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.

VirtuaLUG’s Wizard of Oz diorama will knock off your ruby slippers

VirtuaLUG collaborated on a mammoth Wizard of Oz layout for BrickWorld this year. I posted the wizard’s hot-air balloon earlier but the entire diorama definitely deserves its own post. They worked together on a large number of dioramas depicting crucial scenes throughout the story. Each of the sections is an incredible piece alone. Together they form something truly incredible. Every time I go through the pictures I find more details that I didn’t notice before. I especially love how the early scenes were built in tan, black and greys to depict the black-and-white scenes in the movies and the motorized cyclone with mini farmhouse. The vibrancy and technique in the later dioramas is breath-taking. I didn’t make it to BrickWorld but I wish I had seen this in person. Incredible!

The entrance to the Emerald City:

Uncle Henry and Aunt Em’s Farm:

The Dark Forest:

See the rest of the Wizard of Oz layout after the jump!

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

The Night Market Below

I have a certain fondness for Neil Gaiman, and quite enjoyed Neverwhere. It’s not particularly popular, though, for LEGO creations. Understandably so. I was surprised and excited to spot this lovely scene by Ru Corder, which could be torn straight from the pages:

Now granted it’s more of an inspired creation (with a tad-bit of Harry Potter thrown in). There are additional pictures over on MOCpages for you to get more acquainted with the inhabitants of this underground market.

The Windmill

Organic shapes can be awfully tricky with LEGO, and part of that challenge I think is what makes some of the pieces of landscaping and life we see that so very impressive.

Eduardo Gavilán (aToMiKWiWa) does a lovely job with the rock formations that create the foundation for his windmill, and shows how the builders used the formations to their benefit instead of sculpting to what they needed.

St. Gwydre’s Church

Every time I get the itch to build in the Castle genre I seem to run across something like “St. Gwydre’s Church by Luke Watkins Hutchinson (– Derfel Cadarn –) and I lose the urge entirely. I can’t think of too many builders who hit the scene harder than Luke did in 2009, churning out amazing, original models at a break-neck pace that has never let up. Gwydre has everything we’ve grown to expect from the builder: muted color palette, leaning walls, meticulous stone-work and nice contextual landscaping.

If you’re the kind of reader who likes a little back-story to go with a fine model like this, head on over to MOCpages and immerse yourself in the builder’s “Dark Isle Saga“.

Incredible Steampunk Castle made from 20,000 LEGO pieces

This amazing “Steam Castle Falls” diorama was presented at the recent Fana’Briques expo in Rosheim, France, and represents the combined effort of three builders: Arnaud Besson (74louloute), Olivier Curto (oLaF LM) and Jimmy Fortel (6kyubi6). My complete absence of francais aside, I wish I could have been there to see it.

Weighing in at over 20,000 pieces, and taking each builder over four months to make, the diorama is clearly the result of a lot of effort. It is impressive that three builders managed to make something work together so cohesively, especially when you consider that the three live in different corners of France.

Furthermore, the major part of the diorama went on a 1000km trip, while another section took a long train trip. And unfortunately for everyone, the diorama could have been even bigger, had the originally planned fourth builder “Capt’n Spaulding” been able to participate.

With major inspiration from this picture, the diorama follows a loose interpretation of a medieval theme. Although I get a strong vibe of techwest anime cartoons as well. Regardless of what inspired it, it’s certainly an incredible work.

When I retire, I’d like to live in Everard Lodge

Mark of Falworth is currently one of the most prolific castle builders in the Lego community, known for his detailed landscapes as evident in this collaboration with his brother (Brother Steven). Their use of the colorful leaves from altBricks really brings out the autumn beauty of this diorama.

Clone Wars Diorama

OliveSeon makes his second appearance on the Brother-Ship with a massive and yet to be titled Star Wars Diorama. The setting is some kind of Clone Wars military base / factory with many familiar vehicles in various states of readiness. The builder does a fine job of placing many of the elements on an angle; one of the keys to building an eye-catching diorama. Many builders have attempted large-scale Star Wars scenes over the years, but this one is a cut above, both for its ambition and faithfulness to the visual style of the cash-cow franchise.

My favorite area is the front door and cutaway ramp, that’s some fine boilerplate.

A Bear at the Fair: the Fighting Pits

Gideon_83 has made this fantastic cutaway vignette of a medieval middle-eastern fighting pit, wherein man and beast face each other in a barbaric clash.

His next most recent model—a more placid look at the toll the shifting desert sands take—strikes my fancy as well. It’s a beautiful use of a few colors and just a few simple pieces.

A Chapel for the Living in the Dead’s Domain

This cemetery chapel scene by Nooreuyed is fairly simple, but shows what a good color palette (now available thanks to LEGO’s expanding cadre of earth tones) and a bit of competent building can do. He’s even got a pretty cool night scene.

At the garage

This is one of the coolest scenes I’ve come across in a long time. The build is clever the minifigs are perfect and the presentation is impeccable. The builder of this slick diorama is -derjoe-, and he has a new book for sale called Joe’s Garage that highlights his meticulous work.

For the record, -derjoe- did not ask me to promote his book, TBB does not specifically endorse it and I’m not providing a direct link. Savvy consumers will find their way to the book if they are motivated.

EDIT (AB): Actually, it took me a bit of poking around to find it, so I’ll make things a bit easier for our readers who are interested — LEGO: Joe’s Garage is available from third-party sellers on Amazon.com.

Honey, I’m home!

Flickr user Hippotam created this hilarious little scene for a contest, the purpose of which was to depict the same scene occurring in both 1963 and 2063. The only thing I am confused about is whether that little green critter on the floor in 2063 is a pet, or the result of the affair?!

Schnellboot Docked at Night

More and more it seems that we are seeing lighting integrated into a model’s presentation. When done right, it can create a wonderful ambiance for the photo. Nate Flood’s Schnellboot (Fast Boat) is a perfect example of this. The lighting and simple diorama sets the perfect mood for the image. Nate says that the photo is courtesy of Jim Liermann, so it appears this was a team effort.

For those that want to have a closer look, there are further photos of the Schnellboot in Nate’s flickr photostream.

Thanks a bunch to Mike for the heads up on this shot…I surely would have missed it.