I love things. And by things, I don’t just mean any old things. I mean weird things. Portals. Monoliths. Strange structures that contain a sense of magic and mystery. Otherworldly objects that tread the fine line between majestic awe and horrifying madness. The kinds of things that you wouldn’t necessarily want to stumble upon while taking a walk in the woods, but that would make for a great start to a sci-fi or fantasy novel. The kinds of things that are hard to put into words. Things.

In today’s article, I’ve decided to subject you all to my obsession with these… uh, things. (I wasn’t kidding when I said that it’s hard to put them into words). Anyways, it seems I’m not alone in my obsession; there are tons of other LEGO artists out there who have built MOCs depicting the sorts of things upon which this article is focused. In fact, there are far more than I could fit in any one article. For now, I’ve selected a few of my favorites to bless (or curse?) you all with. Prepare to be amazed! Or maybe just confused. Perhaps even horrified. You get the idea…

Into the Madness…

We’ll kick things off with this classic monolith by Nannan Zhang. The juxtaposition between the flat, organic base and the sharp, vertical lines of the artificial structure invokes a sense of awe and wonder, while the pile of skeletons at the tower’s base adds an element of horror and mystery to the scene.

Next up we have a tetrahedral planetoid (try saying that 10 times fast), built by Bricknerd’s own Simon Liu! The model, built for InnovaLUG’s Style It Up contest, was inspired by the work of M.C. Escher, which is a pretty good indication of the craziness found within the model. While the build speaks best for itself, I can’t help but point out the impressive geometry!

Up next, we have the master of alienesque structures himself, Bart De Dobbelaer. He has so many incredible MOCs that would be right at place in this article, and I had a hard time deciding which one to feature. In the end, though, I had to go with these stunning polyhedral, uh, things. I highly recommend that you check out the rest of his work as well as his photostream is chock full of this sort of otherworldly, greebly goodness.

Moving from the realm of science fiction to a build that is decidedly more medieval in nature, we have this impressive structure by Lukasz Wiktorowicz. The concept of seeing different worlds through the different arches paired with the contrast between the night and day results in a beautiful creation that could easily be called a piece of art. Plus, you get two portals for the price of one!

Next up, this scene by Hejjo Demkowicz really sucks you in thanks to some brilliant presentation and a strong sense of atmosphere. The model is also a masterclass in interesting and otherworldly architecture, from the repeated use of curves to the integration of tires leading up to the gateways.

Our next model has not one thing, not two things, but, uh, a lot of things! Anthony Wilson brings us this beautiful scene depicting… you know what, I don’t even know what’s going on here. No matter, though, because whatever it is, it looks amazing! The cube, the weird structure, the other cube… yeah, I really don’t know what any of that stuff is. I’ll just let you admire the build for yourself.

This next MOC, built by Eli Wilsea, shows a series of portals and monoliths. The tap piece is used to great effect to create some suitably mystical patterns across the structures while the trees frame the scene quite nicely. Finally, the hooded figure adds an extra layer of mystery to the scene, suggesting to the viewer that maybe there’s a story going on here.

Sheo is another talented builder with a ton of great MOCs that would be at home in this article, but “Vault” probably best captures the otherworldly weirdness that this article is about. The structure’s unusual shape, the symbols around the door, the tentacular entity emerging from within, it all just screams thing.

And, of course, we can’t go through a whole MOC roundup without mentioning frogs at least once! That’s where this mesmerizing scene, built by Hubba Blöoba, comes in. Both the cube and the structure supporting it look suitably whimsical, and the frogs are just the cherry on top.

Finally, I’d like to wrap this article up with what is quite possibly my favorite LEGO MOC of all time. It’s been over 7 years since Angelo S posted Rømningsvei, and I still get chills every time I see it. The contrast between the frigid mountains and the cheerful village, both of which are masterfully depicted, gives me the same vibe as curling up next to the fire watching snow fall outside — only, on a much grander and more epic scale.

…And Back To Reality

Well, there you have it! Things. Glorious, logic-defying things. Of course, this is all just the tip of the monolith — there are so many other incredible creations out there depicting various things that I wasn’t able to fit into this article. In fact, I have a whole Flickr gallery dedicated to MOCs like this that you can check out if you find yourself craving more. And the best part about these sorts of models is that the possibilities are limitless; there are no rules and restrictions, which means that builders are constantly innovating and coming up with bold new things. Personally, I can’t wait to see where LEGO builders will take these concepts in the future and what strange new MOCs will emerge over time!

Best of BrickNerd - Article originally published June 28, 2023.

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