In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
Today is Remembrance Day / Veterans Day, when many nations remember the fallen soldiers and also other veterans of World War I, and later of other wars. A few years ago Janey Gunning made a series of stained glass windows, including this appropriate one for today. You can see all of her MOCs on Brickshelf and on Flickr and then discuss them in our forum.
Here's another one that is sort of Halloween-themed, since it's the iconic evil wizard's tower. Chris Maddison built this micro version of Orthanc as part of his Iron Builder duel against Mike Nieves. The secret ingredient is the Technic forklift fork. You can see this along with all of Chris' builds on Flickr and then discuss it in our forum.
Just in time for Halloween, Andrew Lee built this micro castle right out of a horror movie: Fresh Blood. This was inspired by the Rivers of Hell by Mihai Marius Mihu & The Deathly Halliwell. You can see this along with all of his MOCs on Flickr, and then discuss it in our forum.
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers;
For he to-day that sheds his blood with me
Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,
This day shall gentle his condition;
And gentlemen in England now-a-bed
Shall think themselves accurs'd they were not here,
And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks
That fought with us upon Saint Crispin's day.
Yesterday was the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, immortalized in Shakespeare's Henry V. HistoryLUG, aka Magnus Lauglo, Gary Brooks, Joshua Brooks and Lady Kianna collaborated to set the scene in LEGO form. See all of the pics on Flickr, and then discuss it in our forum.
It's not always about the build. Brickdisciple's Flickr stream shows that dynamic fig posing and great photography are all you need. Check out all of the images, and then discuss them in our forum.
LEGO should hire Nuju Metru. For the past year he's been designing sets in his own custom theme called (Not) LEGO Dragon Lands. He's already designed three waves of sets --Wave 1, Wave 2, Wave 3-- and now he's started Wave 4 with "set" 64040 Zaechyr Shade Dragon. See this along with all of his MOCs on Flickr, and then discuss it in our forum.
Creations for Charity is a community effort started by Nannan Zhang in 2009. Every year, AFOLs donate MOCs, custom figs, and other LEGO swag to be sold, with all of the proceeds going to buy LEGO for less fortunate kids. Obviously by being at this site you love LEGO, and sharing that with a kid who might not be able to afford their own is just a great way to share our hobby with others. Last year, for instance, over $10,000 worth of LEGO was donated to the Toys for Tots charity, as well as to children's hospitals, orphanages, and a family shelter in four different countries. You can participate by donating your own work or by purchasing the work of others. How cool is that? You help a worthy cause, and get something cool from a fellow AFOL, like this vig, Attack of the Crazed Crusader by forum member LittleJohn.
This weekend Str0ngbad posted this amazing MOC, Arandin Fortress. This imposing castle was his entry for a challenge in the Lands of Roawia roleplay over on Merlin's Beard. You can see this along with his other MOCs on Flickr, and then discuss it in our forum.
Continuing a look at mash-ups inspired by our recent contest and the Nexo Knights, earlier this year Mark van der Maarel was challenged by a contest on Imperium der Steine to combine Castle and Star Wars. Inspired in part by Paddy Bricksplitter's When Themes Collide, he came up with this Crashed TIE. See this along with all of his MOCs on Flickr, and then discuss it in our forum.
"The City of Skavenport was one of the strangest cities in Nocturnus, where indeed many a strange town existed. Maybe it was even one of the most peculiar cities in all of Historica. But at the first glance a visitor could find no difference to any other bustling town. ... But this most special town was inhabited by rats. Not only rats, but rats and men together, side by side. Because this was the city of Osric Isentooth, the Rat Lord."
Jacob Nion built Skavenport, a city in the Guilds of Historica. You've simply got to read the full description, as the writing is as enjoyable as the MOC. Check out all of the pictures, along with his other MOCs, on Flickr, and then discuss it in our forum.
Old school gamers will surely recognize Durazno33's LEGO rendition of the mid-90's strategy video game Warcraft: Orcs and Humans. Even if you don't have a tug of nostalgia, check this out, along with all of Durazno33's MOCs, on Flickr to see all of the microscale details, and then discuss it in our forum.
Piotr Machalski's Windland Tower Checkpoint includes some really interesting textures, with the contrast between the studs-up and studs-out portions, and also that middle section made of stacking this element. Other nice details are the signs of past battle damage and that great portcullis. Check this out, along with all of Piotr's MOCs, on Flickr, and then discuss it in our forum.
We are very pleased to congratulate the winners of the Castle goes to Space contest. Since we had enough entries there were two prizes, and we divided these up between the best "Castle turned Space" entry and the best "Space turned Castle" entry.
Check out all of the great entries. This contest turned out to be a lot of fun. Thank you to all who participated. Be sure to congratulations the winners in our forum.
