Yavanna

If you're a Tolkien reader of any stripe, you really should be listening to the Tolkien Professor Podcast, where Professor Corey Olsen and friends look in depth at the books and related topics like the Peter Jackson movies. Since the Hobbit movies are now in the past, for good or ill, Corey, Trish and Dave have started the SilmFilm project, where they imagine the adaptation of the Silmarillion into a multi-season TV show (think HBO, like Game of Thrones). For the record this is purely a thought exercise, since such a show will probably never be made, but it's great fun to listen to, and participate. Anyway, they've started thinking about casting, and I propose that rather than consider choosing big name actors for the roles, they should go all-LEGO. Take, for instance, Marina's custom Yavanna figure.

Balin

Eero Okkonen built Balin in his younger days before Smaug came to the Lonely Mountain.

Farewell, Christopher Lee

Farewell, Sir Christopher Lee, Dracula, Count Dooku, and of course Saruman. 1922-2015.

Dain Ironfoot

Pate-keetongu made this awesome version of Dain Ironfoot, complete with battle-pig.

MELO Round 4 Orthanc bracket

Here are the pairings for the Orthanc bracket in round 4 of the MELO. Again, the topics are characters from the Two Towers.

Joseph Olson faced off against Vladimir van Hoek to built MOCs based on Theoden. Joseph Olson advanced to round 5.



Bane of Seaguls faced off against Andrew JN to built MOCs based on Saruman. Andrew JN advanced to round 5.

MELO Round 4 Barad-Dur bracket

Round 4 of the MELO challenged each pair to face off based on characters from the Two Towers. Here is the Barad-Dur bracket.

Captain Nemo went up against Graham Gidman to build MOCs based on Treebeard. Graham Gidman advanced to round 5.



Tim W went up against Dunedain98 to build MOCs based on Eowyn. Dunedain98 advanced to round 5.

MELO round 3 - Barad Dur bracket

In round 3 of the MELO, each pair had to build MOCs based on characters from the Fellowship of the Ring. Here are the four pairs from the Barad Dur bracket.

Captain Nemo faced off against Graeme Straughn to build creations based on Boromir. Captain Nemo advanced to round 4.



Finn Tegotash faced off against Tim W to build creations based on Sam. Tim W advanced to round 4.



Dunedain98 faced off against Dodge to build creations based on Legolas. Dunedain98 advanced to round 4.



Mark McPeek faced off against Graham Gidman to build creations based on Pippin. Graham Gidman advanced to round 4.

MELO round 2 Orthanc bracket part 2

Finishing out round 2 of the MELO, here are the next four pairings from the Orthanc bracket.

Jake Andrews took on Trevor Turco building MOCs based on Kili. Trevor Turco advanced to round 3.



P Andrei took on Bane of Seaguls building MOCs based on Bifur. Bane of Seaguls advanced to round 3.



Professor B took on Jacob Pennington building MOCs based on Gloin. Unfortunately Jacob defaulted, and Professor B advanced to round 3.


A Sargent took on Joseph Olson building MOCs based on Dori. Joseph Olson advanced to round 3.

MELO Round 2 - Barad Dur bracket part 2

Here's the second half of the Barad Dur bracket round 2 of the MELO - head-to-head match-ups based on characters from the Hobbit.

Zoltan paired up against Graham Gidman to build MOCs based on Fili. Graham Gidman advanced. Zoltan's entry seems to have been deleted from MOCpages.


Dodge paired up against Micah the Fire-breathing Hobbit to build MOCs based on Beorn. Dodge advanced.



Kevin Moyer paired up against Tim W to build MOCs based on Bofur. Tim W advanced.



Graeme Steaughn paired up against Mate Paton to build MOCs based on Ori. Graeme Straughn advanced.

MELO Round 2 - Barad Dur bracket part 1

Round 2 of the MELO started the head-to-head match-ups. The 32 builders were broken into two brackets, the Barad Dur and Orthanc brackets, in a single elimination tournament. Each pair had to build something with an assigned theme. In round 2, challenges were based on characters from the Hobbit. Here are the first four pairs and their results.

Captain Nemo faced off with Ian Diller on the theme Bilbo. Captain Nemo advanced to the next round.



J-rod Smith faced off with Finn Tegotash on the theme Smaug. Finn Tegotash advanced to the next round.



The Dunedain98 faced off with Thomas on the theme Thorin. Dunedain98 advanced to the next round.



Mark McPeek faced off with John Smith on the theme Balin. Mark McPeek advanced to the next round.

More MELO Round 1 - May it Be

Continuing with Round 1 of the 2014-15 MELO. Here are a couple of the entries inspired by the song May It Be.

This song got several builders thinking about Aragorn. P Andrei was the most impressive of these and advanced to Round 2.


Professor B interpreted this with a figure (maybe Gandalf?) pushing away the shadows of the night, and he advanced to Round 2.

Smaug

Tolkien LEGO fans in Toronto can have a treat. If you go to the Toronto Eaton Centre (looks like it's a shopping mall), the Smaug sculpture by Eric Varszegi that was seen at ComicCon is on display.

Arwen

BrianTheLegoNut built this stunning mosaic of Arwen.

Samwise

Dave Ware made this Sam mosaic, and had it signed by Sean Astin.

More MELO round 1

Continuing my look at selections from round 1 of the MELO. Remember, these are all based on riddles from Bilbo and Gollum.

Dodge illustrates wind.


Disco86 made a mountain.


KW Vauban illustrates time.


Josh Walter does a more literal take on the fish riddle.