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.

Final voyage of the Lemuria

There’s something calming, peaceful, and haunting about a shipwreck. It’s knowing that it’s untouchable at the deepest depths of the ocean, where no one can touch the remains of the ship. Built by TBB contributor Luka Vodnik, this is a sombre ship, mesmerizing us with contrasting details and a story we may never know. Smooth tiles form the body of the ship’s hull, with studded elements creating barnacles. Luka has named the ill-fated vessel Lemuria, leaving her tales with Davy Jones at the bottom of the sea.

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This could be the beginning of a beautiful enmity

The relationship between Batman and The Joker has been the source of countless LEGO creations, not to mention the main theme of the recent LEGO Batman Movie. However, we don’t often see large-scale interpretations of where it all began, the confrontation between Batman and the leader of the Red Hood Gang at Gotham’s Ace Chemical Plant — as depicted in the classic graphic novel The Killing Joke. Once again Tim Lydy proves he’s a master of LEGO Batman creations, following up on his wonderful large-scale figures with this brilliant diorama.

I love what Tim’s done with the chemical tanks — their contents look suitably toxic. And the level of detail and greebling creates a fantastic impression of a working plant, full of pipes and valves and gauges. As soon as I saw the Red Hood figure in the Batman Collectible Minifig range, I knew someone would have a go at this scene. I’m just glad it was Tim — he’s certainly done it justice.

Continue with the operation. You may fire when ready.

Speedyhead recreated the destruction of Princess Leia’s home planet of Alderaan, a classic Star Wars scene, with LEGO. The lighting effect on the laser and forced perspective planet is stunning. The detailed Imperial architecture shouldn’t be overlooked though; the texture of the window and separation of floor panels are on point.

Once upon a time

Every artist will at some point find themselves facing a blank page, blank canvas, or empty table, and gazing out the window wondering “What Now?”. Based on that familiar feeling, Chris Maddison has staged the perfect scene for his final contribution to the Iron Builder competition. The seed piece has been brilliantly put to use as the type hammers inside a beautiful vintage typewriter. Sitting on the desk next to it is what can only be a dictionary or thesaurus, while his mantra and inspiration adorn the shelf above.

Everything in this scene is made from LEGO. My favorite feature is the depth of field Chris has created out the window. In Chris’s own words: “We are creators. To make art, to convey an idea or emotion, to play well… it’s in our blood. Tell your story, whatever it may be”.

A conversation with Swedish superbuilder LegoJalex [Interview]

We recently had the chance to sit down with Johan Alexanderson (LegoJalex) to discuss his building style and approach to the hobby. A part-time web developer, as well as a free-lance illustrator and comic book artist, Johan is 35 years old and lives in Sweden. Come with us as we explore the mind of a builder!

TBB: So how did you get into LEGO building?

LegoJalex: I started building about 5 years ago, after a “dark age” of about 15 years. I had a stressful time then and I really needed something to relax with, so naturally I started to build again. Building with LEGO has so many great memories for me and I really like the creativity involved. I think there are similarities with my interest in drawing and illustrating, where in both you have to think in a creative and artistic way.

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Hovering across the apocalyptic gunk

Curved silver elements lend a nice retro chopper feel to George Panteleon‘s hoverbike, but it’s the smart use of sand green pieces to depict a post-apocalyptic sewer which grabs the eye. The tentacle tip makes for a perfect outpouring of skanky muck, and the soccer pitch part creates a great impression of a thick gloopy liquid in motion. I love when builders pay as much attention to the surrounding scenery as to the central model in a scene — it makes all the difference between a decent image, and a standout one.

Death to the brick mice – lure them out with cheese slopes

Immersing a LEGO model in a real-world scene is quite a feat. Did Chris Madison really make a mouse hole in his wall skirting? Such dedication. Of course, a closer look reveals it’s all built with bricks. A brilliant set-up, and the perfect use of the piece LEGO fans dub the “cheese slope”!

A Nordic town to settle down in

Games can provide inspiration for LEGO builders, although its often videogames rather than their more old-school cousin, the board game. Simon NH, however, has taken Settlers of Catan as his muse, and it has prompted a wonderful island scene, which ironically wouldn’t look out of place in a medieval real-time strategy game on PC! The landscaping grabs the initial attention, with a lovely colour gradient around the shoreline and excellent rockwork. But it’s the buildings which hold the eye, rewarding a closer look at some of the fabulous building techniques on display.

See more of this great medieval building

Typical day in Laketown – everyone just chilling

Despite mixed reviews of what happened to Tolkien’s beloved stories, the trilogy of Hobbit movies still served up some eye-popping visions of Middle Earth. One of the best, to my mind, was of Laketown — the city of wooden huts built over the Long Lake in a doomed attempt at protection from dragonfire. Marcel V. must have liked the movie version too, as he’s built a wonderful slice of it in LEGO bricks. Trans-clear tiles as icy water creates an appropriately chilly atmosphere, and the house on stilts is good enough to make me wish Marcel had built more of the town. And don’t miss the imaginative parts usage — minifigure ice skates as ladder rungs, and skeleton and minifigure limbs to create the twist of smoke rising into the frigid air.

LEGO interior prompts nostalgia for Modernism

Clean brickwork and good macro photography make this modernist LEGO interior by Brick Of Infamy really stand out. There’s a lot here to love — from the excellent giant angle-poise lamp, the smart-looking chair, through to the way the desk is integrated into the wonderful bookcase. And last, but not least, don’t overlook the clever use of grey toothed monorail tracks to lend texture to the background wall. This is a deceptively simple-looking scene, which probably took much longer to build than you think!

Something Hobbity this way comes

Built by david zambito for the ABS Builder Challenge, this snapshot from The Hobbit is terrific. This great scene has great use of the seed piece for the lid of the treasure chest and for Smaug’s fingers reaching over piles of gold. The best part for me is the tantalizing tiled tessellations on the floor surrounded by the creatively cracked and broken floor.

Breaking your way through the polar ice of Canada

For Canada’s 150th birthday, Adam Dodge built a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker diorama, and it’s surprisingly satisfying to look at. There’s a nice contrast between the clean surfaces of the ice and sea and the intense, broken up ice and the very industrial-looking ship. The icebreaker just pops out with its bright, high-visibility colour scheme. The whole diorama has a sense of motion about it, with the thick ice stacked up in the front and the broken-up ice at the back, which is achieved by carefully arranged translucent window panes and cheese slopes.