Behind-The-Build: Heartbreak of the Dragon Prince

Aaron Newman February 27, 2020

For Episode 3 of LEGO Masters, “Movie Genres” (2/26/2020), Christian and I created “Heartbreak of the Dragon Prince,” a fantasy romance with a thrilling conclusion!

In our final build, the Dragon Prince and his princess are threatened by a pair of nefarious necromancer brothers, who have summoned an army of skeletons to attack the castle. In the blockbuster moment we captured, the Dragon Prince—chained by wicked magic—has managed to delay the horde of skeletons with fire, but cannot prevent one of the necromancers from pushing his love from the top of the tower. Will he be able to save her from a deadly drop?

Read on for my special dissection of this 13-hour model’s process, design choices, and more.

Sketching Medieval in Monochrome

Aaron Newman June 18, 2019

I built this model as a trophy for the 2019 Summer Joust, a medieval-themed building contest. As one of the competition’s judges, I was asked to prepare a prize for the “No Bley” subcategory. Entries in that category weren’t allowed to use any “bley”—a portmanteau of “bluish grey,” shorthand used to refer to LEGO’s post-2004 gray hues— so I thought it would be fun and tongue-in-cheek if the entire prize I designed was built from those colors!

Read on to learn more about the design choices I made on this monochromatic model.

Le Château de Chenonceau

Aaron Newman June 4, 2018

After eight months' work—often interrupted by other projects, like the ABS Builder Challenge and some commission builds—I'm extremely proud to finally present my biggest creation to date: this replica of the Château de Chenonceau, a famous castle in the Loire Valley of France.

I visited Chenonceau in September of 2017, and as soon as I saw it, I knew that I had to build it in LEGO! The château's elegant sixteenth-century architecture, the way the structure spans the Cher River, and its storied past (Chenonceau is also known as the "Château des Dames," having been inhabited by notable noblewomen across its life, including Diane de Poitiers and Catherine de' Medici) captured my imagination. Almost as soon as I got back from France, I began work on what I originally expected to be a much smaller build... In the end, my Château de Chenonceau measures more than 12" (31cm) tall, 17" (44cm) deep, and 40" (102cm) wide!

Read on to learn more about the build process, design, and photography of this immense build!

This Seaside Castle is my second ABS challenge build.

Strong castle, sleepy village

Aaron Newman March 19, 2018

This model, a Seaside Castle, is the second build I've completed for my second round in the ABS Builder Challenge, an online competition where LEGO® artists are tasked with implementing a "seed part"—in this case, a silver goblet—creatively into as many builds as possible.

Read on to learn more about the design choices behind this model.

Behind-The-Build: Heartbreak of the Dragon Prince

Sketching Medieval in Monochrome

Le Château de Chenonceau

Strong castle, sleepy village

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