Tag Archives: Buildings

Bugatti in a haystack

What classic car collector or enthusiast wouldn’t flip out to find this car in a barn? Norton74 has put together an instantly recognizable scene in this LEGO creation depicting all the excitement of a treasure hunt.

The farm clutter is wonderfully deliberate and is immediately familiar to anybody who has driven down a country highway on the way from here to there. From the wood piles and crates to the toppled gas pump. And don’t miss the hay stacked up inside the barn. What really sells the narrative is the loosely placed tiles, which add to the barn’s weathered appearance.

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From a convent in Brazil to LEGO on your screen

Microscale builds are great for fantasy castles and sprawling sci-fi cities done on the cheap, but it’s also a great tool for recreating real buildings with a reasonably small number of pieces. Brazilian builder Gilcelio chagas has done that with the Penha Convent, which is located in the Vila Velha region of Brazil. Compare the build to pictures of the site and you’ll see the effort that has gone into making this look authentic at such a small scale. Make sure you also spot the clever used of an army helmet as the top of rounded tree and an alternate view that offers a better look at the build of the mountain that the convent sits on.

Majestic golden temple of Hwa Pha Bang

This astonishing golden temple is one of seven new additions to the Piece of Peace World Tour, opening this week in Singapore. This display of amazing builds features the Haw Pha Bang temple in Laos, built masterfully by Singaporean Eugene Tan. The builder toiled on this labour of love for over 90 hours from start to finish and used an estimated total of 13,000 bricks.

While I admire the exquisite detailing, it’s worth highlighting that the real challenge behind this majestic temple is the adornment of gold, a color that LEGO does not offer a very broad palette of elements to work with. Stay tuned for our coverage of the UNESCO World Heritage Exhibition for more amazing places in the world imagined in LEGO.

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The beauty of architecture in defence

Chinese city walls were built for defense, to protect towns and cities in China. Part of those walls included towers and gates which typically served as entry points. This particular Gate Tower built by Prince Jiang is astounding in size and amazing in architecture. I’m always in awe of how a structure meant to be a defence mechanism can also be made to look so appealing even in real life structures you see around historic China.

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Love is what makes a house a home ...but a fully furnished one helps too!

If this is home, I’m sure it’s always going to be where I’m going to spend most of my time. A three-storey modular with a single color tone of tan bricks, but with excellent build features bring out the best in this grand looking architectural build. The beauty of this home does not end there, as builder Vincent Kiew invites you to explore the heart of what makes a building a home. While most modular builds may feature the external facade, I have a soft spot for builds that take the extra effort to imagine what life would have been like for a minifigure family.

Click to see more of the inside of the home

Faithful LEGO recreation of Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown

Builder Vincent Kiew recreates a faithful representation of a row of shophouses in Petaling Street in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The little street has been the bustling heart of the city’s Chinatown since the late 19th century, and these buildings still stand today, preserved and maintained for future generations.

I’ve visited the street in real life myself, and it really is quite a sight to see. This LEGO scene is accurate right down to the little details, such as the open-top trucks and the store signage. Vincent has also built a version of the street depicting it in an earlier time, when mud and cobbles would have been home to horse-drawn carts.

Labour of love pit stop for hot rods recreated from real life

Once in a while you see a build that not only looks great, but simply blows it out of the water, combining great details and huge playability potential. This build by Andrea Lattanzio of a famous hot rod workshop is surely one of them. What brings this place to life are the small details scattered around, such as the electrical poles and the junkyard at the side.

Andrea tells us a little history of the Mooneyes Headquarters, where gearheads and hot rod modders hang out to get their repairs and mods. Today, Mooneyes is still located in Santa Fe Springs, California, where it’s been since 1962. The builder is obviously a huge fan, and has painstakingly recreated the full workshop layout inside.

Click to see more of the Mooneyes shop

Fill ‘er up! The hey-day of gas stations

Andrew Tate was feeling nostalgic for a time of full-service stations with an art-deco style, so he built this 30’s-inspired filling station. The curved corner window looks perfect for a classy old shop where the attendants would pump your fuel, wash your windows, and check your radiator, and Andrew says it was one of the inspirations for the model.

DOH-ceptively spacious

Although the LEGO Simpsons House makes a great display model, César Soares was unwilling to fork out the small fortune needed to own one. So instead he debigulated the design to create his own microscale version – complete with working garage door, pink car, and yard furniture. WOO-HOO!

Domestication, Contemplation, Relaxation

Flickr member simplybrickingit has created this intriguing triptych of household rooms. Each one is beautifully furnished but completely figure-less, and symbolizes a different aspect of our everyday lives. It’s all very Zen. I love the way the partial walls make these scenes feel somehow out of time.

It’s all in the wrists

To many of you, this may look like just another building created in the popular “Café Corner” style. But to those of us that were creatures of the Eighties, it’s immediately recognizable as Flynn’s, the videogame arcade featured in the 1982 pre-cyberspace pre-Matrix movie TRON.

Using fluorescent bricks and black light, Joel Baker has managed to impart his creation with the neon look and feel of the original. It has a complete interior featuring all manner of vintage arcade machines, and even the secret doorway that appeared in the 2010 follow-up TRON Legacy.

House of Healing...and Leaning

This crazy house is the fault of César Soares and it’s an eye-catcher. It really has some unusual angles going on, both on the roof and the walls. I also like the patches and repairs. It gives the house a sense of character and helps create a story in your mind.