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.

Ook? Oook ook ook. Ook!

I continue to be a sucker for just about any creation that alludes to Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels. My favorite character finally came to life when Sylvain (captainsmog) created and placed the Librarian in his natural habitat, the library of Unseen University. He’s an orangutan, not a monkey. Do not call him a monkey!

Aside from my easy seduction by Discworld and apes behaving as humans, this diorama features some neat posing, building techniques, and fantastic attention to detail, such as books chained to shelves, metal rods to conduct magic from the books, and of course bananas. I wonder if he even has a Watch badge in his desk.

He also has a great scene of an Agatean farmer that inspires me for an upcoming project of my own, and his diorama of an Omnian inquisition chamber is horrifyingly fantastic. And Hex, and an iconograph demon, and 72-hour Ahmed, and Hodgesaargh, and . . . never mind. Don’t take my word for it. Check them out yourself.

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Pancho Villa Raid by Brian Williams

For his latest LEGO Indiana Jones creation, Brian Williams looks for inspiration to The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles .

The five-foot-long diorama features dozens of awesome mini-scenes and techniques, including gunrunners, leaf springs on the locomotive, proper horseback riders’ legs, and lovely sand-green cacti. Check out the full photoset on Flickr.

Thanks for the tip, Austin!

ChromeBricks review

We recently posted about a store where you can buy custom chromed LEGO elements. Here is a review of products from ChromeBricks.com.

To put things simply, the quality of the chrome elements are what you’d expect from LEGO’s chrome parts. The layer of chrome is the result of a procedure that industrially evaporates metal onto the brick, resulting in a very thin coating that doesn’t hinder the fit with other LEGO pieces. The chrome surfaces also resist scratching, which means they can handle a moderate amount of play while remaining in their pristine condition.

ChromeBricks currently offers three colors of chrome including gold, silver, and a new copper chrome. Consistency of color among the parts is flawless. When compared with chrome LEGO elements, the silver is also an exact match while the gold is darker than LEGO’s chrome gold (LEGO does not currently produce chrome copper bricks). The richer chrome gold color results from actual gold being used to coat the bricks!

On the flip side, ChromeBricks differs from LEGO bricks where most of the parts from the former are not coated on the interior or underside. This should not be a concern since the uncoated sections will not be visible in a LEGO creation.

Overall, I recommend ChromeBricks for their high quality of parts. The price of each piece can be on the expensive side, but the cost is justified (you can ask other custom vendors who have tried to chrome LEGO bricks). Shipping is relatively inexpensive and very fast (about a week to the US) while the parts are individually packed in separate baggies. If you want to make a few minifigs with chrome accessories, this is definitely the store for you. For those interested in customizing a car model with chrome bricks, you probably need more money than pocket change.

Streets of London

For once I don’t have to rack my brain trying to think of a relevant song. Barney Main (SlyOwl) has already done it for me by basing a diorama on Ralph McTell’s song Streets of London. Be sure to click through the pictures in order to match the song lyrics to the diorama.

Haulin’ in style

Still deciding to get some chrome bricks? This Peterbilt 379 model by Jörg (lichtblau) may just convince you. It’s got enough shiny-shiny to drool over, but there’s also cool features such as an opening hood and sleeper cab.

Viva La Revolution!

Flickr user -infomaniac- strikes fear into the heart of the upper class with his diorama depicting the beginnings of a revolution:

I love the sense of utter chaos captured here! Nothing says anarchy quite like a brick through a window, either.

Amidst the snowy mountains...

This was just too good to pass up. The Schubert family created this amazing Alpine Village, which was displayed at BrickFair. The only photos appear to be on Brickshelf from Abe (scrope), another attendee.

Thanks to Bruce, via Fascinating LEGO Model of the Day!

Chapel in the hills

McBricker takes us on a journey into the hills of Crete, where this lovely little chapel nestles against the side of a cliff.

The tree, the goats, the sky, and the old nun walking with a cane all add depth to this scene.

In defense of Polish independence

Our Polish friends over at Klocki remind us that Poland is currently observing the 70th anniversary of the September Campaign, when Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union both invaded, divided, and annexed the country between them.

Ciamek (Piglet on MOCpages) recreates a German propaganda photo that implied how weak and ineffectual Polish resistance was, as a group of German soldiers easily swats aside the border barrier.

In truth, the entire scene was staged, taken two weeks after the invasion — an attempt to illustrate the Third Reich’s easy dominance over Poland.

Ciamek sets the record straight in his LEGO diorama. Fierce, valiant Polish resistance prevented any such easy scene until well after the beginning of hostilities.

See more photos on Ciamek’s website and on MOCpages, where he has several other LEGO creations related to World War II and the September Campaign.

Architect to the ancient Egyptian upper class

As a total history nerd, this ancient Egyptian nobleman’s villa that Deborah Higdon (d-higdon) built earlier this year for for an exhibit at Ottawa’s Museum of Civilization caught my eye. It’s a composite of historical reconstructions she found in books, and then she made it her own.

She’s not satisfied with a few of the peripheral elements, but the architectural detail, scenes of regular life, and beautiful garden make up for any minor shortcoming.

Castle Carlin by Gage

William Gage has built a very nicely detailed medieval creation that he has dubbed “Castle Carlin”. You have to check out all the nifty details. He says you’d better like it.

Where evils flood and the falls run blood

Innocently disguised by the name Hill House, this demonic diorama by einsteinonthebeach is a work that would delight any Satanic cultist or others simply looking for a cool creation. Don’t miss out on the gory details such as the guillotine, the pentagram sacrificial altar, and the nice and warm blood bath.