Tag Archives: Medieval

Returning home just in time for the harvest

Forced perspective is always a way to get your LEGO creation to look amazing! Haven’t got the bricks to build a really big mountain for the background that you place at an appropriate distance? Just build a really small one! Caleb Saw did just this and it turned out amazing.

I always like it when a LEGO builder manages to capture movement in their creations. It makes the build less static and, if done right, makes the creation come to life. Caleb however did the complete opposite. He captured a moment in which everything stood still. The moment after the woman dropped her bucket after seeing her lover come home unexpectedly. At first I thought Caleb used Fleur’s head for the surprised face, but it turns out to be Luna’s. Which is a bit softer and quite demure which is perfectly for this scene. You can just sense that time stopped for a brief second. Both characters make eye contact and run towards each other. Caleb did this so well that I didn’t even notice the third person tending the crops.

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Medieval skyscrapers are the way to go

Ever wondered what a castle-themed version of Ninjago City would look like? Wonder no more, and just take a closer look at this creation by Tobias Goldschalt. The buildings are larger than life and the Tudor-style homes look very nicely done. Mixing tan and dark tan parts into the white plastered areas really helps with the weathered look. If you look closer, you’ll notice that almost every roof uses a different technique — from straight tiles to pentagonal tiles, from cheese slopes to curved slopes. Variations like this always help keep you, as a viewer, captivated. Every time your eyes zoom across this creation you’ll notice something new. The stone walls are made with two techniques — in some places, the masonry brick gets used, but in others Tobias uses bricks with studs on the sides covered with tiles.

See more of this gorgeous LEGO Castle creation

This LEGO microscale sanctuary is full of surprising details

Astounding us again, Eli Willsea shares another vibrant build, this time in the form of a peaceful-looking sanctuary. The model is entered in this year’s Summer Joust competition and perfectly suits the medieval theme of the contest. An interesting colour palette has been applied to the build, with the soft tones of light grey, bright green and tan contrasting nicely against red.

Several unusual techniques have been used in the model. One of the most striking is the use of a car cabin piece as part of the main building. A few of the trees appear to be minfigure helmets, with the open sections turned away from the camera. You can also just see handle pieces placed sideways in the main courtyard, which represents pillars at the entrance to the inner building. Eli has truly succeeded in creating an enchanting scene with a tranquil aesthetic.

Away from the hustle and bustle

Riff raff! Street rat! I don’t buy that! But I would definitely purchase this little scene if it was an actual LEGO set. There’s nothing like a quiet Middle Eastern street to bring peace to my day. Builder Jesse van den Oetelaar easily captures the tranquility of this moment with his skill in using a variety of building methods. I love how the street was formed in a way to allow for cracks, with plants on occasion growing through. The brickwork of the buildings speaks to the age of this setting: long ago, yet the houses and walls have already existed for centuries. The wooden container in the corner is made of two buckets and two black rubber bands, cleverly making it look like a real barrel. There’s so much I want to explore in this little alleyway!

Precariously perched upon the precipice

Usually, floating islands include, well, an island. Something in the way of solid ground, albeit ground that floats mysteriously above the clouds. Not so with this stone tower topped with a timber-framed structure by Ralf Langer, who took a minimalist approach to the base of the model. There’s nothing minimal about the rest of the building, from the cracked and weathered stone base featuring unconventionally colored doors, all the way up to the black roof with a scattering of quarter tiles which provide a great texture.

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.

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.

Sometimes just a little bit of DUPLO is enough

I have a soft spot for Tudor-style buildings, brick-built trees, crumbling brick walls and interesting colour choices. This little medieval bakery by Danthefan ticks all the boxes for me. The Tudor style looks nice and simple. It even is used for the round tower, which isn’t an easy thing to do. The building has a little stone porch complete with stairs, and the stonework around the base of the house looks as if it has been there for a long time and has passed the test of time. You might notice that while the roof is bright green, the top of the roof of the tower is medium green. I had a hard time identifying the LEGO piece used for the top of the tower. Turns out, it is not LEGO System, it’s DUPLO! and it is brilliant. I currently do not have any DUPLO at hand but it appears the axle connector with four bars used as the base of a weathercock fits the open stud of the DUPLO part snugly. Last but not least, have you seen the spruce tree made of claws?

