Tag Archives: City

Need anything from the store?

At long last, builder Letranger Absurde has returned after an 18 month break from LEGO. And what better way to jump back onto the scene than with this beautiful Japanese store! Letranger adeptly uses textures here to emulate paneling on the wooden walls and tiled roofs. This helps to break up the mostly two-toned building, providing depth and character. Speaking of character, I love the pair of fences flanking the store. Without looking completely ramshackle, these dividers still add a hand-crafted feel to the setting. Lay on top of that other excellent details like the power pole in the background, the exquisite sign above the storefront, and the darling cart of produce in back, and I suddenly feel like going on a shopping spree.

And if Letranger Absurde is a new name for you, check out all their prior builds featured on TBB.

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Floating up to the city in the sky

Far from Norman Greenbaum’s lyrics but still suiting the rhythm, this futuristic flying city by Builder Umbra-Manis certainly looks like a paradise all its own. A microscale aircraft sits on one side of the city’s extended air-docks, leading into a thick, walled courtyard. Trees exposed to the open air line the exterior of the platforms, using brown claws with green flower studs attached to the versatile, hexagonal NEXO Knights plates which make up the structure’s base. Nice parts usage certainly abounds in this model. Minifigure rollerskates with trans-yellow tombstone plates, as I call them, make great little courier vessels which enter the city and circle its interior. The sculpting and coloration of the buildings make me feel like I’m playing a LEGO version of a Ratchet and Clank level which is nothing to complaing about.

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LEGO VIP Rewards: Tin Signs – For the completist who has everything else already [Review]

Back in November, we shared a review of the 1950’s LEGO Logo tin sign VIP reward. Since then, LEGO has introduced four more designs to help fill out your wall space – 5007155 Ninjago, 5007156 – City, 5007157 – Friends and 5007158 – Rebuild the World. Each is available one-per-VIP-account in the Rewards Center (US | CAN | UK). In the US they’re 1,200 points each with a listed retail value of $15. We caved and ordered all four – come along as we take a look at just what we got for our 4,800 points. (Spoiler alert: Not much.)

Click to read the full hands-on review

Street corner coffee shop

There’s nothing better than a relaxing stroll through the alleys and streets of a quaint LEGO village, this one constructed by Y. Muto. Multiple levels of terraces attach to the different buildings perched above the tight courtyard below. Delightful roofing techniques in different colors give the different rooftops their own individual character. Each building’s window treatments seem to provide a place for window gardens or ivy. I especially love the different color tiles contrasting the white walls of the green-roofed building with the bay windows.

Check out what else is brewing in this build!

Kandor is cool but R’lyeh is rockin’

We’ve seen ships in a bottle, and decks of cards in a bottle, but Bart De Dobbelaer is the first builder I know to combine glassware with the elder gods. Rise of Cthulhu features not only the great tentacled meanie, but also the city of R’lyeh doing a wicked impression of a lava lamp. The city was built brick-by-brick inside the bottle thanks to a small hole in the back; a process that is certainly madness-inducing.

A hole lot of construction going on

There is so much going on in this LEGO construction scene assembled by Kashim K, and I’m not just talking about the well-posed minifigures. Everywhere I look, there are delightful uses of texture and color blocking to communicate different features in the build. Whether it’s the mechanics on the arm of the excavator, the patches of clay visible in the dirt, or the studs-out texturing on the white building, each surface offers a new tactile or visual experience that keeps the build dynamic. Even the transition from smooth wood slats to rough concrete walls in the pit hits the mark perfectly. But my favorite feature is below the road on the left side of Kashim’s creation. The pipes/tubes (visible in the ground thanks to the cutaway at the edge of the scene) are a strong reminder for those of us in the US to dial 811 before we undertake a project like this.

