Behold, The Greatness of Fantasy Minifigs!

Best of BrickNerd - Article originally published September 16, 2022.

Large MOCs or even layouts can often make your jaw drop. But it’s not always the big stuff that makes you feel that way; minifigs can illicit that reaction at as well. Especially when it’s done in a theme that’s as limitless as fantasy with excellent combinations, and of course, beautiful presentation.

A great example of this are the stunning minifigs that Thorgrihm is posting on a regular basis. It’s like going on an adventure when admiring all the different styles and combinations. Let’s have a closer look at how Thorgrihm comes up with these characters.

Marco: It's clear to see while browsing through your Instagram that you have a love for fantasy characters. Where do get most of your inspiration from? And is there a theme that you like most?

Thorgrihm: As a guy from the ’80s, I’ve grown up being influenced by a large amount of fantasy movies like Conan, Willow, and Star Wars. Also cartoons like the Master of the Universe, things I’ve learned about in history class, and of course, the different LEGO Castle themes.

Later, at the end of the ’90s, I started playing Magic The Gathering and RPG video games (Final Fantasy, Wild Arms, Breath of Fire…). At the same time, a friend of mine passed me the Manga called “Bastard!!” (adapted recently in anime form on Netflix).

I also discovered the universe of Warcraft III and Diablo, and a few years later World of Warcraft. From there I got interested in knowing more about those universes and started to read some novels from Warcraft, Warhammer (Gotrek and Felix, Ursun’s Teeth… ) and Warhammer 40K (The Horus Heresy …).

Marco: That’s a lot of research! What's your approach to finding the right combos for the minifigs?

Thorgrihm: I guess I got sensitized about harmony and balance in fantasy characters through most of my readings and gaming. In my mind, there is a code for fantasy characters. Like a full-plated armor character doesn’t really fit with a small knife. A character must tell you a coherent story, from its outfit to its accessories.

Marco: Do have a vast sorted collection of minifigs accessories for example?

Thorgrihm: I’ve got most of the Marvel/DC LEGO sets and the Collectible Minifigure series. Also for a few years now, I’ve started to collect more and more Castle minifigures and sets. After that, I looked into accessories. For sure, living close to five LEGO Stores helps, but I order more and more accessories on BrickLink and the LEGO Store online.

Marco: Making close-up photos of just minifigs can often be tricky. Do you have any tips or tricks? Like what do you use for lighting, or what kind of background and what camera settings do you use (or maybe just your phone)?

Thorgrihm: Well as for tips, I’ll say always check your pictures on a computer. Also, you need a white light to take your pictures. About my setup:

The background is a white oilcloth so it’s easy to wash to get rid of dust.

For the light, I use a Softbox kit to avoid shadows.

For the pictures, I’ve started to use my phone, but now I’m using a Canon 850D

Marco: One of my favorites of yours is Medusa. In that case, you went for a few smaller builds around this character. Why did you do that? And do you intend to do that more often?

Thorgrihm: Medusa was not really a planned build. I had this Slave Leia torso on my desk and wanted to make a build out of it. Then I talked to kharsek_horde about Warhammer Orks for inspiration on this build, and I saw a preview of the Dark Elves Medusa unit on Total War Warhammer 2.

So I assembled a Medusa character. For the surrounding builds, as I said, a character must tell you a story, but when I took Medusa’s pictures something was missing. She is definitely a villain, but her face wasn’t threatening enough. So like I did in some other pictures, I decided to add a few “victims” of her power/curse.

Marco: Do you have a certain favorite among the minifigs you've made, and why?

Thorgrihm: Choosing one of them will be hard (maybe that Groot archimagus), but I enjoy making squads of heroes like Heroes versus green skin heroes, or the Inspired by Diablo and Warcraft one.

I, for sure, will continue to build more and more figs, I’m not sure that I’ll be able to continue at this rhythm (almost one per day) but since LEGO is still making more and more amazing parts, I won’t stop.

Marco: I need to start making more minifigs! Thank you for your time and inspiration.

Want to build fantasy? You don’t have to build big. You can just start, or even stick, with minifigures!

How often do you build custom minifigs, just for the fun of it? Or are you a minifig purist? Let us know in the comments!

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