LEGO Black Monarchs Heraldry on Playmobil Knights

In the first image, you’ll see a close-up of a Playmobil knight proudly wearing a tabard that I created, featuring the iconic logo of the LEGO Black Monarchs faction. In the second image, there are three knights in full armor. Two of them carry shields with an alternative Black Monarchs logo, and one knight holds a lance adorned with a Black Monarchs banner. In the background, you can spot a large banner leaning against the wall, also displaying the Black Monarchs emblem.

For those unfamiliar with the LEGO Black Monarchs, they’re one of the classic medieval factions. 

They were a formidable presence in LEGO's medieval universe, ruling with authority and strength. Their designs were simple yet powerful, and they’ve always been one of my favorite LEGO factions.

What I really enjoy is combining LEGO and Playmobil heraldry. There’s something special about using LEGO knight designs on Playmobil figures and vice versa. It allows for a crossover between these two iconic brands, blending their styles in a way that feels both nostalgic and creative.

And let’s be honest, being able to use both #LEGO and #Playmobil in the same image is pure joy for me! Personally, I’ve never seen them as rivals where one excludes the other. For me, there’s no Team LEGO or Team Playmobil—they complement each other, and both offer endless possibilities for creativity.

LEGO Knights Jousting Duel – Custom Heraldry and Accessories

This scene captures the intense moment of a duel between two custom LEGO knights. In the foreground, one knight is seen from behind as his horse rears up, kicking up dirt, ready to charge with his lance aimed forward. In the background, the opposing knight has already lowered his lance and is rushing toward his opponent in full charge.

What makes these knights special are the custom details. The knight in the foreground wears a cape and barding that I made myself, featuring the heraldry of the Scaricamazza family. If you're into heraldry, I highly recommend checking out Dario Scaricamazza’s work on Instagram. His designs were a great inspiration for this.

As for the knight in the background, his barding and shield feature one of my favorite heraldic designs from the 90s Playmobil knights—a yellow wyvern on a purple background. It’s a nostalgic nod to one of the factions I grew up with, and I really enjoyed recreating this iconic design for LEGO.

Other accessories in the scene include armor and lances from Brickwarriors, which add a lot of authentic medieval flair to the figures. Finally, the knight in the background sports a beautiful bascinet helmet that I found on AliExpress, and it really completes his armored look.

It’s always fun blending custom-made heraldry, classic LEGO elements, and accessories from different sources to create something unique. This duel scene feels like a real clash of knights from two different worlds—the Scaricamazza legacy meets the Playmobil faction from my childhood, all brought together in LEGO form!

Imperial Guard of Krieg Diorama with Custom LEGO Minifigures

Through the green haze of a ruined Imperial palace, a squad of Death Korps of Krieg soldiers advances across the battlefield. Armed and ready for combat, these grim warriors of the Warhammer 40,000 universe march beneath their regimental banner, surrounded by the remains of a once-mighty Imperial stronghold.

I've always been a fan of the Death Korps of Krieg, so I decided to recreate them in a miniature diorama, but with a twist. Instead of traditional Warhammer miniatures, I used unofficial LEGO-compatible minifigures purchased on AliExpress.

Custom Death Korps of Krieg Minifigures

At first, I was a little sceptical about the quality of these figures, but I was pleasantly surprised. The details are impressive, and their helmets, equipment and weapons capture the distinctive grimdark appearance of the Krieg soldiers.

The squad is shown emerging from the ruins of an Imperial palace, with the sergeant leading the advance. In the background, a Commissar watches over the men as they move through the devastated landscape.

Death Korps of Krieg LEGO-compatible minifigures advancing through the ruins of an Imperial palace in a Warhammer 40K diorama.

The Commissar and the Krieg Regiment

Unlike many other Imperial Guard regiments, the Death Korps of Krieg hardly need a Commissar to inspire courage. Their loyalty to the Emperor and willingness to sacrifice themselves are already legendary.

In fact, the Commissar's role can be quite different: preventing the soldiers from becoming too zealous and throwing away their lives in unnecessary acts of self-sacrifice. Their grim determination is one of the most fascinating aspects of the Krieg regiments.

A Handmade Regimental Banner

One of my favourite details is the standard-bearer, standing near the Commissar and carrying a regimental banner that I made by hand using fabric.

