Posts by Jasmine Liang

It’s spring, springtime again

This past spring was pretty memorable, to say the least, but here’s to a more hopeful beginning. So what better way to celebrate the incoming season than a floral LEGO build that won’t cause a fit of pollen allergies? There’s much to love about the House of Flowers Konoyaro, from its striking dark red brickwork to its smaller details, like the Unikitty lupines. And aside from the Tudor-esque jettied and structural walls, the house is virtually void of 1x bricks. Instead, Konoyaro has opted for a variety of plate techniques, most notably stacked at the corners for a meticulous brick texture effect. You can also find more plates staggered at the base of the small bay window and surprisingly, in the loosely sculpted trees upfront. But my favorite detail by far is the brick-built front door. It’s a classy alternative to prefabricated doors that I’ll be taking note of for future inspiration.

House with Flowers

We’re no stranger to Konoyaro’s vibrant and textural brick building style. Dive into our archives to find their Little Mermaid build we’ve featured this past September!

A castle diorama with all the essentials

Sometimes a simple two-toned LEGO castle can go a long way. In this diorama, Mark of Siloam brings us Huntington Castle, his largest build to date measuring at 20″ by 45″. I’m not sure how much that is converted into studs, but it sure looks grand within this lively diorama. With its solid sand green and gray brickwork, the Huntington Castle is well-fortified with guards peering out into the land. When the castle’s functioning portcullis is lifted, the drawbridge can be lowered to access the main dirt path. A neat windmill sits just across the river, next to an open field for cattle to graze. The overall composition is rich in detail, and I’m still picking out the subtle changes in landscaping throughout the build and spotting new animals in every corner.

Huntington Castle

Here’s to more castle dioramas, Mark! And as we’re heading forward, why not drop in our archives for a look at one of Mark’s past builds from 2016.

A tiny slice of paradise

The Walnut Villa is the latest modern microscale home by Sarah Beyer. Only comprised of a few brick, tile, and plate pieces, this LEGO villa showcases the strength in simplicity. On the facade, the minimalistic colonnade harmonizes with the alternating profile grill bricks. Small textural details contrast with the smooth streamline surfaces like the micro green wall and the poolside masonry bricks transformed tiles. When you look through the panoramic windows, you can spot a single white pillar standing inside the home. It’s remarkable how Sarah captures the same grandeur of her minifigure scale homes in this microscale vignette. Surrounded by brilliant greenery and bamboo-palm trees, the Walnut Villa looks like a dwelling in paradise.

Walnut Villa MOC. House and pool. Microscale architecture.

Browse through our archives to see more architectural builds by Sarah.

A morning in Paris

Start off the day by taking a stroll through the colonnade, grab a croissant and magazine from the newspaper stand, then head down to the underground metro. Now I could spend an endless amount of time imagining that I’m walking around in this LEGO modular row by Jean Macou. This delightful set of buildings is like Parisian Restaurant meets Assembly Square, but with an unlimited budget. Each building is more decked out than the next. Some of my favorite details include the gold and nougat color palette on the pub and small restaurant at the front. I’ve also been eyeing that sand green masonry brick building to the right and its gorgeous white trim and tan ground floor.

A peaceful street in Paris

Remove the floors to peek into the detailed interiors of the build. Here’s an inside look of the pub– its layout and color scheme achieve a next-level realism for architectural builds.

A peaceful street in Paris

This modern brick dwelling has got grooves

Sarah Beyer is back with another stunning LEGO modern home. For me, one of the joys of browsing my Flickr feed is seeing Sarah’s process shots. By documenting her builds as she constructs them, Sarah is able to get amazing interior views of all her creations. Upfront, the Greyplate House features an outdoor pool and seating area and some incredible exterior features. There’s amazing repetition in colors and textures going on, all working in harmony throughout its architecture. The tan, olive green, and black brick walls frame the entrance and cut through the center of the house. Using black 1×4 sliding bricks as wall cladding is an uncommon usage, but here they echo the brown awnings and horizontal black panels in the upper portion of the house for a groovy look.

Greyplate House MOC I

Click here to see some more views of the Greyplate House

Next stop, Plymouth Rock

A moment of American history is frozen in time in James Pegrum‘s LEGO recreation of the Mayflower, the English ship that transported the first Pilgrims to New England. The story goes that indentured servant John Howland was swept overboard during a storm and held on until the crew hauled him back to safety. That splash is represented at the center of the build, carefully crafted out of rows of dark blue bricks and white curved slopes among the turbulent waves. The Mayflower flaunts some brick-built masts and beautiful blue accents on her sides. Plus, the rigging is all string and no prefabs — a solid choice for this level of realism.

Man Over Board

This sailboat goes with the motion of the ocean

Barthezz Bricks has a repertoire of highly detailed LEGO dioramas combining land and sea. His latest build is no different, focusing on the historical accuracy of the 15th century Mediterranean tartan ship as a part of a larger ongoing project on 1486 Venice. Let’s dive into some of the techniques used in this build.

