Posts by Leigh

Casa de Weasley

For wizarding student Harry Potter, the exurban London residence of George and Petunia Dursley is merely a house. But the ramshackle countryside tower of the Weasley clan is much more than that. “It may not look like much,” says Ron, somewhat embarrassed of his family’s low status, “but it’s home.” To Harry Potter, it’s a wonderful place of camaraderie and commonplace magic, which gradually becomes more of a home to him than any place save Hogwart’s. This microscale model of the Weasley home (affectionately called the Burrow) by Markus Rollbühler is also pretty wonderful. His vignette is chock full of texture and details, right down to the light blue flying Ford Anglia parked in the drive. Brilliant!

003 - The Burrow

There’s no arch in architecture

Air, light, work, sports, hygiene, comfort and efficiency: these are the guidelines that governed the design of Villa Cavrois. This massive home in France was built by Robert Mallet-Stevens between 1929 and 1932, and is considered part of the International Style of architecture. The mansion has a storied past: it was occupied by the German Army during World War II, and most of the custom-built furniture was sold off in the 1980s. But now it’s a historical monument, open to the public for viewing. If you can’t make it all the way to northern France, at least you can ogle this model from Swedish builder o0ger, whose rendition is reminiscent of the LEGO Architecture theme.

Villa Cavrois

I love livin’ in the city

I’ve got nothing against the classic brick and brownstone facades of yesteryear. But I am a sucker for the hyper-modern apartment buildings that are springing up in urban areas all across America. This model by lisqr hits all the right notes: assymetrical design, complex vertical plane, and surprising color choices. Each minifig-scale balcony is individually detailed, firmly linking the form to a human cityscape. Plus, cats. Just one question: how much is the rent?

Modern Apartment

Strategic pursuit

Far from the present, at the Futuron base
A small ship alit on the platform with grace
No ruckus was raised, no alarm began screaming
But the alleys have ears, and data was streaming
A blue and white robot did power itself on
And began to creep silently through the cold dawn
Fly, little ship, you’ve got nothing to prove!
Strategic Pursuer 1 is on the move…

Model by Andrew Lee.

Strategic Pursuer 1 is on the move.

In space, size matters

There are a lot of neat play features packed into this tiny space exploration vehicle. But it’s the ambiguous scale that tickles me. Is it a remote-controlled rover, barely larger than a cat? Or a mammoth-sized truck, so tall you could walk under it without ducking? It could hold fifty people — or less than five. Only Shannon Sproule knows for sure.

Lava Explorers Armoured pickup

FOTC Hawk from Destiny

I’m not really into video games unless they have the name Zelda in the title. But the kids seem to dig some sci-fi game called Destiny, and there are a lot of great LEGO models based on its concept art. This FOTC Hawk from Jake Mundy is the latest example, and there are a heap of nifty techniques in this angular contraption. Check out the full gallery for some inspirational detail and cutaway pictures.

Destiny FOTC Hawk Concept

Zen and the art of Tachikoma maintenance

I want to go skateboard after I make a few deliveries on my motorcycle. But first I’ve got to polish a cute blue robot with this eye-catching red towel. Good thing I’ve got plenty of tools and a lovely fluorescent light fixture. There’s a lot of detail in this small space, but it doesn’t feel cluttered or claustrophobic. Room to breathe, room to work, room to drop things down the grating in the floor. This mechanic diorama from Ted Andes is part of a month-long theme of four-legged robots who probably just barely fit through the sliding door.

Blue