Maybe it’s the choice of dark orange and nougat that made me think of Mars when I saw this microscale build by Jake Hansen, and maybe the tall chunky shape reminded me of termites, but whatever the inspiration behind this model, the part usage is off the charts. One of my favorites is the older wheel axle holder attached to the upside-down steering wheel. The chrome cylinders, as well as the many stacked gears, create interesting textures when combined with multiple sizes of wheel rims.
Koen Zwanenburg has built this incredible recreation of the iconic Russian cathedral. The dark orange with hints of teal are the most prominent colours in the structure, however, it is the spires that really draw in the eye. Each has its own unique colour scheme and design from jagged blocky shapes to smooth flowing textures. Koen has found inventive ways to represent the swirling patterns of the spires as green minifigure arms are even used in one of the peaks.
Round the back of the display, horned tendrils portray more of the complex designs of the spires. After looking at the building for some time, the structure shares some similarities with gingerbread houses, mainly thanks to the white trim and vibrant colours used in this creation.
In the Studio Ghibli animated classic Spirited Away, a sense of wonder and magic infuses just about everything. Marcin Otręba takes us on a trip to a LEGO recreation of the iconic bathhouse, and it’s every bit as wonderous. From the graceful curve of the bridge to the spot-on color choices and complex tiling in the walls, this microscale reproduction is very true to the original. But, like in the film, there’s more here than you might first see. Keep reading to discover some of the secrets!
It has been a while since the last Halo game, but The wait is over, with the release of Halo: Infinite, Master chief is back, and ready for action. TBB alumni Rod Gillies crafted a little slice of the massive and partially damaged ring which is the setting for the game in spectacular detail, with pine trees, rocky ground, one of the many alien artifiacts, and even the hexagonal structures that make up the ring below and around the surface. The scene by itself would be great, but miniature versions of four vehicles from both the Banished and the Space Marines are gravy on a very tasty dish.
When Frodo and Sam approached Mordor, they felt a great dread about land of the dark lord Sauron. LEGO builder Hubba Blöoba has captured those ominous vibes with this fantastic microscale model of the Black Gate, where the hobbits snuck into Sauron’s wasteland. Beneath the gathering stormclouds, the eery glow from Mount Doom is excellently portrayed with a gradient of plates. The shallow depth of field used in photographing this mini model puts the tower of Barad-dûr out of focus, making the scene feel even more realistic.
This fantastic digital display by BenBuildsLego depicts some classic locations from the Star Wars movies and is built in the style of the skyline architecture sets. Starting from the left, podracers are zipping past the stands, which have seats represented by tiled slope pieces (AKA Cheese Graters). This is followed by the Lars’ family homestead, with a Sandcrawler looming in the background and even an adorable version of Luke’s speeder. Jabba’s domed palace stands on a rocky cliff face, with a barrel piece portraying the building’s round base. Finally, Jabba’s sail barge hovers over the tentacles of the Sarlacc pit, ready to drop prisoners into the horror below.
Tim Goddard has built this microscale model of an AT-TE vehicle from Star Wars. This walker sports the colours and logo of the 501st battalion, famed for being under the commander of Anakin Skywalker in the films. Turret cannons at the front and back use wands, from the Harry Potter theme, to represent thin gun barrels. Running alongside the walker is an AT-RT, which has the surprising detail of a screwdriver portraying its blaster cannon. The model also has some great shaping with strong sharp angles, created by the application of triangular tiles.
The UCS AT-AT set is impressive: full of detail, has an accurate interior, and is a marvel of LEGO engineering when it comes to stability and articulation. But at £750, it is way out of my budget, not to mention that it wouldn’t fit anywhere in my apartment (U.K. rooms be small.) Luckily, Will (BrickGuild) Built a smaller version of the AT-AT.
This microscale Imperial Walker is instantly recognisable, and sports one of the cleanest exteriors I’ve seen on such scale. The surfaces are clean and smooth, with studs remaining only on the wedge plates. I particularly like the use of “sandwich tiles” to give the hull some paneling. Using minifig hands as the “toes” of the walker is genius. And it can be posed reasonably, tho Will had to sacrifice knee articulation. Understandably so, that would have been impossible for a model this small without making the legs too clunky.
This time of year always brings out a plethora of adorable builds. From massive to microscale, there’s always something to enjoy. This delightful, tiny display by Builder Hawaii Toad is modeled to look like a music box with a small golden crank on the side. The holiday theme runs throughout, from the color-blocked bricks in the base to the snow-capped peaks looking over the sleepy village. As a train emerges from a tunnel, clearing snow from the tracks as it goes, a tiny version of Santa’s sleigh flies overhead. While the scene is quite picturesque, my favorite part is the use of frogs…er..toads? Whichever is appropriate in the builder’s mind, those adorable little pieces have had quite the year in pop culture. It’s nice to see them included in the holiday.
What do you get for the LEGO fan who has everything? How about a custom creation. Even a small build can bring large amounts of holiday cheer, as Dan Ko demonstrates here. As part of a Secret Santa gift exchange, Dan called upon his excellent microscale skills to create this LEGO ornament featuring Santa Claus soaring through the air in a sleigh pulled by a single reindeer. Good microscale is about creative part use, and there’s lots of that at work here. The formal minifigure collar as Santa’s beard is a particularly nice touch.
When it comes to me and LEGO, no one could doubt that I love spaceships, especially micro-scale ones like this. Full of miniaturized details, this carrier is a creation of Flickr builder Sunder_59. Various building techniques allow for an engaging structure throughout the ship. Lattice pillars in grey make up the central core of the cargo area in the middle of this Iris-class Ersatz escort carrier. Delightful micro-scale fighters sit attached, waiting to be deployed to defend from pirate attacks in the Outer Worlds. These Iris class ships were created for this purpose but weren’t built for full-on combat scenarios. In fact, this style of ship was originally a simple cargo ship until the pirate issues increased. After some power-ups, this class of ship was issued out to deter or intercept attacks. Just check out those fighters. Their different styles and clever but simple designs really suit the scale.
This amazing LEGO model perfectly captures the mismatched style of the mechanical castle from the anime film Howl’s Moving Castle. In the film, the castle walks on spindly legs, spluttering and puffing out smoke as it goes along, as indicated by the clouds of smoke rising from the various chimneys. You can tell that the model’s creator, Marcin Otręba, has carefully studied the original design as all the strange contraptions protruding out of the castle have been faithfully recreated in this small scale. In order to portray the circular brickwork under the domed turrets, rounded 1×2 plates have been angled to form ringlike patterns.
See more of this incredible model, including the interior