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 troubled bridge over troubled waters from Game of Thrones

Two LEGO warriors face off in the center of a rundown stone bridge in this LEGO model by Faëbricks and Brickscaalibur! This creation is based on the third season of Game of Thrones during the duel between Jaime Lannister and Brienne of Tarth. And what a bridge it is! Gus and Raphaël have gone for a maximalist greebling-style of brickwork, meaning there’s plenty of cobbled texture to the stonework. If you get the chance, you should try to zoom in and spot as many techniques in there as possible! The bridge arches get their curve due to the 1×2 grated slope, stacked vertically to create each support. Also, I want to complement the greenery along the top of the bridge. These plants are both show-authentic and provide contrasting color to the rest of the bridge. I hope Faëbricks and Brickscaalibur get the chance to work together to impress us again!

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Planes, trains, and LEGO builds

If you love Italy and/or railway architecture, look no further than this lovely LEGO creation by Jean-Philippe Leroux! Leroux has captured the elegance of the Italian railway bridge, the Viaduct of San Bartolomeo, built in the late 1960s. Leroux has used stacked 2×2 jumper tiles to add the layered texture to all of the pillars, and notice how all the slopes at the base of the pillars are actually 2×3 slopes on their sides? That’s what allows Leroux to “embed” the arches in between the wider supports. Great work on that micro-scale plane too! I can’t imagine he’s used more than ten parts to build it! I’m also excited to see the multiple colors on the outside of the diorama representing the different geological layers; I’d say it really grounds the build!

Steer clear of these surly Sea Raiders

The right minifigs can elevate a build by making a scene come alive, suggesting a story much bigger than the LEGO model on display. The motley crew of pirates assembled by Bryckland have clearly seen their fair share of action, gaining infamy for their raids, but no shortage of glory too with close-calls and daring adventure too, I’d wager. Bryckland’s longship is a wonderful design, with a hull made of horns and rounded Technic elements, invoking ancient reed boats. Considering the sails are made from Hungarian Horntail wings, perhaps the hull is made of dragonbone or some other fantastical substance. The diorama is elevated by the patch of roiling blue sea. Where will this voyage end? Perhaps with a little pillaging at one of Bryckland’s past ports of call.

Arresting LEGO Medusa will rock your world

Medusa, she of the snake hair and stony gaze, remains one of the most captivating figures from Greek mythology. She even made an appearance back in Series 10 of the Collectible Minifigures line. Builder Kooky Bricks honors the hip and tragic monster with a diorama worthy of an Olympian. Here we see Medusa facing off with a would-be slayer in the ruined temple of Athena. At this larger scale, made from 14,619 parts, Kooky Brick is able to pack in incredible detail in both the figures and the setting. Medusa’s scaly body is achieved by overlapping rows of plate teeth, a great effect that feels both organic and a very solid snake form. As impressive as the figures are, it’s the temple itself that leaves us spellbound.

Gaze on for more mythic details!

It takes a lot of NERV to build LEGO mechs from Neon Genesis Evangelion

Nearly 30 years after its debut, Gainax’s groundbreaking anime Neon Genesis Evangelion continues to captivate an international audience with its radical take on the mech genre. Whereas most mecha convey the bulk of heavy army, the Evangelion units are sinewy bio-machines suggesting a fusion of man and demon. LEGO builder Marco de Bon is no stranger to mechs (as you can see in our archive), and last year he created perfect poseable models of EVA Units 00, 01, and 02. For his latest diorama series, Marco shows a talent for microscale cityscapes to match his mech building prowess. Prototype Unit-00 towers over a district dominated by sandy hues and disc shooter windows. The elevated brick-built highway is particularly effective.

Shinji’a iconic Unit-01 straddles a gorgeous mix of mini high-rises. Landing gear axles make for perfect rooftop satellite arrays, while shooters above the highway capture the sci-fi aesthetic of Tokyo-3.

If Marco’s diorama’s have you humming Cruel Angel Thesis and craving more EVAs and Angels, synchronize with our Evangelion archives.

Anyone hip for a road trip?

The classic 2011 model of the beloved T1 VW van is back in this LEGO model by Isaac Wilder! Isaac has done an excellent job miniaturizing the old model using a triangular sign to capture the swoosh of white on the front of the van, chrome silver 2×2 dishes (discontinued in 2004!) for the hub caps, and even reusing the curtains from the original. Isaac hasn’t skipped on the scenery either. The pine tree and the olive green bush below it look like they are partially held together by interlocking the fronds of different leaf parts. So grab your rainbow shirts and tie-dye folks. We’re off to the Woodstock and the era of peace and love, baby!

