Tag Archives: Oliphaunt

A Mûmakil kill still only counts as one

My wife and I are re-reading The Lord of the Rings together after having done so 22 years ago before the first Peter Jackson movie was released. By sheer coincidence, on the same day we read the chapter about the Battle of Pelennor Fields in The Return of the King, Kiwi builder Pieter Dennison shared the conclusion of a months-long project to recreate a Mûmak or Oliphaunt of the Haradrim in LEGO, based on how they appear in the movies.

"That still only counts as one"

Pieter’s build features all the iconic details of the enormous beast, from its four tusks (built from a series of 2×2 round bricks presumably strung on something like flex-tube), each with spikes on the end, to the war tower on the monstrous beast’s back. A closer look at the war tower shows just how huge this LEGO build really is, with about a score of minifigs riding into battle against the Rohirrim and men of Gondor.

closeup

If you want to see this in person, you can see it at the Christchurch Brick Show this July. And don’t miss all the other LEGO Oliphaunts we’ve featured over the years (also proving that this quote is the only one I ever use to write about this creature).

Oliphaunt from Lord of the Rings comes to life in kinetic LEGO sculpture

The enormous, elephant-like oliphaunts (also known as Mûmakil to their Haradrim riders) wowed the hobbits Sam and Frodo as they made their way through Ithilien. Impressive as they may have been in the books and movies, this LEGO sculpture by Marcin Otreba adds movement to his bricks and brings the creature to life.

Mumakil (Oliphant) Kinetic Model

See the Oliphaunt in action

This LEGO oliphaunt still only counts as one

We’ve featured a few oliphaunts from The Lord of the Rings over the years, but I think this one by Elliot Feldman (Simply Complex Simplicity) just might be the biggest. But Elliot’s oliphaunt isn’t just big and static — he’s placed it into an action-packed scene during the battle between Faramir’s men and the Haradrim when Sam and Frodo are trying to reach Mordor.

LEGO oliphaunt

That still only counts as one.

Classic-Castler Jens (Schlimps on Brickshelf) joins the fray at the last minute with a Battles Contest entry inspired by The Lord of the Rings:

The posable, brick-built oliphaunt (so called by Hobbits; called mûmak by men) certainly dominates the scene, but there are many more details to pore over in this great creation.