In the spirit of the upcoming Nexo Knights theme and the just-completed Castle goes to Space contest (results will be announced in a couple of days), let's continue to share space castle theme mash-ups. Post any Spastle MOCs that you made, or just favorite ones you've found by others online in this forum thread. This MOC, Castletron Stallion, was built by Pascal a few years ago.
Toltomeja built this great rendition of the Great Wall of China. This is based on a specific section of the wall that Toltomeja visited last year in Juyong Pass. See this along with all of his MOCs on Flickr and then discuss it in our forum.
I was just looking though w9gfo's Flickr stream because he posted a great King Kong and Tyranosaurus Rex a couple of days ago. Anyway, a few months back he posted this great Stormbringer dragon. Definitely peruse his photostream for great dinosaurs and other creatures and then discuss this beauty in our forum.
The LEGO Green Knight of Pen Argyl High School in Pen Argyl, Pennsylvania, has had an eventful history. It apparently started as a store display in a New York toy store, and was going to be discarded. In 2011, Bob Moyer, whose son was a senior on the football team, got the pieces of the display and rebuilt them to make a three-foot tall mascot for the school football, the Green Knights. Sadly, last month a couple of players from a rival team broke into the school and smashed the statue, which is why this was recently in the news. The story has a happy ending, though, as Moyer was able to reconstruct the statue in time for their first home game. From the series of articles it seems like there was also a horse for this guy to ride, but it is unclear whether it has been rebuilt after the vandalism. Discuss this MOC in our forum.
Here at Classic-Castle we usually don't pay a lot of attention to the space-focused SHIPtember event, but Becheman's cross-themed Templar Chapterhouse really grabbed my attention. He describes this as:
"Friday, October 13, 1307. Agents of King Philip move to arrest scores of French Templars. But - they were forewarned. The majority of Christian forces being at war in the Holy Land, the Templars used their vast wealth to take control of France and Western Europe, joining with the german Teutonic Knights to form a united, solid holy powerhouse. Centuries later, with new worlds to conquer, Templar warriors continue to fight to bring wealth to their masters."
You can see this along with all of Becheman's MOCs on Flickr, MOCpages, and Brickshelf, and then discuss it in our forum.
The rapier is a long thin sword with a sharp tip and often with a very ornate hilt, made mainly for thrusting attacks rather than slashing or chopping. The rapier began as a development of the Spanish espada ropera, or dress sword, coming to England around 1570, and became the personal weapon of choice in the 1600's. AnActionFigure built this very detailed, life-size Rapier and Dagger. You can see this, along with all of his MOCs, on Flickr, and then discuss it in our forum.
James Pegrum, Peggyjdb in our forum, has a long running project to illustrate scenes from the History of Britain in LEGO. His Release the Prisoners depicts an event from the Third Crusade. A local Byzantine Greek governor took some of the English prisoner in Limassol Cyprus. Richard the Lionheart took the island by force, freeing the prisoners and establishing a key base on the approach to the Holy Land. You can see this along with all of James' MOCs on Flickr and then discuss it in our forum.
Marina/Adria1223's Flickr stream is filled with extremely intricate custom figs, including this version of Yavanna, the Vala with dominion over plants and animals in Tolkien's universe. You can see this, along with all of her customs, in her Flickr stream and then discuss it in our forum.
Halhi141 built this great Forbidden Keep for both the Lands of Mythron and also the Guilds of Historica. He also put together a WIP guide with partial constructions and detail pictures so you can see how things were built. You can see this along with other MOCs by Halhi141 on Flickr and then discuss it in our forum.
LittleJohn used shadows and lighting to great effect in A Nasty Surprise. This was an entry for the Colossal Battle Contest. You can see all of his MOCs on Flickr and then discuss this in our forum.
The final portion of brothers Robert4168/Garmadon, Gid617, and Josdu's collaborative build is Josdu's Keep. You can see all of his MOCs on Flickr and then discuss this collaboration in our forum.
The next portion of brothers Robert4168/Garmadon, Gid617, and Josdu's collaborative build is Gid617's Battle in the Village. You can see all of his MOCs on Flickr and then discuss this collaboration in our forum.
The Eriksons have got to look out, another team is on the loose. Brothers Robert4168/Garmadon, Gid617, and Josdu have teamed up on a collaboration called Attack of the Old Keep, built over a marthon 8 day span. Garmadon starts us off with the landscaping. Here is his portion, Through the Pass. You can see all of Robert4168/Garmadon's MOCs on Flickr and then discuss this collaboration in our forum.
Letranger Absurde built this Dracolich, a sort of undead dragon, for the RPG & Fantasy category of the Colossal Battle Contest. You can also see the beast by itself here and more images here. Check out all of Letranger Absurde's MOCs on Flickr or MOCpages and then discuss this in our forum.
