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.

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.

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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.

All sorts of shady activities at the pirate’s harbor

Nothing valuable is safe from the hands of pirates in Mark van der Maarel’s harbor scene. The construction of each building, the movement of the water, and the scene populated with sketchy pirate operations are all well done without making the overall build appear busy.

The close-up of the alley showcases the subtle offsets to achieve the detailed features of the two buildings. The use of minifigure hands as clothespins, both in appearance and suspension of the tiles, is quite clever.

Drop feet first onto Requiem with the Master Chief

TRLegosfan shows some love for Halo 4 with a colorful diorama depicting the inner surface of the Shield World of Requiem. The aesthetic of the Forerunner world – tall, angular structures upon artificial landscape overgrown with alien vegetation – is shown beautifully in the bricks.

Don’t shatter the peace of this pool

Inspired by some of the submerged ruins found in Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Joseph Z. has made imaginative use of a pane of glass to create an excellent LEGO scene — a wandering traveller taking a moment’s rest by a tranquil pool. The ruined stonework is nicely put-together, with a depth of texture suggesting both weathering and antiquity, but it’s the use of dark grey below the waterline vs the lighter grey above which caught my eye. I also like the way the grass stalks placed under the water-lilies suggest the plants’ continuation beneath the surface — it ties the above and below-water elements together, making this more than simply two different models separated by the glass. Perhaps a fish or two wouldn’t have gone amiss, but that’s nitpicking at an otherwise lovely piece of work.

Bleak but beautiful

If I had to pick one element of the LEGO world where building styles and expectations have changed the most in the last few years, I’d suggest landscaping has seen the biggest transformation in techniques and general quality. The level of detail, clever brickwork, and creativity on display in a good piece of landscaping now is amazing. EdgelessAbyss provides a great example — a scene where the rockwork is the absolute star of the show. The restrained use of colour, the way the tumbledown ruins blend into the surrounding earth, the solitary figure — the elements all comes together to make a bleak and beautiful fantasy scene.

The builder says this was based on the style of the Dark Souls III and Berserk videogames. However, I’d love to see them use these techniques and styling on a version of Ahch-To, the Star Wars planet whose distinctive rocks and twisting stairs were filmed on the Irish island of Skellig Michael.

The sound of a thunderous charge in the dark forest

The prolific teenaged builder William Navarre is no stranger to realistic historical Japanese themes, but this latest creation of a company of samurai ambushing a camp of the emperor’s ashigaru is one of his best addditions to the series.

There is much to see in this full LEGO scene, from the minifig action that seems to express motion much better than one would expect of the somewhat motorically limited minifig, to the flags and the realistic ground texture. The background deserves discussion too; while the opinions on the trees’ textures may be variable, the textures do work for what they are supposed to. More importantly, you should not miss the most subtle, but also the most ingeniously simple part of the build: the angled black background with dark blue rays of light penetrating the treetops.

Preparing for an early departure

A LEGO scene or model doesn’t have to be massive or packed with unusual building techniques to be impressive. Sometimes all you need is a nice set-up and great photography. That’s certainly the case here, as Marco Zanconi brings us a beautifully composed image with lovely lighting. The old sea captain’s bedroom is a relatively-simple build, but the play of light through the window, and the focus employed, turn the image into something worthy of a Hollywood cinematographer.

When the Spartans surrendered in bricks

Between 431 and 404 BC, Sparta was the principal enemy of Athens during the Peloponnesian War. Mpyromaxos has created a particular battle from this war, the Battle of Sphacteria, when a small force from the Spartan army was isolated on the island of Sphacteria by the Athenians. The scene depicts the Athenian forces landing on the island after a surprise attack which included a risky move to attack the Spartans from the rear, thus forcing their surrender. The main focus of this build is on the land-based action so I rather like the way that only the front portion of the Athenian’s ship is included with some sea spilling over the edge of the build.

On the left of the diorama, Mpyromaxos has included the Temple of Athena and statues of gods Dioscures, Kastor, and Polydeuces, who were all worshipped by the Spartans. The close-up view below shows some of the battle enfolding. I love the little arrow stuck in the wall of the Spartan fortifications.

If you want to see more close-up views of the action, the builder has an album on Flickr, entitled Battle of Sphacteria.

And she’s building a stairway to heaven

Where’s she running off to? Be careful on those stairs! This 3D “picture” in LEGO bricks by Cab~ is a treat — a nice idea, executed well. The elephant trunk pieces make for a great stair carpet, and the striped wallpaper is excellent, offering a smart visual contrast to the plainer wall above. That wall could have been done with being built level — I think the angled bricks distract from the rest of the scene. However that’s nitpicking at an otherwise lovely piece of work. Well played.