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.

At the jungle temple of Coatepec, we witness the rise of Huitzilopochtli

Oh, man! I read about Mesoamerican mythology in college and I love the subject. So you can imagine how thrilled I was to see Luis Saladrigas present this stunning LEGO scene depicting the birth of the warrior-god Huitzilopochtli. He tells us that in a place called Coatepec (Serpent Hill) the goddess Coatlicue took a small number of white feathers and placed them in her bosom, from which she conceived Huitzilopochtli. Outraged by the nature of her mother’s pregnancy, Coyolxauhqui led four hundred of her brothers in an attack on Coatlicue. In the midst of this attack, Huitzilopochtli emerged from his mother’s womb in full battle armor and armed with his spear, Xiuhcoatl, destroyed his brothers and sisters, and rose to take his place as the Aztec God of War.

There’s plenty of amazing details to see here.

Click here to discover more.

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There’s not a cloud in the sky…

Well, okay, there’s that pesky mushroom cloud off in the distance. But that’s not going to put a damper on our day, is it gang? Paul Hetherington has delivered a payload of nostalgia with this look at idyllic family life in an era when the worry of nuclear annihilation was as ever-present a threat as a neighborhood HOA violation. Paul says he was inspired for this LEGO creation by the style magazine Atomic Ranch, which focuses on Mid-Century style. And it shows. From the car in the driveway, to the architecture of the home, and even the furnishings inside, Paul has captured a snapshot of the era beautifully.

Click here to take a closer look!

It’s a Viking life for me

If you’re anything like me, you’ve been playing so much Valheim for the past few months that you’re going around muttering things like “the bees are happy” in your sleep. So naturally, when I saw this LEGO longhouse by Jake Hansen, I immediately thought of the game. Jake doesn’t mention that this was built with Valheim in mind, but it’s a beautifully simple Norse scene regardless. There are lots of great details but I think the best one here might be the wooden doors with handles made of bucket handles.

Breaking the surface…

It’s such a simple technique, but I’m honestly not sure I’ve ever seen anyone mix dark bluish gray and light bluish gray to produce the illusion of wet and dry stone before. I certainly haven’t seen it done as well as Hubba Blöoba accomplishes it here. The details of this ancient pillar are replicated as perfect mirrors of each other above and below the surface of the water. It makes it easy to imagine how hot to the touch the light bluish gray stone is, after baking in the coastal sunshine. Or how slippery the dark bluish gray stone would prove to be for any treasure hunters exploring these ruins on the search for lost swords or rings of power.

Darn good deals on discount droids

As vast as the on-screen Star Wars universe is, there’s probably no corner of it that hasn’t been rendered in LEGO at one time or another. So, it should come as no surprise that LEGO fans have begun imagining their own corners of the universe to build. Abe Fortier does a particularly impressive job of rendering a heretofore unseen section of Tatooine with his Jawa Rummage Sale custom build. Even without the familiar aliens and Stormtroopers hanging about, this building would be instantly recognizable as a locale on the famous desert planet. Abe makes excellent use of greebling for the sci-fi trimmings, and the oft-ignored single groove side of the masonry brick adds interesting texture to the building. Be sure to look closely at what each of these shady characters is up to, so you can spot all the great gags and easter eggs that Abe has hidden in the model.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for Batman!

What does famed LEGO builder Paul Hetherington do when he’s not impressing us with his amazing talent? Nothing, as it turns out. That’s because Paul is always impressing us with his talent. I’m pretty sure he can just sip a cup of coffee or mow his lawn and we’d all be impressed, by golly! Take this brightly-colored Batman diorama, for example. It seems The Joker has repurposed an abandoned ice cream factory into a…wait for it…I Scream Factory. Of course he has! That Joker doesn’t simply engage in normal bad guy stuff like robbing banks or not picking up after his dog. No, The Clown Prince of Crime goes above and beyond with his own unique sense of flair and style. Dousing Batman’s sweet ride in some kind of oozing radioactive soft-serve goo really takes the cake but the Joker has other tricks up his sleeve.

Click to discover what else The Joker has in store!

