Tag Archives: Summer Joust

This seemingly tranquil scene hints at a much larger story about to unfold

With so many things to look at in this wonderful build by Kit Nugent, it might be easy to miss the drama unfolding on the steps of this pastoral scene in the forest. While the somewhat blocky trees are stars of this build, I like the little details, like using the underside of plates as roof tiles, and the dappled light filtering through the trees to land on the face of a mysterious woman. Showing the scene at an angle, and filling in the base with black really draws your eyes to the center of the scene.

The Face Which Launched a Thousand Ships

Gloomy cathedral in the dead of night has some spooky spires

Cathedrals are generally spooky enough in my opinion, but it seems that Josiah Durand has decided that their cathedral needed a bit more spooky, with glowing red lighting softly seeping through the stained glass windows, and spikes, lots of spikes. Oh, not spooky enough? how about some mist, some fire at the rooftops, and a mysterious figure either falling to their death or giving up their earthly form to drift to the heavens…

The City of Destruction: Purity's Death

Aqueducts among the haze and the heavens

Not for the first time, I’m completely enchanted and a bit awestruck by a LEGO creation by Eli Willsea. There’s a lot of great textures and build techniques represented in the piece called The Aqueduct. I’m particularly loving the weary adventurer and his dog in the foreground. Would it be uncouth on a LEGO website to cite that I love something about this composition that isn’t even LEGO? The background presentation that Eli created for this piece; the misty, hazy hills and mountains are a brilliant touch. The color matching with the aqueducts gives the entire thing a sort of breathtaking quality. It was inspired by a piece by artist Guy Warley of the same name. I love it when the LEGO and art worlds meld in sort of a tranquil harmony. Please do yourself the favor and check out our Eli Willsea archives. You won’t be disappointed.

The Aqueduct

I see a little silhouette-o of a minifigure

The LEGO castle building contest, Summer Joust, got underway recently. And one of my favourite categories this year is that of Silhouettes. The brief is simple: make whatever you want, but at no more than 6 studs depth. Considering LEGO’s inherently three-dimensional nature, it’s quite the challenge – but one that’s no match for Ids de Jong. He’s built this atmospheric castle scene that really leans into the theme of the contest. The mostly monochrome scenery is offset by the sunset in the distance, which emphasises the forced perspective at work. You could also see a deeper meaning here. The dark colours and creepy-crawlies in the foreground, coupled with the knight walking away from them towards the sunset and brighter pastures, indicate to me this soldier has overcome a great challenge. Perhaps that’s how Ids feels about this build!

Dragon Valley

Is that a solar flare or a fire dragon coming to roast me?

Andreas Leander brings another excellent LEGO build to the Summer Joust with this fiery dragon! This dragon competes in the Gradient category with its yellow to orange scales. Like the sun itself, this dragon is hard to look at with the fire that burns from within. It raises its glorious head high, preparing to expel a stream of fire at those it finds unworthy of witnessing its majesty. Half and quarter rounded tiles run up and down the dragon’s neck, hearkening wonderfully to warm scales. The best part of the build for me are the natural elements making up the mane and beard. Leaves and flower studs wreath the dragon’s neck and chin with burning plumes of fire. Makes me wonder if the horns are made of brimstone… I’d ask, but I don’t think the dragon is taking any questions at this time.

Fire dragon

Rodent problems don’t last long when this beast is around.

This purple pest-catcher by LEGO builder Dan Ko is an excellent example of repurposing pieces for unexpected uses. This wolfen beast’s snout is crafted from a purple minifigure motorcycle, and his tufts of fur are leaves. The result is a ferocious-looking beast that’s happy to keep the city streets free of vermin, who are clever little brick-built creatures themselves.

