There’s a feeling I get when I look at a great LEGO build, like this one by Tomasz Bartoszek! You can feel the scene drawing you in as you look for all the tiny details in this packed build. Tomasz has added a ton of designed disorder to the build that adds to the organic feel of the scene. For example, those gaps in the slats in that gate in the background are simply the gaps between bricks that aren’t pushed together. So, don’t be alarmed now if there are gaps in your brickwork. It’s just another building technique! Check out that tiny brick at the bottom of the stairs. That’s an old Modulex brick that Tomasz snuck in. Finally, the window in the door on the left is made from chain links. And don’t worry, that minstrel isn’t playing alone. The drummer will be there in four minutes!
Posts by Simon Friesen
Award winning builders are back with a champion LEGO diorama!
A team of elite historical LEGO builders have come together to create a sprawling diorama! Natelego_, Carson, Hunter E., Noah, Max, Matt, Hunter C., and Gary have taken on the Battle of Isted fought in 1850 between the Danish forces and rebels from the local provinces at the village of Isted. This build was displayed at BrickFair VA 2024 where it won Best Battle Scene! Take a look at the partially demolished church on the right side. While there’s one window still standing, the wall has collapsed leaving only the windowsill and part of the frame of the second window. And be sure to gander at the wider landscape too! Building hills and dips in the terrain one plate at a time must take a lot of patience. All of the lush vegetation really brings this scene to life, too.
Take a look at more closeups here!
Baseball bat building built from bricks!
We’ve got a LEGO build here from Jonah Schultz and I gotta say he’s knocked it out of the park! His microscale skyscraper is all about bats that were only available in a minifigure pack from 2018. The minifigure bats make up most of the outer structure of the skyscraper, but did you notice that the power-line poles are bats as well? The sneakiest use of the bat is for that tiny tanker truck. The building isn’t the only heavy hitter; That whole road network below the building is brick-built. The dashed lines between the lanes are made from brackets embedded deeper into the road. Back to the building, did you notice how those bats make a diamond shape? Can’t be an accident when this build is a home run!
Luminous and ominous; the Numinous Isle!
When LEGO builders collaborate, great things are bound to happen. Micah Beideman, Eli Willsea, and Grant Davis have gotten together to build the mystical breakwater called the Numinous Isle. Let’s talk gold! At the very top of this build, you’ll find a few gold 4×4 wedges. Those pearl gold pieces were only available in two sets from 2013. Behind the gold sais and interlocked gold bar clips is the grand dome of the build. That dome is one half of the Star Wars planet Bespin from a set released in 2012. Take a look further down at that grey arch. Did you know that macaroni pieces fit into a large arch so neatly? I sure didn’t! Even lower down, there’s a pair of fins from an A-Wing masquerading as part of a wall. Check out that fountain too. It looks like the ingots fit just perfectly into that specific wheel. All of that beautiful building only takes us to the shoreline. What other secrets are hidden beneath the waves?
This Smash Bros Castle is built brick by brick!
With far more precision and detail than the button-mashing playstyles common in the game, T.E. Brickworks has brought us the ultimate Super Smash Bros. LEGO build! Four fighters battle it out on the Castle Siege stage from Fire Emblem. Brickworks has taken the opportunity to depict this scene mid-fight, with Richter, the Ice Climbers, Kazuya, and Banjo & Kazooie battling for fun and for glory! There’s a lot going on here, but we’ve got plenty of excellent close-up shots below.
Let’s take a closer look at that brickwork from the brickworks!
This LEGO build is no stab in the dark!
In the dark of night a fancy assassin finds its target in this LEGO build by Seth Peacock (Obsessionist)! This Bio-Cup bird brings together a wide array of unique parts, so let’s take a closer look. Right under the roofline, that decorative brickwork is made of Rhotuka Spinner launchers above a couple of pieces from Bionicle’s Rahkshi. The arch of the window is made from two different types of rubber band holders, while the windowsill is made from projectile launchers. Finally, Seth got a lovely feathery texture from using the Visorak foot to make up the bird’s tail. It’s a good thing that bird isn’t a crow, otherwise there might be a murder!