John Stephens shows that you don't have to build big to build awesome. He's made a number of plate-built figs in both castle/fantasy and sci-fi themes that he calls Pocket Heroes. Here are two of my favorites, his Grogald the Unclean and his Grail Knight. You can check these out, along with his other MOCs, on Flickr, and then discuss them in our forum.
Forum member SergeantChipmunk44 illustrated the classic scene from the Lord of the Rings where the Fellowship finds that the Westgate of Moria is guarded by the Watcher in the Water. Check this out, along with SC's other MOCs, on Flickr, and then discuss it in our forum.
Chris Maddison (cmaddison in our forum) took a classic set and updated it with modern building techniques: Guarded Inn Redux. You can see a few additional views, along with his other MOCs, on Flickr, and then disucss it
in our forum.
Maehdros' microscale windmill put the emphasis on the whip/vine (the seed part) and won the June-July seed part challenge. See all of the entries and then congratulate Maehdros in our forum.
Those who went to BrickFair Virginia were lucky enough to see Joseph Zawada's amazing Hyrule Castle in person. Unfortunately he has not yet posted pictures on his own Flickr stream, but you can see lots of photos from various BrickFair attendees, such as in this gallery by EDWW day_dae. If you look at some of the close-up shots you can see really interesting parts usage, like Technic pieces in the battlements and Power Miners drills as turrets (who knew those came in blue?). Also interesting to see how he used hinge-plates to make the tower shapes. Check it out, and then discuss it in our forum.
I've always said that Takeshi Itou is my favorite fantasy castle builder. His creations really emphasize the vertical dimension, and as such get a lot more detail into a smaller area than many builders would achieve on a much larger footprint. I hadn't noticed anything new from him in a while, so I was excited to see his newest MOC, the Bridge to the Elves' Country. You can check out this MOC along with all of Takeshi's other creations on Brickshelf or on his personal page Castle Element (it's largely in Japanese, but the pictures speak for themselves), and then discuss it in our forum.
Atahlus uses lighting and point-of-view to great effect in this scene, Homecoming. You can see this along with all of his other MOCs on Flickr and then discuss it in our forum.
Rotheran Tower by Deviet has been a WIP for the past year, but it was definitely worth the wait. "Rotheran Tower, once the proud home of the Rotheran family, has fallen in the hands of a feared outlaw clan. The tower is located in Wolfpack territory wich led to a bloody clan war. In their efforts of taking over the surrounding land, they have captured a Wolfpack Clan leader." Check this out, along with all of Deviet's MOCs, on Flickr and then discuss it in our forum.
Those of you in New Zealand should check out the Christchurch Brick Show this weekend. Forum member Legonardo (David Hensel) will be there, and he's bringing this MOC, the Stargazer. Here's his description:
"The Mystic Isles of Avalonia house many diverse persons, creatures and landscapes. Wonderful Wallace, Brother of Senneck and Harry the Hallucinating Healer, is one of them. He lives in solitude in the middle of a small cluster of islands in the center of the isles. Unlike his elder and younger siblings, Wallace has deviated from potions and other magic, and found his love in astronomy. He spends his days charting the skies, bartering with the local fishermen, and smoking pipe-weed. Also like his brothers, he has an incredibly awesome beard, which he takes great pride in. potentially more pride than what he has in his astronomical discoveries."
You can see all of Legonardo's MOCs on Flickr and then discuss the Stargazer in our forum.
Stephle59 made this great Sleeping Beauty Castle. It is part of a Disney-themed collaborative display called Once Upon a Time built with fellow French AFOLs Kloou, Sweetsha and N3rik68 recently on display at Fana'briques 2015. You can see all of Stephle59's MOCs (be sure to also check out the Archenval collaboration from 2012) on Flickr and then discuss it in our forum.
Forum member AardWolf is also active in the Lands of Roawia role-play over on Merlin's Beard. As part of that he built this beautiful ship, the Spirit of Lenfald, with a story to accompany it. You can see this along with all of AardWolf's MOCs on Flickr and then discuss it in our forum.
CC member Dubbadgrim went back to 1992 for inspiration, taking a new look at a classic set, to come up with 6086-X Return to the Black Knights Castle. His reinterpetation is greatly expanded and built with modern techniques, but still uses the aesthetic scheme and the playability of the original. Check out all the pictures of this MOC on Brickshelf and then discuss it in our forum.
Ulm Minster is the tallest church in the world, begun in Ulm Germany in 1377 but completed only 125 years ago. As part of the anniversary celebration, two Legoland model designers, Vera Feldmann and Anastasia Trautwein, built a 2.3 meter tall LEGO rendition. It was originally displayed at Legoland Germany, but is now installed in the church itself for the rest of 2015. Check this out and then discuss it in our forum.
