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.

Designer interior with feature brick wall

There are so many lovely details in Heikki Mattila‘s latest LEGO interior. The exposed brick wall and the painting provide a smart and stylish backdrop, and the glass tables look very classy. However, closer attention is rewarded with some lovely touches — a golden spaceman visor as a designer bowl, Gollum/Frodo’s precious ring adding lustre to the lamp, and Technic half-pins for the little round legs of the IKEA-style sofa. The best detail of all is perhaps a little lost, slightly washed-out in this image — don’t miss the use of grille bricks, partially inset into the floor, to create the effect of the white rug at the room’s centre.

Here are some more examples of stylish modern LEGO interiors by this Finnish builder that we have featured previously here on The Brothers Brick:

Living the high life
Join the famous 800 feet club
Come warm yourself by the LEGO fire
Modern spaces for modern living
Chill out in this beautfully serene LEGO spa

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A well-built stick hut as sturdy as stone

It’s a bit strange when a LEGO creation is sturdier than the subject it represents. Such is the case with this weathered hut by Grant Davis, which looks like a bunch of bricks were thrown together without proper connections and then collapsed immediately after being photographed.

That is most definetely not the case, as Grant shows in his very informative video, where he even turns the build upside-down — and it remains intact! The ground texture and colours should also be pointed out, as the builder achieves a very realistic effect by using closely related colours in natural looking patterns.

When the zombies come, a damp cellar is like a palace

While not luxurious, it is definetely the desire of any apocalypse survivor to find somewhere like this cellar to hunker down. This particular “palace” by Gareth Gidman was built for the Brrraaaaaaaiiiiinnnssss!!! contest on Eurobricks. The cellar section looks very lived-in, with weapons and sustenance positioned so it looks filled, but not cluttered. I should point out the use of broken tiles; while not purist, it is good that the builder found a way to still use his ruined pieces. On the ground level we see some well-built decay with a broken window, overgrowth, and cracks in the walls. Some nice minifig action makes for a well-rounded scene.

(As a side note, I have seen brown pieces break much more often than other colours, and seeing Gareth’s broken brown tiles, I am more convinced that this is statistically relevant.)

No defence is better than good terrain

German LEGO builder markus19840420 has made this towering keep for the Imperium der Steine “Nine kingdoms” roleplaying game, and the keep has some very interesting characteristics — it combines old and new castle building styles very fluently. The classic building techniques include somewhat simple rockwork based on slopes, with square towers and clean wall designs, broken up with architectural detailing and some texture. On the other hand it uses many modern pieces and colours, so it looks fresh and new. I should point out the intriguing geological structure on which the fortress is built, which adds an element of mystery to Markus’ creation.

A bedroom fit for a toy

LEGO fans come in all shapes and sizes and it seems that this particular bedroom may belong to a taller than average LEGO fan. Yvonne Doyle has built a bedroom with a good collection of toys on show, but this is far too tidy to be the room of a child. The choice of a larger scale is interesting, as the toys are mainly minifigure accessories or “pets” such as teddy bears and baby dragons. The slightly open sash window looks great and I love the plugged-in lamp on the table. In fact, everything in the room is made of LEGO, including obscure vintage parts from the Duplo, Belville and Scala lines.

Enter Sandpunk

If “LEGO Sandpunk” wasn’t a thing before, it totally is now thanks to this wonderful desert city scene from sweetsha. Windmills abound amidst the Middle-Eastern architecture, and there’s a nice sense of activity with the bustle of minifigs around market stalls. However, it’s the huge clock that dominates the townscape, creating an eerie collision between mysticism and technology. The whole thing is reminiscent of Stargate, but the transformation of the gate into a clock is a masterstroke, turning this into something all its own.

My only niggle with the model is the relatively plain studs-up base, which might have benefited from some added texture — pebbles, boulders, maybe a couple of plants. However, that’s a minor criticism of an otherwise well-built and interesting diorama. Check out this wider view to get the full effect of this creative build (and don’t miss the smart use of hot-air balloon pieces to create the onion dome on the foreground building on the left).

