Root Canal by Lab Synth is a marvelous and thorough design down to the last detail. One can find such an architectural experiment chaotic, but I’d call it extravagant. In the description of his work Lab shared that he had started with that massive golden window, and I can clearly imagine how the whole diorama was growing section by section until such a bizzare interpretation of a Venetian canal was born.
Tag Archives: Dioramas
Fancy a little hot sauce with your mushrooms?
This lava-tastic creation by Thorsten Bonsch is inspired by an online role-playing video game called The Elder Scrolls Online (“ESO”) and is the second ESO-inspired build we have showcased. The first was Thorsten’s mammoth 11,000-piece creation called The Dolmen.
The game landscape captured is called Stonefalls and is described by Thorsten as “…a mainly grey and barren region in Morrowind, dominated by giant mushrooms and streams of lava…“. I have not played the game, but Thorsten certainly captured my attention with those giant mushrooms and the beautifully depicted lava flow. The LEGO colour palate is utilised perfectly to show the ebbing heat of the lava flow. Note the minifigure standing centrally, helping to give a sense of scale to the gigantic fungi!
Hot stuff…
The greatest build since gingerbread
I swear I can feel a strong smell of ginger while I’m looking at the latest confectionery masterpiece by Koen. The key to success here is that this gingerbread cottage is actually the second version; the first one was baked and served a little more than a year ago. Compare both and you’ll easily notice how much the Friends sets have added to the official LEGO color palette just in this past year. Excuse me for now, I have to go and ask for the recipe.
Life’s a beach, and none’s better than this
Toronto native Melanie F. brings us this awesome recreation of her city’s beautiful and vibrant waterfront row houses. Melanie’s a fan of Unikitty, and she’s found exceptionally clever uses for several of Unikitty’s pieces here, with the horns as lovely little microscale trees and the tails as picture-perfect rolling waves. The lime green ice cream scoops are also brilliantly put to use as topiaries.
The best part? She’s built the homes in minifig scale, too!
Bricks vs Pixels: the ultimate showdown
OK, so we all know the movie Pixels didn’t turn out how we’d wished a real life- and video game-mashup would, but it’s still a mighty cool concept. South Korean professional builders Olive Seon have run with that concept with an awesome diorama loosely inspired by the movie Pixels. Featuring the iconic scene of Pac-Man munching down a street, the builders have added some characters from Minecraft and several other games also. See how many game characters you can find!
A room with real character
This pair of figures and room by Simon Pickard is a cracking piece of work. The scale was initially unclear on my first look, requiring a zoom in at the details for me to understand this model is actually pretty big…
The figures are good (although this “no-eyes” style always gives me the heebie-jeebies), and the floor is well executed, but as ever it’s the details which make a creation pop: the use of a minifig for a photograph, the fishbowl in the corner, and best of all, those plug sockets. All of these show creative parts-use and a good eye for what works at this scale. Nicely done Simon.
A Jurassic sized collaboration
One of the most enjoyable aspects of LEGO is the fact that anyone can build with it – either alone or with a friend. Collaborations between builders often yield tremendous results, and this collaboration between Paul Trach and Markus Aspacher is the perfect example of successful team brick-building. Coordinating from 600km away, Markus in Austria and Paul in Germany divided the four films of the Jurassic Park franchise – including the recent blockbuster Jurassic World – into a massive and stunning dinosaur display.
Paul and Marcus recently displayed their collaboration at the Bricking Bavaria Munich convention, where it rightfully took home the coveted Best in Show award. Although on site it appeared to be one single piece (as it does above), the layout is actually four sections. Each builder constructed two portions representing two of the films. The first section, Jurassic Park, was built by Markus:
Red Rocket Refuelling Station from Fallout 4
In anticipation of the release of Fallout 4, Markus Rollbühler built this scene of the Red Rocket Refuelling Station based on the concept art. The creation is being displayed this weekend at Bricking Bavaria in Munich, Germany.
Follow the builder on Flickr for more pictures to come.
Tested video features “Best Castle Building” from BrickCon
Tested made a visit to BrickCon this year and interviewed David Frank about his award-winning Manor House, which we featured here a couple of weeks ago. Check it out for some great background on a wonderful build!
Fallout 4: the nuclear apocalypse, LEGO style
You can’t play Fallout 4 until Nov. 10, but if you’re still yearning for that distinct neo-1950’s nuclear apocalypse, LEGO builders have you covered with some really top-notch Fallout-inspired creations.
The first is this gigantic Fallout workshop by Pierre. Complete with power armor, a collectible Vault-Tec bobblehead, an adorable Dogmeat, and loads of other recognizable items, this model is deceptively large, coming in at almost 5 feet wide and close to 2 feet high.
Here’s another picture of Dogmeat, because he’s just too cute. Who’s a good dog?
Next up is a minifig scale version of the same scene, by our very own Simon Liu. It also plays host to power armor, and contains a fantastic printed Nuka Cola machine.
And now that’s we’re looking at minifig scale, here’s an incredibly detailed Vault Dweller minifig by DSCustoms. The only problem with this guy (and my in-game avatar) is that it doesn’t show the 400+ lbs of everything I’ve ever found, ever that I’m carrying.
Also be sure to check out this cool Enclave Vertibird we blogged last year.
Halt and stare... in awe
If you’re as afraid of wasps as I am, Piotr Machalski has something to “gladden” both of us with. Just a glimpse at those tiny claws gives me the shivers, but the wings are a thing to die for. And make sure to check out the whole album and have a closer look at all the (unlucky) hunters.
Starship bridge shows all the right controls
Neo-Classic Space, the final frontier. These are the voyages of a very nice-looking starship…
This control room scene is the latest creation from Pete Reid, one of my favourite builders. He’s famous for his Exo Suit, but for me, it’s his depictions of everyday life in space which define his style – it’s rarely blasters and aliens, usually just regular space folks at work.
The model has some lovely touches, such as the consoles, the ceiling details, and the use of ingots as chair cushions. But what I really like is the way the stripped-back use of a single color allows lighting to create the mood, and makes the bright shades of the crew uniforms pop against the backdrop. This is a great example of a nice model, elevated to another level through smart composition and a restrained use of color.
Now I want to see the rest of the ship…