Tag Archives: Markus Rollbühler

Carrot Top, Idol of millions

Idols are meant to inspire, but all too often they’re shown after centuries of wear and neglect, stripped down to the wood or stone that serves as their core. But Markus Rollbühler shows us a totem in full splendor in Jungle Idol. The bright colors are all sourced from uncommon parts like red paddle-ends and wakeboards, blue wrenches, and, yes, a halo of carrots. There’s also a splash of teal in the central disc and arms that makes me grin.

Markus notes that Emil Lidé came up with the technique for the palm trees – a gracious touch that speaks to how the LEGO community can inspire each other, even at the highest levels.

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Mission Impossible: Prospector Edition

With a skillful use of only 101 elements, Markus Rollbühler takes a deep dive into adventure with 101 Bricks: Dangerous Descent. There are tons fun details, but did you recognize the rocky Bionicle baseplates (turned on their side) that form the walls? I also love the use of monochrome minifigures as carved statues in the background. Looks like there’s some history behind the golden T-Rex. (Hold on. How did an ancient culture know about T-Rexes? Man, this build is just full of mysteries.)

This build is actually a continuation of the story Markus started in 101 Bricks: Discovery. The part limit comes from the RogueOlympics, a contest that has lead to a lot of great featured builds. Check our archives out for more compact goodness from the event!

A small guardian of the forest with a big heart

You don’t have to be big to have a big job, as this epic 101 part model of a forest guardian by Markus Rollbühler proves. The flower at the heart of the model is just one of many perfectly placed flower and leaf elements, but there are also some great “building” tricks, like the curved brown sloped parts used for the lower arms, which are gently wedged into the undersides of those wonderfully bulbous sleeves. And the hands and ankles, which use clip plates tucked into the underside of the arms and feet. A soft glow added to the staff give the finished figure a magical finish.

Up, up and away, in a rocket to the moon

If you’re looking for a masterclass in clever parts usage, LEGO designer Markus Rollbühler might be one of the best professors out there. This rocket, which uses 101 parts, is a prime example. Besides the fact that it’s very cute and looks neat as heck, it’s more than that. With such few parts, you have to make an impact. The best details include a fencing foil to cap off the nose, a trophy for the nozzle, and a beard and carrot combo for the flames. Let’s also not forget the clamshells, helmets, and chef’s hat playing peekaboo in the exhaust cloud.

If you need another example of Markus’s talent, look no further than 71741 Ninjago City Gardens. That’s right! He designed that too! But while you’re here, why not also check out more of Markus’ awesome “non-work-related” builds, in addition to some more cool rockets and spaceships?

Spires in the Skies

Markus Rollbühler surprises us with a creation that could be straight from a fairy tale. Inspired Terry Pratchett, Markus created this giant turtle with a settlement on its back. The turtle is a lovely build, using owls for legs and acorn tiles for eyes. The best thing about this creation has to be the use of the ninja neck scarf to create the dome roofs of the settlement and the smalles airship (which is cute as a button). The bigger airship uses a combination of the magnifying glass and the barbell weight. After seeing these I want to build an entire fleet of cute little airships.

Fire burn and cauldron bubble

I personally am a minifigure scale builder. I never tend to navigate to building on a different scale. This does not mean that I do not appreciate when other builders do. Markus Rollbühler made an amazing creation on, what I’d guess is, Belville scale. There are quite a few LEGO parts used in an original way. The cauldron is made by turning a big tire inside out. The bubbling effect is created by using the new cake icing and a sausage doubles as a spoon ladle. The big table uses tree trunks as table legs. Simple yet really effective. However, the best design has to be the mumbo jumbo of parts used to create a beautiful white owl. The chima eagle head was used for the head. The Yeti head was used as the body of the bird and the wings were made out of a combination of the fur collar and the large figure pads. Last but not least, have you seen the globe with sausages used in the globe holder?

A breath of fresh air. Sorry. I meant fire. A breath of fire.

Transparent LEGO elements are the best LEGO elements. Fight me. Or better yet, fight this amazing flaming dragon by Markus Rollbühler . Using only 64 bricks, this is one build that’s hot hot hot. The flame elements in the wings are easy to recognize, but there are also some more uncommon parts in there, too. Look close and you can spot a saw blade in the base, snakes, more snakes, and a minifigure flame headpiece.

