Yearly Archives: 2016

Visit Copenhagen – in microscale

It can take years to save up for a vacation abroad, or sometimes a vacation at home. Ulrik Hansen has taken the time for you and created a beautiful microscale rendition of Copenhagen, Denmark, for us all to enjoy. While it’s taken us a bit to find this to show you, it’s well worth your time to pore over the amazing detail packed into this city snapshot. The level of detail is just exquisite.

I invite you to explore his Flickr gallery to learn more about sites to see in Copenhagen, and there are plenty of detailed shots for you to enjoy.

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A colonial bazaar

We’ve featured Patrick Massey with his amazing Al Amarj Island before, and once again he proves himself a master builder with this new addition to his portfolio. Considering the oriental folk and western troops, the Andus Tradehouse and Bazaar depicts a colonial period and perfectly manages to sum up all the little oriental details. Palm trees, the snake charmer, oil lamp posts, drunken lords and a silly jester makes a lively scene while different types of arches and columns turn the building into an impressive piece of architecture. Zoom in and take a peek at all the little details!

Whatever floats your boat

Taipei-based French builder JPascal was inspired by the work of illustrator and concept artist Ian McQue to produce this trio of functional-looking sky boats. The clutter, small details, and non-uniformity of these aerial craft convey a real sense of authenticity, while the bright color schemes are a refreshing departure from the more traditional Steampunk LEGO palette.

Giant 4 foot tall LEGO model of Nebraska state capitol

I’ve been watching John Tooker slowly construct his replica of the Nebraska state capitol for several years, and the final building is incredibly impressive. The real Nebraska capitol is the tallest of the United States’ 50 state capitol buildings, and John’s model beautifully captures the magnificent art-deco spire which towers over the surrounding plains. Take a look at the tiny people on the steps to get a sense of tower’s vast scale.

Just a good old boy

Despite their competitors’ frequent attempts, Nintendo remains the undisputed king of handheld gaming. After the mandatory cell phone, my teenage daughter’s 3DS is almost never out of her hands, and the sounds of Tomodachi Life frequently ring through our household. Of course all this began a quarter century ago with Nintendo’s Game Boy. The Game Boy was popular through most of the 90’s, and even remains a popular “retro” gaming item today, even among members of the smart phone generation. And judging by this crisp life-size LEGO facsimile, Strasbourg-based builder Kloou has fond memories of this iconic system:

If you like this one, be sure to check out the other brick-built Game Boys we’ve blogged:

Joris Block’s Game Boy and Amiga controller
The Arvo brothers’ Nintendo Game Boy

Portable LEGO Seismograph

It is strangely appropriate that Kosmas Santosa, a builder from Jakarta, Indonesia, has built a LEGO seismograph. Indonesia is a country that is heavily affected by earthquakes due to its location within the Pacific Ring of Fire.

Kos has been utilising the ‘paint roller‘ in all sorts of ingenious ways this month, and his vintage seismograph is no exception. The locks on the front of the case, the levers on the top right of the machine and the pens that record the output are all constructed from the paint roller.

I wonder what happens when you press the red buttons?

Who’s scruffy-looking?

Honestly, just about anybody with a handful of bricks and minimal finger dexterity can accidentally build some minifigs that look like they belong in the Star Wars universe. But this gang here is more than just slapped together. TR Brownridge has carefully assembled a band of no-good brigands that makes the phrase “scruffy-looking nerfherder” take on a whole new meaning. Now you can see why Princess Leia thought that phrase was such a good insult, and why Han Solo was so offended by it.

Stunning LEGO Darth Vader mask cleverly hides scenes from Star Wars

LEGO builder yu chris created this gorgeous replica of Darth Vader’s iconic samurai-inspired mask, which gleams with shades of black just like the original. But it’s not just a mask — turning it around reveals three clever chibi-style scenes from Anakin’s life. The tiny little Death Star hangar filled with parading stormtroopers is definitely my favorite bit, but the relief sculptures in the backgrounds of the other two scenes are each fantastic in their own right.

“I’ll chase him round Good Hope, and round the Horn, and round the Norway Maelstrom, and round perdition’s flames before I give him up!”

Moby Dick is one of those novels that requires real commitment to get through, with its lengthy diversions and deep symbolism, but rewards careful reading and sticks with you for decades afterward. It also makes for great LEGO inspiration, as Ryan Rubino’s white whale battling a giant squid from back in 2009 certainly proves. Letranger Absurde enters the fray with Captain Ahab entangled by the line from his own harpoon, hauled to his doom in the dark deeps of the sea. The sperm whale itself steals the spotlight in this build, with what appears to be a surfboard for a tongue, but don’t miss the excellent sea floor, complete with conch shell, brain coral, and even a treasure chest.

On the way to Mars

Cole Blaq is perhaps most well known for his LEGO graffiti and visceral LEGO art, but we’ve featured him more often for his outstanding mecha-building skills. This time it’s a four legged tank. Considering the dark orange color scheme, I like to imagine he could utilize this monster in a Mars-like environment. It’s very catchy choice of color. Cole’s amazing photography skills may make you think this is a computer generated image, but if you zoom in at full resolution, you can spy him taking the shot!

LEGO Fallout Vault Boy is truly S.P.E.C.I.A.L.

I admit it; I’m a little late to the Fallout party, having started with Fallout 4. It didn’t take much progress through the game until I realized I’ve been missing out on a series worthy of its hype.

Builder Dead Frog Inc. constructed an elusive stat-augmenting Vault Boy bobblehead from the game. His character as the symbol of Vault-Tec is captured rather well with LEGO elements. Speaking of Vault-Tec, don’t miss the great use of the LEGO shuriken sprue piece as Vault-Tec’s logo on the bobblehead base.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I believe Preston needs me to help yet another settlement.

Gatehouse to wherever you’d like to go

I do very much enjoy castle walls with character, and this gatehouse by David Zambito fits the bill. The wall is textured, and the landscaping has a great organic look to it. It gives a nice sense of time: this wall has been here a long time and seen things, and so many stories have passed through it.

David has some nice examples of landscaping (check out this cobblestone road!) in his flickr gallery, and I invite you to take a peek!