Tag Archives: Microscale

Some say “Go big or go home!” but it takes real talent to compress something down to just a few studs and still keep it recognizable. Of course, many of the micro models we feature here aren’t so small after all, whether it’s a vast cityscape or starship.

LEGO Architecture 21063 Neuschwanstein Castle – Bavarian Cream of the Crop [Review]

Neuschwanstein Castle is a real-life fairytale landmark that inspired Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Castle and was just added to the list of UNESCO heritage sites. On August 1, you can bring it home with LEGO Architecture 21063 Neuschwanstein Castle. We received an early copy of this beautiful set and are excited to bring you our review from guest writer Ids de Jong.

LEGO Architecture 21063 Neuschwanstein Castle
3,455 Pieces
Available August 1
Buy for US $279.99 | CAN $349.99 | UK £239.99

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Our in-depth review follows…

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Nothing says summer like a trip to the Grand Canyon

Minifigure habitats are fun, but I prefer microscale vignettes like this minimalist scene by Nannan Zhang. Here, the Grand Canyon is depicted in a three-dimensional scene that feels like a Polaroid picture extruded by a 3D printer. The sky background, combining plates and bricks in stripes, reminds me of the fantastic LEGO set Visions from the Space Age.

Seen from the top, the striations of the rock faces are made by stacking wedge plates of a variety of sizes and shapes. And the wandering river along the bottom, made from light azure tiles, really pops.

See the turtle of renown, on his shell he holds a town!

Before Discworld and The Dark Tower, the concept of a world turtle was rooted in mythologies around the world. Sam (dewback_bricks) took inspiration from the Chinese world turtle myth for this evocative LEGO creation that is both an excellent brick-built creature design and a Roman-inspired microscale city. With SNOT modules angled off the grid, Sam achieves impressive curves on the turtle’s back. Hanging vines give the wizened wanderer a nice goatee. A tiny sailboat in the sea of 1×1 round studs really sells the scale of this impressive creature. Perhaps most impressive – Sam built this towering turtle in just two days!

Set sail for adventure from this microscale port

Many LEGO fan events and building competitions offer brick-built trophies that are works of art in and of themselves, which makes them even more treasured for those lucky recipients. This microscale scene by Isaac Snyder is such a trophy, a one-of-a-kind treasure that will make an amazing display piece for one lucky winner of this year’s Summer Joust. The little town, tucked in next to the dock, is full of great details, but I think my favorite part is the tall stone watchtower with a signal fire, like an ancient lighthouse.

Summer Joust run from June 1 through August 1 with seven categories to compete in and plenty of amazing prizes. If you’re curious about participating, you can find the details of entering the Summer Joust here.

A perfect LEGO microscale japanese city block in spring

The Micropolis standard enables big cities to come together at LEGO conventions, but more than that, building at microscale also presents a challenge to builders, encouraging them to push their creativity by working with parts largely designed for minifigures. Take this charming Japanese micropolis block by Ids de Jong, which makes clever use of minifigure accessories as foliage. A roller skate element works well as a roof-mounted utility, and the red part, commonly used as a fire extinguisher handle, is used to create a traditional arch. The choice of building, including a convenience store, colorful vehicles, and cherry blossoms, completes the scene very nicely.

Nintendo DS case finds new life in a LEGO sci-fi tower

There are so many LEGO-compatible products and accessories out there, so it makes sense that builders would find fun and interesting ways to use them in their own creations. Kevin H has done just that using a Nintendo DS case that includes some attachment points to decorate as the central element in this fun, sci-fi tower. The use of some stickers to add more detail was a great choice, as well as using a largely monochromatic palette of blue to match the case with some light green and transparent parts thrown in. Another fun detail is a pair of spring-loaded shooter bricks with dual-colored sides at the base, and those gray pyramid pieces add to the brutalist look at the base of the tower.

Feeling book nook sticker shock? Take a page from Joe Lam’s itty bitty Balrog

LEGO’s Balrog Book Nook set has many Lord of the Rings fans (including our reviewer) feeling as conflicted as Smeagol, simultaneously coveting the brick-built Bane of Durin while gagging (*GOL-LUM!*) at the price. Joe Lam solved this riddle by building a Book Nook small enough for a Took, and readers, we are shook. The itty bitty Balrog’s grimspawn body towers over trophy Gandalf. Joe’s version even folds up like the real deal and is sized perfectly to rest between your matchbooks. If you like Joe’s “The one I can afford” take on the Balrog, his spin on the Luxo Jr. lamp is even more budget-friendly.

A magical microscale castle among the gray clifs

Inspired by the stump of a felled tree in the forest, cimddwc created a mysterious Elven castle nestled among the trees and surrounded by tall jagged cliffs. This seemingly inaccessible locale reminds me of the colorful Rivendell hidden in the foothills of the Misty Mountains. The limited palette of the white castle with sand green domes lets the castle stand out among the many trees and plants, while the arid landscape around the base is a stark contrast. The castle features some very clever parts usage, such as the wands left in their sprue forming the main gate.

An overhead view reveals more details, like the sheltered lake behind the castle fed by the river flowing from the waterfall to the right. Also, a spooky red glow can be seen below the water.

No beating around the bush, this LEGO microscale hedge garden is stunning

When it comes to colorful and highly detailed microscale builds, Jeff Friesen stands out as a true master. He wrote the book (several, actually) on creating clean builds that capture cities, castles, and fantastic worlds in miniature. Jeff’s latest build started as a study of hedge gardens, like the one seen in the foreground. However, once he started adding a building to the background, his imagination took over, and it grew to become an amazing sprawling castle structure that reminds me of campuses like Harvard and Cambridge.

One of my favorite tree builds is the upside-down eggshell used for what looks like a willow tree, and, of course, a green minifigure hairpiece makes the perfect shrub. A few tall pine trees provide a nice contrast to all of the much shorter trees and plants.

Rainbow squadron, standing by!

It’s getting harder and harder to keep track of the squadron colours in Star Wars. First it was just Red and Gold, then Green came along in Return of the Jedi, Blue appeared – and disappeared – in Rogue One… And that’s before we even get to LEGO-specific ones like Teal Squadron. Let’s just get them all out of the way at once, shall we? Over on Instagram, Mark (lego_coffee) has brought together as many colours as he can to craft some miniature monochrome x-wings. And by LEGO’s official colours naming scheme, we have Mid-Stone Gray Squadron, Flame Yellowish Orange Squadron, Reddish Brown Squadron, Bright Purple Squadron… The only criticism I can make is that such names don’t exactly roll off the tongue!

How to train your micro dragon [Building Technique]

With LEGO clips for back spines, a tail of mismatched 1x2x2/3 slopes, and a video game controller for a head, Ian Summers shows us an awesome Toothless creation from the How to Train Your Dragon franchise. How long until we have the parts in white to make a Light Fury version of this microscale marvel?

Andromeda Asteroid Mining Rig – I’ve expanded my microscale space frontier

I’m continuing to expand my microscale space universe. Last time I checked in with a lunar launch diorama, as my home-brew theme shot into deep space from the moon. Now the Interplanetary Expedition Alliance, or I.E.A., has set up a large mining facility out in the asteroid belt.

The facility consists of a large space station as the hub, and two captured asteroids being mined for their mineral wealth.

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