Tag Archives: Architecture

LEGO provides the perfect medium for recreating the buildings and landmarks of the world — LEGO has even released a line of official LEGO Architecture sets. Check out our coverage of the official sets, and don’t miss all the gorgeous architectural models created by LEGO fans from around the world.

In a fishing town, where the sharks go to practice their 8-ball

A couple months ago we featured a spectacular LEGO shipyard, built by Arjan Oude Kotte. Adding on to his harbor town, his most recent creation is this awesome billiards hall. The architecture of this building has its own sense of style, as it perfectly resembles what you might think of when you hear, “Hamilton’s Billiards”.

There are lots of great side-builds used to create the signage and siding of the structure, especially the lettering. The roof shingles look fantastic as well! And, as always, the billiards hall fits seamlessly with the rest of the town. Our only wish is that we could see what fun lies inside!

We’re really impressed by Arjan’s attention to detail, and the story that he tells with his work. For this reason we’ve requested an interview! Stay tuned for a chance to learn more about this awesome builder.

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A bit of summer haunting

It’s already that time of year when stores begin their months-early preparations for Halloween, filling aisles with spooky themed decorations and sweet treats. But whatever your feelings on the imposition of this decidedly autumnal holiday intruding on the coattails of summer, you can certainly agree that it’s not too early for this haunted Victorian LEGO house by Anton Kushnir. Complete with knarled trees and an ominous carriage, the scene is just the thing to bring a bit of chill to the air. The mansion’s facade employs the less-used side of the masonry brick as wooden siding, and the medium nougat makes a lovely contrast with the light grey highlights and black roof.

A breath of crisp mountain air

This enchanting mountain hut by Ayrlego proves that you don’t need to build big to build beautifully. Envisioned as an idyllic retreat where medieval townsfolk might bring their goats to graze, it uses a number of simple but effective techniques to capture a delightful homely quality. Revelling in the joy of studded textures, wonky plates adorn its façade bringing a rural feel to the building. This effect is cleverly accentuated where the studded elements meet occasional modified plates. Completing the look, the grass roof uses exposed studs, as well as plant and curved elements in a complimentary arrangement, to craft a charming mossy appearance.

LEGO Architecture: 21047 Las Vegas [Review]

What’s built on the dining room table stays on the dining room table….at least, until dinner. Set 21047 Las Vegas is the latest offering in LEGO’s Architecture series, which is now in its tenth year. Time sure does fly and, speaking of time, Las Vegas was originally slated for release back in January 2018. As we reported back on July 31st, this delay was necessitated by the tragic Mandalay Bay hotel shooting of October 2017. In light of this unfortunate event, LEGO decided the best course of action was to redesign its Vegas set by replacing the micro Mandalay Bay with the Bellagio hotel and casino. Set 21047 consists of 501 pieces (according to the instruction booklet’s part inventory) and is slated for release on September 1st retailing at $39.99 USD.

Click to read our full, hands-on review

A bridge back to 19th century China

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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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.

See all of the August 2018 wave of LEGO sets available now

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.