Tag Archives: Forest

Everdell Chapel in the brick

Next to LEGO I am a huge board game nerd, and I love it when hobbies collide. Isaac and John Snyder drew inspiration from one of my favourite board games. Everdell is a worker placement game in which you build the homes of the many forest critters that inhabit the forest of Everdell. The artwork was done by Andrew Bosley and Dann May. The playing cards depict forest locations but also its inhabitants. The illustrations on the cards look truly as if they came straight out of a fairy tale. I can surely see why Isaac and John would draw inspiration from it. In this creation we see the Everdell chapel which is built on a rock in a foggy lake. A grey Belville tower roof has been incorporated in the landscaping and to me it is mind boggling that this large piece blends in with the scenery so well.

Everdell Chapel

The resemblance to the source material is really amazing. The Tudor style is done exceptionally well, and including yellowed and damaged white bricks to depict the decay of the building is really clever. On the playing card there are no animals included but it is nice to get some forest critters in there to make the scene appear more alive. They even get cute custom outfits made out of capes and rubber bands. I am curious to see if these two will keep drawing inspiration from this lovely board game. One thing is for sure, I wouldn’t mind!

LEGO 90 Years of Play 40567: Forest Hideout – A Nostalgic Gift With Purchase [Review]

The hype for the new 90 Years of Play LEGO sets is rising! We’ve already seen a fun tribute set in Classic 11021 and there are a couple of amazing sets on the horizon. But while we wait for those to hit the market, we can whet our appetites on an updated version of 1988’s Forestmen’s Hideout. LEGO 90 Years of Play 40567 Forest Hideout is available now through 6/22 from the LEGO Shop Online with qualifying purchases of US $150 | CAN $150 | UK £150.  This 258 piece set reimagines the Castle System classic with updated parts and techniques. Come along and see if this set justifies the hefty price of admission, and see just how it looks next to it’s vintage inspiration!

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with a copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Click to read the full hands-on review

Home sweet Orc hut

Over at The Brother’s Brick we know a good LEGO Orc Hut when we see one. And this Orc Hut by Versteinert definitely is a good one. Do you want to know why? It’s because of all the funky parts used in original ways. We get a tree trunk suit disguised as a chimney. Complete with a Ninjago snake used for the smoke. I’ve seen this part used for smoke before and it never stops to amaze me how good this looks. Cake suit guy gets robbed of his party hat because it gets transformed into a bell. I love how the pin of the hat resembles the clapper of the bell. The flower stem pine trees are to die for. Same goes for most of the foliage. There are quite some original parts used there. If you take a closer look you can spot eggs, ice cream scoops, Minion hair and even Marge Simpsons head.

Orc Hut

A scenic path to a forest retreat

Builder Salt_city_bricks gives us a lovely LEGO retreat in a peaceful forest. Two travelers make their way home after an adventurous walk through the forest. They cross a cute little bridge that uses headlight bricks, open studs, and flex tubing for its curvature. Vibrant trees and flowers surround the house on the hill and the babbling brook. There’s not a bit of space left unused on the forest floor! It’s full of plant life, even growing up the sides of the hill to wreath around the multi-story house. The color blocking breaks the scene up into smaller areas to explore.

Unbenannt1

Take a closer look at the trees and flowers

A beautiful autumnal scene, recreated in LEGO

I love a LEGO build that you can get lost in and always discover new points of interest. KitKat1414 certainly doesn’t disappoint us with this offering of an autumnal cabin looking out over a body of water. This cabin on the water has a wealth of nice part usage from the model sailing boat using the Lute from the latest CMF series, the weather vane, the trunk of the tree and complimented with the claw pieces serving as reeds dotted around the waterline. I particularly love the brick-built door and the snake heads serving as hinges! But it’s best not to call all the build detail out, feel free to study this one.

Autumn Song

A forest dwelling you won’t easily forget

According to Joe (jnj_bricks), this delightful mediaeval house is a “forgotten forest dwelling.” But with such bright colours, I certainly won’t be forgetting it any time soon! The reddish brown and tan walls aren’t exactly unusual in castle-themed builds, but the purple roof, lime green terrain and yellow foliage really make the whole thing pop. It’s more than just a colour experiment (as Joe himself describes it), as there’s some great parts usage and techniques in there. The walls and ceiling are haphazard enough to enhance the fantastical feel, but the highlight has to be the use of book covers as detailing on the eaves!

