I’ve seen some small castles in my time, heck, I’ve even built some, but this island castle by Nikita Filatov has got to be one of the smallest. The minifigure binoculars are great as tiny towers, but my favorite part is the rounded white tile balanced on the back of an ingot. But the great techniques don’t stop there. The water base is made with studs-not-on-top connections which adds a bit of visual weight to this microscale build.
If you are anything like me, you have an entire drawer full of dark gray LEGO ball plates, which were first introduced in the Mixels theme. well, it looks like NikiFilik does too, and they found the perfect use for them as tiny typewriter keys. But the inspiring parts usage doesn’t stop there. Minifigure helmets are used as ribbon spools, and the little vents capture the look perfectly.
Blue is a great color for wizards. Majisto, Disney’s Merlin, Gauntlet‘s best hero… Tolkien fancied the idea of a blue wizard so much, he made two of them! But the prize for the cutest blue wizard around goes to NikiFilik, whose LEGO mini-mage is about 90% beard, which is the ideal proportion. This build is a remake of an earlier character design from last August that NikiFilik created for the Vignweek competition. Small changes, like the new hat, cuffed sleeves, a curlier staff, and smoother boots, show how even a small build can benefit from iteration. And now you too can have a li’l wizard buddy for your desk as NikiFilik has generously made free instructions available to all.
Custom builds like NikiFilik’s Robo-Driller, an homage to the short-lived LEGO Rock Raiders theme (1999-2000), are easily recognized by their use of iconic grays, teal, and brown, evoking nostalgia in older LEGO enthusiasts. Based on set 4940 The Granite Grinder, Niki uses updated parts and techniques to enhance the original model with posable arms, a brick-built driver cage, and an overall stance that better resembles a two-legged mech. While beautifully bridging nostalgia and innovation, we’re quite perplexed by the presence of the bright green slug. I don’t remember that part of Rock Raiders….
Occasionally, an excellent example of great parts usage shows up online. One of the most recent such examples is this Colorful Owl by Nikita Filatov! This artist has done a splendid job of repurposing parts from the Wildflower Bouquet to create this adorable little friend of an owl. The dark purple bicorn hats make up the fluffy plumage of the owl’s wings, while the belly feathers are made of magenta paddles, and the eyebrows, which add so much character to the little bird, are made of wavy swords. If you, like me, didn’t recognize the disks that make up the whites of its eyes, have no fear; in that tan color, they are from the Wildflower Bouquet – and the part was made originally for the wheels of the James Bond Aston Martin. I’m looking forward to seeing more builds from NikiFilik. This one has been a (wait for it…) hoot!
The rage I feel for LEGO bricks from the brittle brown era is something I’ve felt time and time again. But thanks to Nikita Filatov and their depiction of Anger of Inside Out-fame, I’ve got a much better idea of what’s going on inside my head. I can almost hear the voice of Lewis Black ranting about ABS integrity and how he should’ve used dark tan instead! Probably not the best time to tell him that LEGO discontinued trans-neon orange….
I’ve earned a reputation in my LEGO circles for introducing fellow builders to a certain indie video game through one of my creations. And while I was building to express my love of Stardew Valley, NikiFilik is all about the equally-excellent Untitled Goose Game with their latest construction. This may look like a standard water fowl to the uninitiated, but the nameless goose was instantly recognizable to me from its head shape, simple color palette, and malicious gaze. The use of the plane fuselage for the bill is spectacular, as is the complex network of white slopes and wedge plates to nail the bust’s overall shape. Villagers beware, this bird is out for blood!
A long time ago, in a LEGO theme far, far away…. NikiFilik gives us a wonderful mashup of Star Wars and LEGO Castles in this cute vignette! Luke Skywalker crashes his knightly cart in the Dagobah swamps where lives Majisto the wizard. Majisto, much like Yoda, finds Luke to be lacking in confidence and belief in the Force–ahem, pardon–Magic of the land. Majisto must raise the cart from the murky waters lest it be claimed for all time. The bright colors in use here lend a cute and fairytale-like feel to the overall scene. The lovely sculpting of the grass and water also helps with this lively feeling, showing that Star Wars pairs nicely with other fairytale themes! I also love the door, with the different layers standing out. And shoutout to the horse watching over Luke’s shoulder–I can only assume its name is Artoo after that spunky little Astromech droid we all love.
