Tag Archives: Notre Dame

Notre Dame before the fire.

I was recently challenged to recreate Notre Dame Cathedral in microscale and it sounded like a fun challenge. From the start, I knew I wanted to incorporate an Arkenstone and 2×2 Tie Fighter windscreen dish, so that gave me a specific scale. Then I looked online to see what others had done. From there, I just started test building different portions of the cathedral. Half an hour later, I came up with this. The idea to use droid arms as flying buttresses came from someone else’s build and I was impressed at how well they tie the whole thing together. I’m quite pleased with how it all came together so quickly, and especially proud of how well the Tie Fighter pieces work as rose windows, as well as the pentagonal jumper plates as arches.

Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris

Brick-built ode to Notre-Dame de Paris

Since the disastrous fire on April 15th, many LEGO fans have built their own renditions of Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Paris. It comes as no surprise that the best rendition I’ve seen was built by Rocco Buttliere. Rocco, who has a penchant for recreating famed architectural landmarks of the world, got to work on this one immediately following the fire.

Notre-Dame de Paris

Not only did he build the cathedral itself, but he accurately reproduced the landscape around it: remove the building and this creation would still be a masterpiece. The curves of the river and roadways, the textured ground and gardens. I’m especially fond of the little details, like the old hinge tile used as bollards – magnifique! While the surroundings are definitely beautiful, we can’t ignore the church itself. While I might be satisfied to just recreate the shape of the building, Rocco has carefully detailed the structure’s ornate detail. Everything is here, from Gothic arches and rose windows to buttresses and even gargoyles. This is achieved through skillful use of the LEGO parts palette, using a wide variety of old and new pieces of all different types: Technic elements, textured bricks, and minifigure accessories. With this creation, Rocco has built a fitting tribute this wonderful landmark truly deserves.

Notre-Dame de Paris

If you enjoyed this, check out Rocco’s other amazing creations we’ve highlighted, such as the entire Thames waterfront of London.