Tag Archives: Hubba Blöoba

Songwriters’ block is a thing of the past in this bard’s abode

I love seeing castle-themed builds that are a bit different. Francis Wiemelt (Hubba Blooba) has built this charming residence for a mediaeval bard, and there are so many cool little details! The most striking aspect is the roof, which has a very satisfying colour gradient using various shades of purple. The walls are also nicely done, with a neat cross beam at one end of the house. Light aqua pieces are judiciously placed to stop the pristine white making the place look too nice. It is the middle ages, after all; this place looks like it would be found in a clearing on the edge of town, it’s probably not easy to get decorators out that far. There’s plenty of life around this little cottage, including the bard herself with cuffs on her sleeves using 1×1 round plates. Take a look down to the bottom left, though – the tree has mushrooms growing on the side, in this case, tiles held on by clips; and best of all, there’s a little snail down there as well!

The Bard's Cottage

In the land of Mordor, where the Shadows lie

When Frodo and Sam approached Mordor, they felt a great dread about land of the dark lord Sauron. LEGO builder Hubba Blöoba has captured those ominous vibes with this fantastic microscale model of the Black Gate, where the hobbits snuck into Sauron’s wasteland. Beneath the gathering stormclouds, the eery glow from Mount Doom is excellently portrayed with a gradient of plates. The shallow depth of field used in photographing this mini model puts the tower of Barad-dûr out of focus, making the scene feel even more realistic.

#4: The Black Gate

So it begins...a new year and a new Iron Forge

LEGO builder Francis Wiemelt has aptly named this piece So it begins. This is apt because it is a new year and this is Francis’ first entry into the first Iron Forge competition of 2022. That’s a lot of firsts! He goes on to tell us that the seed part is a lever (base or antennae), used here twenty-three times in the Uruk-hai army, and eight times in the fortress itself. Iron Forge competitions mean frantic building and stress for a chosen few intrepid builders, constant entertainment for you, and job security for us. Kinda like The Hunger Games. Good luck, Francis Wiemelt and may the odds be ever in our favor…or something.

#1: So it begins...

Take note of this impressive castle vignette.

Francis Wiemelt has delivered a 12×12 castle vignette featuring a medieval scribe, attending to his work in a room worth writing home about. From the slanted brickwork in the ceiling, to the well textured stone floor, there are loads of impressive details in this build. My favorite part is the scribe’s desk, which is made (appropriately enough) from books.

Paperwork

Have a drink on us!

Thirsty? Then head over to Marvin’s Mead Shoppe, created by LEGO builder Hubba Blöoba. I feel like this could be something out of Harry Potter, with the tiny beer booth actually containing the best pup in all Wizardom. The printed wooden slats and the brick base work perfectly with the white umbrella bricks as a mug of frothy beer. The use of grey roller skates as the door hinges was especially clever. I’m also a huge fan of the beer keg, which I will definitely be coping for my own build soon. When you’ve gazed at this LEGO build long enough, come inside and have a drink!

Marvin's Mead Shoppe

Breaking the surface…

It’s such a simple technique, but I’m honestly not sure I’ve ever seen anyone mix dark bluish gray and light bluish gray to produce the illusion of wet and dry stone before. I certainly haven’t seen it done as well as Hubba Blöoba accomplishes it here. The details of this ancient pillar are replicated as perfect mirrors of each other above and below the surface of the water. It makes it easy to imagine how hot to the touch the light bluish gray stone is, after baking in the coastal sunshine. Or how slippery the dark bluish gray stone would prove to be for any treasure hunters exploring these ruins on the search for lost swords or rings of power.

Sunken

Well what would you know, another bakery

I have a soft spot for Tudor style buildings especially when it comes to bakeries. This little inviting bakery build by Hubba Blöoba is no exception to that rule. I really like all the different hues of blue used for the roof of the building. The Tudor style top part of the building looks weathered and the shading from tan to dark tan adds to the ‘old’ feel of the building. The stonework on the bottom half of the building looks like it is slowly but surely crumbling away. This build features some clever furniture design that’s not to be missed.

Spring Reunion

The small round table is cleverly constructed with the crown with 4 spikes LEGO element. It may be hard to spot but the rectangular table legs are made of minifigure hips. The sign of the bakery with the pretzel is a really nice touch. If you look close enough at the tree, you should be able to spot a monkey’s tail. Your guess is as good as mine if there’s an actual monkey hiding in the tree or if the tail is just a branch.

The tower of Barad-d’aww

How small can the dark lord get? This teeny, tiny tower of Barad-dûr from The Lord of the Rings was constructed by LEGO builder Hubba Blöoba, and it’s got all the right notes despite its diminutive size. A pair of grey bananas make the two spikes that ring the all-seeing eye, while clips and slopes make up the jagged tower itself. The atmospheric clouds elevate this little vignette further and give it an appropriate sense of foreboding.

#6: Barad-dûr

Cloudy with a chance of Minifigures

It’s nice to take break from huge builds and enjoy a LEGO creation that’s zoomed in a bit more. Hubba Blöoba invites to visit Middle Earth in this nifty little vignette. The Iron Forge 2021 seed part of the minifigure torso inspired this build, appearing as windows and…clouds? Sure, why not? The rolling green hills are also well executed, as is the forced perspective from the gate in the foreground leading to the seemingly distant burrow.  Other cool details are the ox horns framing the front door, and the grill tile forming the slats in the fencing. Careful, though. This sort of creative part usage can be hobbit forming.

#3: In a hole in the ground, there lived a Hobbit...

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