Taking us back to Qing Dynasty China, ElviN has built a historically accurate version of the iconic Double Dragon Bridge. The diorama is packed with the comings and goings of day-to-day life: there’s a peasant fishing in the Nanpan River; a platoon of soldiers marshals a criminal across the bridge; whilst at the other end a farmer waits to herd his cattle over to the other side.
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Tag Archives: Architecture
Return to an alternate Paris in 1889 with this sprawling steampunk scene
Like all great cities, Castor Troy’s steampunk Paris continues to grow. Previously we’ve featured Casotor’s models of the Colonial Office and the Louvre, both of which feature in the layout. This time around we’ve been treated to a new row of buildings running alongside Notre Dame.
Each contains the kind of beautiful architectural details we’ve come to expect, from the Egyptian Art Deco building with its innovative use of ornamental fencing for doors and gold claw elements to represent two opposing sphinxes, to the new maritime office with its wall mounted ship’s wheel. Let’s hope that Castor’s passion for development continues to see new wonders being added to this splendid city.
All aboard the tiny train!
All aboard! We’re taking the train through Taiwan, and our next stop is the Taichung train station. The station began operations in 1908 and was closed down after an elevated station was built and opened in 2016. The original station is a beautiful piece of architecture, and Maxime Cheng’s microscale rendering is superbly detailed. His model is rich in texture, right down to the ornate architectural accents along the perimeter of the roof. While the building itself is stunning, the tiny train is an equally impressive-looking feature that really helps bring this model to life. Dare I say, Cheng’s Taichung station feels like it would be a great companion to sets in LEGO’s Architecture series?
Our Lady Liberty stands tall at a small scale
While I am a big fan of the official architecture line from LEGO, including the recently reviewed Statue of Liberty set, I have so much respect for anyone who attempts to create custom models of landmarks on an even smaller footprint. We’ve seen a few models over the years built to accommodate the mini-fig Statue of Liberty from Series 6 of LEGO’s Collectible Minifigures theme, but this latest by LEGO 7 has to be my favorite. There is a great balance between Lady Liberty and her signature pedestal, and the trans-blue tile border gives just enough of a sense of place (even if the shape of the base is not exactly accurate to Liberty Island).
Your guide to the 58 new LEGO sets now available, including Star Wars, Harry Potter, Technic, Trains and more [News]
August is here, and the floodgates of LEGO have opened with 58 new sets available today. Fans of Star Wars, Technic, Ninjago, City & Trains, Friends, Harry Potter and even Unikitty and Powerpuff Girls have a lot to choose from. We have your guide right here of each and every new set.
Along with new sets, LEGO has two simultaneous gifts with purchase, including the brand new “Plants from Plants” box of elements sourced from sugar cane (free with purchases above $35), and the Unikitty Castle Room (free with Unikitty! purchases above $25).
There are a few sets that really stand out to us, but you can see the complete list of all 58 sets now available after the jump.
70657 Ninjago City Docks
3553 pieces | $229.99
We reviewed this set back in May and agree it is an absolutely delightful accompaniment to 70620 Ninjago City or a stunning stand-alone model.
42082 Rough Terrain Crane
4057 pieces | $299.99
The biggest Technic set of all time has arrived and reaches more than three feet high and can lift more than you expect. The set can also be rebuilt into a Mobile Pile Driver. Look for our review of this set in a couple of hours.
75218 X-Wing Starfighter
730 pieces | $79.99
After outings in orange and blue, the most recognizable Rebel fighter in the Star Wars universe becomes available to a new generation of LEGO builders. Check out our review of this must-buy set.
Redesigned LEGO Architecture 21047 Las Vegas revealed [News]
It’s rare that LEGO sets are directly affected by the tragedies that happen in the real world. But just as the first photos were turning up online of a new LEGO Architecture set depicting the Las Vegas skyline, a gunman opened fire on October 1st, 2017, firing down onto a packed concert venue from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel casino. The gunman murdered 58 people, injuring hundreds of others. In light of this tragedy, LEGO never officially unveiled the Las Vegas set, originally scheduled to be released alongside 21039 Shanghai in January 2018. LEGO has finally revealed the redesigned (and re-numbered) set, 21047 Las Vegas on Amazon.fr.
