Making your own creations is one of the best parts of LEGO, and this is why we have a huge community dedicated to MOCs -- personal creations. Some of these are stunning works of art, some are fun and creative, and all of them are full of imagination. Let's take a look at some of them.

The Art Of LEGO MOCs

Ah, LEGO. Arguably one of the most creative, open-ended toys one can play with. For a very good reason: the design of the whole thing is open to imagination. In fact, LEGO actively encourages such things.

Sure, it's fun to play with models and do the whole instruction-following, much as the main character in the LEGO Movie. A lot of those models are very playable as well, which for kids is a plus. But the main fun of LEGO is that they allow you to build whatever you want. That's why LEGO buckets are still so popular!

And I do mean whatever you want. We've seen LEGO cars that are full-sized and work. We've seen pianos, vending machines and even a house made of LEGOs. The possibilities are endless, and imagination is the limit.

Here come MOCs -- my own creations. These are builds made by LEGO fans, of their own mind, rather than following LEGO sets.

Some of these builds are iconic scenes from movies and books, some are artistic renditions of concepts, photographs and ideas. What is more important is how genuine, creative and original they are, and in this post, we'll show you some samples of the amazing things that can be done with our favorite plastic bricks.

Bag End Hobbit MOC

Some MOCs portray scenes from movies we love, sometimes with stunning accuracy. This Bag End might look simple, but the beauty is in the detail: lots of brown and green bricks, and the use of tile pieces give texture to the whole scene. This set used three or four An Unexpected Gathering sets (LEGO 79003) as well as extra pieces, but it improves so much on the original LEGO set it might as well be an official LEGO set itself. LEGO fan Adam Purves created this set, and you can check it out on Flickr, as well as his other creations.

Mos Eisley Cantina

There are a couple Mos Eisley Cantina LEGO sets out there (including one coming out in 2018), but none would rival this masterpiece. Created in 2015, this very complex MOC uses 3405 pieces, some of which are hard to find but can be easily replaced. It includes the booths, the stage for the band, a rich exterior scenario, and a lot of minifigures to compose the scene. Some minifigures are custom, but most are not. In the author's page (IScreamClone on Rebrickable), you can find the full instructions for sale, if you wish to build your own.

Pegasus Automaton

This beautiful Pegasus sculpture is not only anatomically and proportionally stellar, it also has automaton features. With the use of Technic bricks, the creator made it possible for this MOC to flap its wings. The whole thing has a Steampunk feel, and it just uses 488 parts. Created by Amida, you can find it here.

MicroPlane

We at NinjaBrick are particularly fond of miniatures and microbuilds. It takes a lot of skill to do something complex in a small scale, or with less resources. This MicroPlane is particularly charming: it only uses 30 pieces. But they're used to maximum effect for a surprisingly realistic look. The use of transparency for the cockpit is very clever as well. It truly shows you don't need much to make something interesting: all you need is creativity.

Orcs - Boarriders Clan

This marvelous creation reminds us both of Warcraft and basically every RPG, game and fantasy book that has Orcs in it. The build has a full, small village complete with a watchtower, a firepit, an animal pen and a storage shed. The creator used eight minifigures and the boars, characteristic of the clan, are also brick-built and look great. It has over 2500 pieces and a very appropriate use of colour and texture. This set is even up for LEGO Ideas, so if you wish to support it becoming a commercial thing, make sure to give it a vote!

The Forest of Endor

Some people go above and beyond, when it comes to creativity. This amazing build is the product of over 100,000 pieces, including lots of foliage, trees, minifigures, a detailed Ework village (with personalized Eworks no less), and Imperial troops and buildings. This set is out in Legoland California, and the level of detail and care put into it makes it a true work of art -- and, of course, a feat showing the true power of LEGO magic.

Afternoon of a Faun

MOCs can be art, sometimes, quite literally so. This piece is somewhat famous, as I've seen it in several places, and for a very good reason. It's beautiful. There is no other description fit for this scene of Afternoon of a Faun by David Hughes. It uses around 3,000 bricks (and just very basic bricks) to compose this marvelous, realistic scene based on a photograph of dancer Tanaquil Le Clercq. The whole piece is 49cm x 30cm x 55cm, and it's stunning to look at.

Tan-Thu The Ancient Entity

Very Lovecraftian, this build is original both in the way it was built and the actual design, which is original. The use of inside-out tire pieces is a brilliant way to give an organic appearance to the tentacles. The mouth is very detailed, and the water beneath it (with the transparent bricks giving a particular realistic look), as well as the ship, gives a massive scale to the whole thing. Props to Micah Beidman for this massive, very original MOC.

Island of Catan

Based on an old card game, Island of Catan, built by Simon NH, uses mainly the plain colours with just a few to offset and detail the build. The two islands connect through a bridge and the whole thing looks very realistic. The detail on the water makes the whole thing pop, as well as the cliff faces with incredible texture. The use of croissants and teeth pieces to make waves under the ship just shows all it takes is creativity and a bit of original, outside-the-box thinking to make something great.

The Trebuchet

https://www.flickr.com/photos/111504073@N02/31169378314/

Yes, this actually works -- and exactly like a real-world trebuchet. There is a very clever use of brown treads on the winch, which sets up the trebuchet mechanism. The whole build includes a fairly detailed scene around it. The scene has minifigures, a flag, terrain and is built to scale, making a wonderfully creative realistic medieval scene.

These are just some examples of the depth and creativity LEGO can bring. MOCs can be true works of art, and you can tell there is a lot of passion and inspiration that goes into them. There are many more fantastic MOCs out there, some realistic, fantastical, big and small, and the best part is: anyone with enough time, bricks and imagination can do fantastic things as well.