In recent years, LEGO has been releasing an unusually large number of beautiful decorative pieces, as well as pieces in new colors. The LEGO Elves, LEGO Disney, and LEGO Ninjago collections are particularly excellent sources of ornate elements, jewels, flowers, and other interesting pieces. These pieces are perfect for building mosaics and other projects where the formation of patterns and colors is particularly important. In previous articles, I shared with you some beautiful three-dimensional mosaics by LEGO fan Azurekingfisher (see links at the end of this post). Today, I wanted to show you some more from this talented builder, this time working with ornate 1x2x4 fences. 🙂
The 1x4x2 ornamental fence first appeared in 2015 in the LEGO Elves line. It gradually also made its way to other themes, like LEGO Disney, LEGO Harry Potter, LEGO Ninjago, LEGO Creator and LEGO City. In official LEGO sets, the piece is usually used as a decorative fence or window, but it also occasionally appears purely as decoration, like in the #10257 LEGO Creator Carousel, and the #71253 LEGO Dimensions Fantastic Beasts Story Pack.
The ornamental fence is currently available in six colors (pearl-gold, lavender, sand-green, dark-turquoise, white, and black). Because the piece is so distinct and beautiful, even just one or two can really dress up a LEGO model. Thus, you will usually only find a couple of them in official LEGO sets, although there are some exceptions. To date, the largest number of ornamental fences is in the #71040 LEGO Disney Castle (ten in white). The #10257 LEGO Creator Carousel has six gold fences, the #71253 LEGO Dimensions Fantastic Beasts Story Pack has eight gold fences, and the LEGO Elves sets almost always have a at least a few.
It’s also worth noting that this year, LEGO also introduced a 3x3x2 curved version of the fence with the same pattern (see above). This piece is currently only available in pearl-gold in two sets; the #41161 LEGO Disney Aladdin and Jasmine’s Palace Adventures, and the #41162 LEGO Disney Ariel, Aurora, and Tiana’s Royal Celebration. Combining the curved fence with the straight fence can create some beautiful continuous designs.
Going back to Azurekingfisher’s three-dimensional mosaics, take a look at all the pretty patterns featured here, and you can find more in their flickr gallery. They appear so much like lacework, or lace paper! Putting them in front of a contrasting background especially enhances their beauty.
Even with using just one color, the designs really stand out. However, you can also add color to add another layer of visual interest. In the pattern above, Azurekingfisher’s is using translucent blue and pink bricks. This doesn’t just add color, but also light effects!
These beautiful patterns can also be incorporated into larger models. Take a look at the little white church above, and the decorative cube below… with lights!
Creating patterns like these doesn’t take up a lot of pieces or require difficult building techniques. The complexity of the pieces themselves takes care of much of the work. If you want to give it a try, gather some of your ornate fence pieces, and start building! Even if you just have a few, you can design some impressive artwork! And if you don’t have enough fences, check out some of the official LEGO sets that have them. A good start is the LEGO Disney section of the Online LEGO Shop.
What do you think? How do you like these three-dimensional mosaics using the decorative fence pieces? Have you ever used them in your own creations? Which one is your favorite decorative LEGO element? Feel free to share your thoughts and own design ideas below! 😉
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