I love LEGO creations that fool the eye. When I first saw Sweet dream in the old garage by AdNorrel, I thought I was looking at a well composed photo of a real-life moment. I was scrolling through images of LEGO creations at the time, so I knew that couldn’t be right. So I took a closer look.

“Oh,” I thought, “that’s a LEGO minifigure in the center. So the garage is probably brick built. Yep. Looks like they put the build in front of their garden outside to get the background….no. Wait.”
“….”
“….wow.”

There are a lot of details partially hidden in the shadows of the garage. The tiling on the wall expertly mimics the slightly warped wood of an older building. Trophies and statuettes hint at past racing glories, blending in with the more functional aspects of the garage. Custom printing on many of the signs adds tantalizing hints of the larger world this creation inhabits. There are indications that a lot more is happening just out of sight, too, as there’s a crane to the right and the front end of a car to the left.

That car is worth a closer look, and happily AdNorrel gives us just that. Just to the left of the garage door is a photo, titled The hot rod, the mechanic, and Anton Chigurh, that showcases the build. The use of the one ring and an ice skate as engine parts are my favorite details here.

For those of you wondering, Anton Chigurh is the main antagonist in “No Country for Old Men”. This turns the subtitle of the garage’s logo – “No country for bad work” – into a nice little easter egg of its own. along with a slightly more front and center easter egg from Breaking Bad. A few more great details in a creation full of them.