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.

Fan creates incredible LEGO space scenes that make you nostalgic for the 90s

The best thing about LEGO sets in the 1990s? Well, ok, besides all the awesome themes likes Ice Planet and Dragon Knights. Every LEGO set came with a miniature catalog, either a folded single page or a half-sheet booklet, and besides just advertising new sets, they included dioramas showing all the sets from a theme in action on a cool bit of scenery, like this Castle diorama from 1995. Builder Pixel Fox is creating some amazing images that bring back that nostalgia. LEGO catalogs need to do this again.

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Cornering the market in grand style

Mark Erickson is well known for his castle and medieval-themed builds and his latest creation is a grand one. Entitled ‘The Grand Bazaar’, Mark has created a beautiful, bustling, colourful market scene packed with details and nice techniques. This bazaar has an exotic feel of the east with a camel, trees from warmer climes and a rare sighting of a yellow parrot. The architectural details are lovely, with arches constructed from bricks and slopes and a great combination of colours.

There are a great many details that require a closer look, but for me the combination of colours is the highlight of this build. I love the blue tiled roof with hints of sand and olive green on the more official ‘town hall’ looking building on the right. The use of the Belville oriental carpet as a canopy adds a lovely flash of bright red, while sand red makes a rare appearance on the sloped roof of the building to the left. A really captivating scene.

Banker’s abode

legostrator has built a very nicely detailed interior belonging to a banker. The scene is loaded with all sorts of cool bits but my favorites are the chair and the fireplace. I love the ornate nature of the chair. It’s a design that I may borrow in the future. The brickwork on the chimney is particularly nice, as is the arch above the fire. Everywhere I look in this small scene, I find more to like. This scene really has a lot going for it.

Join the famous 800 feet club

Did you know there are no more than 40 people in New York city living higher than 800 feet? Obviously, the view from above is the main perk of choosing such a dwelling. Finnish builder Heikki Mattila – who definitely has an eye for classy hi-tech interiors – invites us to have a look from inside one of those apartments. I can’t tell you why, but the purple background goes extremely well with skyline made of sky-high towers. The interior is exactly what you expect to see in such a luxurious residence: a comfy chair near a fashionable glass coffee table completed with a cut-glass chandelier.

Awesome Two-gate Minifig-scale LEGO Airport

Builder LEGO 7 brings us a beautifully modern two-gate airport. Look closely, because this model is impressively large and very thoroughly detailed with all the hustle and bustle of real aviation.

The first minifigure-scale LEGO airport, 6392 Airport, released in 1985. Since then LEGO has produced about a half dozen more, most recently 60104 Airport Passenger Terminal. They’ve all been fantastic sets, and the planes have grown larger and more detailed with each iteration. However, they all suffer from one flaw: the terminals just aren’t big enough, even for very small airports, and none includes a jet bridge. Not so with LEGO 7’s stunning creation, which features not one but two jet bridges so jetsetters in this airport don’t have to step outside to disembark. Check out more photos below.

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It’s all about the cake

Milan Sekiz has mixed up all the ingredients required for a perfect little bakery. This scene is packed with detail for such a tight footprint, and the color choices represent a refreshing change from a lot of City building.

Cakes are obviously the main reason to visit any bakery, and Milan’s display counter doesn’t disappoint. Check out the tempting selection on show (and don’t miss the detail of the ventilation slits in the refrigeration units under the counter — nice).

And then through in the back-of-house, Milan has made great use of “brick bricks” and kitchen unit pieces to create a smart prep area. I particularly like the unbaked croissants sitting to the left. However, unless there’s another oven lurking off-scene somewhere, I’m not convinced this store has quite the baking capacity it requires — the visible oven provision seems somewhat lacking. But kitchen efficiency concerns aside, this is a wonderful little model.

The bar where I met your mother

One of the things I like about TV show How I Met Your Mother is how central McLaren’s Bar is to the action. Having run pubs for years, I love to see a good bar depicted well in LEGO. speedyhead doesn’t disappoint here with some excellent attention to detail.

The booths are nicely-built, as are the bar stools, but I particularly like the wonderful clutter on the back bar and the use of printed tiles to represent all the posters and sports memorabilia that bedeck the walls. When you wrap all the detail up with a smart color scheme and smooth tiled look, this would be a great little pub model even it wasn’t so faithful to the TV show.

Come warm yourself by the LEGO fire

It’s a bit to early for roasting chestnuts, though I suppose you could go for roasting pumpkin seeds near the fire. Heikki Mattila has given us this glorious little fireplace, complete with a stand for wood and kindling. The fireplace itself is lit with LEDs, which adds a very nice touch to the presentation. I particularly like the spindly tree off to the left, though I daresay it looks like it should be a bit further away from the heat source.

This castle stands out from the bunch

Castles are a popular type of creation in the LEGO fan world so it takes something special to really stand out from the crowd. Christope has certainly managed this in his latest build, Laslan Castle. I’m used to the muted tones of medieval life but orange, yellow, lime?? The use of such bright colours is very refreshing and actually works incredibly well for a this castle scene. As well as the great use of colour, there is also some lovely LEGO stonework to admire with the castle walls and the angled stone steps to the front entrance.

Don’t miss the details around the dock and the little merchant stall in the right-hand corner. This closer view also reveals the amount of work that has gone into creating the lovely textured stonework.

Toltobury Wharf

I am a sucker for medieval dioramas and this one, by Polish builder Toltomeja, is particularly good. The variations in the buildings while maintaining the color scheme really makes this little town pop and I especially like the structure of the cranes that tower over the hustle and bustle of the wharf.

There is so much story-telling and minute detail going on in the build, I could sit and stare at the pictures all day. You really have to check out the brilliant fretwork this builder has created using hand-cuffs over the archway.

A fine day out with the family on Troth Prime

It’s not often we get to see the family life of the explorers and scientists who populate the world of Neo-Classic Space. This little scene by Sad Brick makes me very happy, though, with a couple and their little blue and green children. There’s even a robot dog, who’s managed to uncover an alien bone of some sort. As enamored as I am with the scene overall, the speeder in the background is excellent — particularly the steps on the side that make it easier for those space-tots to clamber aboard. And with a truly massive bank of engines, I expect the vehicle to blast across the alien landscape at quite a quick clip.

Not all of Sad Brick’s NCS scenes are as peaceful. A tragic friendly fire incident is about to occur in this scene featuring some excellent vehicles.

Neglected farm makes for a smart LEGO model

This autumnal ranch scene will cause conflicting emotions. On one hand, you should love it because it’s beautifully built — Heikki Mattila has done a great job on the battered homestead, the tree, and the outlying structures like the well and pigsty. However, the muted color scheme and air of neglect and decay create a real sense of foreboding. LEGO creations are generally bright and cheery, the gloominess of this one makes for a strangely refreshing change.

Although the builder makes no mention of any zombie apocalypse, I can’t shake the feeling that the shambling undead are about to appear and chase the poor old dude off his porch.