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.

The Aurora Australis icebreaker chugs to Antarctica

We know and love Australian builder Shannon Sproule here on TBB for his many realistic and retro-futuristic space creations, but he also demonstrates once again (following his amazing Sulaco) that he’s quite an accomplished microscale builder. The Aurora Australis is an icebreaker frequently used by the Australian Antarctic Division for research.

Shannon uses quite a few interesting parts in his build, particularly the car doors on the bow. My eye was immediately drawn to the little orange piece with holes in it, which makes a perfect lifeboat, but Shannon informs me that it’s a Kre-O piece from a Transformers kit — making this a “mixed media” model.

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One does not simply build Mordor

This collaborative display of Mordor by Chris Perron and Scott Semple incorporates lights to make the lava look unbelievably realistic. Check out the details shots on Flickr, and don’t miss seeing the microscale Minas Morgul dwarfed by the rest of the build.

Cloudy with a chance of fireballs

Conveying action in a microscale LEGO scene is impossible unless it’s action on an epic scale. Pascal Schmidt demonstrates this perfectly with his model of a volcano raining fiery death on what I assume is some poorly-situated Roman era town. Note the NPU (“nice part usage”) of white ray guns in the pyroclastic cloud.

For some reason this reminded me of a build from last year that we kinda overlooked, a microscale tornado by Jimmy Fortel, created during a round of Iron Builder, and featuring some more NPU (the seed part for the contest was Mixel ball and socket joints).

Micro Choo-choo Train

I’m not the train expert here on TBB, but I do know a few things about micro and setting up small scale micro dioramas, and this build by Galaktek is simply divine:

I love the use of the raised track and the nice 45 degree angle. But what really steals the show for me is the amazing train. The engine is what microscale is all about – using existing pieces in completely different fashion. In this case using the familiar spring loaded cannon base for the little blue engine that could.

Micro Middle Earth

Barton Thinks is recreating iconic Middle Earth locations in micro-scale. I really like the use of black level handles to detail the sides of Orthanc. The little bits of landscaping really bring it to life as well. Luckily this is before the Orcs cut down all the trees!

The moon was a ghostly galleon...

This micro winter forest, by Mel Finelli, is a thing of beauty. It’s amazing that such a small build can convey so much but it does. Just looking at this scene brings back memories of bright winter nights and the peaceful serenity when everything is covered in a blanket of undisturbed snow.

Micro-scale Gingerbread House

Tis the season for family, friends, snow, gifts, and micro gingerbread houses. Rancorbait presents us this absolutely adorable bite-sized edition, and I personally think the stickers just make it better. It’s a great way to get the iconic royal icing on the roof edges with the candy shingles.

Micro Batmobiles through the ages

The Batmobile is arguably one of the coolest cars ever. Over the years it has gone through several revamps to keep regaining the top cool spot. Irwan Prabowo has recreated some of the more iconic Batmobiles that have come across in TV and film, all in adorable micro scale:

Which was your favorite Batmobile?

Edit:
It turn out that Tumbler was a copy of a _Tiler‘s that we’ve actually featured the before, but here it is again in it’s original glory:

As well the Burton Batmobile was also _Tiler’s:

Titan DSX – big style in a small package

This new fighter by Cole Blaq, makes excellent use of sculpted pieces to provide a detailed and variegated shape in a small form. Take a look, and you’ll notice that the (awesome looking) cockpit is only two studs wide, and the entire creation is probably under 6 inches long.

Micro-scale 18th Century Flotilla

These are just the cutest ships I’ve seen in a while. balthazar gives us a full micro-scale flotilla, complete with full sized Galleons, Brigs, Schooners, and Sloops, giving you all the firepower and speed you could possible want. Also, fire.

Mining: Your Own Business in Space

Check out this cool microscale space mining operation by Outer Rim Emperor. He says it’s his first model in the Classic Space theme, and I think he’s nailed it. The big Octan tank is a nice, touch, too, though I’m not quite sure where Octan fits into LEGO’s chronology in relation to Classic Space.

Panduro’s box

Tim Goddard and Andrew Hamilton revisit the distant planet of Panduro, but this time it’s no mere colony. They’ve built a thriving microscale city on the inhospitable planet, filled with movement, motorization and monorails.

Be sure to check out the video to see the whole display in action;