Venice 1486 - Fishing Sailship (main)

The composition captures the rhythmic movement of ocean waves with varying shades of blue underneath translucent cheese slopes and 1×1 tiles. A net technique is used to render the waves, a subtle addition that goes a long way. The hull of the ship features a clever use of two-stud 1×4 plates for just the right amount of texture. Other details include a ragged flag made of 1×1 clips, debris caught in the currents and above all, the magnificent sail of the fishing boat. I don’t know what kind of bar-clip magic is happening behind that sail, but it’s certainly holding together for this photo! Using triangle road signs, Barthezz Bricks has pieced together a wonderful tessellated surface for the sail. Overall, there’s splendid dynamism in this diorama– the movement of the ocean, the flag, the fishermen pulling up their crab traps. Now I can’t help but think that some movement in the sail would have been nice to see, but that might be a greater challenge for another day…

Greebles galore

There are very few LEGO builders whose creations give me the chills, but Bart De Dobbelaer is definitely one of them. Intruder Alert is where we see all of Bart’s photography, editing, and building skills combine into one work of art and the result is haunting… and gorgeous. My eye is immediately drawn to the silhouettes of the unidentified intruders, poised and ready. The walls are decked out with greebles and ominous neon lights have been cast to really set the atmosphere. The ribbed hoses running across the length of the floor, several of which are slightly bent, add to the realism of this scene. According to Bart, we’re looking at his entire light bluish gray collection greebled on the walls of this passageway. The spikes on the armed intruders, the textures on the floor and walls, and the curvature of the entrance all work in harmony.

Intruder Alert

Got your favorite sci-fi soundtrack playing in your head? Then you’re ready to check out some more of Bart’s creations.

The medieval market village gets a fresh new look

If you’ve been a LEGO fan throughout childhood, this situation might be familiar to you: spending hours staring at a set you’ve always wanted in the catalog, obsessing over it until you’d memorized every detail in that set, down to every last brick. For me, that set was the 10193 Medieval Market Village, with the hinge-open village houses and waterwheel powered blacksmith hammer. It was a beauty back then and it still does in this recent Medieval Market Village redux by Robert Maier, aka hellboy.bricks. Drawing inspiration from all the original set’s essential features, this revamp uses more complex techniques yet still holds all the character and charm of the original Medieval Market. The brick-built tree branches have been substituted with Technic connectors, a pumpkin patch has been added in the back, and macaroni tiles now adorn the blacksmith shop’s archways. The classic brick slope roofing on both buildings has also been swapped out with a cheese slope roof for the blacksmith shop and a curved tile roof for the medium blue house. Also, the olive green looks gorgeous on the newly paved cobblestone, a color that you wouldn’t have found in this 2009 set.

Missing the good ol’ days of the Castle theme? Robert has made another set redux (hint: there’s goats) that you can check out here.

It’s come full-circle

Andreas Leander has us reeling at the sight of this mesmerizing SHIPtember build. Though its perfection might deceive you, the STS Serpent is not a render! This stunning LEGO exploration vessel measures to around 110-120 studs long, including its rear engine and cannons. The secret to its cookie-cutter form– a skeleton of curved train tracks hidden under layers of slope bricks and tile pieces. Andreas does a wonderful job of balancing smooth and greeble, opting for a textured “underbelly” in contrast to a smooth, studless exterior. The cannons on its side are a fantastic addition, really, the chef’s kiss on top of it all. It’s truly a vessel fit for any space expedition!

STS Serpent

Lovin’ this SHIP? You can check out other builds by Andreas by clicking here.

Chill out on this spaceship!

Theme crossovers are always a delight to see, especially when there’s an absurd amount of Friends animals involved. Case in point, The Deep Freeze Befriender, a stunning SHIP built by Chris Perron’s. This spaceship pays homage to the LEGO Ice Planet 2002 theme, referencing its iconic color scheme and Deep Freeze Defender set. But there’s more to this ship’s unique shape and rad angular windshields. The absolute best feature is on its inside — a decked-out intergalactic penguin resort, complete with a full lounge and bar serving ice slushies with a pool and water slide. Measuring at 144 studs long and 73 studs wide long, this ship’s interior provides ample waddling space for a couple of dozen penguins.

The Deep Freeze Befriender

There’s something about seeing these guys playing Go Fish under the neon-lights of the VIP room that has made me let go of all the grudges I’ve held against Friends critters. The penguin lifestyle is nothing short of luxury, especially when there’s unlimited BBQ fish kebabs and ice cream cocktails to consume, all while cruising through space in the chillest of all spaceships.

The Deep Freeze Befriender

And remember — you can’t spell friendship without SHIP. Click here to see another penguin Ice Planet 2002 build by Chris from our archives!

Scuba do’s and don’ts

The ocean life is captivating in this LEGO build by [Jack Frost]. Kelp plants and an elephant tail and candlestick anemone all sway across ocean floor while Sam the scuba diver navigates the water. The build is a wonderful combination of interesting techniques and part usages. For Sam’s scuba suit, the builder uses wheel tires, a printed hinge panel and my personal favorite, aquatic mech arms from the Alpha Team line of the early 2000s. The connections at the figure’s joints are incredible and the flexibility of Sam’s flippers looks remarkably realistic. And don’t forget the neat Hero Factory-armor nautilus swimming past. The movement captured overall brings this scuba diving scene to life.

Sam the Scuba Diver

Like this builder’s style? Check out some more featured creations by [Jack Frost] in our archives!