While you’re waiting for the sixth Game of Thrones book to arrive, check out this LEGO build by /Sam\! For those of you looking for a new haircut, you might not need to look that far. The snowbanks on either side of the entrance to this cozy windmill are made from minifigure hairstyles! There’s also a couple helmets detailing the top of the chimneys. Don’t forget to take a closer look at all the work that went into shaping the windmill tower and the neat use of bars on the windmill blades!
As an American, I’ve always envied Europeans and the fact that they can’t seem to throw a rock without hitting a gigantic, majestic castle in their backyard. So I adore Jako of Nerogue‘s LEGO Dovern Castle, which has all the things I love about its real-life counterparts: soaring banners, jagged ramparts, and of course towering walls! And speaking of walls, let’s talk about my favorite part of this model: the rich, textured look of the stone. Plates, ingot bricks, SNOT (studs not on top) bricks, and the occasional exposed stud give the stone a weathered, uneven look. To that end, one of the most ingenious aspects of the build is the organic use of sun-faded gray bricks. I used to have a box of those, which I threw out because they didn’t match the rest of my gray elements. Here, however, Jako has blended the old bricks with the new to give the castle wall a look that says, “Behold! I’ve been here for many a year and shall endure for many a year hence.”
Builder Mathijs Dubbeldam gives us a glimpse into the LEGO medieval fantasy world created by Eurobricks, known as ‘Guilds of Historica’. The build, titled ‘Sculptor’, is presented with a prompt, “. . . a large order from the King. His majesty wants an enormous statue . . .” inviting us to delve deeper into the layout and characters within the scene. Despite the prompt, the concept of a sculptor diligently working to unveil a statue of significance is readily apparent. Additionally, the presence of a green-skinned character immediately indicates that this is no ordinary medieval scene, but likely one from a fantastical world.
![[Rockwail] Sculptor](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53668821710_c94c36c0fd_h.jpg)
In the second image, a close-up reveals how the rockwork, or brickwork, as it were, has been carefully designed and thought out, offering us a glimpse into the ongoing formation of a legendary dwarf warrior. The ‘messy’ hair on the sculptor gives the impression this artist has been hard at work with no rest. I imagine his hands – do we call them hands for LEGO minifigures? – are calloused from his past and current sculpting endeavors.
![[Rockwail] Sculptor](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/53668365171_cab0bfd045_h.jpg)
Since May 2010, when the first LEGO collectible minifigure series was released, enthusiasts have eagerly awaited the introduction of new characters with each subsequent minifigure lines. Some characters readily fit into past or present LEGO themes, like the Vampire Knight, while others evoke thoughts of a whole new world. Salt_city_bricks has brought imagination to life with one of the characters from Minifigures Series 25.. The structure in this build carries us to a world of fantasy and mystical wonder. However, if you were to remove the Mushroom Sprite from the foreground, the building would undoubtedly fit in wonderfully with a castle or other medieval-themed build. Titled “Curvy,” do not let your thoughts wander too far before appreciating the builder’s lack of square edges in this creation.
Today we get to dig in to a highly anticipated tribute to/reimagining of/reviving of the beloved 10193 Medieval Market Village. LEGO Icons 10332 Medieval Town Square contains 3,304 pieces and 8 minifigures and will be available from LEGO.com and LEGO retail stores for Insiders on March 1st, and to everyone March 4th, for US $229.99 | CAN $299.99 | UK £199.99. It’s over twice the price of the original Medieval Market Village, but also over twice the pieces – and inflation happens, so: how does it do? Is the sequel worthy of joining the village? Let’s get our wattle and daub and find out!
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 our full review!
Robin Hood, eat your heart out! You wish you were as cool as this LEGO figure made by Justus M., but clearly, you’ve missed the mark. This creation offers a wealth of terrific techniques, but I’m especially fond of the prolific use of minifigure accessories. The pistol drawstrings around the archer’s collar, the slingshots used as boot laces, and the arrow fletching made of red megaphones are but a taste of the brick-built craftsmanship at work.
