In their professional capacity as LEGO designers, Chris Perron and Wes Talbott have collaborated on some of the best fantasy sets ever released, including Rivendell and the Red Dragon’s Tale. So what do these friends get up to when they’re off the clock? How about an epic reimaging of a beloved ’90s castle with modern building techniques and design aesthetics? The massive build debuts at the upcoming Skærbæk Fan Weekend event, but for those who can’t make it to rural Denmark, the builders graciously offer a detailed tour of this house of the Dragon Masters.
Tag Archives: Wes Talbott
An undead LEGO army marches on Skaerbaek Fan Weekend
This past weekend, LEGO fans from all over the world converged on Skaerbaek, Denmark for the ultimate builder gathering (that also happens to be in LEGO HQ’s metaphorical backyard). Builder and LEGO designer Wes Talbott featured this fantastic horde of baddies at the Fan Weekend, about to pass through their nerco-powered portal to attack their sworn foe, the Moon Elves. The intricacies of the portal are spectacular, from the organics growing out of its side to the stone dragon heads sitting atop it. But my favorite part has got to be Wes’s integration of bones and skulls into the structure, using the 1×1 round plate with bar. The part really gives those skeletal minifig heads a jaunty slant, evoking the makeshift/natural/ritualistic nature of goblin magic. But don’t let the glowing green gateway distract you from the brilliantly-crafted army surrounding it. Specifically, that big, boney behemoth in the background is a masterclass in character creation and choice part usage.
A sequel to the “Chromalagous” dragon
If you have no knowledge of “Chromalagous” by awesome LEGO designer, Wes Talbott, stop right now and check it out. It’s one of my most favorite builds of all time! Now, if you’re familiar with that build, you might see similarities to this one. Wes hopes to create a rainbow of dragon busts at a slightly smaller scale to that of their predecessor – starting with this Red Chromatic Dragon. As with the last one, this dragon’s shaping is gorgeous and organic. It’s also inspired by D&D.
I’m a huge fan of the shape of the horns in particular, and I can’t wait to see what the rest of the collection looks like! Stay tuned for more, but while you wait, check out some other builds of dragons. We’ve also created content surrounding some of Wes’ official designs for you to discover. For example, take a peek at the 21325 Medieval Blacksmith review and the modular 10270 Bookshop designer video.
Who knew a dragon could be so gorgeous?
I have to say, as a writer for TBB, I’ve seen A LOT of custom builds. I spend far too much of my time scanning Flickr and Instagram for the next awesome piece of art to share with you all. Maybe it’s the fantasy nerd in me, but this… is exceptional. This dragon, built by talented LEGO designer, Wes Talbott, is all sorts of awesome. The ombre, rainbow-esque coloring is so perfectly executed! Making it for The LEGO House collection, he fittingly calls it, “Chromalagous” but the beauty goes beyond the color palette.
The placement of the scales is so organic and detailed, it truly looks like the skin of a giant reptile. It certainly doesn’t look like LEGO at first glance. And I don’t know about you, but I find myself with my mouth agape, muttering “how?” questions. Those horns?! I’d love to get a look at the internal structure, but this has to take a great deal of sculpting talent. What techniques does he use to make all those odd angles? Your guess is as good as mine.
Wes is a prolific artist, both in LEGO and graphically. Check out some of his official work in our archives, including reviews of the new 21327 Typewriter and 21325 Blacksmith Shop.
Wes Talbott and James May talk about how they designed the LEGO Ideas 21327 Typewriter [News]
LEGO Ideas 21327 Typewriter, the newest Ideas set revealed, was designed by Wes Talbott and James May. They both wanted the Typewriter to have as much functionality as possible, and say it was a challenge to create a working model where Technic and System bricks work well together.
LEGO Ideas 21325 Medieval Blacksmith – the Black Falcons return to LEGO Castle [Review]
LEGO has continued to diversify the products that it sources and launches via its LEGO Ideas platform, which for many years has been perceived as focusing on licensed themes like Ghostbusters, Doctor Who, Voltron, and so on. But increasingly, LEGO has approved wholly original designs, such as 21310 Old Fishing Store. Yesterday, LEGO officially revealed 21325 Medieval Blacksmith, an original design by LEGO fan designer Clemens Fiedler. The set includes 2,164 pieces with 4 minifigures, and will become available on February 1st, 2020 at a price of US $149.99 | CAN $199.99 | UK £134.99..
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 our hands-on review of LEGO Ideas 21325 Medieval Blacksmith
Behind the scenes and details of the LEGO Ideas 21325 Medieval Blacksmith with insights from LEGO Designers [News]
From the inception of an idea to final reality, the LEGO Ideas 21325 Medieval Blacksmith took over 3 years to become an inspiration from a fan designer to an official LEGO set. Go behind the scenes with designers Sir Austin Carlson and Wes Talbott as they share their journey together with the original designer Clemens Fiedler.
Behold THIS, Mickey and Minnie!
LEGO set designer and artist Wes Talbott saw the large macaroni pieces in the new 43179 Mickey and Minnie Buildable Characters set and knew immediately that he must build a beholder from Dungeons and Dragons instead. I approve of every last facet of that preceding sentence. It has an engaging start, takes us on a riotous journey through the middle, then concludes with a most satisfying end. Some best-selling novels don’t even go that well. What can I say? When it comes to geek memorabilia or the big corporate mouse, I will side with boardgame monsters every time. I think you’ll agree that this beholder is a sight to behold.
Learn the secrets of 10270 Bookshop from LEGO designer Wes Talbott [Video]
LEGO Master Designer Wes Talbott and LEGO Graphic Designer Tore Harmark-Alexandersen sat down to give a tour of the new Creator Expert 10270 Bookshop. In the video, they show off the set, play features, minifigures and give some insight on some nifty details hidden inside.
Some of the revelations include that two of the minifigures are based on Wes’ parents, and that the street address of the Townhouse is actually the internal number indicator for the color Teal which Wes lobbied to have return to the LEGO color palette after a long absence.
10270 Bookshop will be available from LEGO beginning January 1st for US $179.99 | CAN $199.99 | UK £149.99.