The Windmills of Winter

While you’re waiting for the sixth Game of Thrones book to arrive, check out this LEGO build by /Sam\! For those of you looking for a new haircut, you might not need to look that far. The snowbanks on either side of the entrance to this cozy windmill are made from minifigure hairstyles! There’s also a couple helmets detailing the top of the chimneys. Don’t forget to take a closer look at all the work that went into shaping the windmill tower and the neat use of bars on the windmill blades!

Stalking in a winter wonderland

“They’ve heard rumours of strange folk from the east and the west, new words and new gods and bright steel. They hope to be left in peace in their cold northern home but the watchfires have already been lit on the hills.” So begins builder Eero Okkonen‘s description of this amazing LEGO diorama, and those words are already way cooler than anything I managed to write about it. And speaking of cool, the build looks downright freezing. Good thing our lone warrior is properly dressed for the ordeal, with heavy mittens, a fur hat, and a thick beard made out of plant stalks. The star of the show, however, might be all that drifting snow, including probably the best use of a windscreen outside of a cockpit I’ve ever seen. Brrr!

A Star Destroyer floating ominously...

With one season of Andor out and another season somewhere on the horizon, it’s a good time to revisit the beautiful shots of Rogue One. This LEGO model by Codyaner perfectly captures the fearsome presence of the imperial hammer hanging over Jedha. Codyaner has done a great job of capturing the weathered, rocky nature of the walls and stone surrounding the city by stepping through light tan, dark tan, reddish brown, and dark brown bricks for the surrounding landscape. There’s such a huge variety of slopes in the rock that it would be impossible to list them all. I’ll shout out four here: the 2×4 wedge, the claw piece used for many a roof, and the shell and slope combo used on the right hand side. This city may be ill-fated, but if you look closely enough you’ll see the sparks of a rebellion burning in those city streets!

Jaw-dropping model of Rome took 107,000 LEGO bricks to build!

Rocco Buttliere has been astounding us for years with his massive microscale LEGO creations. Being no stranger to rendering massive landmarks and vast ancient cities in brick form, he has just released a new expansion to his fantastic SPQR diorama of the ancient Roman capital (the right half of the build in the photo below). This new section of the Eternal City – built at 1:650 scale – took over 107,000 bricks and several thousand hours spread over two and a half years to build, but it was well worth the wait! Lets take a tour of some of the ancient landmarks, shall we?

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Less than 50 shades of grey

I love it when a LEGO build leans into an aesthetic. This build by Jessica Farrell is done completely in monochrome – like an old timey movie – and displays a crumbling landscape frozen in stone and fossilization. There’s more interesting parts in this build than I can point out, but here are some of the highlights! Sprinkled around the build you’ll see tiny flowers in flat silver. These flowers were only available from the Trolls World Tour 2020 product line, while the arching spine on the upper left is made of parts that ceased production in 2016. There’s vines climbing the ruined pillars, and gears big and small. One thing I know for certain, Charlie Chaplin has to be hiding in there somewhere!

Feel the Force of Jedha’s sacred Temple of the Whills in LEGO

A lot of people are saying that hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster. I get it. I never set foot in an Outer Rim cantina without my trusty DL-44 either. But maybe there’s something to the old stories of wizards and their laser swords. Otherwise, why would the Empire be be so afraid of a backwater moon like Jedha? LEGO builder Ryan McBryde certainly has a soft spot for the “pilgrim moon” of Jedha, home of the Guardians of the Whills, spiritual site for the Jedi, and a source of the kyber crystals used in lightsabers. For the past 8 years, Ryan has been collaborating and iterating on an epic build of Jedha’s Temple of the Guardians of the Whills and the surrounding old city in conjunction with the Star Wars Factions role-playing project. In addition to the incredibly detailed building and interiors, which expands on brief glimpses of the site in the background of Rogue One, Ryan fleshed out the stories of locals and visiting pilgrims who bring the ancient site to life (at least until Grand Moff Tarkin showed up to test his fancy new superlaser).

Ryan’s project isn’t just an incredible accomplishment in LEGO construction, but a testement to the vitality of Star Wars as a collaborate story space.

Come along for a tour of LEGO Jedha’s holiest site!