An Orc’s home is his castle

Get a sneak peek into the latest trends in Goblin decor right here! Logs, tentacles, and lengths of chain are all the rage this season — and no fortress wall is complete without a culvert gate spewing a stream of lava. Kingdomviewbricks keeps us all up to date on Orcish design in this fantastic LEGO scene. The bubbling river of hot death is a nice touch, but don’t miss the mix of old and new grey sloped bricks to create the barren landscaping of the base.

I build, therefore I am

Petr Guz reconsiders his life of an adult fan of LEGO in the most creative way — through a brilliant diorama full of philosophical context. Describing his work, the builder focuses attention on three peculiar pictures on the walls behind his self-portrait. Each picture depicts his life as it could have looked if he hadn’t picked up LEGO as a hobby years ago. Of course, Petr clarifies his life now isn’t deprived of sports, traveling or programming, yet it’s so hard for him to imagine it complete without his favorite pastime.

My favorite part of the build is a couple of creations lying around. A micro-castle on the top of the drawer is Petr’s citadel from last September, while a huge white moth on the table to the right of the figure was featured here just a couple of weeks ago.

Don’t play the saxophone – let it play you

A little photo editing has been used to great effect in this bustling scene by legomeee, making the saxophonist stand out against the washed out surroundings. It creates the feeling that the busker is bringing vibrancy and color to an otherwise drab and dour market scene. The builder has chosen the perfect expression for the musician’s face as he plays his sax, and the motion blur of the people in the foreground helps complete the illusion of a lively flea market.

Smashing LEGO like a Rock Star: a conversation with Canadian Iron Builder, Tim Schwalfenberg [Interview]

This week we headed up to our great neighbor to the north to track down Tim Schwalfenberg. Tim lives in Canada, is 21 years old and is currently studying Materials Engineering at his local university. He also likes to publicly smash his LEGO builds too, but more about that later.

TBB: Hi Tim! Can you tell us a little about yourself and your relationship with the Brick?

Tim: Sure! I have found LEGO to be a great creative outlet when I need a break from all my calculus or physics courses. While I’ve been building almost as long as I can remember, it wasn’t until my first year of university that I started to look at LEGO with the intention of making anything beyond the rainbow-warrior spaceships of my earlier years. Through a combination of some inspiring creations I stumbled upon through MOCpages and finding myself with too much free time on my hands, I decided that to try out this LEGO thing more seriously. Thousands of pieces and hundreds of creations later the LEGO hobby has become an incredibly important part of my life. The itch to build has become a constant companion that is easily rewarded by long hours tinkering away on a table-scrap covered table.

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Space pod arriving at Martian Outpost, please mind the gap

I’m fairly sure this LEGO “Martian Outpost” is a human outpost on Mars rather than a place for Martians to hang out. The dark orange-red environment in this diorama by KW Vauban certainly looks like Mars to me, and there’s a lot of action despite the microscale size of the build. Centrally, a railed transport vehicle approaches a shelter — suggesting we are seeing only a small portion of a much larger habitat. My favourite part? The sliding doors closing behind the ‘space saucer’ that has just left an underground area. I want to peek inside those doors to see what’s down below!

There’s a whole story in this microscale diorama, but the builder hasn’t given us any extra information — just this smart little snapshot in time.

The final duel in the Forsaken Abyss mine

For the final round of The Tourney medieval building contest on MOCpages, W. Navarre has given his all in this intense diorama. Whether you like the controlled chaos or not, it is impossible to deny the intricacy and detail at work here. An epic fight of the last two competitors ensues as the Forsaken Abyss mine burns beneath them. One can almost hear those cliched words: “You are going down… Or both of us are going down!”

At first sight I thought this build was a recreation of the climax action scene from the Mask of Zorro film – and I was only halfway wrong. It was indeed inspired by it, although the builder adds that he has in fact never actually seen the movie.