Tag Archives: Dioramas

There’s nothing like a massive LEGO diorama to prove that you’ve arrived as a LEGO builder. The LEGO dioramas we feature here span everything from realistic medieval castles to scenes from World War II, and more than a few post-apocalyptic wastelands.

“You’ve always been the caretaker, Mr. Torrence”

A thing that Alex Eylar does really well with his LEGO creations is set a mood. Sometimes, often actually, that mood can be deeply unsettling. You don’t need to read the title to know this is an iconic scene from Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. Here we see an already deranged and inebriated Jack Torrence taking family advice from a ghostly Delbert Grady. The advice in question was chilling and unwholesome, even for 1980 standards; and let’s just say nothing went well for anybody. It turns out this wasn’t the only deeply unsettling bathroom scene in the movie. Alex, if you go on to build the nightmare fuel that was the green bathroom, I’m pretty sure I’ll be damaged goods forever.

You've always been the caretaker, Mr. Torrance.

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Getting down and dirty in the meat-packing district

I’m no vegetarian, but even I couldn’t help feeling a little unsettled by the meat-packing district featured in the Book of Boba Fett series. I’d wager that it had a similar impact on Darth Bjorn, as he’s created a LEGO Star Wars diorama that is undoubtedly inspired by the same scene. It was pretty grisly, and this build has the same vibe. In part, that’s down to some nice texturing from Bjorn, as well as just the right amount of Star Wars-y greebles. But it’s also down to some of the off-white on the walls. That’s not a LEGO colour – not an official one, anyway. If you leave your older white parts out in the sun for too long, they’ll start to go yellow. For nice, polished display creations, that can be a problem – but it’s perfect for applications such as this!

Rotten to the Bones

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Can’t see the forest for the trees – but we can see the Empire instead

The forest moon of Endor is the scene of the Star Wars equivalent of the Teddy Bear’s Picnic, where a coalition of Ewoks and Rebels (oh, and some Jedi) defeated the might of the Empire once and for all. It’s a scene that has been rendered in LEGO many times, to great effect. Abe Fortier (AKA Hypolite Bricks) has joined the fray with a superb effort! Often, these dioramas are dense with vegetation and trees; it did take place on the forest moon of Endor (not Endor itself!), after all. Abe’s isn’t quite as densely populated with plants, but that might be for the better here. It gives some space to focus on the scene’s protagonists and antagonists – and the superb landscaping. It looks like it gave the good guys a better line of sight to take down that AT-ST, too!

Battle of Endor LEGO Star Wars MOC

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Purging the swamp of Imperial occupiers is more than a solo job

All the Empire wanted to do on Mimban was bring peace and prosperity, install a regime loyal to the Emperor, and eradicate the hostiles. Arthur Behe takes to LEGO to show what happens when those “hostiles” fight back. Seen during Han’s brief tour with the Empire in Solo: A Star Wars Story, Mimban is a literal swamp and a figurative quagmire for the Imperial forces. Arthur’s Imperial base, with all of its sensors and greebles, imposes on the inhospitable world perched atop rocks and surrounded by sand-green sludge. I love the dynamic terrain, with a speeder bike swooshing under the gangway. Almost as impressive as the building technique is the number of Swamp Troopers Arthur managed to recruit for the diorama!

Liberation of Mimban Lego moc

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Fall leaves when snow falls in LEGO

There is so much to appreciate about Mark van der Maarel‘s Edo-era Japanese diorama in LEGO, but it’s the red leaves against the newly fallen white snow that draw me in like an ukiyo-e woodblock print. The central cottage is charming and full of details of everyday life. A bundle of reeds over the window made from broom elements is a great touch. Towering over the cottage is an incredible wall made of interlocking brick-built stones (Mark gives credit to collaborator Marshall Banana for this technique). Down by the river, a woodcutter kneels as a samurai approaches on horseback. While Mark doesn’t offer a story, I imagine the woodcutter has a blade hidden in the cottage and soon leaves won’t be the only red splashes in the snow.

Rogue Ronin

Mark’s build was part of the Rogue Ronin collaboration displayed at the Bricking Bavaria event in Germany where over 30 members of the Rogue Bricks community participated. We also adored felix-workshop’s award-winning contribtion.

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Remote Dantooine outposts make for an effective demonstration of LEGO craftsmanship

Dantooine is first mentioned in the very first Star Wars film, a throw-away bit of worldbuilding that made George Lucas’ galaxy feel so much more lived in. Since then the world has shown up in games and books, and now, thanks to builders Jonas G and WG Productions, we can explore the outer rim world in LEGO form. First up, Jonas shares an industrial farming outpost run by Republic sympathizers. Jonas absolutely aces the monolithic Imperial architecture with gorgeous curved corners, a thin window, pinstripes of red, and a mandatory dose of greebles. The massive Blba tree is just as impressive, insanely dense with leaves. Minifigs tell a story of resistance with Republic troops securing thermal detonators, while a Sith helm is used on a scarecrow.

