Tag Archives: Fantasy

This LEGO troll means serious business

Is it a coincidence that Steven Wayne Howard shared this spectacular LEGO troll bust on the same day that World of Warcraft unleashed The War Within? Even though Steven isn’t a WoW player, his Day-Glo-colored troll, Ves’Panak, has so much personality that it has me itching to roll a new Zandalari Troll of my own. Steven was inspired to create this troll in light royal blue after acquiring a copy of LEGO Creator Expert 10298 Vespa 125, and only parts from that set are used for the blue skin. NPU (Nice Parts Usage) abounds throughout the build, from the dragon wing mohawk, dino tail tusks, frog teeth, and Banshee wing torso. My favorite element has to be the dark grey skulls, accented with orange eyes, teeth, and tusks.

This isn’t Steven’s first Horde-inspired fantasy bust, and hopefully, it won’t be his last. Perhaps a Tauren next?

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Sisters of the sword forge LEGO blades

For the Geneva sisters Anna, Sarah, and Geneva (aka Three Little Mice, Tayaya, and Geneva D), creating with LEGO is a family affair. The three talented builders collaborated on a series of life-size swords to showcase at this year’s Brickworld, each forging a personal blade with its own personality.

Geneva’s broadsword, dubbed Kalypso, is the largest of the three, requiring two hands to hold. Using brown and metallic silver (and a touch of Spinjitzu!) on the hilt for a studded leather look, this is clearly the blade of a warrior. She pairs the sword with the smaller and more play-friendly dagger, Acheron, which boasts a serrated blade and a menacing Hero Factory spiked ball on the hilt.

Read on to see unsheath the other blades!

A herbalist’s homey haven

“In a mystical chamber adorned with an array of glass jars, bubbling potions, ancient scrolls, tomes, and exotic flora, the air is thick with the scent of arcane knowledge and potent enchantments.” So begins Syrdarian‘s description of their spellbinding LEGO herbalist’s workspace. Everything you need to cast a spell or heal a malady is right here in piles and stacks, from the crystals on the floor to the jars on the shelves and the cut flowers on the worktable. Boxes and baskets of berries and flowers sit next to the staircase, while tomes of arcane lore rest where they can be readily perused.

The herbalist’s hobbies clearly range beyond plant lore, judging by the lute carefully placed against the wall and the pie and sweets tucked away on a shelf. Joining the herbalist are three different frogs, a rubber ducky, and a hungry mouse. The plates and brick elements in the wall (along with wands for the spindly table legs) give the dwelling a lived-in, ramshackle appearance. And lastly, we can’t fail to remark upon the clever way the windowpanes are formed—minifig hands in several colors.

Take your party to the top of Ravenspire in this custom LEGO Dungeons & Dragons campaign

To say that this year’s release of LEGO Ideas 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale has had an impact on the LEGO fan community might be the understatement of the year. D&D remains as popular as ever in the role-playing game community, and the joining of a custom-made game with custom-made LEGO models delights all kinds of builders. One of those builders, Luis Saladrigas of LEGO Masters US Season 4, has gone above and beyond with an epic creation depicting a fantasy campaign. Check out the whole thing below, but be sure to read on for tons of details as well.

Check out more details in this massive creation below!

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.

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.

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.

A post-human paradise in LEGO

Engaging with LEGO bricks can be an act of play, a hobby, fandom, even an investment, but for some builders, LEGO bricks are an artistic medium just like clay or oil paints. Mihai Marius Mihu is one of those creators who uses the brick to explore big ideas, with motifs that carry over across works and even transcend mediums. After a long building hiatus, Mihai is back to LEGO with “The Garden of the Goddess,” a diorama in silhouette that serves as a culmination of years of exploring this post-human future.

The “ash giant” humanoid figure climbing the hill first appeared in Mihai’s underworld-inspired LEGO vignettes a decade ago, seemingly representing a husk of humanity. The goddess on the left, with her three black orbs, is featured in numerous drawings over recent years. The statue of a face on the right is my favorite element, both for the startlingly lifelike human profile, and the effective use of Technic bricks to convey the geological timescales at play. It’s fascinating to see how Mihai’s ideas translated from sketch into LEGO model.

Mihai’s work often touches on the mythological afterlife, encounters with the unknowable, and human transmutation. It feels in conversation with fiction from Dan Simmons, Jeff Vandermeer, Octavia Butler and Ridley Scott. Work like Mihai’s doesn’t need to be explained. I’m just grateful that the artist allows us to follow his journey over the years, whether in pencil, music, or in brick.