Forgotten Forest Dwelling

A house fit for a forest elf

You can easily imagine this adorable hut, created by Tobias Goldschalt, hidden away, deep in a mystical forest. The build is oddly reminiscent of the dwellings featured in the Angry Birds films, but this cosy home has more of an earthy feel in its design. The building has a great bulbous shape to it, created by the large segments often used in hot air balloon models. The green wing pieces blend in perfectly with the overhanging leafy roof and the forest elf, from the collectible minifigures series 22, looks more than happy with his new accommodation.

Hotdog buns for toes

One of the first articles I got to write about LEGO for TBB featured a brick built owl. It is safe to say that from that point on, brick built owls have a spot in my heart. After seeing this little cutie by Eli Willsea, I knew I just had to feature it. This forest critter has eyes that stare right in the deepest of your soul with their pitch black pupils and the vibrant yellow irises made out of lever bases. The only feathery parts that are used are the LEGO Chima wings around the eyes. For the most part curved slopes are used to build this animals body and wings. I would however like to highlight one special feature of this amazing build and that are the owls feet and talons. These are made with hotdog buns and black sausages.

Owl

The inn in the forest

After a long day walking through the woods, a place of rest is the one thing you’ll need. Perhaps “The Peaceful Shrub” Inn would suit you well, created by LEGO builder Jesse van den Oetelaar. Meanwhile, I’m resting my eyes on one of the most lovely little cottage inns I have ever seen. I admire Jesse’s use of color in the plants, the path leading to the inn, and the inn itself. I can spot four different uses of green, all of which work perfectly in this build. The bricking that makes up the inn is especially detailed, with dark tan and sand tan colors referencing the patchwork style of many fantasy world buildings.

The Peaceful Shrub [GOH]

I also like the barrels of ale next to the feasting minifigures. I hope the chickens walking about don’t mind that chicken is also what’s on the table!

The Peaceful Shrub Inn [GOH]

The back of the inn is stuffed with plant life. The pine tree and the large leafy tree are some of the best examples of greenery that you can find. The way these tree trunks are designed helps show the unevenness of the bark while pulling your eyes upwards towards the foliage. The mix of flowers and shrubbery is likely what gives “The Peaceful Shrub” Inn its name.

The Peaceful Shrub Inn [GOH]

Stag in a birch forest

It might be just me but this LEGO creation by John Snyder is giving me serious ‘Shadow and Bone’ vibes. Okay, I confess I just binged the series yesterday and this might actually have nothing in common with the show except for the white stag. John limited himself to using only 101 parts for this build, which sounds like an enormous challenge. Even though the stag is white it blends in perfectly with the white birch trees. The trees use a similar building technique as we’ve seen in the Birch Books modular. This is quite a small creation but using a reflective surface as base gives it the illusion of being quite a lot bigger.

White Stag

Mushroom man makin’ his way

Of course, an enchanted forest is filled with strange mushrooms of varying sorts, maybe even some mushrooms that get up and take a hike. Steven Erickson builds up a magical little LEGO mushroom guy he lovingly named “Shroomkin,” and he is as he should be, hanging out in a mystical little forest that is partially brick-built.

Shroomkin

Shroomkin’s brilliant blue cap is composed of many 1×1 blue plates with some white 1×1 round tiles rendering spots. This fun guy’s stalk is a whole-body sporting a neat red and yellow brick-built tunic made up of tiles, bricks, and cheese slopes. One arm with a 1×1 tile with clip piece can hold a staff, while the other arm sports a 1×1 round tile printed as a compass – useful for excursions in the woods. Shroomkin stands tall and looks out at his station – a brick-built patch of greenery comprised of many small green elements along with some different flower pieces in popping colors. What a wonderful build for the spring season.

Dreamy A-frame cottage

We love a good A-frame building over at TBB. This lovely creation by Marcel is no exception. Marcel manages to jam pack his creation with all sorts of little details. Most of them involve some serious nice parts usage. Let’s spot some of them. The door hinges are made using skates. General Leia lost a hairpiece in order for that bird nest to exist. Wands are used as deer legs and reeds in the pond. There are frogs and paint brushes used as ornate wood decorations in the bay window. There are plant vines climbing up the roof. The little round shutter for the round window is too cute for words and don’t even get me started about the chimney using ingot bars. Best thing about this creation is not all the little details (like the mushrooms) but the sense of calm and tranquility it evokes.

Idyllic forest house