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.

A dark shadow over the kingdom

An ominous black dragon hovers low over Kale Frost’s stunning microscale castle. Although small, this model is filled with movement and atmosphere. The perfectly placed transparent slopes convincingly replicate waves crashing against its rugged coastline, and it’s matched by cleverly selected tile and foliage bricks, which complete the landscaping. The castle itself is a cunning amalgamation of unexpected pieces. It even manages to use what may potentially be the least useful LEGO elements ever, the trigger from a stud gun, which is doing duty as a detail in one of the towers – bravo!

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It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

That famous opening line from Charles Dicken’s A Tale of Two Cities is as good an introduction as any to Paddy Bricksplitter’s microscale diorama of the same name. The juxtaposition of the glistening white utopian towers and the smoke belching grime of the dystopian factory below creates some wonderful drama. There are nods, as he acknowledges, to the cyberpunk anime Battle of Alita as well as science fiction classics such as Things to Come and Metropolis. In the end, its Paddy’s own style that steals the show, relying on clever repeats of simple LEGO elements and atmospheric lighting to show the contradicting sides of his future city.

A castle fit for the greek gods and goddesses

This shiny microbuild by Isaac Snyder is anything but small when it comes to character. There’s a picturesque punch packed into a small space, along with a mythical quality. The way the buildings are perfectly nestled in the rocks makes it seem like these LEGO bricks were always destined to be part of the build. With the ice cream clouds, it seems fit for a snow globe souvenir from Mt. Olympus.

If you think this is cool, check out another picturesque LEGO castle of Isaac’s. Or perhaps you’ll enjoy Elrond’s House from the Lord of the Rings series.

In space, no one can hear you drill.

If intergalactic asteroid mining sounds like an interesting prospect, Scott Wilhelm’s LEGO microscale New Bedlam Mining Hub delivers the goods. According to the builder, the mining colony of New Bedlam earned its name for the lawlessness and chaotic growth that comes with rapid development. Scott’s city fits the part, with foreboding dark towers covering the asteroid’s surface. Thanks to an extensive use of black and trans-neon colored elements, the colony also has all the grittiness of a red-light district in the stars.

Set sail on a tiny sea of nostalgia

The original wave of LEGO Pirates sets from 1989 have a special place in my heart. They are some of the earliest LEGO sets I remember, so this microscale scene by Corvus Auriac fills me with a warm glow. These miniature renditions of the classic sets Eldorado Fortress, Caribbean Clipper, and Black Seas Barracuda are notable not only for the way they evoke memories of my childhood, but also for some great building techniques.

My absolute favorite detail is the use of red flippers as the cannon bases. I learned of the existence of this modified 1×2 plate with three claws / rock fingers piece when inspecting the details of the miniature “ramp and pit” baseplate. The 1×2 curved wedge slopes also work great on the sails of the ships.

Want more retro goodness from Corvus Auriac? Don’t miss the re-imagined Guarded Inn we recently featured.

The moment the sea becomes the sky

There is something primal about the feeling one gets when they look out at the ocean. It’s the great expanse of the unknown that inspires profound curiosity. While the sea fascinates us, it also humbles and reminds us just how small we are. This beautiful and terrifying build by Ralph Langer is a snapshot of that reminder.

Built with lots of hinged parts, this tsunami swell perfectly captures the moment before disaster strikes. Just imagine how ominous it would look photographed against a dark backdrop! We cringe at the thought of being the people in that ship at the wave’s crest. But let’s not forget how awesome the little microscale lighthouse and village are! It’s a perfectly crafted landscape and a clever use of parts!

In the midst, there stands aloft a great hall of Men

Here’s an impressive LEGO rendition of an epic film location — Edoras, the capital city of the Riders of Rohan in J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy classic The Lord of the Rings. Patrick B. has faithfully recreated the film’s vision of the town — a hill, studded with wooden buildings, surrounded by a palisade, and capped by King Théoden’s hall. The wooden fencing around the town is excellent, particularly the towers — brilliant detailing for such small-scale building. And don’t miss the dark brown robot arms clutching Harry Potter wand parts — they make for surprisingly effective windblown trees.

Here’s a more detailed look at the great hall on top of the hill — Meduseld, seat of the Kings of Rohan. The close-up view allows you to fully appreciate the rockwork and the clever choice of different textured bricks which goes into the microscale detailing of the buildings…

No kidding, this fort is way too small for the both of us!

Do you remember that giant awesome LEGO set you always wanted as a kid but somehow never got for Christmas or your birthday? Well, it might not be that easy to get a sealed copy of that set now, but at least you can build an itsy-bitsy version of it! Letranger Absurde brings back the legendary LEGO Western 6769 Fort Legoredo from 1996. As a child I was fascinated by its wooden walls and I was sure it must take a thousand LEGO bricks to build such a massive fort. Now, this copy looks just as exciting with walls and towers made of some of the smallest LEGO pieces. And just when you notice an adorable micro cannon right outside the fort’s gates, you simply can’t help smiling at this tiny beauty.

How small can you go?

Sometimes, the leviathan is small. In this magnificent tiny vignette by Grantmasters, a lone ship rides a ferocious ocean. It’s a safe bet that it’s the Pequod, since it’s hunting a white whale. As usual, Grant’s build is rife with excellent parts usages, from the little known Belville figure feet making most of the whale’s body, to the beard for a tail, or the axe blades for water.

Incredible LEGO microscale city is 8 years in the making and not done yet

For Christophe Pujaletplaa, a LEGO city is a living thing that grows and evolves like a real city. Having begun in 2010 when he rediscovered his childhood love for the plastic bricks, Christophe continues to expand and update his tiny LEGO metropolis, which he’s dubbed Microville. Only, it’s not so small anymore, rounding out at nearly 50 large LEGO baseplates, or more than 7 meters squared.

Even when Christophe started in 2010, he had lofty goals, already planning for a much larger microscale LEGO city than most of us have ever attempted. When he began, he used whatever bricks he had in his collection, and augmented them with cups of red bricks from his local LEGO store.

Click to continue reading about Microville

A small reflection of life as it is

We often build with LEGO bricks to imitate, in other words reflect, life. While Ralf Langer‘s latest creation is a completely realistic microscale depiction of medieval life, the word reflection has more meanings to it.

First we see a micro mountain village with some cool techniques like the church roof, printed tiles as windows and modified plates as pine trees, but then something interesting in the water catches the eye. Ralf states in the picture description on Flickr that this is an experiment in water reflections, and I can see where he is going with it. A little extra bit is exposed in the description; if you go to the beginning of Ralf’s Flickr photostream, you can see that the building being reflected in the water is a microscale version of his first custom LEGO creation, earlier this year.

Charming LEGO gingerbread house from Pixar’s Up

As the holidays draw closer, and the decorations, twinkly lights, and baked goodies fill our homes with joy, LEGO creators around the world are busy building snow-covered or otherwise holiday-themed models. Frequently featured builder Jonas Kramm has created a mashup of his microscale house from Up in the form of a gingerbread house. Even though it is based on the colorful balloon-borne building, it would fit right in with a collection of other gingerbread houses, with its frosting-covered roof, colorful candies, and candy cane striped pillars.