Tag Archives: trees

Big detail to be found in this Lilliputian village

Welcome to the microscale marvel that is the LEGO village of Valendiell, created by the brilliant Peter Ilmrud. First things first, we need to address the gigantic tree at the center of this build, which towers over the village, the lighthouse, and even the neighboring castle. I like the natural shape created by the foliage, setting it apart from the minute vegetation scattered around it. Under its massive boughs, we have a darling castle design, utilizing these technic pins as turrets. It’s an ingenious bit of parts usage, but nothing compared to the outstanding implementation of the brown minifig epaulettes on the airship and the small boat. And I’m only scratching the surface of all the great secrets hidden in Valendiell. See what else you can spot below.

Valendiell

Two friendly neighbourhood giants started a forest band

We’ve featured The Birchwood Baron by Steven Erickson before on TBB. Not long after that Steven surprised us with The Red Oak Regent. Now we finally have a LEGO creation that features both these gentle forest giants. Steven’s creation is proof that minifigures do matter. With that I am not implying that a build without minifigures is not that interesting. I am implying that it pays off to carefully put your minifigures together. It is easily noticeable when the minifigures in a creation are just an afterthought. Steven mixes minifigure parts from a broad selection of themes and they are not just castle. We can spot some Disney parts, but also pirates, Lone Ranger BAM and CMF. Speaking of CMF, have you seen our elaborate LEGO CMF series 23 review?

Festive Forest

Looking for a Princess Bride build? As you wish!

Watch your step in this LEGO Fire Swamp built by Christoph Foulger. The trees in this vignette are a beautiful cobbled mess of textures, emulating the gnarled flora of the Princess Bride locale. I especially like the canopy density, and the balance of color in the leaves. Down on the ground, the color change and slope work to convey sinking in quicksand is excellent, as is the twisted vine offering Buttercup and Wesley some hope amid their peril. But my favorite part of the creation has to be the R.O.U.S., set ablaze by an erupting sulfurous jet. Its waffle-print nose is a perfect touch!

Three Terrors of the Fire Swamp

Nature takes root in an abandoned castle

I really enjoy seeing examples of nature reclaiming abandoned spaces. Brick2 “Art”
has recreated this effortlessly in LEGO form with this scene of a tree taking root in an old castle.
There’s a lot of wonderful detail to be found in this build. The use of bars and whips in the construction of the tree adds a natural look to the trunk. Surrounding the tree, you’ll see other signs of nature looking to find purchase with some well placed mushrooms and tree roots.
Beyond this, we’re afforded suggestions of past castle life with a mix of scrolls, jars, and bottles discarded alongside weapons and the skeletons of the castle’s last inhabitants.

Growth

Let’s not forget the castle itself. Brick2 “Art” has composed this build with lots of subtle details suggesting the age of the citadel. And the arches along the sides offer the promise of more castle to explore. A final touch to this is how the light in this scene really adds to the composition, pooling the color centrally and making for quite the haunted scene!

Non-toxic but still inedible

Deep in the forest, far from the beaten tracks, a colony of fungi fruits from the remains of an old tree. Builder Paulo Loro brought new life to some old table scrap mushrooms by integrating them into this natural display. Fungi can be difficult to identify so its hard to say if these are based on enoki, shiitake, or something else—I’m no mycologist. All I can say is there’s a certain magic to the twists and turns the mushrooms make. Tail pieces are used to represent the stalks of the fruiting bodies while dish pieces represent the different stages of caps. The most mature of the species use the rock elements with eggshells underneath as gills.

The Mushroom Tree 04

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The return of LEGO Elves?

I wish.
That’s why I (Mansur “Waffles” Soeleman) along with my friend Tom Loftus decided to take a break from our usual spaceships and build something fantastical. Our usual greys became pinks and lavenders, our usual mechanical greebling became wild, organic foliage. Tom wanted to build a tree, I wanted to replicate some of Scotland’s coastal cliffs. Combined with recent plants in wild colours and the release of the Acorn Boy and Night Protector in the recent Collectable Minifigure Series, our collab build became an homage to LEGO Elves.

