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.

TEEN TITANS (LE)GO!

Although I’m up to date with all the movies in DC’s cinematic “Extended Universe” it’s not the part of their media empire I’m most familiar with. Instead, I get to blame my kids for every episode of Cartoon Network’s “Teen Titans GO!” that I’ve had to suffer through (and then eventually succumb to). It is unapologetic in its juvenile humor and will break down your will to resist and then begins to hammer home with clever gags, running jokes, and surprise DC comic character cameos.

Which brings me to this humongous LEGO scene from builder Living Rave in Canada. The cacophony of the show is perfectly encapsulated in this diorama that features the iconic Titans Tower just offshore from Jump City, which is appropriately under attack from every direction.

The elaborate build is enhanced with the addition of official characters thanks to the waves of minifigures released with LEGO Dimensions and the LEGO Batman Movie Collectible Minifigures series. I also love the giant brick-built TTG logo in the background. There’s even a brick-built version of their strongest enemy, the demonic Trigon, who also happens to be heroine Raven’s father.

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His Lordship will see you now

We see lots of impressive LEGO castles, often huge models festooned with towers and crenellations. Detailed medieval interiors prove a little less common, but here is an excellent example from O Wingård, and one which shows you don’t have to build big to build good. Although not put together with complex building techniques, this scene is packed full of detail — a hallmark of the best LEGO creations. The walls use a good selection of different brick types to add realistic texture to the backdrop. There’s a fine assortment of armour and weaponry on display, and the ceiling beams are nicely done. However, the highlight for me is the brick-built door with silver “tooth plates” providing hinges — nothing particularly complex in its construction, but a perfectly proportioned portal all the same.

The cold relentless circling of the intestate earth

A man built a thing. He had a name, in those long-before times when salmon ran in the streams like silver clouds in the moonlight and people went about their business in great cities gleaming with glass as yet unmelted by fires from the sky. His name was Patrick B. The thing he built was built from bricks and told a story. A story about a man and his child a boy. That story was first told by a man named Cormac McCarthy in a book called The Road. A book is a thing made of trees but you cant eat it like you can bark and leaves and the little stems that try to push their way toward the darkened sky at the end of the months of snow. This thing this story these bricks by the man Patrick show the man and the boy as they walk long miles along long roads to the sea. It is a thing to behold. A thing you cant look away from.

Maersk Pier is a majestic port that is sure to marvel all

LEGO and storytelling are a match made in heaven. As much as I enjoy building for the sake of building, I also enjoy LEGO as a medium for producing a narrative. Markus Ronge had me hooked last month when he shared a teaser poster for an upcoming series of story-driven steampunk builds. A few days ago, Marcus revealed the first part of his conceptualized world in the form of Maersk Pier, owned and operated by fourth-generation shipping mogul, Herman van de Maersk.

Bored with the shipping industry, Herman decided to build this majestic port to serve luxury airships and their wealthy clientele. As a steampunk model, Maersk Pier is breathtakingly beautiful and does a great job of blending Victorian-style architecture with steampunk fantasy. The extensive use of white works well and reminds me of marble, which witnessed a resurgence in use as a building material during the 19th Century Greek Revival period. Speaking of history, the model’s name is a clever nod to LEGO’s lengthy relationship with the Maersk shipping company, which has included a number of Maersk co-branded LEGO sets over the years.

See lots more photos of this amazing LEGO steampunk diorama

Half a kingdom, a tenth of the size

Microscale offers LEGO builders an opportunity to create epic layouts within a reasonable footprint and parts budget. Peter Ilmrud takes full advantage of these benefits to create a sizeable slice of a fantasy kingdom, complete with an impressive mountaintop city guarded by a dragon. The city itself is nicely done, with clever combination of bricks to make windows from the little gaps. Aside from the towers of the citadel, the scenery is packed full of all the fantasy details you’d expect — sprawling forests, riverfront villages, guard towers in the hills, and a cave entrance which doubtless leads into a dungeon complex overflowing with goblins.

I particularly like the river winding its way through the landscape, the banks smoothed with a nice selection of curved plates. It also offers a setting for some smart parts usage — check out that ship made from golden epaulettes mounted upside-down on a jumper plate. Sweet.

Mimic Mishap: a Dungeons and Dragons LEGO adventure!

Taylor, of the Brandon and Taylor Walker building duo, has put out another entry in his Dungeons & Dragons series. As a newly-minted D&D player in the middle of his first adventure (I’m a half-elf Ranger with a sailor background who always follows orders, even if they’re wrong), I’m probably paying more attention to this one than I normally would have! There are five unique figures representing a range of the official character classes all facing off against a monstrous mimic treasure chest. The standout figure for me is the demonic tiefling with his mustache-for-horns. The floor and walls are also extremely well done, adding a patterned texture to offset the chaotic battle.

