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.

Honey, I Shrunk the Grayskull

When I was 4 years-old, my Castle Grayskull playset felt gigantic in my hands, but when I found it packed away in the garage in my teens, I was surprised by how small it felt. Grantmasters has triggered that memory with a miniscule Grayskull so small that the in-scale Battle Cat and Panthor are mostly just a collection of minifigure hands. But the hands aren’t the only creatively used minifigure parts. A ring of minifigure legs make up the top of the tallest tower, and the castle’s namesake skull is making use of some arms. It’s some NPU that totally has the power.

Sorcery and Diminution!

A build from the past gives us a glimpse of the future.

The world of The Wheel of Time book series is both the ancient past and the far-off future. So, it’s fitting that this build by Vladimir van Hoek from ten years ago (long predating the recent Amazon Prime TV series) is just now getting shared with us in the present. The microscale scene of the Field of Merrilor depicts a high-tech castle and neighboring village, in a world where vehicles are powered by primitive sails and advanced jet propulsion. I love the way foliage peeks out from beneath the vignette framework, and the way the reddish brown grill bricks have been laid on their sides to create the rows in the farmland. This idyllic scene is definitely a place I’d like to visit someday…or perhaps I’ve already been?

Futuron Palace

Microscale LEGO probe droid is a mini-masterpiece

When it comes to Star Wars droids, few are as instantly recognizable as the Imperial Viper probe droid. The multi-eyed, multi-armed profile still gives me chills thinking back to the first time we saw it unfolding above the white landscape of Hoth like a mechanical nightmare. Calin has captured the likeness in LEGO masterfully at such a small scale… using a variety of rounded black parts for the eyes, from a train wheel with a red bar in the center, to a tire, and even a helmet or two. The use of angled droid arms is the perfect choice for those spindly claw-tipped limbs. And a pair of fencing foils make for great antennae.

Imperial Viper Probe Droid

A LEGO city built on a foundation of Aquanauts

While it may not look like it at first, this microscale LEGO city by Casey McCoy owes its roots to the Aquazone theme, in a very literal way. Using a baseplate from 6195 Neptune Discovery Lab as the starting point, Casey assembled quite the futuristic metropolis. I love the multi-layered approach, with different levels of buildings built into the cliffside contrasting the towering skyscrapers above. The one stud-wide monorail track helps break up the levels, and appears to run through the baseplate at one point. And that pop of color from the trans-neon orange “river” running through the canyon just sets the whole build off!

Home on a Hill - Neptune 2587 - #1

This dinky destroyer takes to the skies in a big way

When I first set eyes on this dieselpunk-esque destroyer from Sunder_59, I assumed it was a 100-stud long LEGO brick-built behemoth. (‘Tis the season, after all.) In the end that’s wrong on two counts: this clocks in a fair bit short of 100 studs, and it’s built using virtual LEGO bricks, not real ones. But it’s no less a terrific design for it! The fact I thought it was bigger than it actually was tells me that Sunder has done a great job conveying the heft of a giant spaceship in microscale. That’s a result of both careful parts use, and a really clean design. I like the unconventional colour scheme as well. Always a bonus of working in the digital realm, without its pesky limitation of having to use bricks that actually exist!

Drammen class destroyer

In truth, I think the reason I fell for it is because I’m a sucker for dieselpunk. This won’t be the last time we feature some, and it’s certainly not the first. Have a look at the LEGO dieselpunk builds we’ve featured before.

Warships used to look so much flashier

You know what the problem with military vehicles is these days? It’s all so grey. Or stealth black, sometimes. Or a drab green. Or some – anyway! Point is, they’re not very interesting colours. Back in the day, warships on the high seas sometimes had a fair bit of bling on them. Joe (jnj_bricks) harkens back to these flashier days by throwing some golden LEGO handcuffs at this Man-of-War. Coupled with that dark blue, it looks rather smart. Sure, it’s not very practical – you could see this coming a mile off. But isn’t that for the better, so that we can appreciate this masterful little build?