The Rat Catcher

Going out on a limb for a good view from home

From the imagination of Cab ~ comes a LEGO cottage held fast above a flowing river. Did the land form in such a fashion, or did the wizard shape it with magic? Who’s to say, but the end result is certainly an eyecatcher! Built for the Summer Joust contest, for the Bridging the Gap category, the arm stretches across more than 32 studs. The arm is supported by way of technic pieces hidden in the structure, with only 4 technic pins holding it to the base. The background and surrounding landscape use forced perspective to achieve some wonderful depth, but my attention is pulled to the foreground details. The wizard’s goat has broken free, making a dash for the nearby woods. The wizard chases after it along the arm’s length. The shaping of the terrain, from the wooded area up to the land, is absolutely gorgeous! It features great use of slopes, tiles, plates, and hinges to achieve a really standout build.

In Good Hands

Of course, that’s not to mention the cottage itself! The walls of the home contain a plethora of rounded pieces, including some minifig headwear. Can you spot them? I personally like the use of croissants for the chimney’s smoke and the red kite flying in the wind. There’s also a skunk hiding somewhere in the scene. Take a look, but be careful lest it sprays you!

A busy blacksmith burns his bacon.

Builder lokiloki29 has crafted a tribute to home cooks throughout history with this scene of a blacksmith letting his pork dinner go up in smoke. Who doesn’t know the struggle of enduring a too charred meal because some household chore distracted you for too long? The build is filled with delightful details, from the cobblestone floor made from wheels to the forced perspective castle in the distance. And it all comes together for a grade-a piece of storytelling worthy of a chef’s kiss.

Kitchen Knightmares - The distracted blacksmith

A massive castle and bridge just under the deadline

Some people can work magic under a tight deadline. Take this LEGO castle and bridge built by Thomas van Urk for example. He tells us it was an entry for the Summer Joust: Bridging the Gap category and was finished an hour before the deadline. In his own words; “Since there wasn’t really a category for a large castle I decided to include a bridge in front of the gatehouse. Originally I wanted to leave it at that, but because of the pressure from the arching bridge, it needed to stand on a baseplate. But then, of course, there needed to be water around the whole castle, and then of course there needed to be a landscape across the water. Maybe I went a bit overboard.” If working until the deadline and going a bit overboard yields results like this then we’re pleased as punch.

Bridge to the Castle Gate

Thomas says he didn’t even have time to build his favorite part of the castle. I wonder what that could be. To see how the Summer Joust is heating up with all the other builders check out our Summer Joust category in our archives.

Bones and desert ruins forgotten by all but Time

Sun-bleached bones and an abandoned structure standout in the LEGO desert landscape by Eli Willsea. A feeling of loneliness and sorrow pervade the scene. Was this a sacred site with a sacred creature left alone due to unforeseen turmoil? Or was this creature the victim of sacrifice or punishment? None can say what happened here, only that the creature is long gone, its bones still bearing the weight of being tethered to the place. The structure around it towers overhead, an impressive mark on the landscape. Minifig roller-skates give detail to the capitals of the pillars. The banners on either side of the entrance stairs are seamless in their fitting, giving form to the staircase. High overhead, quarter tiles are wonderful vertical detailing for the entrance roof. The blending of soft and hard edges gives the scene a gentle, yet harsh, quality, not unlike the sand surrounding it.

Forgotten Bones

Got your goat right here

LEGO has released a lot of great minifigure-scaled animals over the years, but one of the rarest is the humble goat. Released in only one set,  2011’s 7189 Mill Village Raid, it currently commands an aftermarket price that is frankly kind of silly.  Richard Young (IamKritch) has a suggestion – why pay high prices for a single piece when you can make a giant brick-built version for a fraction of the cost? Built for the  “Going Big” category of the Summer Joust competition, this oversized darling makes great use of curved slopes to accurately mimic shaping of its smaller counterparts. We just hope it’s friendly.

A Large Goat

Want more goats? Sure, we all do. No kidding, go check our archives. Or maybe opt for a recently released set with slightly smaller brick-built alternatives.

A ghostly greeting in a green garden.

A black knight encounters a white ghost in this garden scene, but the only color you’ll see is green. ABrickDreamer took on the gradient challenge for Summer Joust, and this wonderful little vignette is the result. Eight shades of green are used to give life to this delightful little garden. And the limited color palette forced some excellent parts usage, like those Hulk bigfig arms making up the little hill.

A Spooky Encounter