Tag Archives: First Order Lego

Digital distortion in physical LEGO

Inspired by a painting from an unknown artist in a Korean hotel, Luka set about trying to capture distorted reality in LEGO with a work titled “Error.” The results are stunning, as pastel mountains and a city skyline get stretched at the horizon into abstract color lines. The shadow box frame looks to be about 5 bricks deep to allow for the stacked layers of the diorama. The distortion lines would have extended even further had the builder not run out of time and pieces. Luka (aka First Order Lego) is a builder who continues to impress and inspire with both abstract builds like this one and minifig scenes like his recent Witcher 3 tribute.

ERROR

The trees are dead and dried out, wait for something brick-built

It’s funny how a LEGO build can have you thinking of different things. Even moreso when it’s one so clearly based on existing source material, like this chilling collaborative build from First Order LEGO and BrickManStudios. As the logo in the corner suggests, this is a location from the video game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Trouble is, I’ve never played that game. Instead, I’m reminded of an album by a tech metal band called Sikth, hence this article’s title. You got that reference, right, reader? OK, so pop-culture references are maybe not my forte. But I can still appreciate the craftsmanship in this build! The tentacled tree is the centrepiece, naturally, but the landscaping is great too. It feels suitably overgrown – the perfect counterpoint to the dead, dried out tree.

LEGO Hanged Man’s Tree - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

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!

“Floating city of Lanac”

More on this city in the sky below.

You can’t hold this little ship down!

The winds must be really strong on this world as First Order Lego has created a mysterious landscape featuring a small floating ship. The miniature vehicle uses teeth pieces for its sails and a minifigure hand as a bowsprit at the front. Large links of chains descend from the sky which are possibly attached to the anchors of an even larger construction. In the background, the clouds are beautifully formed using a variety of angled slopes and rounded bricks. The lush green forest is made up of spikes representing sharp-looking trees. We’d love to see more from this alluring realm and find out what those chains are connected to.

Setting sail

Paint the world as you see fit

Being an artist has some perks. If you can imagine a world that doesn’t exist, simply invent it through art. As Bob Ross advised, just paint in those happy little trees! That is, in a sense, what First Order Lego has done here in LEGO. With a paint palette and brush in the composition, we see just a hint of color with a Mediterranean-style village at the base of a massive tree. It is just enough to clue us in that this builder is pretty good with color but the real star of the show here is what is not “painted”. Monochrome is notoriously difficult to draw or paint. It relies heavily on texture for great effect and that is what is done here in spades. Hundreds of mini wheels make up the leaves of the tree which creates breathtaking visual effects.

Painting The World - front overview

There are even more little houses going up the slope of the trunk that are just like the other ones except “unpainted”. He tells us it was all built-in under two weeks and had won the top prize at Bricking Bavaria, a LEGO convention in Germany. A well-deserved win, in my opinion. Here we see the artist “painting” his world with beautiful happy colors. The closeup makes it clear that the entire sculpture stands on Death Star halves. What brilliant details!

Painting The World - me painting detail

The world between worlds

Portals, parallel dimensions, time travel, etc. Those concepts sometimes spice up storytelling, like in Back to the Future, and Avengers: Endgame. And sometimes they fail, like in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the sequel fan-fiction that was canonised into a theatre production. Even Star Wars: Rebels tried to explore those concepts in an episode titled “The World Between Worlds”, which didn’t work at all. As for this small two-hour build by Luka (First Order Lego), it works very well.

“A world between worlds” - 2 hour build

Titled “A world between worlds,” but totally unrelated to Star Wars, Luka’s creation is a small microscale landscape build. A portal to another world dominates a lush valley with a small cute village built into the cliffside. A barren wasteland from beyond oozes something dark and dreary that pollutes the idyllic paradise. Overall, this has some great details for such a small build. I really enjoy some of the part choices for the greenery, like the green Hero Factory blades for evergreen trees. In addition, a half-hidden Knights Kingdom buildable figure helmet also adds texture to the hills.

Check out more of Luka’s builds!

Your studs are showing

While some LEGO builders want to hide the studs on their LEGO as much as possible to create a smooth-looking creation, Luka often has their studs on display to add texture to their creation. The studs are not only facing upwards; they are facing right, left, and center. The effect is quite nice.

One thing I always struggle with when building with LEGO is making trees. Luka reminds us that it doesn’t always have to be a struggle. The trees in his build are quite simple but also quite stunning. There are a lot of droid arms used in this creation for various purposes; for the roof of the house and the base of the trees. Fun thing, in both situations, they are meant to represent wood. It is nice to see that the wood for the roof was probably bought locally, which has to be better for the environment. The foliage of the trees is made by using flower stems with and without leaves upside down.

