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.

Modern architecture gets prettier and prettier (and smaller)

Paul Wellington‘s latest microscale building uses the still relatively new Mixel joint piece to create a fabulous pattern effect. Sometimes I think repeated elements like this can be overdone in microscale buildings — cool techniques but failing to capture the feel of real world architecture. That’s not the case here. I could totally see Paul’s building sitting downtown in any modern city.

Of course, Paul doesn’t need this building to show up in your city. He’s got a LEGO one all of his own that he’s been adding to over time. I’d heartily recommend a visit to his photostream for lots of pictures of his brick-built metropolis — current piece count sitting at around 19,000 parts!

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Soaring towers are the pinnacle of LEGO castle-building

Fresh from wowing us with his banana-roofed treehouse, alego alego has been building a range of microscale castles. This one is my favorite — a wonderful fantasy castle with soaring spires, surrounded by a crystal clear moat and a pleasant greenwood. This fortress wouldn’t look out of place in Hyrule, or the Magic Kingdom for that matter. Very nice use of the new “weapon spear tip with fins” part from Nexo Knights for the tower roofs too…

I’d recommend checking out alego alego’s photostream for more microscale castle goodness, like this one fit for any prince or princess.

Tiny nuclear cooling towers look less ominous in LEGO

Admittedly power plants are not a common subject for LEGO builders, so seeing one is always fun. WHBRICKS gives us this adorable tiny nuclear plant, which is lovely in its simplicity. It’s highly recognizable and barely 12 studs long. The billowing steam is particularly nice and adds to the overall look and feel of the tiny build. This would be an excellent addition to any microscale layout!

LEGO microscale city is all Greek to me

Olivier Lego says this model is a first attempt at microscale LEGO. If so, it’s pretty damn good and I hope they keep building at this scale. The use of textured and wedge bricks, alongside grille tiles and panel pieces, creates a lovely sense of depth and detail, despite the minimalist color palette employed. I particularly like the temple on the hill overlooking the jumble of buildings nearer the port.

Failure is always an option

When The Matrix came out in 1999, it was groundbreaking for many reasons and gave rise to plenty of cultural references. And then they made two more movies: The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. Regardless of your opinions on the quality of the later movies, they both had some redeeming features. This little version (by David Lipton) of an epic truck crash happens to be one of them.

I particularly love the use of cheese slopes to emulate the crumpled truck effect. It works very well! I’m also strongly reminded of Mythbuster’s Compact Compact myth, which was equally awesome.

Cutest Police Patlabor

Lee Young has nailed it with these super-cute chibi Mobile Police Patlabor mecha models. Despite the dinky scale and super-deformed proportions, these guys still have an impressive chunky heft about them. They look like they’d just relish the opportunity to suppress your street protest.

Lee has been building a few mecha figures at this scale recently. Check out this pretty damn awesome rendition of Optimus Prime using your local downtown for cover…

In for the (micro) long haul

Semi trucks are quite fascinating, really. These modern day work horses are integral to global infrastructure. We share the road with them every day. They’re huge!

Chris Rozek gives us this fantastic truck and trailer, in bright red.

Great, isn’t it? Let’s take another look:

This tiny hauler is an excellent example of a micro-esque scale vehicle. It’s very well done and deceptive with scale, until you have something to compare it to.

Microscale office looks like the perfect place to work

Modern architecture might appear to be the perfect subject for recreating in LEGO. However, many of the angled planes currently in vogue amongst building designers actually make for difficult modelling in bricks. Polar Stein pulls it off in style with this microscale version of an award-winning office complex in New Jersey.

The model is beautifully simple, with excellent lines, much like the building it’s based on. I’m a particular fan of the angled supporting columns at the open corner. Also, at this scale, the use of multiple trans-clear bricks manages to suggest an internal structure. The builder suggests they’re going to have a go at this in minifig-scale. Interesting challenge, and they’ve already set themselves a high bar with this lovely microscale version.

The ultimate muscle car: The Ford GT

If you ask me, the Ford GT is the coolest modern day American sports car, and probably one of my favorite American cars of all time. Based on the legendary Ford GT40 LeMans racecar of the 1960s, the GT looks like nothing else on the road. It can be difficult to capture the car’s squat curves at such a small scale with LEGO, but this version by George Panteleon is instantly recognizable.

The lazy days of summer

Often it’s the small things in life that are the sweetest. Sometimes that means the mundane activities of a peaceful life, and sometimes it means the small but brilliant work of a creative mind. Or best yet, combine them both, as in this lovely vignette by Grantmasters entitled “Weekend Chores.” The lawnmower made of rebreathers, a 1×1 round plate, and a twisted rubber band is ingenious, but my favorite detail is the tire swing made of a simple minifig wrench.

Rosenwald Apartments are impressive and tiny

Microscale is challenging in its own right, despite it’s tiny tiny size. Rocco Buttliere is a master of this impressive scale, and we’ve featured his work before, notably with his Houses of Parliament and 40 Wall Street.

This newest addition to his tiny empire is certainly more understated than what we’ve featured before and no less impressive. The Rosenwald Apartments, named after former president of Sears and philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, feature lovely landscaping and the tiniest art deco I’ve ever seen. I particularly love the use of the grill tile, held in place presumably by sheer will, that gives the impression of tiny windows. It’s very effective!

King of Walt’s castle in a small, small world

Since I first visited Walt Disney World 25 years ago, I’ve been a total Disney geek. As a result, I’m very excited about the recent announcement of the Cinderella’s Castle set. However, it’s not out for a while, and I needed to scratch my Disney castle-building itch…

I figure this one might work out a little cheaper than the official set!