An Auspicious Dynasty: Modding Dragons and Diners
/Chinese New Year is just around the corner and LEGO is celebrating with a pair of new sets, but how do you make a dragon your own?
Read MoreChinese New Year is just around the corner and LEGO is celebrating with a pair of new sets, but how do you make a dragon your own?
Read MoreOur photographic journey of Gringotts continues with a story of intrigue and hidden treasure as our LEGO heroes attempt to break in and out of the bank.
Read MoreWhat do Imagineers and AFOLs have in common? Guest contributor Joe Meno from BrickJournal Magazine shares his experience bringing Disney Imagineer Terri Hardin to BrickCon 2023 to celebrate creative expression using LEGO.
Read MoreBrickNerd sent several LEGO Dreamzzz sets to various talented AFOLs to play with and dream about. But we didn’t expect them to have nightmares!
Read MoreAs if the modification builder JK Brickworks made to LEGO 80102 Dragon Dance for smoother motion wasn’t cool enough, now he’s gone and added some 80’s nostalgia to it. Yes, it’s Falcor from The NeverEnding Story, flying smooth as silk thanks to some further modifications to the mechanism for even smoother sine wave motion. Check out the video to really appreciate the hard work and ingenuity that went into this.
I’m not a coffee drinker, I prefer tea. But perhaps that’s because I’ve never been offered coffee that was supervised by a dragon like this one from builder Anthony (The Secret Walrus) Wilson. I mean just look at this guy, he wants you to enjoy a properly brewed cup of morning motivation.
When I lived in London my commute took me through Chinatown every day, it was just a few blocks south of where I worked in Soho. One night, which just happened to be Chinese New Year, I rounded a corner just as the celebration started. My timing couldn't have been better, it went from normal London hustle bustle noise to sudden cacophony as drums started playing, fire crackers went off and the crowd cheered. And in the middle of it all, was a dragon, not unlike this outstanding depiction by builder Rhymes_Shelter. This was the first time I'd seen a legitimate dragon, and I was transfixed. I stopped dead in my tracks, the pressing need to get back to my tiny flat suddenly erased, and I watched.
I wish my guardian spirit was a dragon. I've become convinced over the years that it is indeed a sloth, and does no protecting. While I like sloths, this dragon by dviddy is way cooler. He sort of reminds me of Mushu from Mulan, but a more badass version. The mix of Hero Factory and System elements is spot on here, nicely done.
I think it's really too bad there's no dragons in the world. Whether or not this is because they've all died off or never existed in the first place I'll leave up to you. Luckily we can sort of bring them to life (or bring them back, again, up to you) through art and media, and that's exactly what builder Henjin_Quilones has done with this awesome rendition of Kijani the Earth Dragon.
Builder Pol Mac is pretty freshly out of his dark ages, but seems to have come out with a vengeance, check out this gorgeous (first ever) dragon! It's designed to be flexible without big gaps in the body, and I'd say it was successful. My favorite detail has to be the eyes though, what a simple, elegant solution. The combination of lever base and mudguard has instant expression.
This is one of those MOCs that's just hard to take in as a photo, or series of photos for that matter. There's so much going on and so many complex angles that pictures just don't do it justice. But one thing is clear from this single picture, that builder LEGO 7 put some serious time and effort into it. Do yourself a favor and click through for more pics.
Sometimes when we build a MOC we're not quite satisfied, and that's natural. As an artist I'm never quite satisfied with my work, always thinking it could be better, but you just run out of time, run out of money or run out of steam, happens every time. Occasionally we get the chance to revisit something, we take the time and update it, and that's what this fantastic space dragon is, an update. The original was splendid, but there were certain aspects that always bothered builder BobDeQuatre. Now he's taken some time to correct those, and the results are spectacular. If I had to guess there's still one or two things he'd like to perfect, but that's an artist, never satisfied.
I like the scrappy attitude of builder Tokyo Tag Team. This MOC is inspired by a vinyl figure by Black Seed, which is both rare and expensive. So instead of doing without or admiring from afar, they just built their own, and it's awesome (I'd go so far as to say better than the original)!
It seems no one can post a picture of a vaguely reptilian winged beast without a dragon vs wyvern debate starting up. I'm starting to wonder if we need a new word that encompasses all the beasts. Sort of like "bird" covers everything from eagles to finches. I don't know what that word may be, please feel free to comment below and nominate your word. In the mean time, please enjoy this "weast" (winged beast) by builder jaapxaap.
Being a king isn't easy. First there's all the whining, about land disputes, taxes, arranged marriages, etc. Then there's the matter of the parades and public appearances, you know why they wave that way? Because they have to do it for hours and it gets tiring. Then there's the fact that it seems someone is always trying to kill you, and if not someone then something, like this big black dragon by Mark of Falworth. Personally, I like being the jester.
"Well there's yer money, Harry! Gringotts the wizard bank. Ain't no safer place, not one. Except perhaps Hogwarts."
My sister introduced me to the magical world created by JK Rowling. I don't have many memories of reading any other book series, but I absolutely remember reading the Harry Potter books for the first time! The series has been given a lot of love in the LEGO community this year, especially thanks to the Harry's Magical Journey project. Fellow builder and friend Jared has created a beautiful replica of Gringotts, the famous bank in Diagon Alley. Obviously, a main attraction of this build is the well-designed dragon. Before I talk about that, let's take a minute to admire the building itself. Jared created a very unique roof design for this building, and the way he built the walls is, quite literally, simply fantastic. Moreover the columns in the front, a main point of interest for the building, are recreated so well. Now let's talk about that dragon...man. What a work of art as well! I included Jared's second photo of the back of the dragon below, just so more details of this wonderful LEGO creature are revealed. All in all, this is an amazing creation that I was fortunate enough to see for the "unveiling" at BrickFair Virginia. Looking forward to seeing more Harry Potter creations from you in the future, Jared!
Just look at that Dragon. Its AWESOME! The parts use here is superb, a million illegal connections, excellent. The castle isn't to shabby either. This Micro scale MOC by Guy Smiley would make a superb set, if it wasn't for all those not so legit connections! Gonna go and see if I can make my own little (big) Dragon!
One of the things I love about Iron Builder is the out-of-the-box thinking that it inevitably inspires. I've heard stories of builders carrying the part in their pocket for the entire month, continually aware of it, continually looking for that spark. Sure you or I look at that part and say "handle" or maybe "plumbing". But 2 Much Caffeine looks at it and says "classic Chinese dragon whiskers", brilliant.
Normally if you heard the phrase "it's a dragon attacking a village, setting it on fire" you would imagine a MOC with 5-10 thousand pieces, but not if you're Grantmasters. There's what, 32 pieces here? But it tells the story so well with clever part use and construction in a tiny and effective micro MOC. That dragon is awesome, and as for the villagers...well, I suppose that's what you get for building your village out of flammable materials.
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