If you’re like me, you didn’t give The LEGO Ninjago Movie a lot of thought. Sure, The LEGO Movie was great, and The LEGO Batman Movie was surprisingly ok, but a movie based on LEGO’s 7-year-old homegrown Ninjago theme? Our own Dave Schefcik gave it a warm — if not exactly glowing — review, though it wasn’t the box office success that LEGO and Warner Bros hoped for. But unquestionably the film’s highpoint for fans like me — that is to say, adult builders — is that it brought us the absolutely stunning Ninjago City. As I reviewed that set last year, I was struck by the cyberpunk city’s incredible detail and gorgeous techniques. And now, although at first glance it seems an odd choice given that The LEGO Ninjago Movie’s short-lived hype has all but disappeared, LEGO is adding to Ninjago City. 70657 Ninjago City Docks will be available August 1 for $229.99 USD, and features 3,553 pieces and 13 minifigures.
Tag Archives: Modular
It’s not the beauty of a building you should look at, it’s the construction of the foundation that will stand the test of time
Taking a break from creating stunning LEGO characters, Finnish builder Eero Okkonen has assembled an equally-stunning, 360-degree city block filled with gorgeous early-1900s modular buildings. Each of the four buildings (“Grand Hotel Masaryk”, “Olofslott”, “Louhi” and “House of the Brick Wall”) has its own unique style and charm. But the block as a whole still feels very cohesive.
Eero says he began sketching the design for his creation after a train ride from Helsinki to Tampere. His design incorporates Finnish Jugendstil (Art Nouveau) elements and tries to avoid 90-degree angles wherever possible.
Mad Scientist modular laboratory complete with mad interiors!
There has been a wave of custom modular LEGO buildings featured here on The Brothers Brick recently, such as the excellent Guild Hall by O Wingård. But to find a modular building with so much character, and full interior details as well was just too much to pass up. This inventor/mad scientist lab by Filip Olin has a ton of great details, so let’s jump in!
One of my favorite exterior details is the use of skeleton legs — in both black, for the railing, and tan for architectural accents on the wall. No workshop would be complete without pipes, and this model features a number of black and grey pipeworks, including one with sludge pouring on the landscaped ground level.
A somber Guild Hall for somber Victorian gentlemen
This amazing modular building by O Wingård strikes a unique mood. The builder’s minimal use of color, those imposing pillars, and tall windows give this model a distinctive Victorian feel. Not to mention the double chimneys. The real hero of this model is the elaborate statue over the door, and the distinguished gentleman keeping watch on the porch. You can almost hear the gaslights sputtering and flickering. The only thing this building needs is some London fog to really set the stage.
While the building and the lone minifigure strike a somber mood, a LEGO French bulldog lends a touch of whimsy to the scene.
Sweet modular Dentist office
This wonderfully detailed corner modular by o0ger features a dentist’s office as well as a sweet shop, so you can get your ice cream and get your teeth cleaned all in one stop. There are so many great design choices to call out here. Each building has a well-integrated color scheme, from the lime green plus yellow-green stripes on the sweet shop to the brown and rust-red of the dentist’s office.
Both buildings also feature some excellent architectural details, especially around the windows and doors. The details of the dentist office roof window are particularly interesting.
Paris cafe makes a stunning microscale debut
Rebuilding Creator modular buildings in microscale presents LEGO builders with many challenges, from recreating key architectural details using completely different parts to matching colors that may not exist for the needed elements. Simon NH has created a stunning replica of one of my personal favorite modular building sets, 10243 Parisian Restaurant making good use of some new parts, including the 4×4 quarter circle tiles.
A palace fit for a minifigure queen
Royal palaces are normally buildings with amazing architecture, plush interiors and rich decoration, and this LEGO palace is no different. Built by Johan Keuterink, this huge modular palace has a few similarities to Buckingham Palace, not just in its Neoclassical architecture style, but also the two Royal Guards that the Queen has lent to protect the entrance! Although the Baroque details will not be to everyone’s taste, the aim is to impress visiting heads of state, and Johan’s palace should certainly achieve such an aim. I love intricate exterior street lights and the front door with some suitably impressive gold handles.
Johan has taken the time to ensure that his palace has a lavishly decorated interior — Donatella Versace would feel at home in this house! The throne room is an example of the extensive details inside the palace with vast chandelier, patterned floor, and more gold than Fort Knox.
Buying a round may render you penniless
When creating this digital LEGO model of three different buildings, Łukasz Libuszewski was inspired by the beautiful architecture of Prague. On the right, we have the pub on the ground floor and a museum showing the old town on the first floor. There is a handy cashpoint just outside the pub, so no excuses about running out of cash when it’s time to buy drinks. There is also a slightly abandoned looking tenement building on the left — it’s definitely in need of repair. Access to the lookout tower is via the central steps, but take care as those shadowy stairs look a little eerie to me.
A view from the rear shows some of the interior design with the old town layout in the museum and some cosy looking tables and chairs all set up in the pub below. I particularly like some of the architectural details such as the tan stonework around the window at the back of the pub and the use of the Elves keys in light blue grey within the look-out tower.
While this build is a digital build, it has been beautifully crafted and, although there a few elements that do not exist in LEGO’s official collection, it looks build-able ‘in the brick’
Love is what makes a house a home ...but a fully furnished one helps too!
If this is home, I’m sure it’s always going to be where I’m going to spend most of my time. A three-storey modular with a single color tone of tan bricks, but with excellent build features bring out the best in this grand looking architectural build. The beauty of this home does not end there, as builder Vincent Kiew invites you to explore the heart of what makes a building a home. While most modular builds may feature the external facade, I have a soft spot for builds that take the extra effort to imagine what life would have been like for a minifigure family.
Fancy going Dutch at this pizza house?
The canal houses of Amsterdam are part of the United Nations World Heritage and are famous for their tall, slim stature and ornate façades and stylised gables. While Barrie Crossan has not given his building much of a gable, he has taken inspiration from those famous Dutch canal houses when designing his five-storey LEGO pizza house. If you look closely you will see some lovely decorative details on the façade and the back stairs on the bottom left, leading directly to the restaurant’s busy kitchen.
While the outside is attractive, it’s worth taking a look inside where Barry has made an effort to create a hugely detailed interior. The apartment on the upper floors has an impressive sitting room with a dining area behind the couch. The furniture is certainly not the average LEGO table and chairs: it looks like it has been supplied by an exclusive designer, with a price tag to match.
Relax at the end of a long day with a visit to Modular Café
Builder Brandon wyc has put together a wonderful LEGO café — a tranquil oasis in the middle of a bustling city scene. The lighting adds to the atmosphere, but what’s most impressive are the details depicting everyday life both inside and outside. The café itself features a kitchen with a bakery, and pretty much everything you need for the business to run all day, including cosy corners for a quiet book read, or a simple dinner date for two. The pedestrian and vehicular traffic around the junction is all nicely-placed, giving the scene a real sense of activity.
A dream home of a coffee shop owner
What attracted me to this interesting looking mansion is its unique foundation built over a canal and seated at the edge of a small cliff. However, the striking front with full height windows overlooking the harbor is only a small part of this quaint looking home. What’s inside this build by morimoilego is just as beautiful and equally interesting, since the home has been partly converted into a quaint and cozy coffee shop.