A well-seasoned guard tower

It’s that time of year again for some, particularly those who are already wishing it was autumn due to hot and humid weather. Well if you’re one of those people, you are sure to love Ayrlego’s model guard tower standing nice and tall in an autumn forest.

For the guard tower build itself, a number of brown and grey elements are utilized to render the stone and wood structure. Tiling is especially key to this build with the salmon-colored and tan tiles used at different elevations to render wood roof shingles. A couple of the old wavy flags in green and yellow are hung at the front of the building, denoting the city colors. This LEGO tower rests on an elevated brick-built terrain consisting of tan and olive green tiles, plates, and bricks instead of a baseplate. Of course, where there is a built structure, there should be some creatures around, and here we’ve got a couple of minifigures and the coveted LEGO goat hanging around the area. Lastly we have the brick-built trees displaying some crisp bright light orange tree branch elements. I can almost smell the autumn air through this build.

Somber castle tower in a placid swamp

This LEGO castle tower creation by Roger Cageot is a fun exercise in creating round walls and combining muted and vibrant colors. I love the green color of the lake and the way the yellows are combined. The simple wooden drawbridge is a fun feature, and the morose tree adds a somber feeling to the creation. This could easily live in the world of the LEGO Ideas 21325 Medieval Blacksmith with its dilapidation, colors, and energy.

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Life in the Fractured Kingdoms: City of Atrocity

A pop of colour does wonders for every LEGO creation. And some colour combinations work better than others. Armon Russ shows us how good medium blue, lime green and medium lavender go together. In this creation they are a true feast for the eyes. I have absolutely no idea how the blue window frames were made, but they look absolutely amazing. My guess is it has something to do with brackets or are they just tiles? This build is a prime example of how well put together minifigures can enhance the beauty of a creation. Elsa’s skirt looks great on Anna’s top. And Eggheads tuxedo looks wonderful on a female fig. Last but definitely not least I would like you to zoom in on the ground. It is made by connecting round 2×2 plates with round 2×2 and 3×3 tiles. The effect is marvelous.

The village life for me

I am not a fan of big LEGO pieces. Not at all! But Thomas van Urk proves me wrong with this latest creation. Around the first story of this build are not one, not two, but three light grey 1x8x6 door frames with stone pattern and clips. I normally really dislike this piece because of the stone pattern, since LEGO never made ‘regular’ bricks to continue that particular pattern. The only part you can use to continue the stone pattern is this piece itself. So to me, they always stick out in a build. That is until now.

In this creation, the big doorframe works wonderfully, and to be honest it took me a while to notice they were even included. The big doorway is nearly the only part used to get the overall piece count of this build down, because otherwise it looks very part intensive. (The other one is the Brick 1 x 6 x 5 with Stone Wall Pattern which makes up the cobblestone walkway.) The roof of the building is stunning. I love all the bay windows sticking out, and the tower with the metal tip makes the roof look really intricate. And the tree next to the village house is a stunning beauty itself. At the base there are round axle connector blocks. After a while these transition into 2×2 round bricks and the occasional 2×2 round bricks with pin holes. Eventually those transition into round pin connectors. I am not sure how Thomas managed to connect the 2×2 round bricks to the pin connectors. Perhaps flower stems? What do you think?

Battle of the Crusaders

I’m a big fan of seeing historical events recreated in LEGO form. Today’s moment from history is the Siege of Jerusalem, shown here by builder Marco den Besten.

In the year 1187, the armies of Saladin laid siege to the Crusader stronghold of Jerusalem. At the point of the attack depicted above, the walls of the city have been breached. Marco’s use of dark and sand-colored bricks helps establish the Middle Eastern look of the setting. I also admire his woodwork on the siege towers and battering ram tunnel.

The walls are equally impressive, with various bricks serving as weathered stone that has stood through the ages. The arrowslits are well-designed. I like how there are two different versions of them.

As brave as these Crusaders might be, I don’t think they stand a chance against Saladin’s forces.