French Man of War

Kraków, Poland in microscale LEGO

When tackling a subject as large as a city in LEGO, it’s best to bring things down to microscale. While you’re not able to capture every inhabitant, many of the metropolitan details can be preserved with clever part choices. That’s exactly what builder Toltomeja has done with the city of Kraków. Let’s take a tour of their tiny city, and explore all the sights within.

Kraków - Main Square

Take a tour tour of a big Polish city below!

A meandering LEGO microscale metropolis

I’m a sucker for pretty much any sci-fi movie. Add in architectural design and I’m in LEGO nerd heaven. Movies like Bladerunner, Elysium, and the Fifth Element combine story and unique perspectives on cities of the future. I recently watched a Korean sci-fi movie called Jun_E, which was set in a post-apocalyptic city built above the flooded remains of a major metropolis and I was inspired to build my own microscale city based on the concept. You can find more of my LEGO creation pictures on Instagram at koffy_kat

I purposely built the waterline above the frame to enhance the feeling of the water barely contained. Starting with all of the ruined buildings, I then built the pillars. I built each block one at a time, but often went back to add more just like the architects of this city would do with no more solid ground to build on.

Read on to see more details about each of the three sections

Chicago’s Navy Pier, in a LEGO Architecture style

While I may be a LEGO-building Washingtonian now, there was a time when I lived in northern Indiana, South Bend for those playing the home game. And during my four years there, I made plenty of trips to Chicago and its suburbs. One memorable adventure was attending Brickworld in 2013 (my first LEGO convention). But another was the first big post-graduation meet-up with friends from college to see the sights downtown, including the infamous Navy Pier. So, yes, at one time I was one of those 1×1 round tiles in Jonah Schultz’s microscale build, probably one of the lime green ones. The design here is spot-on, with a better translation to microscale than I thought possible. The half-plate stripe just under the warehouse’s roof is spectacular, as is the use of claws and horns to give the appearance of waves on Lake Michigan. But the bit that’s got my jaw on the floor right now is that Ferris wheel made of Minecraft Tridents connected to a pair of 3×3 Technic disks. It’s a technique worthy of the Iron Builder competition for sure!

Old Navy Pier

A little LEGO “big thaw” from the Ice Age movies

Please enjoy this LEGO-ized miniature Manny and super-small Sid from the Ice Age franchise, brought to you by Oliver Becker. His microscale scene depicts our two protagonists as they venture out at the end of the titular era. We even see Scrat in the foreground trying to hide his 1×1 round plate in the ice. The miniature scenery is quite nice, but the character builds are the real stars of the show. The tread links for Scrat’s arms and legs are brilliant, showing such ingenuity at this tiny scale. And the brickwork to emulate Sid’s triangular face is astounding! But of course, Manny has to put the “woolly” in woolly mammoth with the use of a minifig hair piece as his head. Much like with the movies, here’s hoping we get a sequel!

Ice Age - It's Melting

A little Scala for your microscale

Every style of LEGO building has its challenges, but I think microscale stands out as one of the most difficult things to build, yet epic when done well. This piece, built by Ids de Jong, uses a pop of orange to pull you in, and some clever parts usage to keep you looking. There are things to admire such as the minifigure epaulet element for the ship, half a rock piece for an island, decorative swirls for water, and even a dome made from a pumpkin and topped with a trophy figure. But what really drew me to this build were the Scala perfume bottles. (Actually found in orange in the LEGO Orient Bazaar game.) They make excellent building toppers!

The City of Water - Al Aqua

While you’re here, check out some of our other featured LEGO microscale model.

Even by Ewok standards, this village is really small

This year celebrates a very important Star Wars anniversary. One that brought the Ewoks and their home on the forest moon of Endor to everyone’s living rooms. Huh? Return of the Jedi? What’s that? No, I’m obviously talking about 10236 Ewok Village‘s tenth birthday! LEGO builder ABrickDreamer knows what I’m talking about. To celebrate, he’s recreated this legendary set in a more diminutive form. The original is pretty expensive on the aftermarket, so this is definitely a more wallet-friendly alternative. It’s a faithful recreation, even including the catapult and a very cute little speeder bike alongside the iconic treetop village. Happy birthday, 10236! If you want to keep celebrating Star Wars anniversaries, why not peruse our Return of the Jedi archives?

Microscale LEGO Ewok Village