I wanted the banner to feel like a genuine military standard, something that would belong to a regiment marching through the ruins of an Imperial world. It adds a personal touch to the scene and helps give the miniature soldiers a stronger sense of identity.

The handmade regimental banner rises above the Krieg soldiers, with the Commissar watching over the squad in the background.

Unofficial LEGO-Compatible Figures

I know that unofficial minifigures purchased from platforms such as AliExpress can be controversial, particularly when it comes to intellectual property and copyright. These are not official LEGO products, and I understand the importance of supporting original creators.

At the same time, custom and LEGO-compatible figures can offer interesting possibilities for collectors and diorama builders, especially when recreating unusual subjects such as the Death Korps of Krieg.

Overall, I'm really pleased with how this diorama turned out. It combines the grimdark atmosphere of Warhammer 40,000 with the creative possibilities of building miniature scenes using LEGO-style figures.

Brickperium’s “Cuirass of The Silver Lilies” & “Sallet” Helmet Review – A Must-Have for LEGO Knights!

In this post, I'm excited to share my review of some LEGO-compatible medieval accessories made by Brickperium, including the Sallet helmet and the Cuirass of the Silver Lilies.

I used these accessories to customize a LEGO Dragon Masters knight, combining them with a cavalry lance from BrickWarriors and my own handmade fabric accessories.

Brickperium Sallet Helmet for LEGO Minifigures

The sallet was a type of helmet widely used in late medieval Europe, especially during the 15th century. Its distinctive shape makes it an interesting choice for LEGO Castle knights and men-at-arms.

For this custom knight, I chose the Brickperium Sallet helmet. I personally painted the helmet and applied a subtle weathering effect to give it a more realistic, battle-worn appearance.

I really like the design and the additional detail it brings to a LEGO minifigure. However, I encountered one small problem: the helmet fits rather tightly on LEGO minifigure heads, making it difficult to remove.

This is a minor inconvenience, but worth mentioning if you frequently change your minifigures' helmets.

Cuirass of the Silver Lilies

The second Brickperium accessory featured in this project is the Cuirass of the Silver Lilies.

As with the helmet, I painted the armour myself and added subtle weathering to enhance its appearance.

The combination of the cuirass and sallet gives the knight a distinctive medieval appearance, while the BrickWarriors cavalry lance completes his equipment.

Custom LEGO Dragon Masters Knight

I wanted to combine these detailed third-party accessories with the heraldry of one of my favourite classic LEGO Castle factions: the Dragon Masters.

To complete the figure, I created a custom horse caparison and a banner, both featuring the Dragon Masters emblem.

These handmade elements help connect the more realistic medieval armour with the colourful fantasy world of classic LEGO Castle.

My custom LEGO Dragon Masters knight, featuring the Brickperium Sallet helmet and Cuirass of the Silver Lilies, a BrickWarriors cavalry lance, and handmade heraldic accessories.

Brickperium Accessories: My Review

Overall, I'm very pleased with these Brickperium accessories. They add an impressive level of detail and realism to custom LEGO knights.

I'm also a huge fan of BrickWarriors, having used their products for nearly ten years at the time of this review.

My only minor criticism concerns the tight fit of the Sallet helmet. Apart from that, I think the accessories look fantastic.

On a scale of 1 to 10, my rating is a solid 9/10.

You can explore Brickperium's range of LEGO-compatible accessories on their official website.

Coming Soon: Handmade Fabric Banners and Capes

Stay tuned! In the coming weeks, I'll be releasing a video tutorial on how to create your own custom banners, flags and capes using fabric.

These handmade accessories are a great way to give LEGO Castle knights their own heraldry and distinctive appearance.

Back on the open sea

Here we go again, I managed to get back to the beach, and this time I decided to bring not one, but two galleons: 

the Imperial Flagship and the Bluebrixx Brigantine. 

The plan was to take some photos of both ships together, but I couldn’t find a good way to capture a nice shot! I’ll try again. 

I also had to wait until the evening for the beach to clear out a bit, as it was really crowded! 

