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.

A herbalist’s homey haven

“In a mystical chamber adorned with an array of glass jars, bubbling potions, ancient scrolls, tomes, and exotic flora, the air is thick with the scent of arcane knowledge and potent enchantments.” So begins Syrdarian‘s description of their spellbinding LEGO herbalist’s workspace. Everything you need to cast a spell or heal a malady is right here in piles and stacks, from the crystals on the floor to the jars on the shelves and the cut flowers on the worktable. Boxes and baskets of berries and flowers sit next to the staircase, while tomes of arcane lore rest where they can be readily perused.

The herbalist’s hobbies clearly range beyond plant lore, judging by the lute carefully placed against the wall and the pie and sweets tucked away on a shelf. Joining the herbalist are three different frogs, a rubber ducky, and a hungry mouse. The plates and brick elements in the wall (along with wands for the spindly table legs) give the dwelling a lived-in, ramshackle appearance. And lastly, we can’t fail to remark upon the clever way the windowpanes are formed—minifig hands in several colors.

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Oh the Hu-manatee

This excellent LEGO build by Legonerdphotos! steals and borrows pieces from a powerful array of Bionicle heroes and villains! Its head is made from the all-mighty Mask of Life, while its shoulders and tail fins are made from the head-pieces of the great Bohrok-Kal. The little bundle of seaweed the manatee is carrying is a hairpiece from a single minifigure from the Hidden Side line. Speaking of vegetation, the grass at the front to either side of the scene comes from spines of the Barraki lord Ehlek. Further back, the tall fronds are from this year’s Dreamzzz Cat-Owl and the vast field in the middle is made from Gresh’s shoulder guards. All-in-all Legonerdphotos has put together a lovely diorama that shows it’s better down where it’s wetter; take it from manat-me!

Dragonfly in the sky, you can go twice as high!

If you’re an elf in need of transit options, you should check out this LEGO build by Ted Andes! Do you ever have one of those projects where its entire reason for being is just a tiny part of the whole? This huge Dragonfly Outpost diorama was built by Ted as a display to show off the dragonfly craft in the top left corner! Let’s take a look at some details! the gold water pump to the right of the main pillar has a faucet made from an inverted genie’s lamp. All of those lovely wings used on the bug-thopter and the roof of the main area are from a single ant-man set from 2015. Those safety rails on the upper deck are actually a relatively common tube (though it does seem like the elves could use a few more of them!) An up-and-coming part is the leaf used for some of the bird’s tails. Since its introduction in 2023, it’s been used in a variety of sets and colors and I expect we’ll see more of it in the future! And speaking of those birds, I wonder if they make good omelets too?

Rock Raiders return in epic Onyxx Expedition Diorama

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Rock Raiders, a theme that for many adult fans of LEGO is always worth celebrating thanks to the evocative subterranean setting, cool colors (teal!), and wonderful vehicle designs. LegoMathijs still carries a torch for the theme and his latest project takes us deep beneath the planet Onyxx with a truly massive celebration of the Rock Raiders theme.

LegoMathijs’ diorama is pure, high-grade nostalgia, incorporating many elements unique to the Rock Raiders theme and working mostly with parts and techniques of the late ’90s, minus the BURPs (big ugly rock parts). With dozens of minifigures, an array of vehicles, and a motherload of crystals, the scene shows the promise on the package of Rock Raiders sets writ large.

Drill down with us for a closer look!

LEGO Caravanserai offers a treasure trove of techniques in tan

“Unwanted Company at the Caravanserai,” the latest diorama from Kit Nugent, is the rare LEGO build that is truly immersive, transporting the observer into a brick-built world. The craftsmanship is stunning. Working mostly with tan elements, Kit orchestrates every seam and shadow in service to the medieval Islamic architectural style. The interior facades are dense with detail, especially the screens made from over 200 densely-arranged candles, and the Modulex bricks that circle the lower walls. The inner brick-work, revealed in the cut-away, is just as ornate, featuring a complex jigsawing of System bricks with a smattering of smaller Modulex. The glimpse of a nearby domed building under a blue sky seals the sense of immersion.

The architecture alone makes this a build to celebrate, but Kit is just as deliberate with the story told through minifigures and accessories. He captures a frozen moment as travelers in the caravanserai trade look and reach for weapons as a shadowy figure enters. No doubt blood will soon be spilt on that lovely mosaic floor. Let’s just hope the goat is spared.

Batman gets the drop on Joker’s goons in LEGO Arkham Asylum

There are plenty of candidates for “best version of Batman,” many of which will soon have their own LEGO BrickHeadz design, but a strong case can be made for the star of Batman: Arkham Asylum video game as the GOAT of Batmen. The game makes Batman a predator who uses the environment to stalk and take out goons, but more than that, the design trains the player to see the world through Batman’s eyes. Tom Studs captures the game’s DNA in LEGO with a vignette set in the Arkham Medical Facility. The industrial vibes are spot on thanks to a mix of printed tiles, tubing, and brick-built machinery. Most importantly, the scene has everything Batman needs to take down the Joker’s henchmen, like floor grates to sneak through, power boxes to disable with a batarang, and of course, a well-placed gargoyle on which to perch. All that’s missing is a Riddler Trophy.

