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.

Motorised LEGO version of Ken Block’s Gymkhana 7

Custom car enthusiasts will surely recognize this LEGO scene by Primož Mlakar from Ken Block’s Gymkhana 7: Wild in the Streets of Los Angeles. The diorama has 20,000 bricks, almost half of which are the grille tiles on the walls and roof of the workshop. I was privileged enough to see this creation in person at my local LEGO club’s display, Kockefest, a few weeks ago and can confirm it looks even more impressive “in the brick”.

The cars were built in LEGO’s Speed Racers style and the diorama scaled accordingly. Primož has polished the model to perfection, despite having to meet the deadline — a feeling well known amongst convention-going LEGO fans. The buildings look realistic with just enough details to hold your attention, but not to be overwhelming. The cars themselves are excellent, with all the right curves and proportions, allowed by their slightly larger scale, as opposed to the more limiting minifig scale.

Best of all, the scene integrates Power Functions motorised elements, allowing the vehicles to spin some donuts…

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Smell the adventure in the jungle air!

There are many LEGO fans who grew up in the late nineties and at the start of the new millenium, a time marked by one very unique LEGO theme: Adventurers. To me (and I believe many share this opinion), Adventurers seemed like one of those broad themes like space, castle or pirates, that just seems natural and should be present in one way or another. With this in mind, there seems to be a strange lack of Adventurers creations online. Recently, this silence was momentarily broken by Joshua Brooks with his Diamond Falls diorama.

I was drawn to the diorama’s theme and the official Adventurers logo in the top right corner of the picture. More experienced builders will notice that the waterfall and the cliffs, which represents a large portion of the build, are somewhat simple in their design, but that is more than made up for by the boat, the overgrowth and the ruins hidden beneath it. The build has a story written in the description, which more curious and adventurous readers might be interested in.

What does Marcellus Wallace look like?

“Say what again. I dare you. I double-dare you mister falcon.”

tablizm has used LEGO to capture the infamous scene from Pulp Fiction where Jules and Vincent demand the return of Marcellus Wallace’s briefcase. Poor Brett doesn’t look happy, probably because Jules just took a big bite out of his burger. All together now: “The path of the minifig is beset on all sides by the infinity of sorting and the terror of standing on a brick. And you will know my name is Lord Business when I lay my instructions upon thee..”

Deep in the forest, in a hidden place...

The LEGO Elves theme has some of the most unique sets of recent years, but we rarely see any custom creations inspired by this official theme. There are exceptions, of course, and the exception we are looking at today is Sean Mayo‘s Fairy Tree House. This build was set on display in the LEGO House’s Masterpiece Gallery, which may shed some light on the choice of theme. Indeed, if I had to choose builders to showcase their work in the LEGO House, Sean Mayo would be very near the top of the list.

The focal point is obviously the tree with a quaint little house at the top, both crafted masterfully. The surrounding deserves some attention too; the overgrowth is exploding with imagination (The ferns are made out of grill tiles!) and the rocks, while simplistic in technique, work really well – it really shows how a top builder can make any technique look good. My favourite part is the little boat, though. There are so many curves all over that give it a whimsical and organic look.

Building forts in the clouds has never been so productive

Floating islands are a popular motive in LEGO, most often coupled with steampunk or similar themes. Andrew JN goes just a little bit back in (alternate) time with this colonial themed floating rock. The scene represents a heavily guarded prison fort and a flying ship. While the ship does not look especially like a floating one, it is unique enough that it does not look out of place in the sky. The prison actually looks so nice, it makes me want to commit some heinous acts of piracy in the skies.

Mankind’s gift to the seas from which life arose

It’s easy for LEGO builders to focus on the happy, shiny world of little plastic people surrounded by fake plastic trees, but builder Emil Lidé doesn’t shy away from making a powerful statement with his latest LEGO creation. Did you know that every piece of plastic ever produced (yes, including all the ABS that LEGO is made from) will continue to exist indefinitely in the environment? That there is a floating patch of trash in the middle of the Pacific Ocean hundreds of thousands of square kilometers in size? Emil uses LEGO as a medium to remind us of the impact that our modern lives have on the planet we live on.

As much as I love the message that Emil’s creation conveys, it’s also an excellent LEGO build on its own merits. The tranquil beach scene above the water contrasts harshly with the waste beneath the waves, from the usual tires and barrels to bicycles and even a washing machine.

