Inspired by the stump of a felled tree in the forest, cimddwc created a mysterious Elven castle nestled among the trees and surrounded by tall jagged cliffs. This seemingly inaccessible locale reminds me of the colorful Rivendell hidden in the foothills of the Misty Mountains. The limited palette of the white castle with sand green domes lets the castle stand out among the many trees and plants, while the arid landscape around the base is a stark contrast. The castle features some very clever parts usage, such as the wands left in their sprue forming the main gate. An overhead view reveals more details, like the sheltered lake behind the castle fed by the river flowing from the waterfall to the right. Also, a spooky red glow can be seen below the water. The post A magical microscale castle among the gray clifs appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal...

After a long slumber, Lord of the Rings LEGO sets are back with a fiery vengeance, stirred from the shadows like a sleeping demon awoken by a Took’s tomfoolery. Just two months after The Shire had us celebrating, LEGO Icons 10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook takes us back to Middle Earth. The set marks the debut of the fan-favorite Balrog in LEGO form and joins the growing list of brick-built book nooks, alongside Sherlock Holmes and Harry Potter. While you can fold it closed to slip between ancient tomes on your shelves, the set seems designed to display opened up to better appreciate the Balrog with its wings spread, flanked by Morgoth’s flames. LEGO Icons 10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook contains 1,201 pieces and will be available on June 1 forUS $129.99 | CAN $TBD | UK £109.99. Will you be adding the Balrog...

HBO’s The Last of Us just wrapped season 2, but if you’re not ready to let go of a run-down world filled with murderous mushroom zombies, Greg the Gungan has your back. In this towering diorama, Greg returns to the first game/season with Joel and Ellie traversing a crumbling Boston. Greg finds the perfect balance between urban decay and nature taking root, creating a world that is so beautiful that you might risk a cordyceps bite to take it all in.  True to the source, the decrepit office building hides many dangers that Greg also built in bricks. The post Beware of brick Clickers in Boston in LEGO Last of Us tribute appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Jake Forbes (TBB Managing Editor)

When it comes to colorful and highly detailed microscale builds, Jeff Friesen stands out as a true master. He wrote the book (several, actually) on creating clean builds that capture cities, castles, and fantastic worlds in miniature. Jeff’s latest build started as a study of hedge gardens, like the one seen in the foreground. However, once he started adding a building to the background, his imagination took over, and it grew to become an amazing sprawling castle structure that reminds me of campuses like Harvard and Cambridge. One of my favorite tree builds is the upside-down eggshell used for what looks like a willow tree, and, of course, a green minifigure hairpiece makes the perfect shrub. A few tall pine trees provide a nice contrast to all of the much shorter trees and plants. The post No beating around the bush, this LEGO microscale hedge garden is stunning appeared first on...

Since we started spotlighting minifig creations again on Minifig Mondays, we’ve been introduced to so many talented AFOLs. After covering desert sands and dieselpunk in our last installments, maybe it’s time to welcome some cozier fig creations into the mix? Grab your knitting needles and garden shears, as we’re going to explore DIY minifig fashions!  The fist time the brothers brick featured minifigs wearing crocheted clothes was back in 2006! Sadly, that was the only time. Let’s fix this with a Minifig Monday dedicated to minfigs dressed in knitted and floral clothing! Because hobbies are better when you let them mingle. Kim Schol is a LEGO photographer from the Netherlands who sets her minifig subjects in dioramas that blend LEGO with nature and crafts. Kim dresses her minifig in a fantastically elegant skirt made of real flower petals. This fairy tale scene is one of my favorites in the way that...

The most recent Iron Builder competition just came to an end, providing the LEGO community with some truly excellent creations fueled by the creativity of two amazing AFOL talents: Tim Goddard and Bousker. For those who are not familiar with Iron Builder, it is a competition that puts two builders directly against each other in a two-week contest of creating models that incorporate a specific LEGO piece. In this instance, the Airplane Door in White. Fresh off an amazing run of 7 stellar creations, we sat down with Tim about his thoughts on competing for the Iron Builder crown. TBB: This whole kind of competition may be intimidating to many. Where do you start once you were given the seed piece? Tim: I found it intimidating, the idea of building under time pressure and being judged by my peers is a bit nerve-racking! Of course I had no idea what the...

Corey and Rebecca Maxfield travel the world together, sigfigs and kids in tow, but in between voyages they find time for original creations. Corey’s tribute to Singing in the Rain certainly puts a smile on my face as the brick-built figure sings a happy refrain. The travelling couple’s next stop? LEGO Masters Season 5. Just the other day Theo asked about the role that LEGO plays in peoples travels. No doubt Corey and Rebecca have plenty of stories to share about that playful combination! This is part of our series on MOCs of the Masters where we preview the work of the newest batch of LEGO Master contestants. Have a look at creations from other builders in the lineup. The post MOCs of the LEGO Masters: Travelling together, rain or shine appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Jake Forbes (TBB Managing Editor)

Ever been at a LEGO convention and had to endure the awkwardness of meeting new AFOLs, with no idea of where to start the conversation? I know I sure have. OK, partly that’s because it was in Finland and my Finnish doesn’t go much further than ‘I like your LEGO model’. Still, if you’re looking for an ice-breaker question to get to know your fellow hobbyists a bit better, then take inspiration from our weekly TBB Asks feature! This week, TBB Asks if you have any favourite bits of LEGO memorabilia that aren’t LEGO bricks. Yes, even outside the world of bricks there is loads of LEGO swag to be had, some of it quite rare! Let’s see if any of our staff have anything special in their collection – or indeed, if our readers do. Let us know if you’ve got some cool collectibles in the comments! Kimberly: So my girl...

Niki has been working her way through the Harry Potter series with cinematic dioramas built in LEGO. My favorite is this twisty recreation from the first film with Ron trapped by the Devil’s Snare plant. The scale of the vines as they stretch across the enormous cobblestone floor makes for a striking contrast of chaos and ordered angles. For her next journey, Niki leans on a bond stronger than those forged at Hogwarts – the bond of sisterhood! – as she enters LEGO Masters Season 5 with her sister Brittain. As Dumbledore always says, may the odds be ever in your favor. This is part of our series on MOCs of the Masters where we preview the work of the newest batch of LEGO Master contestants. Have a look at creations from other builders in the lineup. The post MOCs of the LEGO Masters: Sisters bricks prepare to cast a spell...

In this house, we are big Pan Noda fans. And speaking of houses – normally, that’s precisely the kind of thing we’d be featuring from one of the best liminal LEGO space creators. But of late, Pan has been experimenting with other types of MOC, and we’re equally enthralled. We’ve got a couple of yellow mechs to feast our eyes on here, the first being the Banana-Automaton. There’s some clever parts use going on here: a yellow life-ring atop the head, chain-link treads to add some heft (and nice texture) to its limbs. Those treads appear in its bigger sibling, too. This is the Pinea-Automaton, which looks designed to carry a pilot. Despite their differences, the common design language makes it clear that these are from the same family of automata. A scout and a heavy, perhaps? Presumably those blade weapons aren’t for preparing a fruit salad… The post From liminal...