Do what must be done

Any time I see LEGO creations relating to Order 66 from Revenge of the Sith, I feel the emotional tension rising. As painful as it is to see clones turn on their former Jedi comrades, you have to admit that builder First Order Lego does a painstakingly good job at depicting the ultimate betrayal.

“Knightfall” Jedi Temple Order 66

From the clones’ march into the Jedi Temple on Coruscant to the younglings hiding in the background, this build perfectly captures the epic darkness of the moment. The only word I have for the level of detail, especially in the Holocron bookcases and the statue work, is beautiful.

Oh, and did I mention that this build is literally lit?

Colors of Knightfall

A dark and dangerous Star Wars battlefield for 501st legion troopers

The recent release of the 501st battlepack has taken LEGO Star Wars fans by storm. Many bought multiple sets containing the fan-favourite clone troopers for collecting, army building, and for use in their builds. While many built scenes starring the 501st troopers, landscape artist First Order Lego already completed their most iconic and memorable battle. The Battle of Umbara is regarded as the best four-episode story arc of The Clone Wars and is enough to elevate the whole series to Star Wars fans’ favour. In these episodes, the 501st struggle against the natives, the landscape, and even their own in a brutal war story. They showcase that the Republic are not the good guys, the soldiers are disposable, and that the war is pointless and harmful. Thus, people frequently compare them to the real-world inspiration: the United States invasion of Vietnam.

Umbara: The Clone Wars LEGO MOC

The 501st, led by Anakin Skywalker, advance through trenches and carnivorous plants on this elaborate against the Umbaran natives. The dark terrain and the eerie flora is visually striking, providing good contrast against the white armour of the clone troopers. First Order Lego uses many rubber tires to give a smooth and rounded look to the large spiky plants. Many bladed elements make up smaller plants, and even a few construction parts provide roughness to the landscape. In addition, various transparent parts dot the terrain, providing light and giving Umbara its signature “evil” look. While on the far side, the neon-lit road is a welcome change from the rough black wilderness.

First Order Lego also provides a time-lapse video of this battle scene coming together:

The castle with windows a-plenty

The 1×1 plate with a printed black square showed up in 2017 as an architectural element in a few different LEGO sets. It has become a popular detailing element, especially in micro builds. This castle by Luka (First Order LEGO) has used it here to give this lovely little castle windows and contrast. He also used air tanks for the gate and seep, as well as white wands on the spires. I’m not sure if it’s intended, but the icy white and grey-blue look gives me a wintery vibe. Even more so with the nifty use of the medium blue Exo-Force hair on the lone tree near the base of the castle.

White Castle

While you’re here, check out more of Luka’s excellent builds in our First Order LEGO archives.

A castle so moving it’ll have you howling

Okay, let me start with a confession: I’ve never watched a Studio Ghibli film. I know, I know, that makes me a bad person. Someday I hope to reform my ways. But before you throw your rotten eggs and moldering cabbages at me, let me show you a cool build that is inspired by one of the movies, Howl’s Moving Castle. Built by First Order Lego for both the Style it Up contest and the Iron Forge, it is a sight to behold. The complicated details are lovingly depicted here, from the houses embedded in the sides to the many, many complicated-looking mechanical apparatuses on the back. Is that a rat as smoke? Yes, it is. And beards and hair, too. There are too many other fabulous parts usages in this thing for me to list, so be sure to zoom in on it yourself, but if you notice that there are lots of minifigure legs and hips about, that’s because it is the seed part for the Iron Forge, the open-to-all-comers qualifying competition for the Iron Builder. Maybe this entry will “walk away” with the coveted prize. Ha. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some movies to go watch <ducks a rotten cabbage>.

Howl's Moving Castle

Are you a better person than me and love Studio Ghibli? Console yourself for my ignorance and look through this Spirited Away series of builds, or a Princess Mononoke or My Neighbor Totoro figure. Just please stop throwing those rotten tomatoes at me!

Italy-stay home, stay strong

We are living in truly strange and uncertain times. There is a silver lining amid this global pandemic lockdown though. Most nations are reporting cleaner air, cleaner water, and nature sort of healing itself. I, for one, am enjoying hearing more birds and frogs and seeing stars in the night sky for the first time in quite a while. And I don’t know about you but my car is getting a solid four weeks to the gallon! However, First Order Lego also sees a glimmer of hope, as do most of us, in a return back to normalcy.

“Balcony Runway” (Italy- Stay home, stay strong)

A plane in the sky is becoming an increasingly rarer sight these days and it looks rather awe-inspiring in this composition. The low-angle view is well-suited here and I really enjoy the colors and textures of these balconies. Italy has been hard hit with the pandemic so this builder was inspired to build balconies with a Mediterranean feel complete with numerous plants. Italy, and the rest of the world, let’s stay home, stay strong and, if we listen to our healthcare officials, we should be back to normalcy in due time.