Oh the Hu-manatee
This excellent LEGO build by Legonerdphotos! steals and borrows pieces from a powerful array of Bionicle heroes and villains! Its head is made from the all-mighty Mask of Life, while its shoulders and tail fins are made from the head-pieces of the great Bohrok-Kal. The little bundle of seaweed the manatee is carrying is a hairpiece from a single minifigure from the Hidden Side line. Speaking of vegetation, the grass at the front to either side of the scene comes from spines of the Barraki lord Ehlek. Further back, the tall fronds are from this year’s Dreamzzz Cat-Owl and the vast field in the middle is made from Gresh’s shoulder guards. All-in-all Legonerdphotos has put together a lovely diorama that shows it’s better down where it’s wetter; take it from manat-me!
Dragonfly in the sky, you can go twice as high!
If you’re an elf in need of transit options, you should check out this LEGO build by Ted Andes! Do you ever have one of those projects where its entire reason for being is just a tiny part of the whole? This huge Dragonfly Outpost diorama was built by Ted as a display to show off the dragonfly craft in the top left corner! Let’s take a look at some details! the gold water pump to the right of the main pillar has a faucet made from an inverted genie’s lamp. All of those lovely wings used on the bug-thopter and the roof of the main area are from a single ant-man set from 2015. Those safety rails on the upper deck are actually a relatively common tube (though it does seem like the elves could use a few more of them!) An up-and-coming part is the leaf used for some of the bird’s tails. Since its introduction in 2023, it’s been used in a variety of sets and colors and I expect we’ll see more of it in the future! And speaking of those birds, I wonder if they make good omelets too?
A rose that’s as pretty as a picture
If you need some LEGO to hang on your wall, look no further than this build by Ethen T! First I want to shout out how Ethen has found the perfect frame to match the dimensions of LEGO bricks. the 1×2 plates and jumpers tile the frame perfectly and give a textured background for the star of the show. Speaking of texture, here’s a lot of 1×1 corner tiles in this build! In addition to the tiles, Ethen has used plenty of organic LEGO pieces to add interest to the build. There’s plenty of flowers of three different types sprinkled throughout the petals and the stem. Considering this is a rose, Ethen has also fittingly added heart tiles to the mix as well. Now for the all important question: would you rather step on a LEGO brick or the thorn of a rose?
Click this Link to see LEGO Ganondorf return to Hyrule
Ganondorf is back to menace the kingdom of Hyrule in this LEGO creation by mSquid_! The evil sorcerer is clad in the finest clothes and armor LEGO has to offer, so let’s take a look. His boots are made from mudguards and look how nicely the 1×1 corner tiles fit in the gap! His shinguards are barrels only available from one Indiana Jones set from 2009. Further up, Ganondorf is wearing a single handcuff as a collar, and a sail from a pirate ship for a cape. Within the sculpting of Ganondorf’s head, I’m amazed at how all the parts came together to perfectly recreate the villain’s face. Ganondorf’s lower jaw is from a collectable orc minifigure, while mSquid_ borrowed a technique from this year’s Droideka set: using backwards lipstick pieces for Ganondorf’s red eyes. From head-to-toe, mSquid_’s Ganondorf strikes an imposing figure.
This build was an entry in this year’s Bio-Cup 2024, and be sure to check out our archives of the Bio-Cup entries from this and past years. I think mSquid_’s competition will be green with envy!
Is this car a Good Omen?
If you need to travel the streets in style, look no further than this LEGO Bentley by Daniel Church! This particular Bentley was the preferred ride of the Demon Crowley from the novel and TV series Good Omens by Pratchett and Gaiman. Everything about this model is as pitch-perfect as the Queen CDs the car keeps creating. Everything from the grates on the side to the headlights and bumpers to the shape of the doors is a perfect match to the original car. To match the organic curves of the original vehicle, Daniel has made use of the 10x2x2 wedge behind the forward wheel well and at the back of the cabin roof. That smooth window at the back of the cabin is due to the interlocking shapes of the 4x1x2 2/3 curved slope and the 1x4x3 arch. And speaking of interlocking, look at the 1x2x3 upright and inverted slopes used to make the shapes of the door. You know what they say; the devils in the details!
Just an itsy-bitsy taste of nostalgia
If you need a little more nostalgia in your life, you can get some teeny-tiny doses from these LEGO builds by Rick Brickham! Rick has taken on the challenge of miniaturizing a number of classic LEGO sets from years past. Not only are these great representations of the larger sets, they are examples of great building techniques in their own right. Let’s take a look at each build individually!
Click here for some close-ups!