Tag Archives: Fantasy

Going out on a limb for a good view from home

From the imagination of Cab ~ comes a LEGO cottage held fast above a flowing river. Did the land form in such a fashion, or did the wizard shape it with magic? Who’s to say, but the end result is certainly an eyecatcher! Built for the Summer Joust contest, for the Bridging the Gap category, the arm stretches across more than 32 studs. The arm is supported by way of technic pieces hidden in the structure, with only 4 technic pins holding it to the base. The background and surrounding landscape use forced perspective to achieve some wonderful depth, but my attention is pulled to the foreground details. The wizard’s goat has broken free, making a dash for the nearby woods. The wizard chases after it along the arm’s length. The shaping of the terrain, from the wooded area up to the land, is absolutely gorgeous! It features great use of slopes, tiles, plates, and hinges to achieve a really standout build.

Of course, that’s not to mention the cottage itself! The walls of the home contain a plethora of rounded pieces, including some minifig headwear. Can you spot them? I personally like the use of croissants for the chimney’s smoke and the red kite flying in the wind. There’s also a skunk hiding somewhere in the scene. Take a look, but be careful lest it sprays you!

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The city on a floating rock that’s off the chain!

We here at TBB generally try not to cover LEGO builds that are still works-in-progress. But that can be hard when the WIP pictures look as good as this one taken by First Order Lego back in May. As we round the corner into August, we’re at last able to see FOL’s build in its entirety. And Rory can finally figure out what those chains are connected to: a big honkin’ sky rock!

Cats are royalty, no matter where you are

This LEGO build by Vohdoff of a laborer ferrying a whimsical feline beast shows that even in a fantasy realm, cats are still royalty. I suspect the cat in question here may draw some of its inspiration from Japanese Kitsune with their many tails. Whatever its origins, though, this creature is gorgeously sculpted from mostly Bionicle elements. Meanwhile, the servant also has an otherworldly visage, and a magnificent gold collar to match the cat’s eyes.

This gigantic LEGO Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is made of 100,000 bricks

LEGO builder Michał Kaźmierczak just earned 1,000 points for his house with this astounding model of Hogwarts, the famed school from the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Taking around 9 months of planning and building, Michał’s construction displays so much prowess with the architectural and natural forms required to bring it to life. The exterior shows the docks, a Quidditch pitch, and Professor Sprout’s greenhouses. Some of the exterior buildings like the Great Hall and the Astronomy Tower are instantly recognizable, even to a fair-weather HP fan such as myself.

<em>Accio</em> interior castle pics!

Éowyn stands defiant before the dread Witch-king of Angmar

Éowyn stands with defiance in her heart against the undefeated evil of the Witch-king of Angmar in this LEGO scene by Kai/Geneva. The winds stir under the wings of the dread beast who will meet its end by Éowyn’s blade as it goes for her fallen uncle, King Théoden. The Witch-king of Angmar is a terrifying being, looming over the field of battle as the visage of death. Adorning his helmet are two black magic wands still on their sprue–a cool use of a sprue instead of throwing it out. His weapon features clips to show fabric flying in the wind. The dread beast is fearsome with its large wingspan and sloping body. The transparent-red eyes grant it great menace, and the teeth certainly help with that too! The battlefield slopes towards the foe, speaking of the inevitability of this meeting and the triumph of good over evil.

Some gleaming treasure and its fintastic warrior guardian

Builder JastaBrick gives us this amazing scene from the depths for the Summer Joust contest, in Going Big category. This is the sort of build that show off the nearly limitless capabilities of LEGO. I have a special appreciation for builds that render organic movement and shapes. This build does so wonderfully with the tail of the merman warrior. The segmented approach allows for some excellent bend and movement of the warrior as he comes up to defend the treasure. Even the armor has some organic elements to it with the curvature of the plating. There’s even a more literal organic representative in the form of a little grey frog! The sea plant life is sparse, but each is unique unto itself, lending greater diversity to the colors and shapes of the build. Even the treasure chest is fun to look at, especially the nice detail of minifig handcuffs for the handle. The base itself is well shaped and really grounds the whole scene. It shore is a fun build!

