Tag Archives: 1:1 Scale

Lifesize props that will have you asking “Is it LEGO?”

This plant is my soil mate

When I look out my window today, there’s snow on the ground. It’s been a long, cold winter already, and I’m starting to really miss the color green. If the drab snows of winter are getting you down, too, here’s some welcome relief. Stilly Bricks collaborated with Jonathan Lopes to create a 45″ inch tall, 18″ diameter topiary wonder. It’s so massive that it required a metal bar through the stem to support the flowers, and even the vine has a metal tube running through it. From the brick-built pot and leaves to the varied flowers in the ball, this is one creation that should make any plastic-loving botanist smile.

If you like LEGO flowers (and really, who doesn’t?) then be sure to check our archives for more leafy goodness!

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When you have to be separated over the holidays

The holiday season has been a tough one this year. The COVID situation in the US means that I can’t be with all the people I care about, and every wintery milestone goes by with a hefty helping of separation. But, thanks to Allyson Gail I can at least share a wry bit of LEGO creativity that makes a good pun out of the whole deal. She’s once again taken the hard-to-repurpose brick separator and turned it into something special. This time it’s a holiday wreath that could easily go toe-to-toe with LEGO’s own offering.

You’d be forgiven if you thought this was just a clever arrangement of parts on a flat surface. But, if you look closely, you can see that all of the separators are actually connected by a hinge plate. That means that this creation can even go on a wall (if you hang it from a standard over-the-door wreath hook). And let’s also take a moment to enjoy the construction on that bow! The smooth lines and curves really play well with the texture of the separators.

My own collection of green brick separators is too small to duplicate this build myself, but maybe I can find some other holiday creation to reverse engineer. I’ll have some time on my hands, after all…

Everything an aspiring LEGO photographer needs

We’ve featured a number of great LEGO recreations of cameras over the years, but Milan Sekiz went the extra mile by recreating all the essential accessories, too. Along with the Nikon D7100 camera, there’s a Nikon SB600 flash, Sherpa 200R tripod, and a Phottix remote. Some standout details include the excellent use of angled slope tile to create the camera body, as well as the tread on a LEGO tire standing in on the texture on the lens housing. (But the best detail has to be the tiny bit of chain link in the dial.) I also like the use of quarter-circle tile to create smooth lines on the flash.

Even better, the various builds can be combined just like the real thing. This rear view of the camera with the flash attached also shows off a cool extra – a LEGO camera strap!

Want more like this? Check out those other LEGO camera recreations we mentioned earlier.

Mix that funky music

I’m not going to pretend I know a lot about music, but I’m sure many are familiar with what an audio mixer looks like – lots of switches and lights, the functions of with I’m personally not familiar with at all. However, as a person who gravitates towards gadgets, these switchboards certainly do look cool to me, or maybe John Snyder’s LEGO model of one makes them look cooler than they are.

The switchboard body uses some standard bricks, tiles, and slopes in black assembled via the SNOT (studs not on top) technique. This build is part of an Iron Builder challenge, the seed part is the modified 2×3 plate with bar in dark red, but there are many other interesting small elements utilized here such as the broad-brimmed castle helmets which serve as dials and the technic piston cups in yellow. Of course, I am a fan of trans-clear elements, and Snyder has thrown in a few of those like the minifigure heads at the far left and some light pieces that look exactly like LED lights. Snyder’s model certainly makes me want to learn more about these cool pieces of tech and how exactly they work.

More than your usual rubber-stamp build

Ah, bureaucracy. Nothing is quite like the teeth-grinding angst of shuffling papers and getting the right permits. There’s also nothing quite like this creation by Inthert. Making use of an unusual 2×3 modified LEGO plate as a basis, they’ve managed to stamp out something new. There are a lot of great techniques in play, from the white rubber band around the pen clip to the layered wall panels that make up the pages of the book. But the skill used in inverting the rubber stamp’s pattern onto the page is the real treat for me.

This build is part of the latest Iron Builder challenge. Check out our archives for more great creations from that competition.

A staple device for most

Although our world has become increasingly paperless in many ways, especially during our current situation, the stapler is still an office, home office, or desk staple – pun intended! Builder and Instagrammer lionbricks_ showcases a wonderful yet simple LEGO model of the mechanical device.

