in bikes & ride-ons DollsArts & CraftsBath, Beauty & AccessoriesPretend PlayBikes & Ride-onsElectronicsBuilding SetsOutdoor PlayLearningPreschoolGames & PuzzlesMusical InstrumentsStuffed AnimalsVideo GamesCooking for Kids Disney FrozenBarbieDisney PrincessMy Little PonyMonster HighDoc McStuffinsAll minifigs shown here were created using custom decals that I designed myself. Don't forget to check out my Decal Shop! Weapons, helmets, and shields by BrickForge. (click some images to view full size!) When LEGO came out with their Temple of Atlantis set, I knew what I had to do: buy two of them, and put all of those lovely new column pieces to better use. This Temple of Athena is the result. Does the design look familiar? Okay, this isn't a picture of the real Parthenon. This is a life-size replica of the Parthenon in Nashville, Tennessee. The real Parthenon - the one in Athens, Greece - is a little worse for wear. Which stands to reason, since it's nearly 2,500 years old.
To put things into perspective, that's over ten times as old as the United States of America. Actually, the building stood almost entirely intact for over a thousand years, until the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans had conquered Greece and turned the Parthenon into a mosque. Venetian forces fighting against the Ottomans bombarded the acropolis and ignited an ammunition cache the Ottomons had stored inside the great temple. Thus, in 1687, the Parthenon was reduced to its present ruined state by the careless destruction of war. Now before you go nitpicking this creation: No, this is by no means intended to be a replica of the Parthenon. If so, it would be innacurate in more ways than I can count. This is just a Temple of Athena inspired by the Parthenon. The roof tiles are from a LEGO Sports ice hockey rink. I always knew they'd come in handy someday, though I had to use Brasso polish to get the hockey rink lines off. It's the first time I've actually Brasso'd a LEGO piece, and all that polishing was quite a bit of work, even with help.
It's not easy to rub those prints off! Sorry about the odd tan-colored bricks scattered through the columns. I ran out of white ones. In the end, I used up every column piece I had on the creation except one! I made that one into a cake, Friends style, to celebrate. Overall interior shot, with the roof removed. This may end up as part of a Wulfgard creation at some point. I've always wanted to put together one or more large Wulfgard cities. Hopefully this will someday be the Temple of Athena in Illikon... Inside the Parthenon stood a massive statue of the goddess Athena, decorated in gold and ivory. In her hand she held a sculpture of Nike, the winged goddess of victory, that was as tall as a man. She was crowned with a golden helmet, ready for battle, with her spear and shield nearby, along with a giant snake, a very symbolic creature in Greek myths. I replaced Nike with an owl here because it's easier, and owls were also associated with Athena. The guard dudes flanking Athena here are from the two Temple of Atlantis sets I bought.
They are the only minifigs in this creation that have not been customized with decals (although I did replace their tridents with Brickforge javelins). I snuck my sister's Wulfgard minifig into the creation for her. Sir Draconius, the guy in the red-crested silver helmet, is attending whatever ritual is currently going on. The snake is one of the weird vine pieces from the Atlantis of which this Temple was built. I thought it worked out pretty well. The real Athena Parthenos (statue of Athena in the Parthenon) has been gone for centuries, but the replica created for the Parthenon in Nashville, based on classical descriptions, is the tallest indoor statue in the Western world (over 41 feet tall). Yes, the sculptures on the pediments are just decals. I'm sure there are more talented LEGO builders out there who could have come up with ingenous designs for those tiny minifigs and horses. Sadly I'm not so clever, so I am forced to fall back on my 2-dimensional artistic ability and draw simple stickers to do the job.
The design shows Athena fighting with Poseidon for the favor of the people. Close-up of some of the minifigs. For close-ups of the soldier minifigs, check out this page. All minifigs shown here were created using custom decals that I designed myself. Don't forget to check out my Decal Shop! LEGO® is a trademark of The LEGO Group, which does not sponsor, authorize, or endorse this website.If you’re looking to flee the U.S. for any reason, we’d recommend London as the perfect place to “lego” of all your cares. The world’s largest Lego store opened Thursday in London’s Leicester Square, featuring some of the most impressive builds the legacy toy company has ever produced. Visitors to the flagship are greeted by a Lego Shakespeare in a life-size Lego Tube carriage that took 637,903 bricks and 3,399 hours to build. The store’s Big Ben replica used more than 200,000 bricks and lights up at night. At more than 9,800 square feet, this store will surely impress even the most expert of home Lego enthusiasts:
A photo posted by Visit London (@visitlondonofficial) on Nov 17, 2016 at 6:18am PST A photo posted by Matthew Pratt (@matthewjpratt) on Nov 17, 2016 at 3:45am PST Lego’s new London flagship is the crown jewel of its 131 stores worldwide. Among the red Lego phone booths and recreated Tube maps, visitors can also attend masterclasses with top-notch Lego builders and shop for sets on digital shopping screens. If the future is Lego, we’re jolly well pleased. Our apologies, the content you requested cannot be located. using the Search box above.NEW YORK, June 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- LEGO Brand Retail, Inc. today announced a new in-store LEGO® brick-themed birthday party experience for children ages 5-14, exclusively available at the LEGO® Store: Flatiron District. Beginning today, families can reserve a Saturday or Sunday time between June 11 and October 30 to celebrate their child's birthday. Guided by two LEGO Brick Specialists, children will take part in hands-on LEGO building activities and group challenges, and take home a LEGO-themed party favor.
Designed with a child's desire for creative play in mind, the 90-minute parties incorporate personalized building activities, guided mini-model builds and fun competitive building challenges for a one-of-a-kind celebration. Each party features a variety of fun building prompts and unique favors including: Exclusive Mini-Model Build: build and take home a mini birthday cake LEGO model, only available from the LEGO Store: Flatiron District Group Play: team up to tackle building challenges, such as creating the tallest LEGO brick tower or strongest LEGO bridge Free Build Time: unleash your imagination to build anything you want during free build time Pick-a-Brick Wall: take a trip to the iconic store wall to fill your box with any LEGO bricks and elements you desire, all of which go home with you at the end of the party Story Starter Building: use any bricks you pick to create models based on themed story starters, as chosen by party hosts Party Favors for Everyone: take home a bag full of the day's builds, sticker sheets and more.
The birthday child's bag also includes custom t-shirt, frame and photo of the day. Brick-Themed Party Kit: prepare for the event with LEGO-themed invitations and thank you cards Birthday Treats: party hosts are welcome to bring their treat of choice to serve during the party "Our Flatiron store birthday party program provides New York City families with one of the most requested store experiences—an immersive, hands-on LEGO building celebration right inside the iconic store," said Michael McNally, senior director, brand relations for LEGO Systems. "The themed builds and varied activities will help spur creative building that can continue long after the celebration ends, making each party a perfect way to kick off a new year in a child's life." Interested families are encouraged to book early due to limited availability by visiting the LEGO Store: Flatiron District to book their party today. A $100 non-refundable deposit is required at the time of registration. Parities can accommodate up to 10 children with a cost of of $40 per child.