Tag Archives: Fantasy

Don’t sail off the edge!

We’ve been impressed by Ralf Langer’s alien and exotic worlds before, by golly! But this time, I’m in awe of that two-stud wide perfectly round base. That is what he had challenged himself to do and not only is this build visually striking, but sturdy enough to hold. It’s also larger than expected at first glance. The white 1×2 plate sort of acts as a reference to the size of it all. Ralf tells us that he certainly could have loaded the composition with greenery but scaling back to a very simplified color scheme does wonders for this scene. The water somehow looks deep but, as the edge shows, it’s only two studs wide. I’m well aware the water and the rest of this world continue outside of the borders of what has been presented here but one can almost imagine the little sailing ship going ass-over-tea kettle off the edge.

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Not exactly a LEGO Rivendell...

Titled “Temptation” and haunted by an enormous black monster, Ben Cossy‘s latest LEGO diorama feels like it’s set in an alternate Middle Earth where our heroes face down their worst desires made manifest, rather than struggling quietly against the thrall of the One Ring. Ben shares that he’s glad to build something in the fantasy/castle theme that doesn’t require quite so much green (or gray, for that matter). The autumnal color palette of the trees contrasts beautifully with the white architecture.

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Architecture in black and white

Experienced LEGO builder Ralph Langer is back with another stunningly elegant creation of mysterious architecture. Like Lavender Dream from last year, this build features an otherworldly white structure with a striking presentation. The huge black cobblestones make me wonder if this is located on some ancient lava flow, while I can’t decide if the building itself is more Narnia or Elder Scrolls, though Ralph’s description indicates that it’s some form of Victorian fantasy. Either way, we can all agree that it’s beautiful.

Look to the skies and you might spy a dragon

Dragons are always cool, especially when they hang out at high altitudes among the clouds. Andreas Lenander delivers a LEGO bust of a bright red dragon with beautiful details and colors. He uses curving slopes to give the dragon the appearance of scales. You can see this to great effect on the dragon’s throat where the slopes serve this purpose most expertly. There’s some good use of gold pieces to give the dragon a regal look, especially on the whiskers! Because of the clever use of curving pieces, the whole build has a nice flow, like the wind is blowing past the dragon. The cloud base itself has some nice curvy lines to it, giving it a fluffy sort of appearance. You can take a closer look at this build by checking out the video Andreas released for it. He gives some of his own insights, while showing the build from different angles.

Sink your teeth into this gorgeous architecture

When the Forest Elves need weapons and armor, they come to this forge crafted by gGh0st. With vertical and horizontal tooth plates galore, the building itself almost looks like it’s wearing scale armor. Not only is the result beautiful to look at, but I bet it makes any orc armies think twice about invading.

Through Drudgery, Dreams, and Dread

LEGO fans draw inspiration from all sorts of places. Movies, series, books, architecture and travelling are the first things that come to mind. Music is one that we tend to skip over because it is less visible and often more interpretive. However this lovely creation by John Snyder shows how music can inspire an amazing creation. John explains that the music by Lee Muzzy & Ian Spacek has three different themes, using trees as a medium John shows how he interpreted the three different themes.

The first theme sounded slightly eerie, mysterious and industrial. After that came the middle part in which the mood shifted to something more magical, serene and peaceful. This reminds me a bit of Rivendell. The last part of the song gave an ominous foreboding. John surely managed to capture the way he interpreted the music in the brick.

Hangmen hanging from a ghostly tree

Sometimes a LEGO scene is just capturing. I stumbled across this build by gGh0st and my eyes were drawn to the trees, and the great parts usage that composes them. We can spot lightsaber handles, claws, fangs, and even a broom. Still the trees look organic and natural. For me, it’s the first time seeing the minifigure claw in dark tan being used as tree foliage. And it looks like all the hangmen aren’t the only dead thing in this creation. The trees themselves look like conifers at the end of their days. Having lost most of their needles, the trunks and branches make for a sad skeleton that reminds us of what has been.

A gnome home for a fantasy biome

If I had to sum up this beautiful gnomish LEGO dwelling by Jakub Drobny in a single word, it would be “wiry.” Everywhere you look in this construction, you’ll find the expert use of bars and clips. This creates intricate little features in the build, like the spindly tree trunks and fine woodwork around the hut’s windows. I particularly like the design of the hanging lantern coming down from one side of the tread-laden roof. The landscape surrounding the abode is an excellent mash-up of curves and slopes in earthen hues and contrasts the tan of the hut’s walls nicely. And don’t forget that adorably ramshackle chimney set askew atop the house. It almost looks as if the structure is being held together with some gnomish magic!

Sand castles don’t last forever, even ones made of the Sands of Time

This LEGO hourglass is something magical with its grains building a castle as time passes. Builder Simon Liu presents this unique hourglass for the Brickscalibur contest. As time moves, so does the construction of the castle. And when it’s complete, time is up. It’s a clever idea to showcase the passage of time and life. Being an hourglass, it represents the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The build uses a wonderful assortment of tan pieces to give the castle definition. There are even some walls and bits in the top portion of the hourglass from the last sand castle. The build also makes some good use of gold pieces to give the timepiece a gilded elegance. This is a really cool design and idea, and is certainly one of my favorite time-related LEGO builds.

There are secrets hiding in this library’s collection

There’s nothing like going to the library to discover something new, even if the library is made of LEGO. Jesse van den Oetelaar presents a small window into a magical library chock full of secrets and rarities. Made for this year’s Brickscalibur contest, this build has great textures from top to bottom, with details galore to explore. We see two stories to the building with books and artefacts from floor to ceiling. Let’s take a closer look at some of the details on the second floor and its railing. There’s some nice parts usage with wand elements standing in for the railings filler spokes. The bookcase has colorful tiles for the books filling the shelves, a classic method for full bookcases. I love the use of tan Technic pins for all the candles. Their unique shaping is perfect for such an illuminating portrayal.

Bridging the past and the present with a royal redesign

Builder -soccerkid6 goes to the drawing board with this new vision of the classic LEGO Castle set 6078 Royal Drawbridge. The original set is from year 1995 and features a bridge that’s less draw and more sneaky. It could drop anyone on it into the water around it–it’s a trap! Of course, being a set from 1995, the details are rather sparse with limited parts in existence at the time. This redesign, on the other hand, is rich with details and parts. First, the drawbridge is the spitting image of what we expect a drawbridge to look like, complete with the chains. The towering battlements are fuller now, featuring lovely detailing in the exposed brick textures of the walls. The spires are stronger with the blue drill pieces for the points, but my favorite little touch in the whole build is the inclusion of flowers with the greenery.

See the turtle of enormous girth, on his shell he holds the Earth...

Giant turtles appear throughout works of fiction: Discworld, The Dark Tower, and The Neverending Story to name a few. Here, Gino Lohse realises one of these beasts in LEGO form. The castle, itself a great micro build, sits proudly atop the colossal reptile as it makes its way through the forest. The subtle detailing through grill pieces as crenels demonstrates some exceptional part usage here, as do the binocular window and minifigure-hand flags. But its “vehicle” is a great build too! I love how the brown colour of the shell gives way to a grey rocky outcrop ensconcing the fortification. Both the creature and its payload blend so well into the forest that they traverse.