Great castle architecture always grabs my attention. I’m continually amazed when builders find new techniques for medieval roofing, brickwork, or half-timbering in LEGO. Gabriel Midgley has quickly become a favorite castle builder and the Procession of the Vampire Lord shows why. Just look at that doorway. Forming arches from partially connected 2×1 plates is nothing new, but the three nested archways here with a half-stud offset is epic. The color gradient on the half-timbered top, using a mix of profile bricks on their sides, is gorgeous – especially when paired with the red and blue windows. Cheese slopes allow smooth curves for the tower side. And as with all of Gabriel’s builds, excellent landscaping, thoughtfully composed minifigs, and custom lighting turn a great architectural build into immersive world-building. This is truly a castle build you can sink your teeth into!
Tag Archives: Vampires
A Vampire’s never late
It may be a little past Halloween, but a vampire’s never late. Because they’re undead! Get it? Anyway, this fantastic dungeon by Marcin Otreba has all the trappings of a ghoulish lair set into a great little vignette. The architecture is wonderfully gothic with lots of spikes and details, such as repeating batarangs. The tan highlights give it enough visual interest to offset the drab grey you’d expect. Now pardon me, I’m going to go finish watching What We Do in the Shadows.
D&D’s latest LEGO bad boy is also a Strahd boy
As the LEGO Dungeons & Dragons builds continue to spill forth, builder Plastic Pauper has a great take on one of the game’s first monsters: the vampire lord. I have to commend the character construction here. With sharp lines for the count’s suit contrasted by the more flowing contours of his face and cloth cloak, this dark noble feels alive wielding his menacing rapier (that’s 1d8 piercing damage, folks!). And I adore all the gold filigree and tan ascot adorning his chest. Such a well-crafted villain is further complemented by the dynamite background in this vignette. The ornate stone walls surrounding the figure feature a ring of keys, a pair of candlesticks, and quite the imposing gargoyle. But my favorite detail has got to be the spiky ends of a portcullis in the doorway to the vamp’s rear. What an excellent homage to the fantasy role playing game!
Ready to encounter some more great D&D builds? Check them out in our archives!
Vampire’s castle
When we featured Castor Troy‘s collection of Vampire Hunter steampunk vehicles back in June, the French builder was still hard at work on the centerpiece, the Vampire’s castle. Well now the diorama is complete! And what a whopper this impenetrable-looking Gothic masterpiece is…
“Airship, Airship, AIRSHIP!”
Continuing my Steampunk vibe from earlier in the week, here’s the mother of all LEGO airships by French builder Castor Troy…
Now a mothership is nothing without proper air and ground support. Fortunately, Castor has already thought of that. Say hello to Vampire Hunter …which incidentally sounds like the perfect premise for LEGO to use if they ever wanted to get into the Steampunk game!
Apparently these are part of a much larger Vampire Hunter project that will include a French chateau, haunted house, and plenty of hunters. Look out for that some time next year. In the meantime, keep your holy water and silver bullets handy. And wooden stakes. And garlic. Ok, did I forget anything? And hand mirrors. And crucifixes…
An expressive vampire
LEGO vampire Jack-o’-Lantern
LEGO’s North American Community Coordinator Kevin Hinkle participated in a recent Halloween contest at work. The pumpkin-decorating contest required participants to include at least five LEGO elements. Kevin’s pumpkin uses the design from the recent Collectible Minifigure vampire.
I like how Kevin left the edges “rough,” as though the vampire painter minifig actually painted it.
Brides of Dracula
This scene, by Teruel211, actually creeps me out. I think it is the feeling of suspense and the sense of anticipation among the vampires. Notice there is virtually no gore in this? Many people try to build a scary scene by including blood and gore everywhere. That never works for me because the action has already happened. It’s the suspense that gets to me.
If there’s one thing I can’t stand, it’s vampires in space
Thankfully, Jerac has a fleet of very tiny ships, led by the cruiser Van Helsing, to hunt them down and stake their ice-cold hearts.
(Via Brick Blogue.)
Boktai Vampire Hunter Creations by Inhert
Brickshelf user Inhert has been building quite the collection of vampire hunter creations based on the Game Boy Advance game Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django.
I like Inhert’s “Tools of the Trade” (ignoring the chopped up Castle spear for the moment; but hey, it does make a good stake):
Check out the vampire hunter himself, using Moko’s articulated legs:
Desmodus
Name: Desmodus
Mission: To rule the night.
Origin: A criminally insane “subject” was injected with the irradiated saliva of the vampire bat.
Evil superpowers: Flight, invisibility, drawing strength from the blood of his victims.