Benjamin immediately jumped out of the gate with a construction site, featuring lots of great and diverse part usage. Something he would repeat in future builds. Presentation is top notch, with lots of small details to seek out. Grant answered with an alien experiment scene, sci-fi and lighted, definitely one of my favorite themes. Perfectly executed scene with great mood, but for me the seed part usage was less prominent.

On to the tortoise’s back with Grant’s next build. Nicely incorporated seed part, great quality build with again lots of details and a wide array of colors: perfect! Benjamin’s old mill really sets the scene, awesome lightning which really accentuates the tan brickwork. Although the seed part is used in a few different ways in this build, the quality really shines.

Wrist watches belong to the past now, but for this Legolex beauty I might make an exception. This kind of build really yells ingenuity: from the crown logo, to the technic links and the wristband from the seed part. Presentation is also excellent, this would fit into any marketing campaign as is. Grant also blows it out of the park with his build. Clean presentation, lots of part usage and very creative. I simply loved how the seed part was also used for the building visible through one of the windows. That’s some eye for detail right there!

The blue beetle brigade again shows Grant’s mastery in creating super immersive scenes. The beetles are perfect as well as the tree and the small touches with the flower and greenery. I kind of wished the seed part was used a little more here. Benjamin crosses the Rubicon, and here as well the surrounding scenery steals the show, less so the usage of the seed part.

Benjamin’s Area 51 robot might like to sweep floors, I simply love the lighted back wall as well as the fan in the back. Grant uses the seed part in an almost similar way in his house on the rocks. Quality of the build is outstanding but again some missed opportunities to incorporate the part in more ways.

Reception is very good, thank you Benjamin. I simply love this build from the tower to the mini airplane in the distance. Again some nice and diverse part usage. The overall build quality could be better though, some parts are less visible due to similar colors in front and back. The ship on the other hand is what Iron Builder is all about: using the seed part in a way nobody thought of.

Just when you think Grant is done for, he smashes it with two super builds. The airplane is simply perfect, the touch with the little ship in the back, simply amazing. Beautiful presentation as well. The iron graves again show his mastery with the pathway, graves and subtle incorporation of the seed part in the building in the back. The fog effect really ties this scene together.

Kudos to both builders for the use of an extremely difficult part, both in color and shape. My hat’s off to you both!

Let me start by saying that what you both have accomplished in such a short space of time is truly incredible. It almost feels unfair to be a judge and pick a winner knowing I couldn't do this to start with..

That being said;

Benjamin Stenlund; Your use of the seed part is really wonderful. You used the spoiler piece in some incredible different ways. In some of you builds I just can't help it but i feels you're using the part in a build instead of building with the part as if you pre-selected it. Grant has incorporated this just a little better into his builds. Your presentation is fantastic and that's where you made the difference for me by keeping your presentation and tricks to achieve a nice composition to a minimum. You've let your builds speak more for themselves. My favorite builds from you were The old Mill with it's idealistic incidence of light and the tank where you almost rolled over Grant at that point! Really top notch work!

Grant Davis; One of the masters of the iron build competition. I wouldn't like to be in the opponent's shoes, but really kudos to Benjamin for taking up the gauntlet and going into battle! Grant, your creativity and the usage of the spoiler part flow naturally through all your buildings this round. The presented style is clean and every part has a function, a place and nothing is overdone. When we look at your presentation; it's clean, but for me it contains too many tricks and photoshop decoration that your buildings don't need. Your puns are funnier, but Benjamin still takes the win in this section! My favorite builds from you were Tortoise-Back with it's complex shapes and amazing overall presentation and The Blue Beetle Brigade, that's absolutely the best lego branche if ever seen! Really top notch work!

In the end it was Grant’s approach that fully convinced me. Benjamin did well integrating the part, but Grant managed to really highlight it. And last but not least it was his variety in building styles that amazed me and that's why Grant is my overall winner in this round. Congrats!

This round’s seed part is perhaps the least obscure part in this season of Iron Builder so far, which in a sense made it even more challenging for the builders to come up with some impressively unique usage, as the part has already been used rather commonly among MOCs over the years. The limited amount of connection the piece offers also limited it to be used mostly as a decorative/shaping element, instead of a wild connector. As a result, I find the ability to utilize every bit of this part’s geometry to be the critical criteria in this round.

To start off, I think both Grant and Benjamin did a fantastic job incorporating the seed part in all of their builds, in the sense that none of the builds in this round gave me the feeling of “this was an interesting usage of the part, but if it wasn’t for the contest, there are probably more elegant ways to achieve it”. Every usage feels natural and purposeful to me. However, I think Benjamin did a better job overall in utilizing the seed part. The majority of his builds include a more diverse use of the part within each build, and I also appreciate the fact that he also utilized the side with the bar in the construction site and garage. He also demonstrated a more diverse way to connect the part in my opinion, the “Can you hear me now?” entry alone would be a perfect example: the way it was used on the stone wall, on the traffic light and the mini plane in the background gives a really different vibe, almost enough to convince someone that they are not the same element. On the contrary, while Grant’s models are still incredible, the use of 2 spoilers side by side seemed a little repetitive, from the tortoise shell, to the modern study, then the beetles, and finally the graves.

In terms of overall build quality, Benjamin got my vote once again. Both builders have created some top-quality models, so for me it was down to who has more inspiring details that wowed me. Things like the rocks on “Don’t tread on me” and “Crossing the Rubicon”, and the mop on “Robots make poor life choices” are just brilliant. Grant’s builds are very clean and elegant as usual, but there are simply fewer wow moments I can spot outside the seed part usage.

As for the final aspect, “Presentation and Puns”, I think Benjamin also did a better job tying his models to the puns and in response to Grant’s models. The themes and scales of the models are also more diverse in Benjamin’s entries, which adds a point on my book in terms of the overall presentation. That said, it was definitely a joy to go through all these amazing models (and puns) and both of you should be really proud of what you managed to make out of this relatively common seed part.