New LEGO City 2022 summer sets explore farming and retail [News]

According to the product images revealed by German toy-retailer JB Speilwaren, this summer LEGO City is revisiting local farms — and it’s all about fresh and healthy produce. Four new sets ranging from a tiny one to a solid city building, re-introduce farming with lots of new animal figures. There is a bunch of highlights, with one being a full-size grocery store.

60344 Chicken Coop | 101 pieces | EUR 9.99

60345 Vegetable Delivery Truck | 310 pieces | EUR 29.99

60346 Farm with Animals | 210 pieces | EUR 49.99

60347 Supermarket | 404 pieces | EUR 59.99

LEGO City Summer 2022 train sets revealed [News]

The recently unveiled LEGO City 60336 Freight Train is joined today by two more train-themed sets that appeared on LEGO.com. As a tradition, the cargo train is accompanied by the new 60337 Passenger Express Train. Additionally, the city is finally getting the new station building in the form of the 60335 Train station set. Although based on the existing train system, the sets bring a lot of new play scenarios, with other City sub-themes introduced here and there. All three sets will go on sale on June 1, with prices to be confirmed shortly.

Click here for more images of the new sets!

The great city of Sundari, Mandalore, beautifully recreated in LEGO form

Mandalore is described with domed cities littering the landscape and here, James Taylor captures the interior of one such City using LEGO perfectly in this sweeping cityscape from Star Wars. If like me, you are an ardent fan of the Clone Wars this is an instantly recognisable view of the Capital, Sundari, from the view of Mandalorians as they approach and slowly descend through the City to the Royal Palace. Take a look at just how James has captured the depth of the buildings here!

I love how, beyond varying techniques, James has used sizing of LEGO parts to introduce depth to the scene. In the foreground, James has used larger bricks and plates to capture the near buildings’ mix of geometric patterns that is a trademark of Mandalorian architecture. It turns into smaller plate builds for the buildings in the mid-ground, whilst still capturing the sleek lines and heavy use of 1×2 transparent plates to show the tall windows that are seen throughout the locale. Finally, serving as a backdrop to the scene, the grand design of the great doors to the Royal Palace is on full display and is put together with some nice building techniques to capture the delicate lines needed. Surrounding the doors, James has again stepped down to the smallest pieces to add crucial detail to the far cityscape again using various techniques to really set this incredible scene both in front of the doors and up to the sides.

The corner bookstore on Modular Street

If you’re in search of some excellent LEGO literature, then head on down to this corner bookshop modular by Flickr user thilo.schoen. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but this build reminds me of my many shopping trips through downtown Minneapolis in college. The façade of the building makes excellent use of depth. The insets of the arches, the windows set a half-stud in from the wall, and the grooved sand green bricks help break up the monotony of those repeated patterns. I love the detailing on the fire escape, displaying some strong work with bars and clips. But my favorite detail in the build has got to be the lampposts. Such a simple design, and yet it feels unique, and especially fitting given the style of the bookstore in the background.

The builder also provides some shots of the interior, showcasing the details of the bookstore, art gallery, apartment, and rooftop garden. The use of the art gallery’s logo on the interior and exterior is a great touch.

A feast for the eyes in Chinatown

One of my favourite types of LEGO creation is those that you can stare at for hours and never look at the same bit twice. Take this lively Chinatown square by the Escalona brothers David and Diego, which is to become part of a larger collaborative project. To me it is reminiscent of the Ninjago City modular sets – so much going on, and yet there is a perfect balance of eye candy and space to keep it from feeling overcrowded.

Let’s explore some more of this colourful district…

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Oops! Accidental spaceship!

If you know the struggles of ADHD, you’re familiar with the double-edged sword of hyperfocus. Builder Kale Frost was probably supposed to review the line of new LEGO City Space sets that he was sent but he clearly got distracted. There are a ton of new and rare parts that come with this line, as well as recolors and prints which lend themselves well to the space theme. After tossing out the instructions, Kale dove into the plethora of new pieces and came up with this impressively large cargo freighter.

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