While I’m not sure I’d ever pick a golden scorpion as the steed for my guardian angel, I can appreciate the beauty of this character crafted by Sean and Steph Mayo. Sean shares that this lovely creature comes from a online, forum-based LEGO role-playing game over at Eurobricks. The Golden Empress scorpion is a player’s Guardian Angel.
11inthewoods has used an interesting combination of newer minifig parts and accessories to create an excellent LEGO version of the Dead Men of Dunharrow from Tolkien’s Lord Of The Rings. Zombie heads, Ninjago spirit “legs”, Nexo Knights armour, an Avengers Ultron jaw-piece, and a crown nicked from The Witch King of Angmar himself — it all comes together brilliantly to create an eerie army of oathbreaker ghosts.
I’d like to see these guys in a full build now, please — guarding the entrance to the pass at Dunharrow, or maybe gathering around the Stone of Erech?
We have been left to form our own conclusions about the meaning of this latest colourful creation by Delayice. The only potential clue given is the title, Maze of Entrance, which simply adds to the intrigue rather than offering any explanation. The medium azure waterfall was the first part of the build to capture my attention and it contrasts perfectly with the dark orange inverted slope. The texture of this inverted slope gives a pixellated feel to the build and my overall impression is that this door is part of a colourful quest, almost like a video game.
Who knows what lies beyond the doorway, but it seems that there’s a few intelligence tests on the wall to overcome before it will open.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story releases later this week, but Ian MacDonald has built a special preview shot in LEGO with help from a bed sheet and some extreme forced perspective in his basement. Rogue One takes place just before 1977’s A New Hope, when the Death Star was being built. Ian’s scene depicts Jyn Erso walking out of the hanger on Yavin IV, where the Rebellion is based. His scene matches a shot seen 44 seconds into the second official trailer, and 2000 bricks went into just making the huge hanger, let alone our view into the distance.
I just had to quote Ian’s description of putting this scene together, as I’m sure many builders will recognise their own experiences in these words: So many things had to go just right to make this image. There’s 3 layers of background, a bed sheet for a sky, and a couple lamps, one of which is broken. All shot in my basement.
As you can see, the end result is fantastic, but I really enjoy seeing ‘behind the scenes’ photographs that show the work and thought that goes into this kind of cinematic LEGO shot. The forced perspective of the layers of background gives the impression of differing size and scale with huge mountains at a distance, a tall pyramid-like structure and then the expansive hanger itself. A lot of effort for one shot but the finished shot is awesome.
This hotel lobby, built as a 16×16 stud vignette by Sven Franic, is all ready for guests. You will be able to check in on arrival and have your suitcase taken up to your room by the smartly dressed porter pulling the luggage rack. There is everything a hotel lobby requires: tasteful wallpaper, a local map, comfy leather couch and a reception desk complete with bell to gain attention. I particularly like the wooden display behind the reception desk with pigeon holes for guests’ room keys or messages.
If you fancy trying out some of these builds as inspiration for your own creations, Sven has even supplied an exploded view:
If you have seen the 2010 movie The Tourist with Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp, you may have already recognised this scene. This LEGO version by LEGO Fjotten depicts the fish market scene, but can be enjoyed as a vignette without any knowledge of the movie. It is set in Venice and there are definitely Venetian vibes coming through with the gondola, some impeccably dressed minifigures, and the mix of Gothic windows and stone archways. This is a lovely vignette that all comes together nicely with the checked canopy over the fish market making for an eye-catching central focal point.
The television series Star Trek: Deep Space 9 actually went where no Star Trek series had gone before – it was the first series that took place on a starbase rather than a starship. Clearly vehicles were still required as no one would want to be stuck on a starbase without the opportunity to encounter some new species or tackle some intergalactic crisis. Larsvader has built this huge minifig scale LEGO version of the USS Yukon (NCC-74602), which was a Danube-class runabout used extensively in the series.
The builder has managed to ensure that his Star Trek minifigure personnel are as comfortable as possible. The interior includes a large crew cabin complete with sleeping and dining areas for extended travel. There is also a compact personnel transporter to ensure there can be a dramatic transportation just in the nick of time. Of course the cockpit comes complete with beeping screen, tactical stations and an escape hatch. But where is the toilet?!
Ohio-based builder JD Keller has built this great minifigure scale vignette that depicts Steve Jobs in Steve ‘Woz’ Wozniak’s garage back in the mid 1970s. Amazingly, the billion dollar company Apple Computing started out as Woz’s garage-based hobby so we are witnessing the ‘Birth of Apple’. I love the panelled garage walls and the various electronic bits and pieces on the shelves. Don’t miss the classic large red toolbox with sliding drawers, the Apple colours on the shelves, and the original wooden Apple I computer in the background.
Mark Erickson is well known for his castle and medieval-themed builds and his latest creation is a grand one. Entitled ‘The Grand Bazaar’, Mark has created a beautiful, bustling, colourful market scene packed with details and nice techniques. This bazaar has an exotic feel of the east with a camel, trees from warmer climes and a rare sighting of a yellow parrot. The architectural details are lovely, with arches constructed from bricks and slopes and a great combination of colours.
There are a great many details that require a closer look, but for me the combination of colours is the highlight of this build. I love the blue tiled roof with hints of sand and olive green on the more official ‘town hall’ looking building on the right. The use of the Belville oriental carpet as a canopy adds a lovely flash of bright red, while sand red makes a rare appearance on the sloped roof of the building to the left. A really captivating scene.
Are you ready for a trip to Halloween Town? We posted a fantastic minifig-scale scene with Jack Skellington and the Mayor earlier, and have more to show you from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Let’s get this party started!
First up is a great pair of custom minifigs from Yong Hoon Yoon. His minifig scale Jack and Sally are just wonderful; Sally is spot on.
“Creatures crawl in search of blood, to terrorize Nick Sweetman‘s neighborhood. And whosoever shall be found without the soul for getting down must stand and face the hounds of hell and rot inside a corpse’s shell. The foulest stench is in the air. The funk of forty thousand years. And grizzly ghouls from every tomb are closing in to seal your doom. And though you fight to stay alive, your body starts to shiver. For no mere mortal can resist, the evil of the thriller…”
Thorsten Bonsch has nailed this scene from Marvel’s Ultimate Universe. Not long after 13 year old Miles Morales takes over as Spider-Man, he has one of his most important early fights with Venom. This build really grabbed my attention but it had nothing to do with the minifigures initially, or even the Venom creature… it was the fantastic building in the background. Thorsten’s brickwork is really special here, especially the window lintels and decorative roof. Lovely use of LEGO’s colour palate with dark orange, dark tan and black all coming together beautifully.
Thorsten tells us that the Ultimate Universe Venom is much, much bigger than the 616 one, with no white spider symbol on his chest. I can’t say that I know a lot about Venom but I love his shaping and the ingenious use of white minifigure hands to create his sharp teeth.