This is an entry into the third round of this year’s RogueOlympics, a contest that challenges builders to stay under a 101 part count. We’ve seen a lot of really clever creations coming out of this competition, so check our archives for even more featured builds!

Who knew you could build big spaceships all year round?

Most people who have spent much time around the LEGO fan community have at some point encountered the phenomenon known as SHIPtember, that crazy building challenge every September to construct a spaceship that is at least 100 studs in some dimension (a SHIP being a seriously huge investment in parts). But what if it isn’t September, and you only want to build a spaceship that’s exactly 99 studs in length, featuring copious amounts of teal? Well, then you must be Markus Rollbühler. And then you build something like the Liu’s Inspiration to celebrate your new challenge month, MARCHtember.

Yes, I know, MARCHtember doesn’t make sense. Markus knows it, too. But it gets the point across, I suppose. And speaking of points, the large disassembled lime catamaran hulls make for some great greebly forward bits. And then there’s the teal: teal hot air balloons, and teal 3×3 dice, and just too many other teal elements for Mark Stafford’s peace of mind. But it couldn’t be inspired by Simon Liu without teal.

Lookie at this low-key temple of Lo’Ki

Using only 98 bricks, Markus Rollbühler takes us on a journey of wonder, discovery, and forced perspective. Could this be a scene from an upcoming Disney+ show? The high production values are certainly there. So…maybe? The Temple of Lo’Ki does seem to be dedicated to a certain marvelous god of lies. The minifigure helmet works surprisingly well as a micro-scale idol, as to the golden binoculars and window shutters. And that is one very old growth forest behind the temple, since some of those LEGO trees haven’t been in production since 1962.

This build is an entry into the second round of this year’s RogueOlympics, explaining the “under 101 part” challenge. We’ve already seen a few adventures from this contest, and I’m sure we’ll see even more. So keep an eye on our archives for more featured builds!

I’ll take mine on the rocks, please

There are some LEGO builders that I would just love to hate, since they seem to be living the perfect LEGO life, and Markus Rollbühler would be at the top of my list; he’s one of the most talented builders out there with about a billion social followers, he has an enormous and perfectly organized collection, and he even works as a set designer for LEGO, the (pipe) dream job of every aspiring LEGO talent. But Markus is impossible to hate, because he is one of the nicest guys you could ever meet, super humble, always offering advice and help when asked, and available to even the most rookie builder. How could I hate a guy like that? I can’t. Instead, I admit that he’s one of my personal favorite builders, regardless of what genre he tries his hand at. In this case, it is a delightful little lighthouse.

Markus shows of his skills by building a compactly small round tower out of tiles, pairing that with a ramshackle hut with a teal roof (got to love teal, right?). Markus is famous for his cheese slope roofs, and really his ability to make a roof out of virtually any piece (see Ninjago City Gardens, a set he designed, if you doubt the truth of the statement). He is also well known for his foliage, and this tree made from yellow feathers does not disappoint. The color scheme is just about perfect, as is the composition, and the building techniques are on point…in short, it’s enough to make one green (or even teal) with envy, except that the builder is just too darn nice.

Hands-on with LEGO 71741 Ninjago City Gardens, the biggest Ninjago set ever [Review]

When LEGO introduced the Ninjago theme back in 2011, no one could have guessed that it would come to be one of the company’s most popular themes. Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, Ninjago is getting its biggest set yet, 71741 Ninjago City Gardens. At 5,685 pieces, it’s the fifth-largest LEGO set ever, and the third entry into the cyberpunk modular buildings collection known as Ninjago City. A series of high-rise buildings containing all manner of city life, Ninjago City Gardens houses restaurants, a museum, an arcade, a dojo, and apartments, along with 19 minifigures. Ninjago City Gardens is available now for US $299.99 | CAN $399.99 | UK £274.99. Let’s see how this one stacks up to the previous Ninjago City sets.

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early 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

Tiny details and great insights revealed in the LEGO 71741 Ninjago City Gardens Designer Video [News]

Designer videos provide insights that you may miss during the build and shares background information that you’ll never get anywhere else. Check out snippets and behind the scenes details of the LEGO 71741 Ninjago City Gardens celebrating the 10th year anniversary since the beloved theme was introduced in 2011.

Click to see the designer video feature