The French Amazon website doesn’t list a price or part count, but we expect it to be in the same range as Shanghai (597 pieces for $59.99) and New York City (598 pieces for $59.99). We’ll update you as we learn more, though thus far LEGO has been keeping this set fairly low profile.
See more photos of 21047 Las Vegas skyline, along with the original version
Explore the ruined grandeur of this ancient Mayan temple
Overflowing with architectural features, Noel Peterson’s El Templo de Uxmal revels in the crumbling splendour of the ancient Mayan civilisation. As you explore the ruins, you have to marvel at just how many different building techniques have been used: from the rings of brackets used to shape the distinctive holed blocks, to the row of modified bar elements inset to replicate relief carvings. The arrow head portal, made by off-setting cheese wedges, adds a spectacular focal point to the build that I particularly like. Noel’s attention to detail carries on throughout the model, creating weathering effects, age and a real sense of history everywhere you look.
A new kind of old temple in the new world
Mesoamerican temples lend themselves naturally to LEGO, with their blocky shapes and colours that are often abundant in collections, namely grays and greens. There seems to be an influx of Mayan and Aztec temples lately as you might have noticed on The Brothers Brick, and we have the Summer Joust competition to thank for this. One of the creations built for this contest is this one by Andreas Lenander
The first thing that catches our attention is the dark tan ground, a change from the expected greens that are used in similar creations. While I like the contrast that green gives, tan is probably more realistic. The sand and olive green overgrowth on the temple is an interesting colour choice, joined by dark green, which looks almost black in the photo. This darker colour gives a strong impression of wet moss, setting the scene in a particularly dank swamp. Some of the more unique parts usages include the Statue of Liberty headgear used as serpent’s head ornaments and the brown treads used as vines.
Tlachtli: The Mesoamerican ballgame
The Mesoamerican ballgame is an ancient sport played throughout Central America starting more than three thousand years ago. While some games may have been played purely for exercise or entertainment, there is strong archaeological and historical evidence for highly ritualized games that could even end in human sacrifice for some or all of the losers. W. Navarre has captured the action of a ballgame from the Aztec era, when ballcourts included rings through which players tried to bounce the rubber ball. The builder uses forced perspective to achieve a backdrop with a stepped pyramid temple — even the blazing blue sky is built with bricks.
The microscale pyramid includes decorative elements made from cut stickers — only official LEGO stickers, of course! The cheese slopes work wonderfully for the pyramid’s steps.
A well-planned house for a big LEGO family
Everyone can build a LEGO house, but what about a thoroughly planned one? aukbricks shares an outstanding project of a cottage featuring both a brilliant exterior and fully furnished rooms. Because of the dimensions of the LEGO bricks, building interiors in minifigure scale can be pretty challenging, but this house boasts a lot of pieces of furniture that don’t look bulky or weird.
A skyline that fits seemlessly with your collection
There are lots of people making their own versions of the LEGO Architecture city skylines. This is especially the case with a new contest on LEGO Rebrick. One hopeful builder, Felix (saabfan2013), could certainly be a top contender with his recreation of San Francisco.
In addition to the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, Felix included several other important landmarks. They are the Palace of Fine Arts, Salesforce Tower, Coit Tower, and Transamerica Pyramid. He also built an adorable row of houses with a tiny trolley car.
LEGO Architecture 21042 Statue of Liberty [Review]
The Statue of Liberty is perhaps the most recognizable American icon and has been rendered in LEGO bricks many times. From a massive version towering over the original LEGOLAND Billund to a much-sought-after collectible minifigure variant, Lady Liberty is a longstanding favorite of LEGO designers. The newest addition to the LEGO Architecture line 21042 Statue of Liberty is arguably the most complex, accurate and satisfying renditions, containing 1,685 pieces and available now for $119.99 USD.
Click to read our complete review of 21042 Statue of Liberty