Tag Archives: RogueBricks

LEGO lifestyles of the rich and famous, Edo edition

When the all-star builders of RogueBricks came together to recreate Edo era Japan in an epic LEGO collaboration last fall, the results blew the building community away. We shared an overview of the full collaboration, but now Markus Ronge offers a more detailed look at his contribution, a Goza Bune. Basically a pleasure yacht of the feudal lord (think Jabba’s Sail Barge or megayacht of kindred spirit Jeff Bezos), the boat offered all the luxuries of palace life with a side of sea sickness. For the craft’s design, there are few historical references to work from so Markus drew inspiration from several sources to create a composite that captured the spirit of the era.

Come along to see more of Markus’ remarkable Edo-era pleasure yacht

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LEGO all-stars bring Edo-era Japan to life in LEGO in epic collab

Each year the RogueBricks community, home to many of Europe’s most accomplished LEGO builders, comes together for a collaborative build. This year’s endeavor is an immersive recreation of the Japanese city of Kumamoto during the Edo Period built atop a whopping 170 base plates (that’s 2.5 x 4.3 meters!). The massive diorama depicts the coastal city in autumn and is packed with details of life during the Tokugawa shogunate, including scenes telling the story of the famous samurai Miyamoto Musashi.

Attendees were treated to motorized elements and integrated lighting, as well as informative plaques describing the history captured in bricks. As a bonus easter egg for young visitors, 10 Ninjago charaters were hidden in the build. Like 2023’s Rogue Odyssey collaboration, the project took home first prize for collaborations from both jury and audience. We’ve highlighted several contributions in recent weeks, but only now can we share the complete build thanks to Hannes Tscharner. Extended highlights and builder credits follow.

Read on for a full tour of this tour de force!

LEGO Shinto shrine offers solace in the snow

I’ve never visited Japan in winter, but it sure looks lovely in LEGO in this scene from BrickiboT. The Shinto shrine is entered via a gate in the rōmon style, which BrickiboT achieved in LEGO using 10 nets sandwiched between 1×1 red tiles on the bottom and 1×1 curves on top. (that’s over 3000 pieces just for the curved roof sections alone!) Inside the gate stand brick-built statues of Fuijin and Raijin, the gods of wind and storms.

A look at the full complex reveals more details of Shinto tradition, like the wooden ema tablets where wishes are written, strung up, and later burned.

BrickiboT created this scene as part of the Roguebricks LUG 2024 Rogue Ronin collaboration at Bricking Bavaria. We also loved these entries from Mark van der Maarel and felix-workshop.

Markus Rollbühler’s balance is a showcase of Asian-inspired LEGO artistry

This Asian-inspired LEGO build is Markus Rollbühler’s entry into round 4 of the 2024 RogueOlympics. The theme for round 4 was ‘Balance’. Initially, the builder intended to present a build focused on yin and yang. However, the 101 element limit, a requirement of the Rogue Olympics, proved too challenging to fully realize his vision. The entry was submitted with just one piece to spare, totaling 100 elements. One of the most notable details of this build is that, upon closer inspection, the flowers remain attached to their plastic sprue and have been affixed to the build using rubber bands commonly found, serving as friction bands, with train wheels. And if you think that’s some great part usage, take a look at Markus’s third-round entry featured on TBB.

Take a look, it’s in a LEGO book...

When he’s not busy designing LEGO sets like 40505 LEGO Building Systems, Markus Rollbühler finds the time to make creations of a less-official variety. His latest is an entry into this year’s RogueOlympics, a competition where each round’s entry must clock in at 101 bricks or less. And with this limited palette, Markus still tells quite the story, full of forced perspective and hard-to-use fabric pieces. But I think the real victory here is the integration of some of the oldest LEGO trees, circa 1960.

30+ builders come together to create epic LEGO diorama of ancient Greece

You may have noticed a few LEGO creations featured here recently with a bit of a Greek flavour to them. It’s no coincidence that these photos popped up in our feeds within a few weeks of each other, as you’ll know if you attended Bricking Bavaria. There, you will have seen RogueBricks‘ enormous (and I must stress, it really is HUGE) ancient Greek collaborative display come together. Having seen a few bits and pieces here and there, we have finally been treated to a photo of the whole glorious thing. And isn’t it magnificent?!

The logistical side of this is almost as impressive as the build itself. Co-ordinating this must have been a serious undertaking! Over 30 builders made contributions to the diorama. Among others, we featured builds by BrickiboT, Justus M., and Martin Gebert, but this spread gives you an idea of what everyone brought to the table. It’s hard to cover everyone here, but I encourage you to check out every one of these creators’ photostreams! You’ll find everything from everyday life to the mythology of Greek epics. At the show itself, there were placards to provide some context and education to visitors, taking home some top prizes in the process, so it’s not merely something to be looked at!

Read up on a classic fairy tale

The aptly named Larsvader has discovered the formula for LEGO success with this brilliant creation emerging from the pages of a large book. It depicts the story of Rumpelstiltskin. As the Grimm fairytale goes, the little gnome, situated in the lower left by the campfire, strikes a deal with a beautiful young maiden citing that he can spin straw into gold in exchange for her first born child. She’s rather receptive to the gold part of the deal as it has made her a very rich queen but decides to renege once she bears her first child. She tries to reason with the weird, oddly-named gnome and he strikes up a counter offer; if she can guess his name within three days, she may keep her child. All seems at a loss for the queen until someone overhears a premature celebration of the gnome thus learning his name and delivering that info to the queen. It’s a tale that bears a powerful message, that being; rich people are better people and if you’re short and ugly, you’re gonna get the shaft. Or something. I don’t really know what the fairy tale is about. Still, there’s no denying the amazing layout that Larsvader created here. Here’s to hoping we see more from this builder soon.

Enjoying the fruits of one’s labour

After a long day’s work, some people might like to reward themselves with a drink of, er, grape juice. But sometimes, making the grape juice is the long day’s work! This is the lesson Martin Gebert‘s LEGO diorama teaches us. Partly, that is down to its content as it depicts how wine was made back in Antiquity. The grapes are picked, then crushed, then the juice is transferred to a storehouse to ferment into wine. But it’s also a lesson in teamwork. There’s a small team of minifigures at work here, and indeed Martin is part of a team himself! This diorama is part of an enormous collaboration that appeared at Bricking Bavaria, in Germany, last week. And although we can’t taste the wine (or grape juice) made here, we can still enjoy the fruits of Martin’s labour!

Carrot Top, Idol of millions

Idols are meant to inspire, but all too often they’re shown after centuries of wear and neglect, stripped down to the wood or stone that serves as their core. But Markus Rollbühler shows us a totem in full splendor in Jungle Idol. The bright colors are all sourced from uncommon parts like red paddle-ends and wakeboards, blue wrenches, and, yes, a halo of carrots. There’s also a splash of teal in the central disc and arms that makes me grin.

Markus notes that Emil Lidé came up with the technique for the palm trees – a gracious touch that speaks to how the LEGO community can inspire each other, even at the highest levels.