Tag Archives: Medieval

Out, out brief candle

LEGO love doesn’t always last. This creation by Kit Nugent is proof that sometimes even in LEGOland love ends prematurely. Kit created a massive church. I wouldn’t dare to guess how many bricks high it is. In the middle of the shot we can spot a woman mourning the loss of her lover who perished at the battlefront. Kit used not one, but two types of boats to create details in this creation. It is weird that something as big as a boat can be considered a detail. There is a ‘wooden’ rowing boat hidden in the altar piece. The boat is used to frame a wooden statue, which works perfectly. The other boat is a rubber boat that is used to frame a doorway. Best thing about this shot is the amount of light that appears to come through the enormous window and puts the scene with the lovers in the spotlight.

"Out, Out Brief Candle"

Kids truly are a labour of love

We feature a lot of LEGO medieval buildings here at TBB, but medieval interiors are less common. However, this one by Martin Gebert really hits the ball out of the park. We are treated to a lovely royal bedroom, which is obvious not only by the sheer size of the room, but also by the elaborate furniture in it. In the middle of the room there are two beds. The bed of the king and queen features a canopy made out of carved wood and heavy curtains keeping the couple warm and private. The other bed is a lot smaller. It’s the baby’s crib and is also adorned with curtains. While the curtains on the parents bed are made out of slopes, the curtains on the baby’s bed are made using a plastic minifigure skirt. Can you spot all the kids the royals regret having?

One is not enough, they said...

A story of young love and a lovely mosaic floor

We all love LEGO but love is only the subject of fan creations every once and a while. Thank god there have been a lot of LEGO love creations lately. One of them is made by Nathan Smith. We can spot a young squire sitting on a ginormous tree branch, singing a song to the eldest daughter of the king. It must be a serenade, a very catchy love song, or a Taylor Swift cover as the woman in question is looking quite love-smitten back at her admirer. There is an intricate mosaic on the floor which you would almost look over seeing how well the tree branch is made. The balcony with the arches is also very well put together. Placing the arches diagonally in the shot makes it look that much more dynamic. I wonder where their love story might go.

A Love Story, part 1

Mirror, mirror on the wall, which baby is the fairest of them all

LEGO is not just great for building. It’s also great for storytelling. This is exceptionally well done by Geneva Durand. We are witnessing an evil Queen on her way to kill a newborn who is said to be destined to one day end her reign. It almost sounds biblical with just a touch of Snow White. I guess the evil Queen also sometimes dabbles a bit in magic because her knights appear to be floating down from the village walls without being crushed. It is their task to find the little baby and end it. On that note, can you spot the little infant?

Endurance

Building castles out of sandstone

Check out this wonderful sandstone stronghold by LEGO builder Carter Witz! The crenellations here are beautiful, creating that classic castle shape with plenty of texture embedded in the walls to break up all the flat surfaces and the occasional slab of dark tan. I also appreciate the occasional curve in this boxy fortress design, be it the arched window insets or the perfect use of the 1×1 quarter round tile under the projected battlements throughout the build. Thoughout the build, you can findthe occasional inventive use of a loose minifigure hand to recreate a tree branch, an architectural detail, or a ribbon. All that said, Carter’s use of color steals the show! Azure doors, leafy lime trees, and the blue outfits of its inhabitants stand in glorious contrast to the sandy walls of this fortress.

Royal Retreat

What a lovely spot for a hideout

When you want to hide out from the law, a mindless horde of the undead, or your distant relations ready to help empty out your larder uninvited, I can think of no more pleasant location than the woods beside a gentle stream. This scene by Ids de Jong of a wonderfully detailed forest hideout among the fall-colored trees is a perfect example. While the building may have seen better days, the weathered walls, with tree branches intertwined, keeps you well hidden from passing eyes. And a stream for fishing and deep woods for hunting game make it a perfect place to lay low.

