Tag Archives: James Libby

Holy Week collaboration is a testament to creativity and faith

From Byzantine icons to Michelangelo murals to swords-and-sandals epics, the New Testament gospels have been a source of artistic inspiration for nearly 2000 years. During the lead up to Easter, RebelLUG members Kevin Wanner, Eli Willsea, Chris Roberts, and James Libby collaborated on a series of 8 builds corresponding with Holy Week. Regardless of one’s faith, the series is an inspiring use of LEGO as a storytelling medium and a showcase of amazing talent in the community.

Kevin contributes the first entry, an immersive scene that depicts Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey, the origins of Palm Sunday.

The Triumphal Entry (Palm Sunday) 3
Read on for the full holy week collaboration

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Frontier justice under a brick-built sky

Here at The Brothers Brick, we’re always fans of immersive scenes where every inch of the image is built from LEGO bricks. Scenes like this wild west showdown from RebelLUG member James Libby. The staging takes a note from director John Ford’s playbook – “When the horizon’s on the bottom, it’s interesting. When the horizon’s in the middle, it’s boring as…” Shout out to the wonderful buildings, each of which uses a different SNOT building technique to achieve rugged frontier authenticity. The brick-built sunset, drawing the eye to the horizon where our lawman and outlaw face of, is a stunner and a colorful alternative to a duel at high noon.

Sundown Showdown

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It takes a village to make a village

I’ve recently started being interested in the idea of collaborative LEGO builds. Everyone does their part and they all come together to create an amazing piece of art. Such is the case with The Village of Thornefeld a terrific medieval village collaboration from Cole Blood, Timothy Shortell, Grant Davis, Eli Willsea, James Libby and Jake Hansen.

I had the pleasure of seeing this model in person at Bricks Cascade. Photographs can never quite capture the grandness of these large creations, but it was joy to see up close. What’s incredible about this build, besides it’s huge size and masterful execution, is the cohesiveness of the whole thing. Each builder worked within a tight color scheme and used matching rock styles to make all the sections mesh seamlessly. I love the way the ground slopes slowly upward, creating a wonderful rolling landscape and various levels. This is great territory for storytelling which each builder does nicely, creating a bustling village that’s full of life.

The Village of Thornefeld; A Collaborative Project

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A cold cellar in a hot desert

Either I was more exposed to post-apocalyptic LEGO creations or they were actually more common back when I joined the LEGO community nearly a decade ago, but this theme always brings back memories of immersive scenes filled with danger and adventure. Zombies, bunkers, bullet holes and toxic waste — what else does one need? The seemingly simple theme actually hides limitless potential — if the whole world went down, there are a lot of locations to build, and James Libby chose to show us a desert.

Cement Oasis

The main feature of the scene is the cutout showing an underground survival bunker including some utilitarian furniture, and of course weapons. The top has some nice details too, the best and the most subtle one being the little wall around the trap door, which has just the slightest tilt to it. What I like the most though is the tan border. The texture adds depth, while the stylish cutout and the skeleton “buried” in the sand create an atmosphere reminiscent of a comic panel.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.