One Ring bangles and an impressive headress mixing cloth, plastic feathers, and rubber bands.
Eight limbs? Ha! This Friendly centipede from Dicken Liu has arms to spare! Who would have guessed that minidoll toros make such grotesquely perfect bug segments? I haven’t been able to unsee this amazing creation since Dicken shared it a few months back, and if it’s new to you, you’re welcome.
the creepy creations continue after the fold
I love LEGO builds that mess with your sense of scale. Mattia Careddu is the latest to discombobulate me with a mysterious, watery fantasy world. Clearly that temple in the middle is massive: there are rocks floating around – literally – with waterfalls coming out of them. But hang on, those birds look like ibises, making excellent use as they do of some dinosaur tail elements. And I recognise those leaf elements too, which means this build isn’t actually that big. But then you see the steps up the side of the temple… Wait, how big are those birds?! And that’s to say nothing of the great big serpent tree deity thing that looks ready to devour the lot. Whoever’s on that little boat sure is brave going wherever here is.
This magical island by Ids de Jong is framed by a shimmering trans-light blue base. But don’t let this small island fool you, it is home to quite a few animals (nine after I triple checked). After the great base, the feature that calls to me is the small, sandy beach. It fits snuggly in the build and offers just enough room to sit-down and do your reading. The impressively tiled rooftop and SNOT stonework is a step up from Majisto’s other hangout while keeping to the wizard’s color scheme.
From Software has fully embraced co-op with their latest release, Elden Ring Nightreign, all but requiring players to team up with a couple of friends in order to take down waves of bosses. So it’s only fitting that to bring down some of Elden Ring’s most iconic enemies in LEGO form, a team-up is in order. Joe (jnj_bricks) leads the charge against Godrick the Grafted, the first big mandatory boss in your journey through the Lands Between. Joe perfectly captures the decaying Stormveil Castle, especially the shattered road that subtly undulates off the LEGO grid. While he doesn’t often build characters, Joe nails Godrick’s grafted form with his monstrous arm. I’m having flashbacks to the first (and second, and tenth…) time I battled the boss.
Joe’s friend and collaborator Brickelangelo travels beneath Caelid to Mohgwyn Palace for a face off with Mohg, Lord of Blood. Mohg looks imposing atop the brick stairs, but also quite dashing courtesy of robes borrowed from Queer Eye’s Fab 5 Loft.
This collab has me itching to get back to Shadow of the Erdtree, but I’m not sure I’m ready to die again and again. Maybe I’ll just stick to bricks and enjoy this Elden Ring classic boss.
Before The Witcher became a global phenonmenon thanks to the GOTY winning third game and a hit Netflix series, the adventures of Geralt of Rivia were the pride of Polish fantasy fans with elaborate worldbuilding infused by the folktales of Eastern Europe. Polish builder Mihał Ch brings the famous monster hunter to LEGO for an immersive battle scene in which the Witcher takes on a Zeugl in the sewers beneath Vizima. Mihał’s creature design is wonderfully loathsome with its wide maw of teeth and crasping arms. My favorite technique is the copious ichor splattered throughout the scene as both discolored brickwork and goopy pools.
Mihał created this fantastic diorama for the “Where No One Dares to Go” category of the Summer Joust competition and to honor the 10th anniversary of The Witcher 3 from Polish game studio CD Projekt RED. It’s not his first time exploring Geralt’s world in LEGO. Here is Mihał’s take on the game’s core characters:
Jakab Kovács doesn’t color inside the lines when it comes to castles. Sure, he built a traditional tribute to the Black Falcon fortress that was hosted at LEGO House, but he’s also made a purple castle, cloud castle, and, for his latest project, an undersea castle.
Jakab eschews the typical Atlantis or mermaid tropes, finding a look that draws on an almost Czech Baroque style with its pointed domes. I love the subtle angle of the castle wings, the orange and yellow accent colors, the undersea garden plots and their fences, and the minifig faction with the wispy bodies and white hair. I wonder what a full series set in this world would look like? Are there manta ray mounts and pet eels? Do these folk trade with surface dwellers? I’d happily spend more time in this undersea haven, but alas, it’s time to come up for air.
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim debuted in the era of the Xbox 360 but has remained an essential game across three console generations. With all those remasters and mods, of course Skyrim would inspire LEGO tributes as well. What I love about this version from Gabriel Midgley is how the builder distills everything about this epic open world into a compact LEGO scene. Not a small build, mind you – it’s quite epic, but also dense with details that fans of the game will appreciate.
From the dragon soaring above the peak to the Dwemer ruins that wind through the mountain’s roots, the scene yells “adventure” with the intensity of a Dragonborn’s shout. Even though the game is single-player, Gabriel packs in references to many player races and classes, like the Argonian lizard man chilling at the camp. This LEGO take is such a fun way to experience Skyrim again, it just might tide me over until Elder Scrolls VI finally arrives… in 2042, if we’re lucky.
What at first glance may appear to be a LEGO creation with an identity crisis is builder Nate Chiles way of reminding us that a little imagination goes a long way. This 2-in-one LEGO creation “tells the story of that imagination that we all had (or have) by showing kids playing (on the left) and the stories imagination turns that play into (on the right).”
It’s a very relatable message, beautifully illustrated. The themes, shapes, and proportions of the two scenes mirror one another perfectly, and I love the way the clouds surrounding the tower suggest an impassible floor-is-lava -type scenario being played out in these young adventurers’ minds.
The most interesting part of this floating island scene by Jesse Gros, in my opinion, is not the elevated setting peeking in from the upper corner of the composition (which shows a tantalizing hint of a larger landscape) but rather the choice of the buildable planet of Coruscant used as the air-filled balloon for the small floating platform. The gray surface with geometric lines, combined with the clouds representing weathering, add visual interest to the otherwise simple design. A subtle but effective illustration of a city and mountains in the distance backs the scene.
