Winter Cottage

There are a great many things to love about this lovely little wintery scene from builder dzambito42. And of course I love it when a MOC makes me go “wait what?” That’s exactly my reaction to the path leading up to the little cottage. I have no idea how that was accomplished, but I love it.

The Tower

This tower has an interesting story. It started as a dark creepy tower, but over the month or so builder MinifigNick worked on it it magically morphed. I’ve endured a UK winter, and I know exactly what Nick means when he says it was an “antidote to the dark wet winter evenings”. LEGO was my therapy when I was there too, it has pretty magical healing properties.

Mountaintop Shrine

This entry into the 2018 Summer Joust by Grant Davis is one of those MOCs that keeps you looking. There's so many details, techniques and cool part combinations that you can stare at it for whole minutes. Grant promises a video later this week featuring construction techniques and how it was built, you can bet I'll be tuning in.

Charming Cottage, Room For Eight*

Tired of the hustle bustle life in a crowded village? Try the rural lifestyle! This charming cottage in the northern Black Forest region offers scenic views, wholesome living and easy access to a nearby mine. Many amenities including a full kitchen, carved wooden details and decorative pipe organ. See agent Cesbrick for details.

*seven of the beds are half size

Tropical Shores

I was fortunate enough to view this impressive tropical island pirate MOC in an earlier iteration at BrickCon. It's a collaborative build by Takkata1 and ForlornEmpire and it's pretty spectacular. There's little touches and fun back story everywhere you look, but that temple entrance is a total scene stealer. Check out the video for a time lapse of it's construction and to see the moving features in action.

Jungle Temple

I've never actually seen a pyramid, and to tell the truth I've never actually felt the need to. It's not that I don't appreciate ancient engineering, or have anything against the cultures that created them, it's because I'm from the central coast of California. This means I don't do hot, I don't do cold, and I don't do humidity. And it seems that everywhere pyramids are, that's what's around them. Just look at this marvelous jungle pyramid by builder MassEditor. You can practically hear the bugs, feel the sweat dripping down your back and smell the damp jungle air. I think I'll stick to The Jungle Cruise at Disneyland as a suitable substitute (then grab a Dole Whip, because it gets hot in Anaheim too).

One, Two, Tree Reasons to Build Landscapes

I always love it when a good solid landscaping build shows up in my Flickr feed. This build by Markus1984 is a really good example of many different landscaping techniques. The path and rocks are very nicely integrated into the greenery. I particularly like how the path is built at an angle; it makes the build feel a lot more realistic. Also, even though I would normally advise against taking pictures in direct sunlight, it looks great here, since the way the light filters through the LEGO leaves is just gorgeous.

Classic Greek Polis

This beautiful MOC by Simon S makes me want to go on a time machine european holiday. Soak in the sun in a lovely Greek shoreline village, eat copious amounts of hummus, gaze at the tranquil settings and maybe, just maybe, go to a toga party (they had those right? I saw Animal House)

Al Amarj Island

This stunning castle MOC by MassEditor is enough to make you want to plan a European vacation. That is of course assuming you're not already in Europe, in which case you're probably sick of looking at castles and would probably like to just hang out at a Motel 6 in Malibu. I like to think whoever decided this was the perfect place to build a castle had just a little bit of "Bond villain" in them.

Lush Foliage

There are only so many parts and colors in the "foliage" spectrum of LEGO, so getting a non-uniform and natural look to larger MOCs isn't easy. But Mark of Falworth shows us how it's done with this effortless diorama. The flow of color, diversity of texture and scattering of detail make this a perfect example on how to landscape.

Apple Tree

I always enjoy seeing what a really good builder can accomplish with standard parts and strait forward connections. This apple tree by retinence is build entirely studs up and with nothing more complicated than plate, bricks and slopes. It's likely a bit fragile, but you can say that about most brick-built trees. 

Party!

Summer might be pretty much over, but it's not stopping the party on this island. Having spent some time in Hawaii in June, I can totally understand. Builder Disco86 brings this party to life with skill and panache, and I totally want to be there (that is unless I'd be on the menu). Somebody pass the tanning butter.

Battle In Buccaneer Bay

Avast there! Builder Mark of Falworth's latest build depicts pretty much a worst case scenario for the Bluecoats, pirates attacking on one side, Redcoats on the other. You just have to wonder what happens when they both board and discover each other. Built to promote the LEGO War contest on Flickr.

Tundra Cottage

The first thing that caught my eye on this build by GunmanLurikeen was the rounded edges on the roof. But take a look at all the cool teqniques being used here. The droid arms for fencing, the curved plates for contouring the terrain, the details in the crop. There's a lot going on here and it flows beautifully. 

Cherry Blossom

Having built a few trees recently I know how fragile and fiddly they can be. And I can't imagine how fragile and fiddly this one by studio tidepool is. But it's also absolutely beautiful.

It's Not Polite To Tease

Kids, always up to no good. You can always tell the leader of the group, he or she is the one with all the best bad ideas. Like dangling a chicken outside the opening of a beast's cave. What could possibly go wrong? 

The Tower

Oh my. I was all set to go out and set up to shoot episode 106, but I thought "one last peek at Flickr". That's when I saw this. I implore you dear readers to stop what you're doing and click through. Then look at the larger versions of this and all the pictures. This is an absolute visual treat, from bottom to top. Outstanding work Kris_Kelvin.

Castle Dracula

These walls are texturiffic. The combination of grays, the profile bricks, the occasional stud and round makes for very rich detail. What would be a fairly simple, boxy castle is transformed into a very nice piece. The addition of snow details adds story and life to it as well.