At Bricks Cascade 2024, my kids discovered the joy of a LEGO Derby. As I wrote in a previous article, a Brick Derby is a Pinewood Derby but swapping pine for plastic. When we asked our soon-to-be 9-year-old what he wanted to do for his birthday this year, it wasn’t much of a surprise when he chose a Backyard Brick Derby. Obviously, we said yes, but we had to get to work to pull it off. Ramps and Race Cars To make a ramp, I’d need help in the woodworking department. After looking up layouts and blueprints to set up a Brick Derby, I found these plans and sent them to a friend and long tenured Home Depot employee who was able to construct it for me. It’s 32 inches long and breaks into four sections for transportation and storage. I then purchased the 6x16 stud baseplates for the cars from...

Scandinavian folklore is full of tales of little people living in the woods and meadows. Swedish builder Peter Ilmrud gives us a glimpse of one community of fairy folk who have made a lingonberry cidery out of an old boot. Peter incorporates DUPLO and Scala elements alongside wildflowers from the Botanicals line and many custom flowers and berry bushes in the vibrant display. The boot, which doubles as fairy housing and green house, features some incredible shaping with an eclectic mix of brown elements giving the boot a weatheted look. The roof is gorgeous, using pairs of bowed plates in staggered rows for a scaly effect. At ground level, Peter packs the scene with fun details of the wee folk going about their work chopping, stomping, and barrel aging their cider. Perhaps my favorite detail is this rider tranporting hjortron berries from a nearby bog. The beetle design is phenomenal, creating...

One thing that Star Wars – and especially – the prequels, for their flaws – does really well is villains. One look at Darth Maul or the Emperor and there’s no doubting which side they’re on. But really, none of them looked as villainous as the skeletal General Grievous, whose likeness has been captured by N.A.B.E_mocs over on Flickr. In builds where the cybernetic and natural collide, texture can be a useful tool to differentiate between the two, and this is a fantastic example. Grievous’ armour is almost entirely studless. It’s wondefully organically shaped, too – a touch of irony therein, perhaps! In contrast, his fleshy bits (for want of a better phrase) are rougher. His oesophagus (I think that’s what it is) is all studded plates, while the red eyes use anti-studs to perfectly accentuate their organic nature. The post This LEGO bust would make a fine addition to any...

If you want to bring a bit of whimsy to a fantasy LEGO creation, a good place to start is making your characters animals. Oh, and giving them a massive sword. That’s the angle that Dan Ko has gone for in this charming duo. Both the frog knight and his snail steed are full of character – and clever parts use! Our knight in croaking armour has some fantastic leafy webbed feet, and the ski for a cross-guard is a neat idea for this asymmetric sword. The snail, meanwhile, has caterpillar tracks wound up to form its shell. Although I must admit – and this might be a niche reference – that with those bright yellow eyes, it reminds me of the slugs from the LEGO Rock Raiders video game. Perhaps they’re distant cousins? The post What do you get when you cross knights in shining armour with the frog prince?...

Anyone of a certain age or otherwise taking a sick day from work knows the glitzy phenomenon that is the daytime Game Show. Family Feud was a good one. I’ve spent many-a-day yelling at the TV while watching some goober lose $400 for their team because he thinks M&M’s are a common thing found in a sandwich. Martin Studio has LEGO-fied the game but also gave it a Classic Castle-themed twist. Here we see legendary factions The Lion Knights feuding against The Black Falcons. Falcons are ahead by 20 points but all it takes is a missed guess by some foolhardy squire to turn the odds in the Lions’ favor. This delightful diorama can be found on display at the LEGO House in Billund, Denmark through 2025, just in case you happen to be visiting LEGO headquarters. The post Tell us what they’ve won, Sir Gene Wood! appeared first on The...