TBB cover photo for May 2021: Domino Rally Diorama

Watching dominoes fall is fun. It’s mesmerising. In addition to the time and concentration spent setting them up for that sole purpose, it’s satisfying watching the art form of them tumble into each other. It’s better when the layouts are intricate and imaginative, full of varying levels and moving gizmos that further demonstrate reactions. As a part of the RogueOlympics 101 parts challenge, builder Ben Tritschler built a small layout resembling wooden building blocks that every small child seems to have had. And it functions too! Ben also uploaded a video where he topples the dominoes and it’s oh so satisfying! Fun fact: That’s Stretchy from Little Robots, and he is genuine LEGO, as he comes from an old Duplo set.

Check out more builds from the RogueOlympics contest here!

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The Hogwarts Entrance Hall to rule all entrance halls

Have you ever had that friend who you try to act all cool around, but who’s definitely much cooler and more talented than you? Well, I have a few, actually, but when it comes to LEGO Harry Potter, there is only one true master. Eric Law has awed and inspired many times over with his dazzling and ginormous recreations of the Wizarding World. This time, he brings us an exceptional model of the Hogwarts Entrance Hall. There is so much going on here, it’s a little shocking. Dare you to take the time to count all the frames!

“But wait, Bre! Do the stairs actually move?” You bet your Firebolt they do! Here is a short snippet GIF, but you should definitely check out the full video on Eric’s Instagram page.

Can’t get enough Harry Potter builds? We have you covered!

Somewhere under the sea, somewhere waiting for me

I’m thinking of adorning my home with aquarium decor even though I don’t have any fish. I mean, think about it; tikis, skulls, mermaids, pirate ships. It’s pretty much the decor I already have minus the DayGlo paint. Or better yet, I can move all my stuff into this awesome LEGO Coral Castle by Jake Hansen. With bright coral, various lifeforms, and seaweed made of flex tubes there is a lot to love here. But my favorite detail is the fish made from beehives. I mean, come on, that’s just brilliant! Jake is competing in Iron Builder and, as brilliant as the beehive fish are, that is not even the seed part. This one is. He tells us twenty-four were used in this undersea diorama. This Iron Builder competition is just firing up so I get a feeling we’ll be seeing plenty more great builds from Jake soon.

Life in the Fractured Kingdoms: City of Atrocity

A pop of colour does wonders for every LEGO creation. And some colour combinations work better than others. Armon Russ shows us how good medium blue, lime green and medium lavender go together. In this creation they are a true feast for the eyes. I have absolutely no idea how the blue window frames were made, but they look absolutely amazing. My guess is it has something to do with brackets or are they just tiles? This build is a prime example of how well put together minifigures can enhance the beauty of a creation. Elsa’s skirt looks great on Anna’s top. And Eggheads tuxedo looks wonderful on a female fig. Last but definitely not least I would like you to zoom in on the ground. It is made by connecting round 2×2 plates with round 2×2 and 3×3 tiles. The effect is marvelous.

Juggernaut’s Rampage; two words you don’t want to hear together

Juggernaut and rampage are two words in the English language you don’t want to hear together and yet here we are. This particular Juggernaut is in reference to the X-Men baddy whose schtick is using his bullet-shaped head as a battering ram. For some reason when I try the same thing the results are less than optimal. Here we see Wolverine either trying to stop him or going for a ride on the massive belligerent brawler’s back. Either way, this portion of the X-Mansion is surely about to turn into rubble. This fun X-Men LEGO diorama is brought to you by The Brothers Brick alumni Tim Lydy. I really like Juggernaut’s running stance and Wolverine’s leap lines created with clear flex tubes are a nifty touch. It appears as if Wolverine was tasked with mowing the lawn just as the big bruiser came barreling through.

The Rebels don’t stand a chance

May the Fourth may be over, but we saw so many great Star Wars models from LEGO fans that we’re still catching up. Case in point, this awesome Imperial base by Jan, the Creator and Pablo Brickasso. Jan created the base, and unlike a lot of bases we see, this one looks completely accurately scaled to minifigures, with a large landing pad, hangar bay, cargo area, and even some base defenses. The AT-ST is courtesy of Pablo, and it looks like a great minifigure-scale rendition. Meanwhile, the slick TIE Fighter follows instructions from Jerac.