Tag Archives: Temple

Is this temple big and close, or small and far away, or just built at microscale?

I love LEGO builds that mess with your sense of scale. Mattia Careddu is the latest to discombobulate me with a mysterious, watery fantasy world. Clearly that temple in the middle is massive: there are rocks floating around – literally – with waterfalls coming out of them. But hang on, those birds look like ibises, making excellent use as they do of some dinosaur tail elements. And I recognise those leaf elements too, which means this build isn’t actually that big. But then you see the steps up the side of the temple… Wait, how big are those birds?! And that’s to say nothing of the great big serpent tree deity thing that looks ready to devour the lot. Whoever’s on that little boat sure is brave going wherever here is.

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LEGO to put you in a Roman Empire state of mind

2025 has been a great year for Italy and LEGO with both Trevi Fountain and 21359 Italian Riviera, but for former Junior Classical League kids like me, what we really crave is a trip back to the SPQR. The classical world has only shown up in LEGO via the Coliseum Architecture set and a handful of collectible minifigs, but thankfully, we have fan creations from builders like Michael Crewe to keep the flame alive. Michael shares two minifig-scale scenes of ancient city life on the Ideas platform that I would gladly clear out shelf space to bring home. First up is a magnificent library that could be the famed Library of Alexandria, pre-sacking. The impressive columns evoke a Corinthian style with their ornate fern tops.

Inside the two-story building stand an impressive statue. I might have gone with Athena/Minerva rather than this more muscular fellow, but those marble abs are impressive.

Click for more pics of the ancient world in LEGO

Take a trip to Kyoto for a postcard perfect build of the Golden Pavilion in LEGO

Kinkaku-ji, the Temple of the Golden Pavilion, is a jewel of Kyoto with a storied history. It burned down several times since the site became a Zen Buddhist temple in 1399, most recently in 1950, but it was always rebuilt with its top stories covered in gold leaf. Now it’s been rebuilt in LEGO as well, courtesy of Lasse Vestergård. Unlike the original, Lasse’s version isn’t just gilded but uses pearl gold bricks. With a limited range of elements in that color, the builder had to find creative solutions and work with small 1×1 and 1×2 plates to build the large structure. (Lasse has some experience with golden temples!) The temple looks incredible as it sits at an angle on a placid lake surrounded by gardens. I appreciate the brick-built hills in the distance, keeping every element on screen made from LEGO.

This isn’t the first time we’ve featured a MOC of Kinkaku-ji. 18 years ago we presented a version by Japanese LEGO legend Jumpei Mitsui.

What’s that? A LEGO wat!

Aside from a handful of Raya and the Last Dragon sets, LEGO has never explored traditional South-East Asian architecture in official sets, which is a shame, as you can see from this minifig-scale Thai wat built by Brigitte Jonsgard. Brigitte perfectly captures the steep, tiered roof with ornate chofa jutting out like horns. Snaking dragons along the stairs welcome guests into the temple. Birgitte shares a video of the full buddhist complex, with wat and stupa, over on flickr.

Birgitte has a talent for ornate houses of worship. This stave church from her native Norway is one of the most striking LEGO churches I’ve ever seen.

Fall in love with this beatiful autumnal temple and waterfall

Journey back in time to Edo-era Japan with this spellbinding “Pagoda by the Lake” by felix-workshop. The part that looms largest, of course, is the majestic multi-tiered temple, with its striking red coloring and the artful curves of its pagoda roofs (inspired by the real-life Seiganto-ji temple and nearby falls). Such roofing has always been a challenge to achieve with standard LEGO bricks, at least until 21060 Himeji Castle and 10315 Tranquil Garden gave us a new upturned roof piece. However, given the minifig scale, felix-workshop opts for a more complicated—and more rewarding—technique to achieve the slopes of the roof, stacking and curving rows of rounded plates. Don’t let the artistry on display distract you from all that’s going on, however—can you spot fishermen fishing, merchants traveling, assassins planning their attack, a Buddhist monk, and a happy couple drinking tea?

I can’t stop thinking about this LEGO Roman scene

Qian Yj is no stranger to triumphs, having brought home the trophy in LEGO Masters China. For his latest build, he turns his thoughts to ancient Rome (as men so often do) and presents a glorious temple facade. There is so much to laud about this capital diorama, but the sweet reliefs definitely take the cake. Marble supplicants kneel at the feet of a god in the pediment, flanked by floral designs all in white. The columns are most impressive too, the Corinthian flourish created by arranging teeth in eyelets around gnashing gears. The braziers are a simple yet very effective design. And those statues! Such lovely use of tiles to create lifelike forms at this scale. On the temple base, a gallic touch with croissant garlands.