And if you’re as hungry for more D&D LEGO content as I currently am, check out our archives for cool models featured previously!

And the forecast for Jedha city this week is...gray...light bluish gray to be exact.

The scene from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in which an Imperial Star Destroyer menacingly hovers over Jedha City certainly makes for a striking LEGO diorama, and it seems to entice some of the best Star Wars builders. Although we’ve seen Jedha City with a Star Destroyer expertly recreated once before by Hannes Tscharner, this time 0necase has made a much larger version of the scene, and the result is breathtaking.

The Star Destroyer is superb, and the shaping on the front and back of the bridge is particularly well done. However, the real star of the show is the mountainous base and city itself. I love the amount of colors and different greebles the builder has incorporated into the city, which serve to make it pop against the beautiful layering accomplished with various brown and earth orange wedge plates. Even the Imperial cargo shuttles transporting kyber crystals to the Star Destroyer are present, represented by minifigure roller skates — a particularly inventive parts usage.

In the City of the Dead, you will find the Claw Viper Temple

Diablo 2 is a game that is almost two decades old now, yet still holds a sizable following, including myself and, judging by some of his creations, Tammo S. Taking the game’s age into consideration, the photography angle of the creation makes much more sense, as it reflects the top-down view of the game. If you’re familiar with the game, you’ll love this creation for all its accurate details like the Paladin character in the middle sporting a Holy Fire aura and a Bone Shield. But even if this is the first time you’ve heard of this game, there is a lot to see.

Combinations of different tan colours to create an impression of stone bricks and all the textures and architectural elements really facilitate the Egyptian style of this part of the game. The creation was undoubtedly built for the top-down view characteristic for the Diablo videogame series, but this alternate angle still shows a some details that would otherwise remain hidden.

A pirate’s life is a wonderful life – filled with adventure and sport

“But live every minute for all that is in it, for the life of a pirate is short…” In celebration of pirate living, here comes Lego Fjotten‘s pirate-themed carnival float — featuring a rascally-looking crew attempting to evade the guns of an Imperial fort. The ship is simply done but perfectly shaped for this scale, whilst the fort is absolutely packed with detail and texture. Don’t miss the rockwork at its base, the construction of the palm tree, and the clever assortment of bricks used in the walls. Great use of the new Harry Potter wands as hinges on that front door too. Despite its tight footprint this model perfectly captures the fun and adventure that belong in a LEGO Pirates creation. All together now… “Aaaarrrr!”

Rewind the scene and play it again, and again, and again...

The wonderful thing about LEGO building is that we get to see the same thing built again and again yet they come out very different each time. This build by GolPlaysWithLego does it yet again and that never cease to amaze me. It reminds me when I was younger and had to keep rewinding my favourite scenes from Star Wars on the VHS countless times just to enjoy the coolness of it all. This scene from the planet Hoth is filled with the tiny goodness of a couple of Snowspeeders, an AT-ST and the big baddie AT-AT. I love how the red elements on the Snowspeeder break the monotony of the muted colors and both partially in motion seconds before the mighty AT-AT takes a fall.

When did you last let your heart take flight?

“Welcome to Agrabah. City of Mystery, of Enchantment, and the finest merchandise this side of the River Jordan…” This cool little LEGO Disney diorama by Peter Ilmrud captures both the exotic atmosphere of Aladdin’s hometown, and a real sense of action and excitement with characters leaping around the rooftops and the magic carpet soaring above. With multiple minifigures crammed into its tight circular footprint, the model has some nice detail in the framing walls. I particularly like the use of panel pieces to provide architectural texture to the top of the buildings. The only slightly jarring note for me is the mixing of regular minifigs with Friends-style mini-dolls — a form of LEGO heresy in some parts — but the overall scene is so nice we’ll let it slide.

Relive the battle of Sokovia from The Avengers: Age of Ultron in this huge collaborative display

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has given us some epic spectacles in recent years, with the battle of Sokovia from The Avengers: Age of Ultron being one of the biggest. Inevitably it would take a team of super-talented builders to replicate the movie’s centre piece in LEGO form; step forward SaltyLUG who amazingly have achieved just this.

Displayed at Brickfair Virginia, this sprawling scene captures the key scenes from the battle in a single diorama. Amongst the exquisitely built streets mayhem’s breaking out everywhere. Look closely at the front of the church and you’ll find Thor, Vision and Iron Man confronting Ultron. Elsewhere Utron’s army causes havoc amongst the general populace. Inside the Novi Grad church the rest of the Avengers prevent further sentries from reaching and deactivating the repulsors keeping the chunk of Sokovia afloat.

There are many more details and several Easter eggs to find if you look close enough. The group have also recorded the development of the project on NS Brick Designs’ blog.