'Tis the Season... of Spooky!

Aaron Newman September 30, 2020

I designed these famous Halloween characters in collaboration with Build Better Bricks (B3). Every year, B3’s head designer Tyler and I decide on two new monsters to build for the holiday; he does one, and I do one. During our inaugural Halloween season, I built the savage Werewolf on the left. For this year, I built a wicked Red Devil. Both figurines are highly articulated and detailed, and are designed as amalgamations of my favorite versions of these iconic monsters.

Read on to learn more about the design choices that went into each of these models, and to find out how I found my way to their striking photo presentation!

"Wraiths with Wings!"

Aaron Newman May 13, 2020

I designed this replica of a Fell Beast from Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001-2003) in collaboration with Build Better Bricks (B3). Despite their limited screen time during the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) films, the Ringwraiths’ dragon steeds known as Fell Beasts are some of the most striking creatures from Jackson’s take on the Tolkien universe. I was excited to revisit this subject; the last time I made a Fell Beast was actually back in 2012, when my building skills were nowhere near as practiced as they are now.

Read on to learn more about the design choices that culminated in my finished Fell Beast model—and stick around to the end of this post to see my 2012 version, too!

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.

"There is only one Lord of the Ring..."

Aaron Newman May 2, 2019

“…And he does not share power!”

As I mentioned in a blog entry on my Middle Earth Micro Models, Peter Jackson’s adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings are some of my all-time favorite films. So when I found myself facing “builders block” with an ongoing project, I naturally turned to that cinematic epic for inspiration. In the end, I designed the Dark Lord Sauron in his humanoid form, and I’m quite pleased with how my version of this iconic character turned out!

Read on to learn more about the design of this 13” (34cm) figurine.

Denizens of the Dragon Lands

Aaron Newman February 15, 2019

While, like my retro and futuristic figbarfs, I designed this LEGO Minifigure arrangement for a contest, I think of this series more as a successor to my previous three series of fantasy minifigs. Like the characters you see in those, the motley assembly here comes from the world of Dragon Lands, a medieval fantasy “theme” of my own creation. As I continue work on a new “wave” of Dragon Lands “products” (official re-launch announcement coming later!), sharing a few more characters felt like a good way to start building hype for myself and my fans.

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.