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.
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.
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…
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
Here’s proof that you don’t need a lot of colors to build an exciting and dynamic model. Simple grays and white convey the power of the water and the feat of engineering in this vignette of a Russian dam by vir-a-cocha. This model is also notable for its excellent mix of studs and tiles, conveying both industrial realism and naturalistic landscaping simultaneously. I’d love to see an Architecture set like this.
aido k has created a wonderful piece of microscale cartography depicting England’s south-eastern coast in 1216. The different castles are all excellent and this feels like the sort of map a medieval lord might have planned his attacks with. I admire these kind of creations based on historical reality, but I can’t help but imagine a microscale model like this depicting Westoros…
Elaborating on his theme, the builder has gone on to create another model of Dover Castle itself — still in microscale, but closer-in. Particularly nice work on the defensive walls and towers, although I suspect the carefully balanced tiles might not stand up to sustained attack!
TBB’s own Simon Liu has been busy at Brickworld and these micro AT-STs were a small part of a larger Star Wars: Battlefront display. The AT-STs are delicately balanced and ingeniously built at such a small scale. The background is a microscale version of Alex Doede’s bunker.
Simon says that these are in the tiniest form he can do, but I reckon there are some nano AT-STs out there waiting to be built.