LEGO: Dragon Battle

Another week, another miniature LEGO diorama. Yes, I am 47-years-old, and yes, I like building things with LEGO. No, I never played with them as a child, and yes, I purchase them under the pretense of doing so solely for my six-year-old son, Hudson.

While this one, lucky number seven, will probably be my last diorama for a while, I did have a lot of fun over the past four nights putting it together.

And, should you so desire, please check out my other LEGO dioramas:
LEGO DIORAMA 1
LEGO DIORAMA 2
LEGO DIORAMA 3
LEGO DIORAMA 4
LEGO DIORAMA 5
LEGO DIORAMA 6

Welcome to my vision of a fantastic dragon battle in feudal Japan.

To say the creation process has a mind of its own would be obvious. I build LEGO much the same way I write. I have no idea what I am going to do until it is done, despite any ill-conceived plans.

Originally supposed to be some as as yet imagined vista that was going to include a meeting area with a delicate water garden with flower petals in it, the diorama instead turned into a scene of mayhem with a dragon (ryu) attacking a temple (ji). Perhaps it had something to do with 2012 being the Year of The Dragon, of which I happen to be one. The fact that my name in Japanese is: An-do-ryu (peaceful-leader-dragon) had nothing to do with why I chose to build this scene, but might explain why I had a LEGO dragon lying around the house to begin with. 

Four minifig (miniature figurine) LEGO warriors (one dead) battle a dragon as it thrusts its head through a torii (temple gate).

The dragon in his fury at having been chained up for so long, has after breaking free gone after anyone and anything, alighting from the sky into a temple courtyard. His fearsome head through the gate, he attacks the poor warriors, knocking one to the side killing him instantly as another ducks backwards. Its heavily muscled wing smashes part of a tree while razor-sharp claws pull down part of the torii narrowly missing its attackers. Continuing his assault, the dragon thrashes its massive head at a small bell tower throwing it up into the air... but does it see the white ninja leaping from atop the flying debris with a mace in his hand? 

With all my photos, by clicking on them, they should expand to its full size.

This diorama is 14-inches x 11-inches and 8-inches high, flowing over thanks to the dragon's wings and claws from a standard LEGO blue base of 10-inches x 10inches. The minifigs, excluding the ninja which came with the dragon in a LEGO Ninjago set, were all purchased via various sellers on E-bay, buying heads, torso and legs separately to give each the same but different look. The torri was part of a Ninjago game card holder, the tree cobbled together from various sellers, the bell from some parts given to my son by my 18 year-old cousin, Marc Sands, a couple of years ago, the 'garden' and its walls are all from a 1,000-piece bag of black LEGO I bought in bulk from E-bay two years ago just for this project (yeah! like I plan ahead!). Other sundry items purchased from the LEGO Store at Sherway Gardens in Toronto. You should check out a story on their great customer service HERE. 

Diorama constructed and photographed by Andrew Joseph (still me!)