The Edge of Elvendale

We are fans of the bygone LEGO Elves theme which ran from 2015 to 2018. Its signature look was bright colours, cute dragons, and wonderful characters with elemental powers and matching outfits, albeit they were the less favourable minidolls. In short, it was a Tolkien-esque fantasy version of LEGO Friends. Despite there being an established lore (which I admit I’m unfamiliar with), Tom and I decided to make something original, but with a similar aesthetic.

Read more about this LEGO Elves collab!

A tree whose bite is worse than its bark

Animals often evolve to look like plants in order to avoid predators, but have you ever seen a plant that looks like a predator? You have now, thanks to Jake Hansen and his tree built primarily from crocodile parts. The seed for this idea was planted when Jake and some friends were playing around with the pieces from set 70419 Hidden Side – Wrecked Shrimp Boat. The tan crocodile that debuted in that set makes for a perfect tree trunk base. With the help of a few droid arms and plenty of leaves and flower buds – not to mention extra tails and jaws – the final model works as an eerily beautiful centerpiece to this dark swamp scene.

Croc Tree

The Birchwood Baron

We all know that Steven Erickson is capable of great things. I was very pleased to see his latest LEGO creation based on his and his brother’s winning model from the finale of LEGO Masters US S2. This revamp of Warden of the Woods is named the Birch Baron. It is about a quarter of the size of the Warden of the Woods, which makes it way more compatible with LEGO minifigures. I love how the wood pattern is integrated in this figure and there are just enough black lines to make it read birch wood. Too much would have made it look like a zebra. The bright yellow and light orange add a wonderful contrast to white central figure.

The Birch Baron

There is so much eye for detail in this build. If you were to zoom in on the staff, you’ll notice purple half circle tiles used to represent, what I think are, shelf fungus. In the Netherlands we call those elf benches, which sounds way more romantic and in the theme of this creation. Steven made several small bases to go along with the Birch Baron and each one depicts a different theme. I like the fallen leaves on the ground and the use of the old school flower to represent the mushroom stalk and gills of the mushrooms. If you’ll excuse me now, I feel like going on a walk in nature.

Lantern-lit roots over rock

Bonsais have been a hit this year thanks to the introduction of the Botanical Collection 10281 Bonsai Tree. Builder Ashton Douglas took some time to design his own version as a gift. Two bonsai sets and some extra elements came together to create a delightful custom model for Ashton’s friend to display. Though the base and pot are elements from the Bonsai set, rock work, trunk, and interesting foliage make this a beautifully unique build. There’s a wistfulness to the build with the way the pink frog seems to be staring at the lamp hanging from the branches.

Karen's Bonsai

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A winter bonsai in isolation

In my experience, bonsai trees are kind of fragile. But this sturdy specimen from Louis of Nutwood isn’t phased by harsh weather.  With a snowy covering on the autumn-hued leaves, this tiny tree is ready for a long winter’s nap. I really like the evocative colors, the twisting trunk, and the tiny lantern on the edge of the pot.

Winter Bonsai

This bonsai started life as part of a larger build, Louis’ Toro Nagashi Temple. It’s a great example of how removing a section of a larger creation can completely transform how its seen; in the temple scene this is “just” a full-sized tree.  But recontextualize it and suddenly you’ve got a desk-sized botanical that could go head-to-head with LEGO’s own 10281 Bonsai Tree. Check out our bonsai tag for even more pint-sized greatness!

Miniature tree inspires an even more miniature LEGO model

Sometimes smaller is better, building with a limited selection of parts can lead to creative outcomes, like this simple but beautiful bonsai tree by Louis of Nutwood built around the curved animal part. The planter sits on a wooden tray just like the official LEGO Bonsai tree set, albeit using a mere fraction of the brown tiles.

Bonsai: Element experimentation (1/6)

Check out another tiny tree by the same builder

Okay, now you can put up the tree

I’m a firm believer that the holiday season seems to creep into our lives sooner and sooner each year. Though many are delighted to lean into it, I reserve myself to celebrate Christmas only after Turkey day has passed. Now that it has, I think it’s fair to put up the tree. This year I might take after builder Peter Carmichael and go with a fancy, fake one. The secret to a good plastic tree is the texture of the bristly branches, which the builder has achieved with a ton of three-pronged stem pieces. Subtle but elegant decorations of gold keys and white garland with lights give character to the tree. Capping it off is a delightful, translucent blue snowflake.

LEGO Motorized Christmas Tree

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