A couple of weeks ago (sorry for the delayed front-page announcement) Maedhros announced the results of the Byzantium Contest. The honor goes to Mark of Falworth for his Battle of Nineveh 627-AD. Maedhros notes "the fact that we got a glimpse of an actual historical battle and its main players here and the build was excellently executed, with an inspiring and dynamic posing of figs which makes me long for the old Battle Contest that Josh used to host. The choice of figs and accessories was also well done, highlighting the Roman continuity of the Byzantine Empire." You can see the runners up and congratulate Mark on his win in our forum.
One cool collaboration at BrickWorld was Brick Time Stories. Eight different builders each made books with illustrations popping out of the pages. Books included things like Harry Potter, Where the Wild Things Are, and Paul Vermeesh's Robin Hood and Little John. You can check this out along with all of Paul's MOCs on Flickr and then discuss it in our forum.
If you Didn't get a chance to see Bob Carney's latest, Caernarfon Castle, at BrickWorld, you must watch the video linked above. You can check out all of Dr. Carney's work on his site, CarneyCastle.com and then discuss it in our forum.
Happy Father's Day from Classic-Castle! Go spend some time with your dad. Or, if you are a dad, go build a MOC with your kids. Pere et fils druide by Nat 94 (btw, that kid has a pretty impressive beard):
The Portuguese AFOL group Comunidade 0937 holds an annual show, Arte em Pecas, that always brings together some amazing MOCs. This year was no exception. CC member Cesbrick (aka César Soares) brought together a lot of his castle MOCs, along with a church by Hugo Santos and help in the assembly by other Comunidade 0937 members, to make this Enchanted Forest layout. Check this out, along with all of Cesbrick's work, on Flickr, and then discuss it in our forum.
Erik Jones crowdfunded this Cinderella Castle with an Indiegogo campaign. The final castle used over 50,000 bricks and is going to be donated to Give Kids the World, an Olando charity that brings seriously ill children to Disney.
Vitroleum posted this MOC, the Witcher. I gather this is based on a video game, but I'm ignorant of the subject matter. Regardless, it's a great MOC. See all of Vitroleum's MOCs on Flickr and then discuss them in our forum.
Sometimes it's not about the MOC, it's all about the photo. Take, for instance, Dangerous by Ki Young Lee. There's no actual LEGO building here (aside, I suppose, from a couple of gray slopes to make the rock the skelly is leaning against). Instead it's all about the choices and positioning of the figs and dragon, the framing, camera angle and crisp photography, effects of lighting, focus, and smoke, and probably a fair amount of time in photo editing. But the result is pure awesomeness. Share your best LEGO castle photo in this forum thread - not necessarily a MOC you are especially proud of, but one where the emphasis is on the image. By the way, check out Ki Young Lee's Flickr stream for tons of great photos in castle and other themes.
Shield-and-Sword-Bricks built this imposing keep, Stagdren Castle, as part of the Guilds of Historica community role-play over on Eurobricks. You can check this out, along with all of his other creations on Flickr, and then discuss it in our forum.
Forum member AardWolf built this great hall for An End to the Madness, one of his most recent MOCs for the Lands of Roawia role-play over on Merlin's Beard. You can see this, along with all of Aardwolf's MOCs on Flickr, and then discuss it in our forum.
Gilbert Keith built this MOC, the Castle Kjeldslot, as part of the current Global challenge in the Lands of Roawia roleplay over on Merlin's Beard. Check it out, along with all of his other MOCs, on Flickr, and then discuss it in our forum.
Happy Saint George's Day to all of our English members! George was (likely) a third century Roman noble and soldier, later seen as a martyr and saint in the Christian church. Legend holds that he saved a town that was terrorized by a dragon. Later he became known as the patron saint of England, and the flag of the United Kingdom is a combination of St George's cross (the red cross that runs horizontal and vertical) with the crosses of Saint Andrew and Saint Patrick (the white and red X's for Scotland and Ireland). This photo from Legoland Windsor was taken by Adrian Pink.
Portuguese AFOL César Soares, Cesbrick in our forum, has built what will probably be my favorite MOC of 2015, BlueWater Castle. Stop what you're doing right now and go check out all of the pictures and then go discuss this masterpiece in our forum.
We are extremely pleased to announce that this year's Master Builder is Brother Steven! There were several builders with a high number of extremely stong submissions this year, including (in no particular order) Cesbrick, Disco86, Legonardo, Soccerkid6, and Takkata, and you guys made our job very difficult. In the end, though, there can be only one. Congratulations, Steven. You get to wear the mantle of Master Builder for the next year, until one of these builders, or someone else entirely, comes along. Congratulations to Steven, all of these builders, and everyone who participated in what is, IMO, the best LEGO building even in the extended community.