Very simple elements are used in this build – plates, tiles, 1×2 jumpers, slopes, and a 1×2 modified plate with door rail. My favorite part of this build is the bucket handles lying next to the main model – these are cleverly used to depict staples. Now, if only this stapler was red instead of yellow, it could’ve been a hilarious reference to the coveted stapler from the film Office Space. But, hey, I still do enjoy simple models drawn from the simple things in life.

The original creator, 0937 Superfan, had built a very similar stapler in 2012. It’s always important to give credit to builds and inspiration, of course this could be a coincidence, but we’re happy to present both staplers. Thanks for reaching out and “have you seen my stapler?”

I’m Batman. You can be too.

You should dress for the job you want and not the job you have. Which explains why I spent the afternoon in the HR office dressed as Batman. I wish I could take credit for that joke but it’s not mine to claim. Still, I’m certain LEGO builder Riley Scott can appreciate the sentiment as evidenced by this wearable Batman mask. This is not Riley’s first rodeo with 1:1 scale wearable art. Here’s the Stormbringer from the Avengers: Infinity War and be sure to try D.C.s Atom outfit on for size. Also check out Starlord’s helmet. Riley seems to give equal love to both D.C. and Marvel, which just shows we’re all superhero dorks at heart, regardless of sides.

Just a little messy

LEGO bricks are used to make stuff, sure. But when LEGO bricks are used to make stuff that makes stuff…that’s a different level of meta. SephiMoc FF7 has created some painting supplies that do indeed look ready to be applied to canvas. I like how they’ve used different building methods to show the pooling paint, but it’s the brushes that make me smile most. We’ve seen minifigure brooms and plumes as brush tips before, but this may be the first time I’ve seen both a banana and carrot in play as well. I do kind of feel bad for the table, though. That’s a lot of messy spillage to clean up.

If you’d like to see a different design for paint tubes, I found a gem in our archives.

If it’ll please the court, Exhibit A...the wedding photos.

A photograph is a literal snapshot of a moment in time, but often so is the camera. This LEGO disposable camera by nobu_tary reminds us that the real sweet spot for these was from about the late eighties to the early oughts. The builder pretty well captured the sort of the throw away cheap quality these cameras possessed. The lenses were usually plastic, the photo quality questionable but they served in a pinch. One popular use of these was at weddings. A disposable camera was placed at each table and wedding guests were encouraged to snap impromptu pics of themselves. Then once the honeymoon was over, the newlyweds would then develop their photos only to find a record number of butts, boobies, and ding-dongs. It was immature and a complete waste of film if you ask me! Thankfully we all do the same now but on our smartphones like responsible adults.

Artifacts from a vintage family room

The ’50s are calling! Don’t tell my father – he was born in 1955 and would be highly offended if he heard me using the term “vintage” to describe these items. I’d love to know what inspired LEGO builder Jaap Bijl to choose this era, but I’m so glad he did. The collection inspires images of a very different point in history. A tube radio, rotary telephone, and even a WW2 medal define the time. And the old-school toys and treats mixed throughout tell the story of a young family. Jaap used a bunch of the white 4×4 flower elements to achieve the look, but a couple of my most favorite examples are the ones that aren’t as easy to see, like the racecar wheels and radio tuning sliders.

There are many more fantastic examples of Jaap’s work in our archives!

Not your grandma’s lace tablecloth

LEGO builder and co-fan-designer for the Ideas Pop-Up Book set, Grant Davis is on a roll lately. As in, one of the best runs of excellent builds in a short time I’ve ever seen. In this latest project, the candlestick holder and rose are lovely. But the real hero of the display is the “lace” tablecloth. Made up of 16 white nets and adorned with both older and new flower elements, it’s certainly convincing. Anyone who has worked with nets in this way knows how tricky and fiddly they can be, but these are expertly held together with carefully hidden connections. There are even white tusks/tails clipped to octagonal parabolic rings for the more intricate center. LEGO has never looked so delicate.

To see the rest of this excellent series of builds, check out Grant’s giant playing card, gingerbread house, renaissance man, and sheep.

A LEGO flower by any other name smells of plastic

Flowers are a frequent subject of artists and photographers, capturing the many brilliant colors of nature. LEGO artists are no exception, as the many bright colors available can be combined with stunning results. Amado Canlas Pinlac has chosen a more monochrome palette for this model of baby blues. The curved bricks provide wonderfully textured petals and the white planter box is simple, yet effective in giving the model a sense of scale.