Forest hideout

I might have a soft spot for LEGO blacksmiths

LEGO has produced numerous sets with the blacksmith as subject. I have fond memories of really wanting (and not getting) the LEGO 3739 Blacksmith Shop. And now, after years and years, LEGO released the 21325 Medieval Blacksmith – a set that I most likely will also not be getting. This creation by Mbricks also sparks the same amount of joy. There are a lot of cleverly used parts in this set. For instance we get umbrellas used as door hinges. Treasure chest lids used to create a round bay window. Skirts are used as a chimney and the half circle tiles work perfectly as roof tiles. One of the things that makes this creation just work is the height difference in the buildings. This creates different levels to the build, each one with something interesting for the eye to behold.

The Town Blacksmith

The many perspectives of medieval art

It’s always fun to see LEGO builds explore art history, such as this medieval scene from Joe (jnj_bricks). This build explores those fun and strange perspectives found in Europe’s medieval artwork. If you look up some of the art, you’ll find paintings and drawings where the foreground and background scenes are sort of pushed together with perspectives not achievable in reality.

Scripted Days

This build of a monk busy with penning a manuscript shows off such angles between the front and back scenes. This allows for great detailing in both the foreground and background. The monk and his surroundings are chock full of incredible details, like the billowy robes and the tapestry behind the scribe. The castle through the door stands out with the texturing of its walls. This is an incredible idea, and a further example of LEGO as an artful medium.

Hangmen hanging from a ghostly tree

Sometimes a LEGO scene is just capturing. I stumbled across this build by gGh0st and my eyes were drawn to the trees, and the great parts usage that composes them. We can spot lightsaber handles, claws, fangs, and even a broom. Still the trees look organic and natural. For me, it’s the first time seeing the minifigure claw in dark tan being used as tree foliage. And it looks like all the hangmen aren’t the only dead thing in this creation. The trees themselves look like conifers at the end of their days. Having lost most of their needles, the trunks and branches make for a sad skeleton that reminds us of what has been.

King of The Frozen Wilds

The grand market suqare of Rindael

I love a good LEGO diorama every once and a while. The grand market square of Rindael by Ids de Jong features all the things we fancy when it comes to a medieval LEGO creation. We get beautiful Tudor-style buildings, which are exceptionally well done. There are hardly any gaps in the walls and those that happen to be there are intentional. We also get multiple castle factions: Black Falcons, Elves, Cyclopes, Snake folk, and Centaurs. There also happens to be a Faun herding a small flock of goats. Which happens to be another thing that we like to see spruce up a medieval creation. One thing I also always like is well-designed figures and there are a whole lot of those visiting this lovely market. I love seeing how some city, collectible, and licensed-themed parts lend themselves wonderfully to the castle theme as if they were designed to go there. Now if you’ll excuse me, I am going to look for the stall that sells roasted chestnuts.

The grand market square of Rindael

Strike while the plastic is yellow, orange, or red

Texture is the name of the game in this blacksmith scene by LEGO Master Andreas Lenander. We can see the worn stone of the walls of the smithy, the rough grain of the wood beams holding up the room’s roof, and a floor cobbled with round tiles of various sizes. Small details like the chains hanging from the ceiling and the tools leaning up against the walls add to the vignette. But Tashk’il is the star of the show, slowly manipulating hot steel with his smithing hammer. The work on the figure is impressive, relying heavily on the 1×2 ingot tile and the 1×1 plate with bar to properly express the muscle and concentration being applied to that sword.

Tashk'il the blacksmith

Venice and not a trolley case in sight – Barthezz Brick’s 250,000 brick LEGO tribute to Assassin’s Creed

Sometimes you stumble across a LEGO fan creation that you’d just love to see in the brick. This creation by Barthezz Brick is a good example of that. Each and every building in this creation could be featured on TBB. We generally wait until a builder has finished their work in progress before highlighting the finished build, but at some point I couldn’t control myself and wrote an article about a couple of detail shots that Barthezz posted. But finally, it’s done!

Assassin's Creed: Venice 1486 - Chapter 1 - Osservare - Main

See lots more details from this amazing LEGO recreation of Venice