My camera probably works better with stronger light, but I really like the rosy evening glow. Flags made by me

Lego Custom Knights

 

Italian Heraldry: Castracani degli Antelminelli

This custom LEGO Castle knight is inspired by Castruccio Castracani degli Antelminelli (1281–1328), the famous Italian medieval commander and lord of Lucca.

I created this mounted LEGO medieval knight minifigure using BrickWarriors armour and custom heraldic accessories, including a decorated shield, a handmade fabric banner and a personalized cape.

This project combines LEGO Castle customization, medieval Italian history and miniature photography to recreate a historical cavalry commander in LEGO form.

Custom LEGO Castle knight inspired by Castruccio Castracani, featuring BrickWarriors armour and handmade medieval heraldry.

Who Was Castruccio Castracani?

Castruccio Castracani degli Antelminelli (1281–1328) was an Italian military commander and lord of Lucca, remembered as one of the most important Ghibelline leaders of medieval Tuscany.

Born into a noble family, Castruccio gained military experience during the conflicts between the Guelphs and Ghibellines. His military and political abilities eventually allowed him to establish himself as the ruler of Lucca.

His most famous victory came at the Battle of Altopascio in 1325, when his forces defeated the Florentine army, strengthening his influence across Tuscany.

Castruccio died in 1328, leaving a reputation as a formidable commander and ambitious political leader.

His life later inspired Niccolò Machiavelli, who wrote La vita di Castruccio Castracani da Lucca, a literary biography combining historical events with fictional elements.

The Heraldry of Castruccio Castracani

One of the most distinctive elements of the heraldry associated with the Castracani degli Antelminelli family is the greyhound.

Historical heraldic descriptions include a shield divided into blue and silver, featuring a silver greyhound with a red collar. Different variants of the family coat of arms are also recorded.

The greyhound is an example of canting arms, a heraldic tradition in which an emblem refers to the name of its bearer. In this case, the dog recalls the family name Castracani.

For my custom LEGO Castle knight, I used the greyhound motif as the central element of the shield and banner, adapting the historical heraldry to the small scale of LEGO minifigures.

Custom LEGO Knight Shield and Heraldic Design

The heraldic shield was created using Adobe Photoshop.

I prepared the artwork digitally and printed it on adhesive paper, which allowed me to apply the custom design directly to the LEGO knight's shield.

The same heraldic motif was reproduced on the banner, giving this medieval LEGO cavalryman a consistent historical appearance.

BrickWarriors Armour for a Custom LEGO Medieval Knight

To give my custom LEGO Castle knight a more authentic medieval appearance, I equipped the minifigure with BrickWarriors armour.

The custom armour complements the handmade heraldic shield, fabric banner and cape, transforming an ordinary LEGO minifigure into a distinctive medieval cavalry commander.

BrickWarriors accessories are particularly useful for creating custom LEGO knights, historical warriors and medieval armies, adding variety to traditional LEGO Castle figures.

Handmade LEGO Castle Banner and Cape

Both the medieval banner and the cape were customized using inkjet heat transfer paper.

This technique allows me to print detailed designs and transfer them onto fabric using heat.

The process is particularly useful for creating custom LEGO Castle banners, medieval standards, heraldic decorations and capes.

Unlike ordinary paper accessories, the fabric retains a textile appearance, making the banner and cape more convincing at miniature scale.

The flowing shape of the banner adds movement to the mounted knight, creating the impression of a medieval standard fluttering in the wind.

Medieval LEGO Miniature Photography

For the final photograph, I placed the mounted LEGO knight in a miniature landscape featuring rocky terrain, mist and a reflective foreground.

The atmospheric setting emphasizes the medieval character of the miniature, while the reflection adds depth and a dramatic visual effect.

The combination of historical inspiration, BrickWarriors armour, custom LEGO accessories, handmade fabric elements and miniature photography brings this medieval commander to life.

Custom LEGO Castle Knights and Medieval Cavalry

Creating custom LEGO Castle knights is one of my favourite ways to combine historical research with LEGO minifigure customization.

By adding custom shields, heraldic banners, BrickWarriors armour and fabric capes, ordinary LEGO knight minifigures can become distinctive medieval cavalrymen inspired by real historical figures.

This Castruccio Castracani figure is an example of how LEGO Castle elements can be used to recreate medieval commanders, knights and mounted warriors from Italian history.