Where do the nobles of Mesopotamia gather to discuss politics or who owns the most camels? Sam Malmberg will show you the way to his desert retreat where drinks are served and the dancers are divine.
This build features prominent Arabian-themed architectural elements, and the use of colored paneling adds character to the predominantly gray structure. The slanted stone railing and the angled brown awnings are great techniques that have broad architectural applications.
This lighthouse on a tiny island by William Navarre is by far not the first time the concept is represented with LEGO bricks and I can guarantee it will not be the last — lonely lighthouses of all styles and sizes are an evergreen theme with a lot of expressive value, so it is no surprise one pops up every now and again. What distinguishes William’s build from others is a mix of simplicity and complexity.
His signature highly detailed style with intense textures is obviously apparent not only within the lighthouse’s walls and the rock below it, but also the sea and the small dock. Still, the overall design of the building remains simple, which diverts attention to more important segments. There seems to be just enough vegetation on the island so we can know it is indeed a natural island, but not too much to make it nicer than a pirate would deserve. Using natural sunlight for photography can be a risky move, but William has managed to pull it off well, additionally facilitated by the digitally added background.
By now we’ve seen almost every scene from the Star Wars franchise meticulously and repeatedly recreated as a LEGO diorama, except for one… When Luke receives the Empire’s calling card, in the form of the still-smoking remains of his Uncle Owen and Aunt Beru in Star Wars: A New Hope. So I thought I’d rectify this glaring oversight by the LEGO community!
I’ve found no satisfactory explanation for this surprisingly graphic scene in a seemingly PG movie franchise …which to be fair does feature its share of bodily dismemberment and a pretty significant body count. And while you might argue that this is an important moment of gravitas that propels Luke on his journey against the evil Empire, it’s interesting that he never once later mentions the demise of his only living relatives, who in all likelihood died guarding the whereabouts of their whiney nephew!
On the other hand, this sad event does furnish Luke with the perfect excuse to finally leave his godforsaken home planet in search of the adventure he had always dreamed of. So maybe he wasn’t that cut up about it after all. Then again, who cares – it’s just Star Wars, where nothing really makes that much sense. It’s all just a vehicle for a lotta big space battles and waving of laser swords by a bunch of space wizards!
Master microscale landscaper Full Plate brings us another lovely LEGO scene that captures the moment on a roadtrip when he finally reached rolling hills and winding roads instead of the boring plains he’d been driving on. I often feel the same way when returning to the green of western Washington State from the barren wastelands east of the Cascade Mountains. While many of the builder’s previous microscale masterpieces have featured a wide variety of trees, this build is at a smaller scale, and uses varying heights in the underlying terrain to add variety to the forest of evergreens.
Whether in person or through the tubes and pipes of the internet, looking at a LEGO castle diorama has always been somewhat akin to viewing a renaissance painting in an art gallery for me. Like many great medieval artworks, there’s always so many things happening, and so many visually foreign and intriguing things occuring all at once — so much to take in. Brickwielder‘s latest build is filled to the brim with fun details and nifty building techniques. From the waterfall to the winding staircase, the bridge, or even all the foliage, there’s enough here to get lost.
Here’s a great example of how effective composition can turn a LEGO scene into something special. This slice of landscaping from Sergeant Chipmunk is a nice model of two warriors meeting on a smartly-constructed bridge. The surrounding scenery is nicely-done — the layers creating the gradients around the small stream are fantastic, and I like the amount of detail going on with the campsite and animal life. However, what really catches the eye is the way the bridge cuts across the diorama in a dramatic diagonal, and how the framing walls follow the contours making it feel like a slice of terrain cut from a genuine fantasy world. Wonderful stuff.
Growing up, my brother and I used to pull out all our gray and blue LEGO and build sprawling space bases on our bedroom floor. We couldn’t imagine more than thirty years ago how much bigger and better future LEGO creations would be, like this amazing diorama by ZCerberus. The base has landing pads for ten ships and incorporates over a hundred lights.
The ships and vehicles are also excellent, and the builder spares no detail — just take a look at that gorgeous brick-built Classic Space logo on the side of the main building! My favorite vehicle is the large gray vehicle on the right, pumping some kind of mineral from a great big hole in the planet’s surface.
As every schoolchild knows, Maria Skłodowska-Curie was the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, and the only person to win one in two different fields (Physics in 1903 and Chemistry in 1911). Sadly, this Polish-French luminary of science died young due to her work understanding the nature of radiation. Polish builder Crises_CRS has captured Madame Curie in her laboratory, surrounded by the equipment she used to discover Polonium and Radium.
The Polish LEGO club Zbudujmy is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Poland’s independence this year with a series of LEGO creations. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what’s in store from this very talented community of builders.
Once in a while you’ll come across a LEGO build that you need to stare at for a few seconds to realise that it’s actually made out of bricks. This selection of audio gear by Quy Chau is the best example in a while. There’s so many clever uses of parts and great scaling that it’s impossible to pick a standout, but the use of various automotive pieces does it for me. Wheels are used here for speakers, dials and subwoofers, and a steering wheel piece makes the best earphone cups I have ever seen.
If you’re confused by the name of this build on Flickr, “Moog Sub Phatty”, it’s the synthesizer which sits in the middle of this scene. This is, of course, also a phenomenal build. Those dials are regular Technic friction pins with grey bars through them — a really simple technique that adds a lot to the build. Finally, the keys do depress, but they don’t pop back up.
The 2017 game Star Wars Battlefront II allows players to experience Star Wars battles unlike what is seen on the big screen. First Order Lego captures a snapshot of such freedom with a diorama of the Battle of Crait. The layer of salt carpeting the red soil and crystal underneath is textured well, with cracks and unevenness throughout upon closer look.
Click to see more of the Battle of Crait
We’ve featured some of Jon Blackford‘s Neo-Classic LEGO Space creations before, but his latest model — a huge maintenace hangar — takes things to a whole new level. The stellar work on the hangar walls manages to avoid this being a “big grey box” — they’re a triumph of sci-fi flavoured texture, with every corner and surface decorated with delicious greebly bits or cool-looking structural elements. The brick-built floor is excellent too — check out those floor markings…
Click to see more of this amazing LEGO Space scene
Not every fantasy character lives in a big grey castle or Tudor-styled town. However, those are the typical LEGO models we tend to see in Castle-themed building. Tirrell Brown‘s forest hovel makes a pleasant change of scene. The central building is nicely put-together, with a depth of texture creating a somewhat dilapidated feel. But it’s the overall colour scheme which catches the eye and elevates this composition. The colour gradient on the shaped base is particularly good, and the background trees fit perfectly. Those rocks and the small pond are nice touches of detail too.
