Tag Archives: Polaroid

Picture Perfect – Life in LEGO Polaroids (Guest Feature)

This started as a quick contest entry. Just one little diorama for the LEGO Ideas “Picture Perfect Memories” challenge. I thought I’d build a single model—frame it up like a Polaroid, submit it, and move on with my life.

Instead, I made six.

And who among us hasn’t gotten carried away and spent the whole night building? For me, there was something satisfying about having small ideas in my head that I could actually finish. Each one took a couple of hours. Nothing sprawling. Just compact moments, built quickly and intentionally.

I like building small. It forces you to be economical, which I think can be more impressive than going big. It also lets you focus on what really matters—telling a story.

Each of these builds is based on something that happened in my life, or something close to it. They’re impressions. Memories, simplified and captured in plastic. And in sharing them, I hoped to set a kind of template—something other people might follow to build their own.

Take a look at the story behind each of the six Polaroid vignettes and maybe be inspired to make your own

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I can’t remember a better camera build than this Memento tribute

You won’t believe ~~his lies~~ your eyes when you see the details that go into this Polaroid SLR 690 from master of life-size LEGO props (and tbb alumn) Nick Jenson. This version of the iconic instant camera is a collapsable point-and-shoot model from the ’90s made famous in Christopher Nolan’s breakout film Memento. Nick is a stickler for accuracy as with all of his impressive 1:1 scaled models. The seed part that makes Nick’s model so accurate without stickers is the Polaroid tile from the film packet on the recent LEGO Ideas’ Polaroid set. Even the nylon strap is sourced from a LEGO-branded bag. To make this a proper tribute to Momento, the camera is paired with appropriately lo-fi photographs to match those in the film. Here the photos are real Polaroids, but the subjects are brick-built facimiles of Teddy and the Discount Inn from the film. At least I think they are… I can’t remember that far back. Thankfully I don’t need a tattoo to remind me when I see an amazing LEGO build like this one.

LEGO Ideas reveals their next set as 21345 Polaroid OneStep SX-70 Camera [News]

Hot on the heels of 21344 The Orient Express Train, LEGO Ideas has yet another offering for us, debuting in the new year. 21345 Polaroid OneStep SX-70 Camera marks the 53rd product in the Ideas line. The 516-piece model includes a viewfinder, dials, and a functioning shutter button that interacts with the included LEGO-themed “photos.” We haven’t seen many 1:1 scale sets from LEGO, with the most notable in this category being the LEGO Ideas 21327 Typewriter from 2021. For shutterbugs and LEGO enthusiasts looking to get their hands on the LEGO Ideas 21345 Polaroid OneStep SX-70 Camera, the set will be available from LEGO’s website on January 1, retailing for US $79.99 | CAN $99.99 | UK £69.99.

Take a better look at the camera below!

Lend me some sugar, I am your neighbor!

Shake it, shake it, shake it like a Polaroid picture. When the song Hey Ya came out the Polaroid Company issued a statement advising against shaking their instant photos and that the preferred method for developing is to leave it face down on a hard surface for 20-40 minutes. Had Outkast actually taken their advice my guess is that the song would have been far less engaging when encouraging listeners to shake their thang on the dancefloor. I’m not sure if Vainaut shakes his thang on the dancefloor but he has built a stunning LEGO Polaroid camera. The details in silver are inspired and I particularly like the lenses and flashbulb. Here’s some other stuff we liked by the same builder.

Powerpig’s classic Polaroid Land Camera 1000 gives instant satisfaction

Back before digital cameras, if you wanted to see your pictures right away, you needed an instant camera like the ones made by Polaroid. Instagram today owes much of its pseudo-retro aesthetic to the slightly blurry, washed-out photos so many of us who grew up in the 70’s and 80’s took with our Polaroids. Master of real-world objects replicated in LEGO, Chris McVeigh (powerpig) brings us the Polaroid Land Camera 1000.

For even more instant gratification, here’s an animated GIF showing off the excellent functionality that Chris built into his LEGO model:

LEGO Polaroid Land Camera 1000

If you love Chris’ Polaroid, don’t miss the LEGO Polaroid camera by the Arvo Brothers built back in 2007.