When tackling a subject as large as a city in LEGO, it’s best to bring things down to microscale. While you’re not able to capture every inhabitant, many of the metropolitan details can be preserved with clever part choices. That’s exactly what builder Toltomeja has done with the city of Kraków. Let’s take a tour of their tiny city, and explore all the sights within.
Take a tour tour of a big Polish city below!
I’m a sucker for pretty much any sci-fi movie. Add in architectural design and I’m in LEGO nerd heaven. Movies like Bladerunner, Elysium, and the Fifth Element combine story and unique perspectives on cities of the future. I recently watched a Korean sci-fi movie called Jun_E, which was set in a post-apocalyptic city built above the flooded remains of a major metropolis and I was inspired to build my own microscale city based on the concept. You can find more of my LEGO creation pictures on Instagram at koffy_kat
I purposely built the waterline above the frame to enhance the feeling of the water barely contained. Starting with all of the ruined buildings, I then built the pillars. I built each block one at a time, but often went back to add more just like the architects of this city would do with no more solid ground to build on.
Read on to see more details about each of the three sections
While I may be a LEGO-building Washingtonian now, there was a time when I lived in northern Indiana, South Bend for those playing the home game. And during my four years there, I made plenty of trips to Chicago and its suburbs. One memorable adventure was attending Brickworld in 2013 (my first LEGO convention). But another was the first big post-graduation meet-up with friends from college to see the sights downtown, including the infamous Navy Pier. So, yes, at one time I was one of those 1×1 round tiles in Jonah Schultz’s microscale build, probably one of the lime green ones. The design here is spot-on, with a better translation to microscale than I thought possible. The half-plate stripe just under the warehouse’s roof is spectacular, as is the use of claws and horns to give the appearance of waves on Lake Michigan. But the bit that’s got my jaw on the floor right now is that Ferris wheel made of Minecraft Tridents connected to a pair of 3×3 Technic disks. It’s a technique worthy of the Iron Builder competition for sure!
Please enjoy this LEGO-ized miniature Manny and super-small Sid from the Ice Age franchise, brought to you by Oliver Becker. His microscale scene depicts our two protagonists as they venture out at the end of the titular era. We even see Scrat in the foreground trying to hide his 1×1 round plate in the ice. The miniature scenery is quite nice, but the character builds are the real stars of the show. The tread links for Scrat’s arms and legs are brilliant, showing such ingenuity at this tiny scale. And the brickwork to emulate Sid’s triangular face is astounding! But of course, Manny has to put the “woolly” in woolly mammoth with the use of a minifig hair piece as his head. Much like with the movies, here’s hoping we get a sequel!
Every style of LEGO building has its challenges, but I think microscale stands out as one of the most difficult things to build, yet epic when done well. This piece, built by Ids de Jong, uses a pop of orange to pull you in, and some clever parts usage to keep you looking. There are things to admire such as the minifigure epaulet element for the ship, half a rock piece for an island, decorative swirls for water, and even a dome made from a pumpkin and topped with a trophy figure. But what really drew me to this build were the Scala perfume bottles. (Actually found in orange in the LEGO Orient Bazaar game.) They make excellent building toppers!
While you’re here, check out some of our other featured LEGO microscale model.
This year celebrates a very important Star Wars anniversary. One that brought the Ewoks and their home on the forest moon of Endor to everyone’s living rooms. Huh? Return of the Jedi? What’s that? No, I’m obviously talking about 10236 Ewok Village‘s tenth birthday! LEGO builder ABrickDreamer knows what I’m talking about. To celebrate, he’s recreated this legendary set in a more diminutive form. The original is pretty expensive on the aftermarket, so this is definitely a more wallet-friendly alternative. It’s a faithful recreation, even including the catapult and a very cute little speeder bike alongside the iconic treetop village. Happy birthday, 10236! If you want to keep celebrating Star Wars anniversaries, why not peruse our Return of the Jedi archives?
He may only stand six LEGO plates tall, but the Indiana Jones in this series of “8-Bit Indy” vignettes by TBB alum Rod Gillies is still an archaeologist of action. And leading off the series is this fantastic bit of title lettering, showcasing the font associated with the franchise. I like the 3-D aspects here, helping the gradient letters pop out of the background even more. And don’t miss the tiny titular character sitting atop the 8-bit signage.
Check out some of the micro-highlights below!
If you’ve been eyeballing the new 4,000-piece LEGO Batcave but don’t have a spare $400 to drop on a superhero shadowbox, you could take a cue from Ids de Jong and go small. This awesome microscale recreation riffs on one of LEGO’s official lifestyle images of the Batcave displayed on a mantle, but this tiny version is 100% brick-built, including the background. The whole Batcave is only a handful of pieces but still has an instantly recognizable bat emblem.
Built for a local LUG (LEGO Users Group) challenge in the theme of postcards, this miniature scene by Dale Harris looks like a tribute to all things fantasy, from the castle by the water to the swooping dragon… I guess we can see where the town gets its name. The dragon is nicely detailed for such a small build, and that uncommon red binoculars make an interesting snout. Let’s hope the dragon is friendly, or that castle will melt faster than Harranhall from Game of Thrones.
This LEGO “Hanging Gardens of Babylon” build by Versteinert may only use 101 pieces, but those elements are expertly selected. This elegant little microscale includes bright green hair for trees, hockey sticks for an archway, gear racks for stairs, and forks for pillars. There are also splats in both lime and trans-light blue for both plants and water, and crowns forming the decorative spouts. 1×2 handle plates on their sides have never looked so good! Overall, you can’t ask for much better parts usage on a build so small!
If you’re a fan of the work, check out more featured creations by Versteinert. And while you’re at it, we have lots of articles about clever microscale to get those creative juices flowing.
Great parts use can really elevate a LEGO microscale build. It’s an adage that is almost as old as microscale building itself, and is surely imprinted on the minds of tiny builders. Builders that build tiny things, obviously, not actually tiny builders. Dicken Liu is one such creator (we don’t know how tall he is), and has delivered a doozy to remind us of this important principle. Where do we start here? There’s the roller skate cars, the energy burst waterfall, and not just one but two wheels in the lighthouse. And best of all, the slightly meta lifeboard re-purposed into a small boat. One has to assume this would be the coastguard!
This LEGO space station from OA KD is giving off some very 2001: A Space Odyssey vibes, don’t you think? It’s a delightful mix of greebles in a ring that gives this station its name. At first glance it looks like there are LEDs used to light it up, but that’s actually down to the clever lighting. The light just out of shot is reflecting off the transparent bricks in the station (and in the trails of the nearest spaceship), passing very convincingly for a nearby star. I think it’s this that gives it that Kubrick sci-fi flavour. That and the masterful construction, of course!
