This next MOC from Master Builder Tyler will make you shiver in nightmarish delight. Alright, I know… enough with the Halloween puns already, since this next brick-built rendition from Tyler will surely add smiles to any LEGO and Tim Burton fan (myself included).
If you grew up in the 90s, then it’s hard to miss out on one of Tim Burton’s classic cult favorite, The Nightmare Before Christmas. For those of you who are not around yet during this time (it was released in 1993), it tells the story of the King of Halloween Town, the self-absorbed, but good-willed Jack Skellington as he tries to take over Christmas and spread holiday joy – but in his own terms. As you may have guessed, that led to some seriously, nasty problems. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, I highly recommend that you watch it.
As a tribute to one of the most loved and impressive films of that time, Tyler impressively managed to recreate Jack’s iconic home using a combination of impressive building techniques and a flair of creativity. The result? Jack Skellington’s House in magnificent LEGO form! Let’s take a closer look.
To begin with, let’s try to look at the impressive features of this MOC starting from the bottom, and working our way up. Beginning with its front gates, Tyler managed to recreate the entrance to this spooky house using gate pieces attached to angled columns. On top of the columns, you can see how Tyler cleverly recreated the eerie cat-like statues using a combination of clips and several robot arm pieces. When you open the gate, you’ll see that Tyler has demonstrated yet again, his exceptional building skills when he recreates that rickety, ramshackle of a stairs. Though it was a bit longer, windy, and twisted as you can see from the film, the stairs on this MOC needed to be a bit shorter to make the build stable and sturdy. Nevertheless, Tyler still managed to capture that Tim Burton feel with this set.
Leading on top of the steps is Jack’s one-eyed front door. Tyler added a typical eye piece (I’m assuming it was from a Mixel set) that represents a peek hole which is actually an eyeball embedded on the surface. The door actually opens and leads to a rather narrow corridor, and because of the relatively small space, there is nothing much to add to this section, which is fine since most of the build’s highlights or features are focused on the next part of Jack Skellington’s house.
If you turn it around, you’ll see that Tyler added more details such as holders to place one or two spiders, and a ladder that leads to the upper room of the house. Going back to the front, you’ll see that Tyler also managed to emphasize the house’s shabby, dilapidated look using building techniques that allows for angled columns and roofs.
On the sides, you’ll see another ingenious way on how Tyler achieved those sloped walls of Jack Skellington House, keeping up with Tim Burton’s vision of a gravity-defying structure.
Moving forward, we have a balcony with that same ramshackle feel, and windows on the side that gives you that Victorian, gothic look. The interior is jam-packed with nice details as well, including a chair for a minifigure, Christmas decors and some items that represent Jack’s horrific gifts to children on Christmas.
Now the roof was structurally impressive to say the least and perhaps the most telling feature of this MOC. The odd sloping angles are spot on, and the inclusion of the weirdly twisted chimney, tops it off. But that’s not all – it even opens in the middle to reveal the interior, allowing you easier access to its play features.
And finally, we have our custom-printed, Jack Skellington and Sally minifigures! I really love how these guys turned out – with the fine, ragdoll prints on Sally, and the black and white stripes on Jack. Both of them have side, back and arm printing, while Jack comes with two minifig heads each of which showing a different expression. Perhaps one thing that I would like to see on these custom minifigs are dual printed heads and perhaps, an accessory or two.
In case you haven’t seen it yet, here’s Tyler on his take with the custom LEGO The Nightmare Before Christmas Jack Skellington House.
If you love this one and would like to give it try, be sure to check out BuildBetterBricks.com to see how you can come up with your very own nightmarish creation. Purchasing this set of building instructions allows you access to its full, PDF file together with a parts list and a convenient Stud.io file for easy access and purchasing over at Bricklink.
So what do you think brick fans, will you give this a try?