And if you want more characters celebrating medieval times, make sure to check out the other brick-built figures on Justus’s Flick page.
LEGO builder Jaka Kupina is no slouch when it comes to creating stunning architectural detail. Take this Foenwor Mine, for instance. The brick textures and snowy rooftops are a sight to behold. Not only that but it has a neat story to go with it. In Jaka’s own words; “In Mitgardia, deep in the Heavenly Mountains dwarves are mining. Very brave men who spend most of their time deep under a dangerous mountain. The mines are rich in iron ore and attract blacksmiths from distant lands. Their mined ore makes the best iron from which they make powerfull weapons for fearless warriors and strong pickaxes for hardworking miners. A real treasure of Mitgardia.” I never considered a career in ore mining but if I can call this intricate structure my workplace, I may reconsider. But alas, for once in my life, I just may be too tall for the job.
We see a lot of enormous collaborative LEGO dioramas here on TBB, albeit often through the individual modules that make them up. At first glance, this serene windmill scene by Sandro Damiano might seem like one such module. There are some conspicuous holes to connect to other parts of the diorama, and after all, it is referred to as “Module #2”. But the only person Sandro is collaborating with on this particular project is… Himself! He has taken on the construction of an entire medieval village. This section is already pretty big, so this could end up being very impressive once finished!
Not only that – if the other modules are as well-built as this one (and with Sandro’s skill, there’s no reason to doubt they will be), it could be pretty stunning too. Take a look at the river flowing over the weir here, for instance. Using trans-light-blue cockpit is the perfect way to capture the movement of the water! We can’t wait to see more, Sandro…
What happens when you’re restricted to the bricks of a certain LEGO era? Builder Ids de Jong thrives with such limitations, bringing us a castle that looks at home in modern-day Castle themes. Without access to modern plant parts, we still have an excellent-looking birch. Lacking today’s complement of bricks made for SNOT construction (Studs Not On Top), Ids throws together some exquisite cross-windows with the help of minifigure legs. And despite no masonry profile bricks from back in the 90’s, the old school approach of layering standard 1×2 plates to recreate the masonry texture works just fine instead. This makes me wonder what other themes could be revisited with only 1995 parts.
It’s never too late to learn a new way to connect these LEGO bricks! And Maxim Baybakov shows us how it’s done with this North Tower creation. Fully embracing the half-stud measurement (the most important unit of measure in LEGO building, in my opinion), this tower slowly converges into a tight square of 10×10 studs using a brilliant studs-out technique that I’ve never seen put into practice like this. The finished model looks clean, with the only exposed studs included for effect. There’s even room for such great details as that adorable brick-built front door!
Maxim gives us a peek at the interior technique with the graphic below. Such a complex means of generating that half-plate indent while ascending up the fortification, employing SNOT (studs not on top) with bar and clip connections to bring the tower into being. I’m definitely going to give this a try on my own as soon as I can!
The Dragon Masters faction (a.k.a. Dragon Knights, outside of the US) from LEGO’s Castle theme has been on the minds of many thanks to the upcoming 40601 Majisto’s Magical Workshop gift-with-purchase. And for builder terauma, it’s clearly a big deal! I mean, that explains this jumbo-scale minifigure of the wizard himself. Based on the proportions of 40649 Up-Scaled LEGO Minifigure, mega-Majisto makes the dragons from his faction look like whelps by comparison. It’s a great reference to my favorite of the brick-built medieval armies of the 90’s.
The Saskatchewan LEGO Users Group (or SLUG) enjoyed their annual BRICKSPO this past weekend, and builder Taylor whipped up quite the fortified creation for the show. The Emerald Keep is a citadel of epic proportions, sporting light gray walls and sand green roofs. The builder doesn’t shy away from angled walls either, creating interesting and unique angles throughout the construction. I also like the wooden door to the left side of the structure, no doubt concealing a boat launch of some kind. It’s a great feature, and one that doesn’t make it into every castle creation. But I’m sure you’d like to see some more details, right? Well read on, my friend!
