Tag Archives: Gabriel Thomson

Building ships with bricks

Ahoy there! The Peregrinus Shipyard is looking for boat builders to assemble seafaring vessels. Chief among these builders is Gabriel Thomson, the maker of this fantastic creation.

Peregrinus shipyard 1

The shipyard is built on one thing: detail. From the roof design to the water depth, everything about the Peregrinus Shipyard is extremely eye-pleasing. I’m especially impressed by the brickwork in the walls of the drydocks. Click to see more of the shipyards

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Sculpting the sculptor

An artist’s work is never done, but even when the stone block is still half rough from the quarry, there’s room to marvel. Gabriel Thomson‘s rugged craftsman may be working with a harder medium than Gabriel himself, but it’s nonetheless a reflection of the skill involved in art, be it made of marble or LEGO. And speaking of skill, the horse head is fantastically sculpted, but no less so than the workman with his thick beard and toned arms.

Kaliphlin sculptor

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See the mice in their million hordes, from Ibiza to the Norfolk broads

Trying to summarize almost half a century of accomplishments and innovation in a couple of paragraphs would be futile, so I won’t even try. Yesterday a singular artist departed this particular plane of existence, leaving us with a body of work that will no doubt be remembered for another half century to come (including one final album, released just a few days ago).

Somehow we overlooked this gorgeous LEGO sculpture of Bowie’s Aladdin Sane album cover, built by Gabriel Thomson as an entry for the 2014 MOCAthalon contest. So let’s fix that now.

RIP David Bowie (aka Ziggy Stardust, aka Major Tom, aka The Goblin King) 1947-2016.

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Petraea University is now accepting applications for the spring semester.

The popular Guilds of Historica fan-theme features outstanding models from a variety of builders who participate in a connected world of five distinct Guilds, each with their own territory, history, and geography. The latest eye-catching build comes to us from Australian builder and TBB regular Gabriel Thomson who presents Petraea University – Grand lecture theatre and debating hall.

Petraea University - Grand lecture theatre and debating hall (interior)

As you can see, the structure uses a cutaway presentation, with equal attention to detail both inside and out. Although I love a little bit of the old ultra-violence as much as the next droog, it is refreshing to see a castle diorama that doesn’t involve some kind of boilerplate siege or marching troops. At the center of this brick-built story is the presentation of an honorary degree to some sort of political figure; a celebration of brains over brawn. If you follow the links to both the builder’s photostream or the GoH headquarters, you will encounter as much back-story as you can handle and an opportunity to get in on the action yourself.

Petraea University - Grand lecture theatre and debating hall (LHS 3/4)

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The secret of Turtle Island

Photographing very large LEGO models can be a real challenge. I’d bookmarked this gorgeous diorama by Gabriel Thomson (qi_tah) when he first posted it last week, but wasn’t sure I’d blog it because the lighting was a bit dark, and he’d been forced to use a sheet for the backdrop that didn’t completely cover the room behind the model. But looking over my queue again today, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Kyle Collard had worked some Photoshop GIMP magic on Gabriel’s photo, making it really pop.

The model itself is of course wonderful, and it won “Best in Show” at BrickVention in Melbourne this past weekend, with both a crashed ship and an oared caravel, as well as a lighthouse and large-scale landscaping — as the name implies, the island itself is shaped like a turtle.

Turtle Island - finished layout

Just goes to show what a difference excellent presentation — and a little help from a friend — can make to a LEGO model.

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Earth elementals assault Peregrinus

Most LEGO builders are satisfied with presenting their models against either a neutral or edited background. Not Gabriel Thomson (qi_tah). In “Attack on the Causeway,” Gabriel builds in some serious weather.

Attack on the causeway - 3/4

There’s lots to love in this diorama beyond the clouds & rain. See all of Gabriel’s photos in his photoset on Flickr.

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The Crimson Permanent Assurance

But, you say, this little scene by Gabriel Thomson (whose more recent LEGO version of the Göbekli Tepe archaeological site we blogged a week ago) is a Star Trek scene! What’s with the Monty Python reference, Andrew?

Show me the money 10

Wait, what’s that on the viewscreen? And who’s that in the fez?

Show me the money 6

Egads! It’s the Crimson Permanent Assurance!

Show me the money 7

I suspect the crew of the Enterprise will be completely fine in the face of marauding financiers. They do, after all, have a certain Time Lord on board…

Via The Living Brick, my favorite minifig-centric blog.

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Turkey’s Göbekli Tepe in LEGO

It’s not often that a diorama completely defies my expectations. When I saw this brown, tan, and gray scene by Gabriel Thomson (qi_tah), I dutifully clicked through expecting something post-apocalyptic. Instead, I found something far, far more interesting — the monumental architecture of Göbekli Tepe, a Neolithic archaeological site in Turkey from 11,000 years ago that predates agriculture.

Gobekli Tepe 3

Gabriel has faithfully recreated details like the stone walls between the standing stones and even the “bench” that encircles the structure. I also love that it’s a mid-process excavation he’s chosen to illustrate in LEGO, complete with a grad student (my assumption) documenting each strata with a camera as it emerges from the dusty earth.

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New Holland Honeyeater

Gabriel Thomson just posted this beautiful creation, depicting the New Holland Honey Eater, a bird common in Southern Australia. I haven’t seen a build of a real animal look this good in a long time. I can only imagine the time and effort that went into getting the shape just right, let alone making it stand up without any external support.

New Holland honeyeater 1

Many thanks to Tim Inman for the heads up.

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