How to build a medieval LEGO village
September 29, 2015 1:20 PM   Subscribe

Detailed guide to building a medieval village. LEGO builder Luke Watkins Hutchinson / Derfel Cadarn's massive, 300-photo guide to building an intricate medieval scene out of LEGO bricks.

More detailed medieval LEGO builds:
The cobblestone streets of Brick Time's Dunholm, part of the fantasy realm of Northland. See the whole continent in micro scale, or learn to make a Northland keg.
Classic Castle's Colossal Castle Contest, with standout entries by David "Legonardo Davidy" Hensel and César "Cesbrick" Soares showing off imaginative angled structures.
posted by knuckle tattoos (24 comments total) 66 users marked this as a favorite
 
Wow! The way they make depth of color in the stream is very cool, and this whole thing is amazing.
posted by LobsterMitten at 1:27 PM on September 29, 2015 [2 favorites]


The only LEGO bricks I think I ever had were the plain rectangular ones, and the only building I could ever make was Scrooge McDuck's Money Bin. Except I had to imagine the giant "$" on the front.
posted by yhbc at 1:34 PM on September 29, 2015 [2 favorites]


It went from "neat", to "cool", to "Wow", to "Oh My God", and by the end I felt like I needed to submit a formal surrender to their Lego-building skills.
posted by benito.strauss at 1:48 PM on September 29, 2015 [7 favorites]


I've always wanted to build something like this: Cthulego Rising!
posted by Major Matt Mason Dixon at 1:49 PM on September 29, 2015 [2 favorites]


Check out his flickr page.
posted by Ironmouth at 1:50 PM on September 29, 2015


The details of how to do the stream, especially the banks, were just fascinating.

This is magnificent. Thanks for posting it.
posted by ob1quixote at 1:51 PM on September 29, 2015


I started to think how much this would cost as a set, but can't count this high.
posted by lmfsilva at 2:01 PM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]


That is gorgeous. And i felt so proud about the little submarine I made while stoned with a friend...

Seriously though, what I wouldn't give to have a huge piece collection. For investigative purposes, of course.
posted by _Synesthesia_ at 2:46 PM on September 29, 2015


What amazes me most, I think, is how much care he takes to make sure this stuff is reasonably sturdy and playable-with. Interiors to the buildings, reinforced and open-and-closeable doors, all the careful usability of everything. Just incredible.
posted by mstokes650 at 3:29 PM on September 29, 2015


Wonderful finds, and a great first post. Thank you, knuckle tattoos!
posted by MonkeyToes at 3:49 PM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]


I am always impressed with these builds, but then I am reminded of my woefully-inadequate supply of LEGO bricks.
posted by CancerMan at 4:37 PM on September 29, 2015


" I have used dark green tree pieces here because I plan to build a large tree which means this side of the building will be shaded. Therefore the only plants that would grow would be shade loving plants, so dark green ivy is what we get."

Nice.
posted by Just this guy, y'know at 4:38 PM on September 29, 2015 [8 favorites]


I'm only partway through and this is amazing. I get one of those weird twitches when I see something like this though... MAKE THEM MATCH
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 4:43 PM on September 29, 2015


Holy cow.
posted by shakespeherian at 5:11 PM on September 29, 2015


Oh

My


God
posted by The Whelk at 5:22 PM on September 29, 2015


Whoa. Now I want to go raid the giant crates of Legos in kiddo's closet.
posted by SecretAgentSockpuppet at 6:36 PM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]


At some point I think I'd give up and start felling trees for the full scale version.
posted by Kid Charlemagne at 6:44 PM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]


Recently stumbled on this guy's epic lego work.
posted by not_that_epiphanius at 6:49 PM on September 29, 2015 [1 favorite]


These are amazing.

This is why I play Minecraft.
posted by dazed_one at 9:06 PM on September 29, 2015


I really like the technique of using layered transparent bricks in different shades to create water.

I saw this MOC at a show a while ago. A fairly simple scene, but the water just has such vibrancy. Compare it to the water in a typical official set. (Sorry for the terrible photo)

Unfortunately the part count and fiddly building would be prohibit a big river like this in a real set.

If you keep an eye on the pick a brick bins at lego stores you can easily get $80 or more of small parts in one of the large cups (approx $16 retail) so this technique isn't as out of reach as it first looks.

Buying them direct from lego's website is an option if you want uncommon colors but the price mounts up very quickly (approx 10cent per 1x1 trans plate). Bricklink is a good option, many sellers stock brand new 1x1 trans plates in bulk. Prices vary a lot, from maybe 3 to 8 cents typically. But getting lucky and finding a store with them in the bins is clearly the best... there are services that log sightings of such prizes, if you see them locally then fill your boots! I bought over 750 2x2 plates in a large cup once, and those were 10cent each direct from lego. So it's a great option of these big scenes.
posted by samworm at 2:16 AM on September 30, 2015 [3 favorites]


On first glance, I also like his storage bin setup.
posted by ZeusHumms at 6:29 AM on September 30, 2015 [1 favorite]


Word of warning: I picked up some vocabulary reading stuff for this post, and now I know that image searching for "lego stonework" is like falling into a black hole. You might end up looking at sweet pop-up books of castles or different takes on Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater or a huge Bavarian castle made using more familiar construction methods. "Lego greebles" is a pretty fun search too.
posted by knuckle tattoos at 7:33 PM on September 30, 2015 [3 favorites]


This is so cool I want to scream.
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:30 PM on October 12, 2015


I was looking at the photos of the bridge leading directly onto grass, and I was like, man, he missed a trick there, he should have added some cobblestones and brown earth to show that the path is well-trodden...and then he did!
posted by turbid dahlia at 7:36 PM on October 12, 2015


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