TBB alum and RebelLUG member Nannan Zhang can always be counted on for builds that mix innovative techniques with elegant presentation. The AFOL legend’s latest creation depicts a medieval farm where lavender is in bloom. Originally created as part of a collaborative castle build at Brickworld Chicago this past summer, Nannan created a back from to hold the andscape and added a new farmhouse. There’s beauty in how the build breaks from the grid in a mix of angles. The field is skewed using 2×3 wedge plates. Meanwhile, the path uses simple landscaping for an asymmetrical look, which is amplified by the gently curving fences. For the farmhouse, Nannan employs a slew of the newish D-snot paired with rounded tiles for a  distinctive stone finish. Nannan says: “the technique is parts-intensive, time-consuming, and may even look busy, but I’m happy to bring something new to the many ways of building a...

It’s nice to know that the LEGO community are such kind-hearted people. Take our friend Deborah Higdan, for example. This frosty-themed pair of mittens alone would have warranted a feature this time of year but she’ll build a unique pair every day in December. This one happens to be day sixteen. The kind-hearted part is this is for the Build to Give charity; build something with the heart theme, post to social media with the buildtogive hashtag and LEGO will give sets to children in hospitals, care homes and other disadvantaged situations. The holidays can be a rough time of the year for some folks and it’s nice to see Deborah and others become a part of something so special. I couldn’t pick just one favorite so here is a very dimensional pair wrapped up in a bow. And finally here’s another that’s sort of abstract, like a mitten snow angel...

I’ve always loved seeing new Treebeard MOCs, because he’s rarely ever built the same way twice. The variety of scales and building techniques we’ve seen used to create one of my favorite Tolkien characters makes it all the more interesting, and this Treebeard build from Ben Arkley is one of the most impressive yet. The sheer scale of this build is the first thing that sticks out, especially when you notice how tiny Merry and Pippin are in contrast. Upon closer inspection, you’ll notice a seemingly endless amount of tree branches and horns/tails in a variety of colors to really make him feel like a forest come to life. I especially loved finding the little hidden details living all over him – mushrooms, birds, and of course an unwilling Orc. Ben  kindly provide work-in-progress images of his colossal Ent so that we can appreciate the engineering challenge of building a character...

Our favorite holiday tradition is opening all six LEGO Advent Calendars, one day at a time, with you, our readers! Along with spoiler pics of the daily gifts, we include commentary and alternate builds to celebrate the season and creativity. We have an all-star cast of custom minifig creators leading our Advent adventure this year. Fool’s Figures is wizarding his way through Harry Potter and Frozen calendars. ExpansionBricks is launching Star Wars and Friends. And beyondb0nes is digging into Minecraft and City. Now let’s open some doors and see what gifts are in store for today! Fools: Luna Lovegood is here, not much else to say. It’s at this point that I can point out the major flaw in this year’s Harry Potter calendar; we went from 7 unique minifigures in last year’s calendar, to practically four this time. Jake: Yeah, it’s great in a “battle pack” sense, but the variety...

This landscape is an homage to my grandmother, as I’ve always seen her surrounded by nature, living in a house between two mountains with a large garden and forests. As you can imagine, this moc has a special place in my heart. The idea for this moc came, as usual, from wandering on Pinterest to seek inspiration. Pinterest is packed with fantastic arts of all kinds, making it really easy to gather inspiration, even if AI art is spreading there like crazy nowadays. One day, I came across a series of pixelated microscale landscapes such as valleys with villages, hills and fields that caught my attention. At first I thought it was yet another AI image, but I was informed it came from a human  – Franek pixel art. The person behind it even made a game, so beautiful. Every time I hike or just wander in mountains, plains, or forests,...