Tag Archives: Lego_nuts

I’m only happy when it rains

Photo-realism is very hard to achieve when you also include LEGO minifigures as the protagonists. Sure, LEGO enthusiasts are comfortable with the not-quite-human proportions, but there’s still that feeling that you’re looking at, well, toys. Not so with the work of Lego_nuts. This builder is also a photographer who knows how to transform a well built set into a stunning composition that feels like a frame from any on-screen Marvel movie. In Raining Battle, Iron Man and War Machine face off against a horde of alien nasties, amid the backdrop of a drenched New York alleyway. Rain and water are everywhere, diffusing the light and giving an air of menace to the scene as a whole.
Raining battle
The alley’s LEGO details include trash cans and waste bins, a newspaper box, and plenty of railings and fire escape ladders. But the vertical span of the buildings is what gives this image such a sense of depth. It feels like our heroes are at the bottom of a very deep hole. I’m sure they’ll win, though.

We recently featured another beautiful LEGO photo from this artist, featuring the entirely different fantasy world of Harry Potter.

Ollivander’s shop looks wand-erful in LEGO

My preferred style of LEGO build is the kind geared towards a fully immersive photograph. The lack of edges, the painstaking arrangement of light, and precise positioning of the minifigures contribute to a realism that is gratifying with tiny bits of plastic. It is about the photograph. The work of up-and-coming builder Lego_nuts is in a similar vein, with splendid use of light. The subject matter will be apparent to anyone who has seen the first Harry Potter movie, as Harry tries just about every wand in Mr. Ollivander’s shop before finding the right one, making a huge mess in the process (though why anyone cares about messes in the wizarding world is beyond me, as it cleans itself up with a flick of a wand). But what excites me about the build is the light streaming in the window in the back, giving it a feeling of harsh daylight outside on Diagon Alley.

Oops, sorry Mr. Ollivander...

The stacked wand boxes are also beautifully arranged, utilizing a number of different elements to create the effect, from ingots and grille tiles to masonry bricks and grille bricks. I love how many of them are at an angle, just stuffed in there wherever they can fit. The desk has some wands for display, of course, highlighting the different colors that one could have (perhaps the different woods?), along with a ledger and quill. Some 1x4x1 fence pieces make for great wrought-iron risers on the stairs, too. What sells the build, though, is the tiled ceiling and the light fixture hanging down, finishing the space. It’s the details like those that are the difference between a lackluster immersive build and a lustrous one.