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.

Microscale Miyazaki (Or how to be inspired by Studio Ghibli without letting generative AI do all the work)

Lately, every social feed has been clogged with AI slop pillaging the surface-level aesthetics of Studio Ghibli films. Here’s a palate cleanser from Joe Lam – a microscale LEGO Catbus and Totoro. Celebrating Totoro, it’s instantly recognizable from just 9 or 10 elements, and the Catbus is packed with personality. The eyes are especially inspired, using Batman logos for the wild pupils.

Joe designed the Catbus back in 2023, but what better time to celebrate the joy that comes from human creativity? And maybe have a look at other Totoro builds that have inspired us over the years.

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It’s turtles all the way down – until you reach the elephants

“Through the fathomless deeps of space swims this LEGO star turtle Great A’Tuin, bearing on its back the four single-mould elephants who carry on their shoulders the mass of a microscale Discworld. A tiny sun and moon spin around them, on a complicated orbit to induce seasons, so probably nowhere else in the multiverse is it sometimes necessary for an elephant to cock a leg to allow the sun to go past. Exactly why this should be may never be known. Possibly the Creator – that being Jan Woźnica – of this build got bored with all the usual business of nice parts use, AFOLs and studs-not-on-top building, and decided to have a bit of fun for once.”

Of course, the above is paraphrased from the late, great Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novel Wyrd Sisters. If you like Discworld as much as I do, be sure to take a look at more related builds in our archives!

This microscale LEGO Notre Dame is much easier to display than the oifficial set

Whenever a new large LEGO Architecture set comes out, it is only a matter of time until someone builds a microscale version. This miniature version of the Notre Dame cathedral by -Brixe is truly a masterpiece worthy of display, capturing iconic details while at the same time conveying the scale and majesty of this famous landmark. The builder uses many newer bar elements and versatile “espresso handles” (a round plate with a bar sticking out the side) to represent the repetitive structures along the side and curving front of the cathedral.

Istanbul’s Blue Mosque looks magnificent in LEGO microscale

Completed in 1617, the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, commonly known as the Blue Mosque, is one of Istanbul’s most iconic structures and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Scott Wilhelm gives this masterpiece of Ottoman architecture the LEGO microscale treatment in a sprawling build that includes Sultan Ahmet’s mausoleum, gardens, and a madrasa. For the mosque’s six minarets, Scott uses white Technic axle extenders broken up by bevel gears and bushes topped with a drill bit. The many small domes are represented with knit caps. If you’re wondering why the mosque rooftops are grey when it’s called the Blue Mosque, the nickname comes from the decorative tiles inside.

Continue for additional photos of Scott’s magnificent miniature mosque

The world’s smallest LEGO castle? [Building Techniques]

I’ve seen some small castles in my time, heck, I’ve even built some, but this island castle by Nikita Filatov has got to be one of the smallest. The minifigure binoculars are great as tiny towers, but my favorite part is the rounded white tile balanced on the back of an ingot. But the great techniques don’t stop there. The water base is made with studs-not-on-top connections which adds a bit of visual weight to this microscale build.

A classic typewriter, perfect for your next microscale manuscript

If you are anything like me, you have an entire drawer full of dark gray LEGO ball plates, which were first introduced in the Mixels theme. well, it looks like NikiFilik does too, and they found the perfect use for them as tiny typewriter keys. But the inspiring parts usage doesn’t stop there. Minifigure helmets are used as ribbon spools, and the little vents capture the look perfectly.

Double-decker Ponte de Dom Luís I bridge is a massive microscale achievement

With two decks built above and below its iron arch, Portugal’s Dom Luís I Bridge is a beautiful testament to late 19th-century engineering. Inspired by this double-deck marvel, civil engineering student and LEGO architecture fan Sébastien Houyoux took to Studio to painstakingly recreate the bridge and the the buildings of Porto and Gaia built in its shadow.

The model stretches 1.3 meters and is made up of 13,000 elements. The builder designed a 1/650 scale version of the bridge two years ago, but for this updated take, Sébastien doubles the detail with a scale of 1/325.

Y’ell take the high road and I’ll take the low road and we’ll get a better look at this amazing double decker bridge!

Star Fox 64 in microscale (Rumble Pak not included)

“Corneria, fourth planet of the Lylat system.” For gamers who grew up with the N64, those words are enough to set your imagination spinning with polygonal starfighters doing barrel rolls. Builder Matteson Pino is far from the only person to name Star Fox 64 their favorite game, but he’s surely the first to pay tribute with a LEGO microscale diorama atop a brick-built N64 cartridge. It’s a briliant concept, depicting the game world spilling out of the physical media that stored it. The Great Fox carrier ship looks great, as do the chibi arwings, but it’s the pixelated terrain of Corneria that most draws me in. Now can Nintendo please bring Fox and co back to consoles? Switch 2 launch title, please.

This futuristic microscale LEGO city runs rings around modern cities

Building a circular model using LEGO is a challenge in itself, but Plastic Pauper took on that challenge and built a microscale city with not just one ring, but three, creating nested neighborhoods that all have a specific purpose and vibe. The outer ring looks industrial, with smokestacks, factories, and other gray structures. The middle ring is composed of many smaller buildings and greenery, while the central section sports tall, sterile, and modern structures fit for the city’s wealthy elite. And what futuristic city would be complete without flying cars?

Celebrate Fabuland with your own Maid of Fabuland microscale steamboat [Instructions]

Are you a Fabuland fan but won’t be able to make the trip to Billund for the official LEGO tribute set? Or perhaps you love steamboats but are scared by the price tag on the upcoming Ideas set? Or maybe you just love cute things and walruses! In any case, Fabuland’s biggest “Fabufan,” and all around nice human Stewart Lamb Cromer has you covered with free instructions for a microscale version of the Maid of Fabuland paddle steamer that he built for display at LEGO House.

Here’s Stewart posing with the full-size version at LEGO House. Stewart talks about the build journey and his challenges with losing sight in one eye in a moving account on his blog.

Building trees with minifig antlers, Pt. 1: Microscale [Feature]

Ever since LEGO released Reindeer Fan with a new head accessory, I’ve been wondering when we’d see element 6440443 antlers used as foliage in a LEGO set considering how closely it resembles oak leaves. The Fountain Garden set released in January contains a single use of the leaf, but in white. Inspired by this lush tree from Ryan McBride, and not seeing many uses of the part in MOCs, I decided to do some experiments myself. But first I needed to source more leaves. Fortunatey I had just the Forestmen for the job…

Read on to learn how to make microscale trees with antlers

A LEGO monochrome microscale city

When I set out to build a white LEGO castle on a tall rocky cliff, I intended to make it medieval in style, inspired by illustrations of the Eyrie from George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire. But as the build progressed, and the structures took shape in brick, in my imagination, it began to take on a futuristic vibe. So, I decided to double down on that, removing many of the rounded elements I had started with. Adding stacks of smooth, square and rectangular levels, and increasing the number of individual structures left me with a sci-fi city.

Overall, I am quite happy with the finished product, with the many white structures contrasting the dark sand landscape, with the blend of old and modern architecture.