Hobbit-sized Bag End is a micro masterpiece

So admittedly, I’ve got a bit of a thing for LEGO trophies — those small builds organizers hand out when you win a category in events like online contests and LEGO conventions. I love the design decisions that have to be made when you’ve only got a tiny patch of real estate to work with. So I’m absolutely gaga for this tiny Bag End trophy by builder Caleb Huet! His use of the smallest green curves to shape the hill is excellent. The details on the front, including the use of snowflake tiles for windows and brown horns for the trim, are such an accomplishment with so few pieces. And the iconic round green door makes this microscale marvel instantly recognizable without any minifigs or title cards. And that’s not even mentioning all the organic shaping that went into the tiniest topiary atop the hut. Whoever wins this model in the Middle Earth LEGO Olympics is a lucky LEGO builder!

The dark towers demand that you enter

While not a copy of the famed Two Towers from the Lord of the Rings novels, this dark castle from LEGO builder Poul-Erik Borre is exactly what every dark sorcerer needs.

The symmetrical architecture immediately grabbed my attention, forcing my eyes up the highly-detailed stonework. I was impressed to see so many light lime-green bricks and dark-green bricks used as a contrasting colors against the black. The trees continue that same color palette. Looking more closely, I spotted a clever use of light lime-green hair pieces as all of the leaves and blossoms.

What I also didn’t realize at first was that there are actually three towers, not just two. A truly impressive fantasy creation.

Plan your day the dwarven way

Ever wonder what your a day looks like for your average dwarf? Well, builder Ids de Jong provides the answer in this great LEGO scene. First off, dwarven hygiene is of the utmost importance, so we have a pair scrubbing off all the dirt from the mines in a subterranean river. The minifigure torso choices here are excellent, showing their bottom halves submerged below the trans-blue water. The droid-arm ladder next to the bathing pair is a classic choice, and feels right at home in this scene. I absolutely love the pillar right next to it, with its center turned 45 degrees creating an interesting look.

Mine for more pictures below!

A most tranquil shrine for a traveler to warm their feet by the green fire

While fans of the fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire may have a very different association with green fire, you can’t deny that these little flames bring a touch of charm to this fantasy scene by Ben Cossy, where scattered trees drop their bright pink blossoms on the pale green forest floor among the crumbling ruins of grand statues. A road-weary traveler enjoys some strong tea while they wait — maybe for the rest of their traveling group, or for inspiration. Whatever they’re waiting for, I can’t think of a more peaceful place to do it.

A warrior swamped in adventure

Builder Peter Ilmrud presents a legend in the making with this beautiful, and dangerous, LEGO swamp. Green. That’s the word at the forefront of describing this build, broken up by the tan interspersed throughout. It’s a bright and bold choice and works wonderfully here for this swamp teeming with life. And even with the green dominating, it’s quite nuanced in the variety used. Everything is distinct in its own right, allowing the scene to shine with all its poisonous might. There are two small things I appreciate in this build–one is the bird watching the scene below, and the other is a paint palette. Can you find it? Here’s a hint: it’s a big leaf for a short plant.

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A reflection of the past

Bound within the limits of an old ring, this art nouveau inspired scene by Builder Ralf Langer is an improvised snapshot into a fantasy world. This master of scenery shows us yet again why he’s gained such a legendary status amongst the community. His style is instantly recognizable, especially if you’re familiar with his past works which feature such bright pink, finned trees as we see here, or intricate, almost gravity defying, buildings with life-like stonework. Wanting to work in some Jugendstil ornamentation, the Germanic parallel to Art Nouveau styles between 1895 and 1910, Ralf started with the windows and used thread with stud parts to create curvy and loopy decorations. After abandoning a handful of tower designs that looked like they came from a galaxy far, far away he settled one with a thin, wispy elegance. The fragility of both structures is only visual while the tree itself apparently needs a hidden Ninjago Spinner as a counterweight under the reflective surface of the pool. Another strong suit of Ralf’s is using the sheen of our favorite plastic playthings in a way that isn’t directly obvious. Here he forces our perspective of the flat sides of the sand green bricks he used in the pool so that we see the buildings and the trees reflected in its surface. Bits of blue and white are worked in to break up the monotony and he even adds some red and pink near the tree to help the reflection of the tree’s leaves.

While the greebly ring may be the remnants of his old Halo ring build, Ralf still proves his inventiveness with ornamental statues and sculptures at the base and tops of the two towers. As usual, his strong suit as a builder is making us all scratch our heads at how his work is even possible. I mean, he even tells us that the ring needs an extra frame to hold its structure until the whole thing has been built. That’s a level of dedication that few of us have the space to commit. Keep up the awesome work, Ralf.