Brian Williams (BMW_Indy) is definitely not a LEGO purist and likes to do things his own way. With results like this I can see why. Whenever I see something new by Brian I always find myself questioning my own rules.
I’ve never seen The Wild Wild West TV show that inspired this creation, but I have to admit I’m tempted now. The idea of a lab on track is pretty cool.
This was an entry for the Spaghetti Western contest on Eurobricks and you can vote for your favourite train here.
The now closed Eurobricks Spaghetti Western contest has seen a steady drip feed of great wild west creations. When Marshal Banana posted his entry I was struck not so much by the great buildings, but by the absolutely excellent period furniture.
We normally focus on only the most recent LEGO creations, but from time to time I run across a builder whose work I hadn’t taken notice of before (despite Josh posting Dark’s bazaar), and that I have to share regardless of when it was posted. Such is the case with Russian builder Dark-Alamez.
Brick Town Talk recently featured this Chicago scene, complete with a portable compressor and checkered taxi cab.
But I was transfixed by the next photo over, which combines simple details like the bedroll on the horse’s saddle in the foreground with a forced-perspective microscale castle in the background to create a wonderfully layered scene that tells a touching story.
Dark’s more recent ghost town features a collapsing shack and weathered chapel, with exactly the sort of rundown equipment you’d see lying around in parts of Northern California.
Ultimately, what caught my attention about Dark-Alamez is the variety of what he builds — not all in one style or theme. Check out all of Dark-Alamez’s LEGO models in his photostream on Flickr and Brickshelf gallery.
In the past I’ve designed and made instructions for a Wild West playset as Christmas gifts to the community. This year the Spaghetti Western contest at Eurobricks encouraged me to build one for myself. I wanted it to look like a cool toy train that a kid might get for Christmas or a birthday. Hopefully I achieved what I set out to do.
While there has been a decent number of western themed creations, few depict the lifestyle of the American Indian. This creation by Cecilie does that and features interesting techniques, most noticeably the texture of the cliff. I also like the use of the mummy wings on the totem pole – a perfect fit. Watch out for that giant rattlesnake!
Feel the heat on your skin? The dry, dry wind whistles past, and the hushed conversations of those on the platform drift your way. The horses keep quiet, and you just stand…wait…for the train to arrive, to take you out of this desolate place towards a new place, a new time, and perhaps a new beginning.
…awww, shucks. Look at what you made me do, Matija! I wrote a vignette. Not a good one, mind you, but still. That’s what your creation does, you see. It inspires.
The details in this are so lovely and so numerous that I’ll let you spot them on your own.
Another fabulous find by Tommy!
…sometimes you are the cow. This beautiful desert scene, by Henrik Hoexbroe is very tranquil and I love that vulture.
You can also find his work on his MOCpage.
Matija Grguric takes us back to the Wild West with this fun carnival scene. But the crown jewel of this diorama isn’t the crowded carnival atmosphere, the bank robbers or the western buildings, though all of those are very nice. What really makes it stand out is the fact that it is powered. Who doesn’t like motorized dancing girls?
Summer’s getting hot, and so is the Eurobricks Spaghetti Western Competition. If you’re in the mood of building western themed creations, check out the rules and see how you can enter and claim your share of 450 Euros in prizes. The deadline of this contest is September 10, 2011.
Croatian LEGO fan Matija Grguric has been on a Wild West building spree lately. His most recent diorama captured the look of the American West better than any American builder has (to my knowledge), complete with the banded colors of the Badlands.
Matija is building all of his Western creations — from the Black Cat Saloon to Market Street — for an upcoming Club Kockice exhibit.
That little mesa is worth a closer look:
Karwik has created a beautiful rendition of Drzymała’s wagon with a wonderful backdrop of trees. His use of colour and texture in the otherwise plain wagon is truly masterful and the trees are almost certainly the best I’ve seen. I would be utterly remiss if I didn’t post this.
