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.

Across the fields of Pelennor, Gandalf rides to Minas Tirith

The city of Minas Tirith in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (especially as depicted in Peter Jackson’s movie adaptations) is a fairly popular subject for LEGO microscale builders. But Joe (jnj_bricks) takes his LEGO build to the next level — or seven levels, if you count all the rings in the city — by creating a multilayered scene that places Gandalf astride Shadowfax in the foreground, the Tower of Guard in the middle distance, and the White Mountains against grim clouds in the distance. It’s often tempting to photograph your LEGO models from a high three-quarters view to show off all its details. While Joe has certainly built plenty of detail into his White City, he avoids that temptation by placing the viewer at Gandalf’s level in the foreground, looking up toward the city, with the Citadel of Gondor and Tower of Ecthelion reaching toward the lowering sky. The overall effect is magical.

If you’ve enjoyed Joe’s forced perspective LEGO version of Minas Tirith, be sure to check out an even more detailed microscale LEGO Minas Tirith by Koen that we featured nearly 5 years ago.

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The cutest little LEGO Cloud City

We’ve often remarked that you don’t have to have a lot of pieces to build great LEGO creations, and this microscale Millennium Falcon and Cloud City from Star Wars by gGh0st are perfect examples. They’re also an excellent use for those cloud plates, which look much more realistic here than they usually do, and help integrate the two different scales of the ship and mining colony to create a forced perspective scene. I would love to see LEGO release little sets like this for $10 or so.

This think tank will steal your tank engine

We’ve just had a whole month of themed builds in the form of Febrovery, but now we’re in March we’re going straight into another one. It’s Marchikoma! And who better to kick things off than Cole Blaq? This particular tachikoma (or think tank, if you prefer) draws inspiration from Howl’s Moving Castle and Castle in the Sky, with a microscale city on its back. The link to the viaduct is particularly neat. Either this city exists as a massive turntable to turn the trains around, or it lies in wait for trains to stop before stealing them. In that sense perhaps it’s a bit more Mortal Engines than Studio Ghibli. Either way, it’s a great way to kick off the month. Why not have a look at what previous Marchikomas have brought us while we wait for more?

A peaceful scene from just 32 pieces

When we last checked in with Jake Hansen (Mountain Hobbit), we were blown away by the intricate detail of his snow-covered mountain inn. But I’m equally impressed by this similar scene that Jake created from just 32 pieces. A couple of minifigure books and a handful of table scrap come together to craft a winter retreat that looks just as cozy and inviting.

Miniature steam train scene has maximum charm

LEGO train creations are typically large and full of highly realistic details. But this scene by 1saac W. proves that you don’t need a pile of parts to make a great train. The mostly monochrome collection of brown and gold parts has a steampunk vibe, and the addition of a clockwork clock is a nice touch. Look closely and you will also see a pair of passengers getting ready to board. I wonder where they are travelling?

A cute car with a clever conversion

Student Scissors has impressed us before with transformable builds based on characters from The Transformers franchise. But it’s one thing to try and replicate an existing character/transformation scheme. It’s a whole other challenge to invent one yourself. But that’s exactly what Student Scissors has done here with Cuff – a transforming police car who isn’t based on any particular Cybertronian, but who would fit right in amongst the Autobots. Cuff’s novel transformation involves the car’s windscreens and roof splitting into thirds to become both of his feet and the center of his chest, while the car grill forms his waist and hips. It’s an inventive solution to the problem of turning a car into a humanoid robot that I hope we see in the official toy line someday.

I feel the (tiny) need for (itty-bitty) speed

Greyson is writing checks that LEGO alone can’t cash. This tiny F-14 Tomcat gets a little help from the BrickArms monopods so that, even at this scale, the wings can sweep out, just like the full-grown counterpart. If you ask me, non-purism is a small price to pay for functional wings at this scale. But if you’re the kind of builder who prizes brand loyalty, check out some of Greyson’s other microscale aircraft in our archives.

Two LEGO themes that taste great together

In some form or another, the Space and Town themes have been some of the most consistent offerings from LEGO over the years. But sci-fi builder extraordinaire Tim Goddard imagines a world where they’re one and the same. This trio of trucks are traversing a terraformed territory to bring the settlers the same goods we enjoy here on Earth – including new LEGO sets! In a world without invading space aliens, these microscale big rigs bring plenty of futuristic flavor without the need for any laser weapons or photon torpedoes. And, just like the semi-trucks you probably see on the highway daily, Tim has given the same basic design a wide variety of color options. The result is a set that feels more like three independent truckers than it does militarized space fleet.

The fragile beauty of microscale LEGO spaceships

I have reason to suspect our very own Mansur Soeleman must be a wizard. Why? Well, look at his latest LEGO creation. Not only is it a super rendition of Spike Siegel’s Swordfish II from Cowboy Bebop, it looks to be held together with magic. I’d be worried about breathing near this for fear of something falling off. There are so many pieces that look like they’re barely hanging on to each other, but it works so well! And what pieces they are, all in such a tiny package. Wheel arches, the venerable sausage piece, a rubber ring and of course, the sword at the front. Well, it is known canonically as the Swordfish II, so there had to be one in there somewhere, right?

Multiple scales make for multiple challenges

Probably most Adult Fans of LEGO have made themselves in minifigure form, but Lego_nuts has taken brick-based self-portrait to the next level with this slightly meta creation. Lego_nuts has recreated their own LEGO room four times over at various scales for a build of the builder building a build of the builder building a build, etc, etc, etc. Included in each level are multiple renditions of the same work bench, computer, and brick storage. It’s fascinating to compare the different approaches used to building the same objects at different sizes. There are also multiple renditions of the official sets on display in the actual room. Which ones do you recognize?

Here’s the scoop on this wintry scene...

The latest LEGO creation by builder Evancelt‘s depicts a wintry scene with an impressive castle towering above the nearby village. The castle, with its yellow colour scheme, is reminiscent of the classic LEGO Yellow Castle, but what impresses me with this castle is that the walls are made from a digger bucket! In micro builds like this, I’m always impressed when parts you wouldn’t expect should work really do work so well!

But it’s not just a great castle on display here. Surrounding the castle is a beautiful wintry scene complete with snow-covered forests, using various horn pieces, and a small village which utilises the printed plate from the latest CMF series, but my favourite piece of detail in this scene? The snowy mounds made from white croissant pieces!

Now, all this talk of winter leaves me needing to find an open fire to warm up…

A big city on a peaceful island in microscale

What I love about LEGO microscale builds is how it can shift how we see the smallest of LEGO parts. Joe (jnj_bricks) brings this build to life for this year’s Brickscalibur contest in the Medieval Micro category. The city does feel alive with movement from the waterfalls and the vibrant greenery throughout the cityscape. Taking a look at the staircases, they have nice usage of the grooved brick piece at an angle for the stairs. There’s also some nice usage of the 1×1 horizontal clip piece in the buildings and their details. Stacked, the part offers some cool textures to the walls of the leftmost building. My favorite parts usage, though, comes from the battle droid legs for some fine arcing details. You can spot them on the highest spire and the causeway behind the winged minifig statue. There are many more details, so take your time exploring the build. Can you spot the Woody hat?

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