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 city is not gauged by its length and width, but by the height of its dreams

There’s no shortage of microscale LEGO cityscapes, but the variety within our favourite plastic bricks ensures no two cities are entirely alike. Marco De Bon impresses with this microscale creation, what looks like a transition zone between suburban residences and the soaring towers of downtown. Check out the angles on the grey and blue tower on the right, and the use of a studshooter part as a footbridge between two of the red buildings. The simple stacking of clear 1×2 plates to create the trio of towers at the rear is surprisingly effective, and the restrained use of sand green studs and lime green ice cream scoops makes for some nice vegetation.

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Tiny castle wins the prize

This tiny castle by -soccerkid6 was built as a prize for a castle building contest but stands on its own merits as a great microscale model. Many different red elements make great roofs, and I love the ice-cream cones inverted under that long hall. The rockwork is also interesting, with lots of techniques normally found on much larger builds, such as the uneven base and sideways bricks.

And in case you are wondering what it looks like from the back–I know I was.

Clean and simple microscale castle is packed with charm

When it comes to building a great microscale castle, there is something beautiful in the simple choices, color, angled walls, round or square towers, a bridge. This lovely castle scene by Henjin_Quilones has many of these simple choices that add up to an enchanting build.

One of my favorite features is the use of inverted 2×2 round bricks, with windows at the top made with the gaps on the underside of the bricks and plates. A few well-placed gears are another nice detail. The grooved bricks used as stairs was a surprising feature. I also really love the smooth walls topped with slopes, and the very few windows placed very thoughtfully.

Besides the castle itself, there are other areas of the scene worth noticing, like the small village and docks, the watchtower on the far side of the bridge, and the detailed landscaping.

From days of long ago, from uncharted regions of the universe, comes a legend...

It’s been a few days since we announced the upcoming Voltron LEGO Ideas set, and we are counting down the days until its July 23rd release. To help tide things over, Grantmasters has made cute microscale versions of Voltron and the lion-shaped robots. It’s amazing how just a few parts can go a long way toward making something that is instantly recognizable. Voltron looks especially cool, thanks to a pose that is suggestive of preparing for battle. If you would like to build your own, you are in luck because most of these parts are fairly easy to find. The exception to this is the red binoculars, which was only available in the Series 12 collectible minifigure lifeguard. It will make you want to shout, “Let’s go, Voltron Force!”

Sand green tank conquers the sands

The release of the new 21042 LEGO Statue of Liberty set has seen a whole bunch of parts become available in Sand Green for the first time. Peter Reid takes advantage of the new range to put together this cool futuristic tank. The shaping is excellent, and the level of detail and texture crammed into such a small creation is impressive. The backdrop is simple, but provides a nice setting for the central model, and the addition of track marks in the sand behind the vehicle is a lovely touch.

You can read more about the creation of this model over at parts-focused blog New Elementary here.

Awesomely angular microspace magnificence

Microspace ships are one of my favorite things, and this Nebula-class Cruise Ship by Silmaril_1 reminds me just why I like them so much. The combination of orange, white, and lovely shaping make this microscale ship quite pleasurable to admire. I particularly like how those light bluish gray greebles are just barely peeking out from underneath the cracks between panels.

Although the build appears to make great use of mostly common parts — which just goes to show you can make an awesome build without buying tons of the latest pieces — it notably uses a white window pane, with white glass held inside as a subtle detail of the front of the vessel.

Amphibious space invaders

Look out, the amphibious space invaders are coming! Far from piloting mysterious saucers, however, these toads have tech much more familiar, needing a massive rocket to break the planet’s gravity. As usual, the ever-prolific builder Karf Oohlu employs interesting elements at every turn. Two stand out among the lot, though, with minifigure hands deftly employed to create a stud-reversal beneath the cockpit, and light covers doing double duty as space helmets–an easy-to-miss detail of the landed astronauts.

Size isn’t everything in this tiny Jurassic World encounter

Sometimes it’s easy to be amazed by the extremely large creations, and overlook incredible small ones. But some micro-builds are a constant reminder of just how impressive “little” can be. Small size definitely doesn’t mean less detailed or less complicated, and this build is a great example. One of our favorite builders, Grantmasters, has delivered another mini-masterpiece with this build he calls, “When a Kingdom Falls.” Yet again, his eye for unique parts usage has really shown through.

Easily recognizable as a scene from Jurassic World, you may also recognize that those T. rex legs are actually the arms from the full-size LEGO fig. There’s also a Battle Droid body used for the jaw. But my favorite part of this build is the pod. It’s cleverly crafted from 2×2 plates with rounded bottoms and Technic rubber bands. All these elements line up to make for perfect scaling and an eye-catching scene.

It’s summer in tiny Sweden

Summertime in Scandinavia — beautiful blue skies, and sunlight bouncing from the timbered houses. At least that’s the vision conjured up in Sarah Beyer‘s latest LEGO creation; a lovely little postcard-style microscale model of a Swedish block of flats. The grille bricks create an impression of timber-clad buildings, and the window frames are nicely-done. The foliage is simple but effective, particularly that street-sweeper roller used for the pine at the building’s rear. Ice cream scoops as little fluffy clouds provide the perfect final touch — breaking up the expanse of blue, and making it feel like a wonderful summer’s day.

Stunning LEGO Minas Tirith stands watch over Gondor

Minas Tirith, the Tower Of Guard, capital of the nation of Gondor, principal defender of the Realm Of Men against Mordor’s dark threat. This famous city from Tolkien’s Lord Of The Rings has been the subject of many a LEGO creation, but it’s seldom looked better than in this rendition by Koen. The model is large, despite being built in microscale, and is composed of around 11,500 pieces. Taking six months to design and build, it’s remarkably faithful to the films’ version of the city. All the key elements are here — the great curved walls, the massive spur of rock, the tall citadel and the single white tree found on the topmost level. Koen has even gone as far as to include the tombs of the Gondorian Kings and their Stewards, situated behind the citadel itself.

The Pelennor Field, the large plain before the city, is seen here in happy prosperous times with farms and forests right up to the city walls, which makes a pleasant change from its usual appearance as an orc-ravaged battlefield. Koen has shared more images which show the details of the buildings within the lower rings, and the various techniques employed to give them varied texture and shape. The muted “sand” shades of green, red, and blue used for the roofs gives a sense of realism whilst providing a pleasant contrast to all the white.

My only quibble with this model arises from its accuracy to the film version of the city. It has always irked me that the outer wall in the movies was white to match the upper levels, when in the books it is described as hewn from the same arcane black materials as Orthanc. However, it seems harsh to hold that against such a wonderful piece of LEGO art, so I’ll push my Tolkien-geekery to one side and instead appreciate the building skills which went into this wonderful creation.

From Hawaii to Havana on the Bannanaville

A striking turn-of-the-century style dreadnought, the CWS Bannanaville is outfitted with more armaments than you could hope to face if she decides to give you a broadside. Designed by Thomas of Tortuga, this fictional fleet-leader is one of the best examples of microscale warship building I’ve seen, with lots of perfect little details. Because of how perfectly it fits, the one I like best is the use of the “cheese grater” 1×2 slopes for ladders between the decks. It’s a remarkably good render, to boot.

A small but mighty Destiny

This sleek craft by CK-MCMLXXXI is a study in symmetry. Not only left to right along the central axis, as is more common in spaceship design, but also top to bottom. It feels like that solid white canopy at the front, combined with that 45-degree wedge plate was the central element to inspire this design. Regardless of where the idea came from, this craft is jammed with great greebly bits in a variety of colors, some really nice connections, and plenty of curved elements that give the vessel a refined, yet functional look.