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.

Winter Olympics venues built from LEGO bricks

The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang in South Korea have already provided their fair share of drama (gale-force wind snowboarding anyone?) and now they’re providing some excellent microscale LEGO models. Jae Won Lee has put together tiny versions of the stadia and event venues. First up, the towering Alpensia ski jump arena…

The curves at the base of the hill might be a little steep for nailing the perfect Telemark landing, but the rest of the creation is spot-on — immediately recognisable from the TV coverage. Beyond the twin hills of Alpensia, the builder has also created an impressive reconstruction of the main arena in Pyeongchang itself. A pentagon isn’t the easiest shape to capture in bricks, but this little model does it well. Nice job on the outer-wall textures too…

There’s a range of models in the series, from the speed skating arena through to the ice hockey stadium. Whilst some of them are quite simple in their execution, they make a lovely set, as seen in the image below, which also provides a nice view of the main stadium interior seating…

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Ascending from the plains into the foothills

Master microscale landscaper Full Plate brings us another lovely LEGO scene that captures the moment on a roadtrip when he finally reached rolling hills and winding roads instead of the boring plains he’d been driving on. I often feel the same way when returning to the green of western Washington State from the barren wastelands east of the Cascade Mountains. While many of the builder’s previous microscale masterpieces have featured a wide variety of trees, this build is at a smaller scale, and uses varying heights in the underlying terrain to add variety to the forest of evergreens.

Take to the skies in your own little helicopter [Instructions]

Perhaps this helicopter is actually a better size for ants rather than people, but it is definitely a fun little LEGO build. GolPlaysWithLego has built this great microscale helicopter out of 30 LEGO parts. The fuselage is built using some of the newer 1×2 curved slopes with notch and the tail rotor is a boomerang. Clever use of parts for a small build!

Click here for Instructions

Shrinking the ship in a bottle, even smaller

The latest LEGO Ideas model, 21313 Ship in a Bottle was released last week and some fans of the original model were sad to see the final model was smaller. Rather than build the actual set, Jme Wheeler has built a microscale version that can be displayed on even the smallest of shelves. It is not always easy to capture the essence of a larger set in a much smaller scale, but this is a fantastic little ship in a bottle. In particular, the use of 1×1 tiles held upright by the 1×1 modified clips is a great way to create the masts and sails.

It may seem that Jme Wheeler has made the smallest ship in a bottle possible, but it didn’t take long for another even tinier version to wash up. Elijah Bormann has managed to build an smaller representation of the model with his adorable single stud sized ship.

So, does anyone think that one more, even smaller version is possible?

Well after posing the questions, I had to at least have a shot at building a nanoscale version of Ship in a Bottle.

The best piece of junk in the galaxy

Star Wars celebrated its fortieth birthday last year, which was when this beautiful forced perspective by Jme Wheeler was built, within a 40-part series of builds for the Blocks magazine, telling the whole story of A New Hope.

I love the colours in the sky and the micro version of Mos Eisley is beautiful in its simplicity. The angle on the Millennium Falcon flying away is very expressive, with stormtroopers looking up at it, completing the scene.

Money can’t buy you happiness, but it can buy you a go-kart.

We’re used to seeing towering skyscrapers and other massive creations in Micropolis layouts. But sometimes, the most eye-catching city block in a layout is the smallest one. Tammo S. demonstrates this truth with his most recent LEGO build, a micro go-kart racing facility. Utilizing the new macaroni tiles for twisty roads, roller skates for karts, and half-sunken grille tiles for a chain-link fence, Tammo has created an adorable place for thrill-seekers of all ages.

Militarisation of miniature Mars

The first steps on the surface of Mars will be those of explorers and scientists. But how long until there are soldiers stomping around on the red planet? That’s the question put by David Zambito with his latest microscale LEGO scene. David has tackled the colonisation of Mars in the brick previously, but this neat model sees the addition of a pair of appropriately sleek-and-sinister-looking fighter craft (fashioned from minifigure ice skates no less). The little fighters might grab the initial attention, but don’t miss the excellent landscaping within the compact footprint, and the use of a minifigure helmet as a cool biodome structure.

Burn baby burn, LEGO inferno

Hot on the heels of their last isometric LEGO scene, simply bricking it is at it again. Here’s a hot little number — an erupting volcano spilling lava down the side of a hill, with the deadly streams of boiling rock somehow avoiding all the tiny dwellings. The colour scheme here is wonderful — this feels like a retro 70s-era eruption with all that brown and orange — and the lava flows have a genuine sense of downhill movement. All this volcanic action might be superhot, but this model is supercool.

Tiny Cinderella lives here

Can’t afford the enormous LEGO Disney Castle set? That’s okay, why not use an entirely smaller selection of bricks to create your own tiny version like minimal-brick has done? This is a lovely microscale model, featuring some excellent detailing, particularly around the gatehouse and turret-tops. Check out the use of cog pieces around the model — adding texture to the turrets and as the clock above the entranceway. The relatively large base is nice and the trees and coloured paving break it up nicely. Disney geeks might quibble about the lack of a couple of the taller towers which sprout from the real castle’s rear, but that’s nitpicking at an otherwise great creation.

Leg it to the nearest temple in times of need

LEGO creations often begin with the completed appearance in mind, but sometimes a particular part can stimulate the creative process. In the case of this microscale scene by David Zambito, it was the dark tan leg parts (either from the luggabeast in 75148 Encounter on Jakku or from Rhino in 76099 Rhino Face-Off by the Mine) that were the starting point for his build. The desert temple has a futuristic, ‘other world’ feel. The use of the legs to give shape to the terrain and temple structure is inspired, but I love the entrance made with a minifigure open backpack part.

A very nice microscale church

With microscale building, a simple part choice can make all the difference. This church by Jens Ohrndorf is a great example of just the right detail; from the gold pyramids at the edge of the roof, to the repeated dome designs of the belltower. The gray trim is made by offset tiles, and the lovely curved roof details are a nice touch. Speaking of the roof, the different slope parts used for shingles give the model a weathered look.

Sagrada Familia completed at last

The Sagrada Familia is a famous Catholic church located in Barcelona. It was designed by a Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudi. Sagrada Familia is a huge architectural project with colourful, mathematical design elements, and Gaudi knew it would not be completed within his lifetime. Construction began in 1882 and it is anticipated that completion will actually be around 2026! Koen has built a microscale LEGO model of the completed Sagrada Familia that looks like an official LEGO Architecture series model. The use of inverted ice-cream cones is inspired.

A view from another angle shows another feature I particularly like, Koen uses the scroll brick as a nice decorative component of the doorway. Koen has cleverly managed to balance the simplicity required in microscale with the hugely complex design of this particular structure.