Dueling wizard builds give us something to crow about

Sometimes great minds really do think alike, as evidenced by two rhyming vignettes created for the Summer Joust “Beast Masters” category. Each creation features a brick-built blue spellcaster and their over-sized corvid companion, but despite similar theming, the two models demonstrate very distinct approaches to setting a LEGO scene. First up we have “The Wizard and the Raven” by Ids de Jong. Another admirer described the build as having an “I Spy appeal,” which is a great way to put it, with so many fun elements from throughout the years decorating the scene. The human figure, for which Ids credits the style to Markus Rollbühler, is definitely bringing strong wizard energy with the clever beard technique utilizing Gandalf’s hair piece. I love the personality of of the crow with the nightmare eyes from LEGO Dreamzzz, a good friend who seems eager to deliver scrolls to distant lands.

Next is “Rook and Ruin” from builder Maxx Davidson (who’s been on a roll on the site lately with his whimsical creations!). Maxx’s vignette focuses a bit more on story as it captures the warlock mid-casting as his spell rips the ground asunder. I love the inspired use of a minifig arm for the warlock’s nose, the hand gripping a pair or roots to make the mustache. Nya’s Rising Dragon head makes for a wicked torso. The rook mixes smooth and spiky elements with a touch of pearlescent tiles to create some truly lovely plumage. Two mages, two crows, two magical builds!

Steer clear of these surly Sea Raiders

The right minifigs can elevate a build by making a scene come alive, suggesting a story much bigger than the LEGO model on display. The motley crew of pirates assembled by Bryckland have clearly seen their fair share of action, gaining infamy for their raids, but no shortage of glory too with close-calls and daring adventure too, I’d wager. Bryckland’s longship is a wonderful design, with a hull made of horns and rounded Technic elements, invoking ancient reed boats. Considering the sails are made from Hungarian Horntail wings, perhaps the hull is made of dragonbone or some other fantastical substance. The diorama is elevated by the patch of roiling blue sea. Where will this voyage end? Perhaps with a little pillaging at one of Bryckland’s past ports of call.

Look and see her, how she sparkles, it’s the Brick Unicorn

’80s animated film The Last Unicorn is a true gem. Like the best fantasy films of that era, it can be scary, sad, romantic, and haunting in a way that kid flicks since rarely aspire to. Also, the theme song slaps. One fan caught under the film’s spell is LEGO builder Gino Lohse who pays tribute with a mesmerizing triptych poster. The central panel mirrors the original movie poster with the terrifying red bull menacing the eponymous unicorn. I’m impressed by Gino’s use of bold colors, layered plates, and flame shafts to create the burning intensity of the bull. And the typography of the title perfectly matches the iconic font.

The ensemble of characters on the left is equally accomplished, especially King Haggard with those piercing blue eyes and wispy hair made from feathers. The castle on the right looks simpler at first glance, but features some very clever use of negative space to create the winding road. With its sophisticated layering, creative mix of elements, and artful framing, Gino’s model continues the trend of LEGO art pieces like the Gotham City Skyline of blending 2D and 3D to stunning effect.

Dragonfly in the sky, I can go twice as high

Let me guess: you watched the recent Dune movies and thought, “Man, those ornithopters were cool-looking and all, but what if they were a little more steampunk? And flown by elves?” Don’t worry, LEGO builder Ted Andes has your back. For Brickworld Chicago 2024, he imagined that elves would build a ‘thopter inspired by their natural surroundings, giving the craft its smooth, organic lines. And where the Dune version definitely had a little dragonfly in it, this little marvel seems to take its cues from the wider insect world: Aside from the dragonfly wings, there’s a bit of grasshopper leg in the fuselage and something a little more wicked in that stinger at the back.

A new Red Baron

This red baroness may not prowl the skies, but with that rapier, I know that this LEGO model by Eero Okkonen means business! Eero is an accomplished builder of figures and other structures, and you can check out our past articles on his work here. This baroness duels in style in her cape borrowed from the Chirrut Îmwe constraction figure, while her trans-red skirts were only available in the 2022 set 80035 Monkie Kid’s Galactic Explorer. The Baroness shows off her station with a wealth of golden trinkets on her outfit, but I’d like to draw special attention to the buckles on her cape which – using only two parts – clamp onto the fabric. Would you dare challenge her?

Sculpting Legends: Inside the Fantasy World of ‘Guilds of Historica’

Builder Mathijs Dubbeldam gives us a glimpse into the LEGO medieval fantasy world created by Eurobricks, known as ‘Guilds of Historica’. The build, titled ‘Sculptor’, is presented with a prompt, “. . . a large order from the King. His majesty wants an enormous statue . . .” inviting us to delve deeper into the layout and characters within the scene. Despite the prompt, the concept of a sculptor diligently working to unveil a statue of significance is readily apparent. Additionally, the presence of a green-skinned character immediately indicates that this is no ordinary medieval scene, but likely one from a fantastical world.

In the second image, a close-up reveals how the rockwork, or brickwork, as it were, has been carefully designed and thought out, offering us a glimpse into the ongoing formation of a legendary dwarf warrior. The ‘messy’ hair on the sculptor gives the impression this artist has been hard at work with no rest. I imagine his hands – do we call them hands for LEGO minifigures? – are calloused from his past and current sculpting endeavors.