Dantooine

While Jonas’ many Star Wars builds focus more on the galaxy’s heroic forces, WG Productions favors the Dark Side. Here we see the Sith troopers seizing a transport station for the Sith Empire. Using dozens of rollers skates for the rail is a brilliant technique. Both builders coordinated on the terrain to ensure consistency in the Dantooine ecosystem.

Dantooine seems like a lovely planet, whatever side you’re allied with. What a relief the planet was too remote for Grand Moff Tarkin to use as a demonstration for the Death Star’s power.

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All the best LEGO builders are mad as a hatter

When you go chasing LEGO rabits, you never know where you’ll end up. Perhaps, like Alice, you’ll find yourself at a mad tea party, like the one created by Centuri Chan and Wendy Graham from over 80,000 bricks! This entirely bonkers display took home Best in Show and People’s Choice prizes from Christchurch Brickshow 2024, and it’s easy to see why with the incredible characters and whimsical details at such enormous scale. To get a sense of just how big this scene is, squint and you can see a minifig-scale tea party under Alice. Curiouser and curiouser!

It's always Tea Time

Uninvited Alice sits at the head of the table with yellow hair that only a very rude host would say wants cutting. If you want to ask Alice how she got that lovely powder blue dress, it took three copies of the LEGO Creator expert Vespa 125 to source the required bricks. (The builders added a cheeky tattoo tribute!) I love the use of pies tarts for buttons. Hopefully there are no knaves around to steal them.

It's always Tea Time

Click to feed your head like the Doormouse said!

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Epic LEGO Moonshade Cathedral is a midnight masterpiece

Over the past three years, Jakob Kaiser and his LEGO building community, The Workshop, have an annual castle collaboration themed on Gothic builds and time of day. First Gothic: Mistlands focused on dawn. Gothic II: Twilight explored dusk. Now, comes the grand finale: Gothic III: Noctural, with Jakob’s showstopper contribution: Moonshade Cathedral. The massive diorama is a masterclass in medieval brickwork, landscaping, and presentation and the builder’s most impressive work to date. Let’s take a closer look!

Gothic: Nocturnal - Moonshade Cathedral

Click to see more of Jakob’s impressive cathedral!

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LEGO Master Michal Horáček’s medieval village is a towering, teetering triumph

Czech builder and LEGO masters winner Michal Horáček is a true artist at erecting big, rickety stonework in LEGO. It must help that he lives in Prague, one of the most architecturally exciting cities in the world. Over the past year, between contributing to a Tim Burton exhibition and collaborative builds with others like poMOCník & dirigent, Michal has been working on a massive medieval city showcasing his unique style. The central building in the tableau — the red town hall and adjoining tower and astronomical clock — is heavily inspired by Prague’s own Old Town Hall.

Ramshackle brickwork and half-timbered buildings have long been in vogue with castle builders, but usually with a Norman or Tudor influence. Michal’s buildings incorporate Gothic flare with elaborate (bordering on chaotic) detailing that captures the flamboyant style that swept through much of Europe during the late Medieval period. Michal draws on a wide range of parts to add texture, with stone facades that rival Star Wars ships for greebly goodness.

While Michal recently debuted his town at a local event, he plans to keep expanding the scene, including adding a church and more houses. We can’t wait to see how his village grows!

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Bear witness to history in this brick-built Viking diorama

With the benefit of a few hundred years of hindsight, we can look back and say that the vikings were pretty cool. But if you were a resident in a village on Britain’s eastern shores at the time, you might not agree with that assessment. We can look to James Pegrum‘s LEGO snapshot to see what one of their frequent raids might have looked like. There’s a fabulously-textured chapel or monastery juxtaposing the much newer-looking longboat, while the resident monks are showing a mixture of fear and defiance. The minifigure’s-eye perspective really makes you feel among the action – a witness to history in LEGO form!

Let's go raiding

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The rain in France falls mainly on the track!

It’s said it always rains for Le Mans, and this LEGO build by Sybrin doesn’t disappoint! Each car – with a swoosh and a roar of the engine – kicks up a huge spray of trans-clear plates and 2×2 arches behind it as it tears down the track. My favorite part of this is that the natural shininess of the LEGO tiles in the road makes it look like the raceway is rain-slicked and shiny! Sybrin also did a great job with those custom-made Speed Champions style race cars too; the closest one is a Ferrari AF Corsa #50 , and the far car is Toyota Gazoo’s #7. So of Corsa we were going to make a big hulla-gazoo about this!

Le Mans rain diorama

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The trees are dead and dried out, wait for something brick-built

It’s funny how a LEGO build can have you thinking of different things. Even moreso when it’s one so clearly based on existing source material, like this chilling collaborative build from First Order LEGO and BrickManStudios. As the logo in the corner suggests, this is a location from the video game The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Trouble is, I’ve never played that game. Instead, I’m reminded of an album by a tech metal band called Sikth, hence this article’s title. You got that reference, right, reader? OK, so pop-culture references are maybe not my forte. But I can still appreciate the craftsmanship in this build! The tentacled tree is the centrepiece, naturally, but the landscaping is great too. It feels suitably overgrown – the perfect counterpoint to the dead, dried out tree.

LEGO Hanged Man’s Tree - The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

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