Long have I desired to look upon this tiny LOTR diorama

In a film full of striking imagery, there’s one scene that nevertheless manages to capture the gravity, grandeur, and beauty of Middle-earth all on its own. I’m talking about the scene in The Fellowship of the Ring when the eponymous Fellowship takes the Anduin river past the towering Argonath, colossal statues that mark the ancient borders of Gondor. MorlornEmpire‘s fabulous microscale LEGO Argonath captures the moment in miniature. The (tiny) giant statues themselves are instantly recognizable, their outstretched arms captured with rounded tiles and plates, but it’s the tinier things (like the overturned 1×1 plate-with-tooth elements for boats or the lighter-blue SNOT plates for the boats’ wakes) that really make this build worthy of the great kings of old.

A post-human paradise in LEGO

Engaging with LEGO bricks can be an act of play, a hobby, fandom, even an investment, but for some builders, LEGO bricks are an artistic medium just like clay or oil paints. Mihai Marius Mihu is one of those creators who uses the brick to explore big ideas, with motifs that carry over across works and even transcend mediums. After a long building hiatus, Mihai is back to LEGO with “The Garden of the Goddess,” a diorama in silhouette that serves as a culmination of years of exploring this post-human future.

The “ash giant” humanoid figure climbing the hill first appeared in Mihai’s underworld-inspired LEGO vignettes a decade ago, seemingly representing a husk of humanity. The goddess on the left, with her three black orbs, is featured in numerous drawings over recent years. The statue of a face on the right is my favorite element, both for the startlingly lifelike human profile, and the effective use of Technic bricks to convey the geological timescales at play. It’s fascinating to see how Mihai’s ideas translated from sketch into LEGO model.

Mihai’s work often touches on the mythological afterlife, encounters with the unknowable, and human transmutation. It feels in conversation with fiction from Dan Simmons, Jeff Vandermeer, Octavia Butler and Ridley Scott. Work like Mihai’s doesn’t need to be explained. I’m just grateful that the artist allows us to follow his journey over the years, whether in pencil, music, or in brick.

A slice of life in a cyberpunk city

We see a lot of cyberpunk cityscapes built from LEGO – and they’re all awesome. But Chi Hsin Wei (LEGO 7) has gone big with his vision of the future! There’s a lot going on, so let’s unpack it. You’ve got a rather dapper-looking figure in a suit, who is perhaps on his way to or from work. With those Buzz Lightyear-style wings he’s sure to get to his destination in a flash! And speaking of travelling quickly, there’s a wicked motorbike/dog/horse/speeder, er, thing on the road in the back. It makes use of a series of printed parts from 10330 McLaren MP4/4 & Ayrton Senna, which are perfect in this context. And how about those two adorable little robots on the stairs? One’s in a suit, and the other is… Wearing a traffic cone? Sure, who are we to judge. Perhaps that’s the fashion in the future!

There will be blood (and relaxation!)

We all need to unwind and blow off some steam sometimes. And if someone’s form of recreation involves bleeding a caged victim to make a nice little wading pool, who am I to judge? Mihał Ch‘s creepy vampire pleasure den imagines such a scenario in LEGO. The scene itself makes my stomach crawl a little, but I can distract myself from the visceral reminder of my own fragile mortality by checking out those cool building techniques. I love the way simple 1×2 bricks are stacked at slight angles to make the columns, and the trans-red antenna stands in for the steady drip-drip-drip of the victim’s blood into a viscous pool below. I hope that poor victim gets out soon, but it doesn’t look good.

A Star Wars palace fit for an evil emperor

The Emperor’s personal residence hasn’t appeared in any of the films (well, unless you count its prior incarnation as the Jedi Temple, according to current canon), but it still looms large in Star Wars lore. A little forced perspective helps it loom even larger in this great LEGO diorama by r_t_zan, where its appearance is inspired by its classic Legends description. The build concentrates its minifig-scale details up front and lets the eye drift toward the rear, where its forbidding spires reach for the stars. Other than a statue, we never see the Emperor himself, and the build is all the better for it—Palpatine’s air of mystery is preserved as we imagine which of those lofty spires might house his evil presence.

LEGO with an ego the size of the sun!

This LEGO build by Panuvara drips confidence from every stud! Panuvara has used so many great ideas that make this build shine, that there really is too much neat parts usage in this build to talk about. So, I’m going to rapid fire a bunch at you! Starting with the golden neck-and-head-dress; those chameleons are floating – not connected by studs, and did you know that micro-statue heads fit inside bar holders? I didn’t. There’s also plenty of Bionicle influence: the top of the Emissary’s head is the infected Hau Nuva, while its teeth are borrowed from one of the Piraka. There’s also a head under the Emissary’s right knee. The mottled colors of the Hau match perfectly with the pattern of the macaw used for the Emissary’s nose. Let’s move on the the Emissary’s seat. The rounded rectangular patches with grills are rubber band holders, the bricks holding the projectile triggers are bumper holders, and there’s plenty of minifigure legs and hips for you to spot. Finally I’ll point out that the face carved into the centre of the stonework uses a dinosaur cub and a clone trooper visor as parts of its nose. There’s more to see here the longer you stare at it. But be careful: while you’re looking at it, the Emissary is watching you!