Dancer’s disintegrator daydream

All she wants is some decent clothing and a less demeaning job. Or so says Aaron Van Cleave, the builder of this fun LEGO Star Wars scene. The iconic Jabba’s Palace setting from Episode VI is given an interesting twist here.

Die-hard LEGO purists avert your eyes — the dancer’s Palace outfit is made of cut netting, and Salacious Crumb’s eyes are cut stickers. But this creation doesn’t rely wholly on such techniques. While the white daydream side does not have much to it, the Jabba-side has many interesting layers, light tricks and editing. We may have seen Jabba and his lair done in LEGO before, but never so uniquely. This model sits in a strange limbo between being a faithful recreation of a movie scene and being something of its own.

We are all worms to the true tyrant of the sea

When you think it can’t get any worse, sometimes life likes to surprise you. Such is the case with this band of pirates as Dwalin Forkbeard tells us: The pirates have survived an unfortunate battle with an Imperial ship, only to be attacked by an ancient sea monster. They are doing everything they can to escape, going as far as blowing into the sail, but will that be enough? Judging by the skeleton on the animal’s back, they do not even have to be eaten to meet a tragic end.

While the textures are somewhat simple, the inner construction of the creature has to be impressive to achieve the smooth, rounded shaping. The segment on the back resembling a small island is a common theme with sea monsters, but I have never seen it done in LEGO before, and a conservative amount of seashells and other sea animals spread across the monster really gives it a realistic impression. While the whale (or is it a fish? Is it any of that, even?) is obviously the focal point and the best part of the build, its surroundings help, too — the raft is positioned so that it gives a feeling of action and the water spilling off the diorama looks just so dynamic.

Tyger Tyger, burning bright...

Possessed by the fever to follow the call of the wild, this magnificent tiger stops by the water to drink, or possibly to bathe as one of the few cats who actually likes water. Tigers are actually often portrayed in LEGO and we have even featured some in the past. There is something about the tiger that makes it ideal for a great builder to show off their skills — the shape itself is somewhat difficult to capture, but getting the colours right is a whole new level of difficulty. Simon NH did not let that discourage him and has created one of the best LEGO tigers I have seen so far.

The shape is achieved with plates and wedges set up at different angles and some exotic parts rounding off the edges. The fur on the chin and the rounding on the back are especially good. The cat itself is great, but Simon did not stop there. Any good tiger needs a good jungle to go along with it — and what a good jungle Simon has made! The plant life is unique and the ground colours and textures flow very nicely. But my favourite part, except for the build’s focal point — the tiger, obviously — is the water, which uses many colours we do not associate immediately with water in LEGO, but somehow it looks distinctly like it.

Is there an exo-suit in the house?

Nobody wants to be unwell, but if your temperature spikes or you break out in hives, then it’s time to visit the doctor. Andreas Lenander has created the kind of sick bay the average physician would dream of: Isolation beds to ensure disease doesn’t spread, a giant claw to transfer patients, and the latest in medical technology — the medical exosuit. The whole scene is full of great details for Neo-Classic Space fans. Although the exosuit and ‘claw’ are great, I really love all the little miscellaneous builds that complete the scene: ducts, vents, tubing, medical bottles, racks, and the little stasis beds.

The tunnels hold many secrets

These two adventurers seem to have come across quite an interesting structure – mysterious ancient catacombs. While in real life the dangers are limited to unstable ceilings and toxic mold, I expect a more fantastic fate to befall them if the builder, Forlorn Empire, continiues their story.

But for now, all that we know the catacombs contain are some amazing techniques and architectural details built from cheese slopes and masonry brick. The builder mixes different earth tones and careful lighting to create an immersive scene, and while the details and construction techniques definetely are the best part of the build, it is the composition in the photo that really brings it all together.

Every man is an island above an azure sea

John Donne wrote that “no man is an island”, but when it comes to LEGO creations, famous poets do not restrict your imagination. Ben Fitzsimmons has turned that saying around with his huge LEGO diorama depicting a multitude of islands each inhabited by wandering travellers. Each unique little island is a place for rest and trade above the expanse of dark azure ocean. This is a beautiful, fantastical build with a touch of steampunk. The islands are all full of creative buildings like the tall lighthouse on the far right, and nice landscaping such as the waterfall spilling back into the ocean and the colourful trees.

A closer look at one part of the diorama shows some of the fun details. I love the propeller-powered pack that one traveller is wearing to cruise between islands, while the use of the ‘hot air balloon part’ as a sail works well at this scale.

Ben’s diorama won the Steampunk category at Brickfair Virginia this year and I imagine the build was even more impressive to see in person.