Qian Yj excels at immersive models that sweep you away to a living past. To see the builder’s LEGO tributes to his native China, check out his photo album, or revisit our other favorite Qian Yj. creations.

LEGO Ninjago 71814 Tournament Temple City – Do you have what it takes to compete? [Review]

Summer is just around the corner, and that means it’s time for another wave of Ninjago sets from the current Dragons Rising season. Recent waves have really been stepping up both the aesthetic and the sturdiness of sets and this wave is no exception… in fact, I can say with full confidence that these sets are some of the sturdiest mechs, dragons, and dojos I have ever seen from Ninjago, and that is saying a lot considering the theme has been around for over a decade. The first and largest set of the wave is LEGO Ninjago 71814 Tournament Temple City, which is a multi-floored temple on top of a dragon cave, complete with a blacksmith forge, a dragon, and 13 minifigures. The set includes 3,489 pieces and will be available on June 1st for US $249.99 | CAN $329.99 | UK £219.99

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Read on for our full review

A Traveler’s Tribute to the Golden Temple

Seeing the talent and imagination displayed in models from world-class builders can be a major inspiration for LEGO fans, but where do those builders find their spark? For Danish AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO) Lasse Vestergård, two enduring sources of inspiration are travel and faith. Lasse’s latest creation is a stunning model of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the holiest site in Sikhism and an architectural marvel. The original building, the sacred pool surrounding it, and the holy texts within date back to the 16th century. Shifting empires and religious conflicts led to multiple waves of destruction and rebuilding, but the site’s significance and grandeur have endured, attracting both pilgrims and world travelers like Lasse. While he was inspired to recreate the temple after a visit in 2019, it took years before Lasse could find enough gold bricks to make that dream a reality. There looks to be nearly 200 golden bananas alone (I guess that qualifies it as a house of worSHIP).

Lasse’s rendition isn’t just noteworthy in its scale, but for its ingenious detail while working within the constraints of white and gold elements. The white flower motif around the side entrances is especially effective. I also very much appreciate seeing so many turbans being used to celebrate a culture not often represented in LEGO.

The Golden Temple is the second holy site from Lasse’s travels to be highlighted on this site, as we were also moved by his LEGO model of the Mir-i-Arab Madrasah in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. Lasse’s galleries feature many more temples and churches from the ancient and modern world and his native Denmark that are definitely worth a look.

A stark LEGO temple makes the most of a minimalist color palette

Sometimes having a design constraint leads to surprising results, like in this LEGO temple built using only 3 colors by Rilbist. Building the rocky landscape and the temple proper using the same color gives the impression that the temple is carved directly into the rocks. A few sand green elements add a bit of visual interest while the use of orange for the third color really draws the eye to certain details. One more great parts usage is the angled sections at the front, which use a gray rail brick on either side of the orange stripe to trap tiles in place.

Goats graze by a tranquil LEGO temple

For your daily dose of serenity, you should check out this LEGO temple by Andreas Lenander! There’s lots to love in this elegant and refreshing build. For starters, there are a host of animals that call this temple home; panthers, chameleons, birds, and goats oh my! In the pond on the right, Andreas has notably placed his water lilies upside down (using the power of gravity!) to mount blossoms on the stems, while the elegant temple itself is made from a selection light and dark tan bricks. I sure hope that panther is just passing through!

Johnny Thunder and the Plunderers of the Misplaced Coffer

An intrepid adventurer in a wide-brimmed hat enters a desert temple containing Anubis statues, with a sinister rival in tow. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it? What? Indiana who now?! No, we’re referring to Ben Cossy‘s latest masterpiece! It depicts the Adventurers heroes of yesteryear – Johnny Thunder, Pippin Reed, and Dr Kilroy Lightning – in hot pursuit of their erstwhile antagonists, Baron von Barron and Sam Sinister. You can see why they were drawn to this structure. The massive Anubis statue at the back, framed by that broken ring, is striking! It’s almost Stargate-esque – a testament to Ben’s architectural skills. As for Johnny Thunder, it’s a good thing he has that torch in hand. There’s always the possibility of snakes…

900 years to wear down a temple, 7 days to build it out of LEGO

The proficiency of LEGO builders never ceases to amaze me. Timothy Shortell (AKA Classical Bricks) tells a story of coming across a photo of the Ta Prohm temple in Cambodia. A week goes by, and boom – we get this amazing model at the end of it. That’s no time at all! Just the careful positioning of the roof tiles for that jungle-weathered temple look must have taken a good while. In fact, all the weathering is very well judged, and the tree roots winding their way down to the ground – very nicely done. It’s almost unfair how quickly this was all achieved. When I build for a week, I’m lucky if I’ve even got a half-finished model at the end of it, let alone one as good as this!