Tag Archives: Microscale

Some say “Go big or go home!” but it takes real talent to compress something down to just a few studs and still keep it recognizable. Of course, many of the micro models we feature here aren’t so small after all, whether it’s a vast cityscape or starship.

Taking a cautious dive into a miniature ocean

Time to explore the watery depths! Paolo Loro takes us for a swim with this superb microscale build. Fitting in nicely with the aquatic theme is a minifigure air tank which forms part of the yellow submarine. The clear angled handles not only do a great job at holding the submarine in place but they also portray a stream of bubbles, trailing behind the vehicle as it descends. However, the submarine needs to be wary of deep sea mines represented by chain flail pieces. These explosives are nestled in with a thick abundance of sea vegetation featuring an assortment of spiked vine pieces and 1×1 flower pieces.

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In Spudkirk, it’s all about the little things

The fictional town of Spudkirk is home to this LEGO scene by builder Evancelt Lego, featuring a row of tiny townhouses and itsy-bitsy infantrymen. And the details here, even at this scale, are larger than life. The cobbling on the wall is excellent, demonstrating how war-weary the town must be. The use of color in the road, specifically the blotches of lime green and burnt orange, further the worn look of the town. And it does this without drawing too much attention away from the rest of the model. This allows other, more nuanced details to shine through, like that teensy tree on the left. The yellow-orange flowers as foliage on top of a trunk mostly composed of a brown stud shooter fits perfectly at this scale.

These microwaves won’t reheat your leftovers

We’ve covered tiny boats by A Brick Dreamer before. But boats don’t get much smaller than this six-piece schooner. What’s most impressive, though, is that this minuscule mariner gets rocked by waves that actually work, thanks to some tricky Technic techniques. Good thing that lighthouse is there to warn it away from the microscale cliffs.

Have a look at how the full model functions in the video below.

This little yellow chopper sports some big charm

LEGO motorcycles come in all shapes and sizes, just like their real-life counterparts. Just one look at this chopper by RGB900 (whose handle sounds like a motorcycle model) and it is plain to see that they can pick the perfect parts to create the necessary details in a tiny size. From the long front forks to the 1×1 round tile used for the cap of the gas tank to the 2 clips that keep the bike perfectly balanced. And that brown tile for a seat looks more comfortable than it is.

Tiny tall tales

Working with a limited number of LEGO pieces can be a real challenge, but builder Dan Ko rises to meet it with this tiny but awesome build! Building with as few pieces as possible really pushes you to get creative on how to represent your subject, and Dan shows us the way with all the clever parts usage. For example, minifigure skater helmets make up Alice’s shoulders while mugs make up her hair. Orange leaves stand in for the Mad Hatter’s hair sticking out from under his hat. I love the use of shuttle bay doors for the book’s pages! Minifigure hands make up Rapunzel’s flowing hair, which acts as a bookmark of sorts for the open book. And there’s particularly crafty usage of the transparent handle as the heel of the glass slipper. Go ahead, take a closer look and see what wonders you’ll find among these tales!

The City of Brotherly...LEGO?

Once again displaying his mastery of the microscale LEGO arts, Rocco Buttliere heads to the City of Brotherly Love. The perfectly captured Philadelphia City Hall, still the world’s tallest occupied structure without steel supports at 548 feet tall, is a desktop-sized 10 inches tall here at 1:650 scale.

Come examine the fine details with us!

Rancor vs Skorpenek – Microscale battle between two miniature monsters

If you were as thrilled as I was to see the mighty rancor roar in the basement of Jabba’s palace in theaters when Star Wars: The Return of the Jedi premiered in 1983, despite the stop-motion effects that showed us something of its actual size, then you would probably enjoy the season 1 finale of the Disney+ show The Book of Boba Fett. Tim Goddard has recreated the scene in miniature, pitting a pair of newly canonized Skorpenek devastator droids against Boba Fett riding on the back of a raging rancor.

SPOILER ALERT The rancor not only wins, but more than a few parts get ripped off and shoved in places they were not meant to go.

Artillery for the not-so-Grand Army of the Republic

The problem with having a Grand Army of the Republic is that you need somewhere equally grand to store it. Even a TX-130 Sabre Tank would probably not fit in your average Joe or Josephine’s garage. Tim Goddard has the solution: make them tiny! Tim is a pro when it comes to small-scale Star Wars building, and those skills are evident here. Efficient parts choice is everything when it comes to microscale to ensure the builds remain recognisable. The minifigure socket wrenches are inspired choices for the side cannons, and the subtle angle of the pontoons is also accurate to the source material. The angular cockpit is represented by a single sloped brick with a jumper plate. These might be simple parts, but they are the perfect solution in this scenario!

“Looks like my hideout’s not so hidden anymore...”

Check out this excellent LEGO microscale cove built by Flickr user Pixeljunkie. The heavy use of slopes laid upon their sides provides an organic, rocky backdrop for a tiny beach scene. But it’s not just any beach! This is the hideout of Porco Rosso, the Italian flying ace slash anthropomorphic pig from the Studio Ghibli film of the same name. You can see his iconic red plane, a Savoia S.21, sitting in the water. On the coast are his tent, chair, and radio, where Porco would relax between bouts with the sky pirates of the Adriatic. The shaping of the plane in such few bricks is inspired, and immediately recognizable to someone familiar with the movie. Also of note, the 1×1 plate with tooth used as a dock is some great parts usage at this scale.

The tiny mighty Dreadnaught

A builder who goes by the name of Mix the Brix proves you don’t need a shipyard full of LEGO pieces to build an awesome battleship. This tiny model is good enough to show off the superstructure and an impressive array of cannons. I mean, check out those billowing smokestacks! Mix (can I call you Mix?) says this is their first military build and it also seems to be their first time being featured on The Brothers Brick. With wee builds this amazing, we might have to keep an eye out for whatever they may do next.

Tiny steam engine bursting with charm

Using a certain seed part as a focal point for a build can be challenging but in a good way. Constraints can fuel creativity… like in this clever little train by Thomas Gion that uses a particular Technic connector for the center of the steam engine. And while this is a great part usage, my eye was drawn to the genius use of sideways tiles inserted into the base to form the rails and slats for the train tracks. The simple stone arch and landscape round out this small but mighty model.

A tiny tyrannosaur terrorizes these tourists in a fan’s recreation of Jurassic World 76956 T-Rex Breakout

Just yesterday, LEGO released news of some new sets based on the Jurassic Park/World franchise. Inspired by the largest of the new sets, 76956 T-Rex Breakout, Nick Sweetman gave himself just 30 minutes to recreate it as best he could with the parts he had on hand, complete with a tiny T. rex. The result is a fabulous microscale recreation of a scene that should be recognizable to any fan of the original Jurassic Park film. Do you remember that scene where Hammond and Dr. Sattler are eating ice cream, and he talks about that flea circus he opened? That probably resulted in a similar scene about this size. Seriously, I bet everything that guy touches ends up in chaos…