This ain’t no Hogwarts. This broken down school by Jonas Obermaier has been turned into a base of operations for a nefarious gang of survivors of the End. In addition to the well-textured vegetation running wild on the grounds, there are some very nice architectural details not to be missed. Take the Dobby heads on either side of the lion head below the roof, for example. Also, a number of micro-figures in tan are a nice touch along the rooftop.
For people well immersed in the online LEGO community, Mark Erickson is one of the best and most influential castle builders out there. In recent times, he has branched out into other themes more often and one such occasion is with this apocalyptic roadster. It is not a direct recreation of a vehicle from a Mad Max movie, but the inspiration is all over it.
Getting the obvious part out of the way, the huge back wheels are amazing and by far the best part of the build, but there is so much more to see, so here are some more points of interest: the flames bursting from the engine give an incredible sense of movement and the engine itself is very well built. There are some more subtle segments as well, but I feel like they add a lot to bring the build together – the colour choice for the black windscreen is important, many people would have tried to make it clear, which would just not look as good. The most subtle, yet most characteristic part in my opinion, is the little golden spike amongst silver ones at the front. Like a gold tooth in a postapocalyptic survivor’s grin.
Broken windows, damaged buildings, garbage on the street and infrastructure destroyed are some of the tell-tale signs of a post-apocolyptic world. There’s ample of opportunity to see some post-apocolyptic decay in this fantastic diorama by W. Navarre that centres around a couple of office buildings in what used to be part of a city and descends into an underground world of “every man for himself.” The Chima game card works surprisingly well as an advertising sign, and the collapsed sign with the Nike logo has seen better days. I particularly like the subterranean part of the build; it’s like an underground car park that has been repurposed, and there’s plenty of pipes, wires and drains to catch your eye.
There’s a lot to admire in this closer view of the rear portion teased in the image above. Click to see an edited version full of special effects
There is a strange beauty in decaying industrial architecture, with chipping paint, broken metal supports and collapsing concrete walls everywhere. Or maybe I am just nostalgic for apocalyptic LEGO creations that used to be all the rage when I discovered the online community. Whichever is the case, Exetrius has hit the nail on the head for me with this ruined communication tower.
Sand green is the perfect colour to make a creation like this, and combined with dark gray and limited splashes of colour it makes for a beautifully bleak colour scheme. This is further facilitated by great textures of disuse and weathering. The tower is 120 cenimeters tall (47 in.), a task made easy by using train tracks for its main segment. Everybody who uses train tracks in unique ways is awesome!
Bleecker Street never looked so bleak in this delightfully dreary scene built by Sanel Lukovic, part of a collaborative build presented at Bricking Bavaria in Munich with friends Robert Maier and Jonas Obermaier. Simply titled Apoca, it has a lovely rustic, decaying motif. Broken windows throughout the dilapidated building contrast with the charming copper oxide green Vespa, while overgrown weeds and cluttered wreckage cover cracks in the pavement. And nothing screams post-apocalyptic like respiratory equipment being worn by the armed and dangerous-looking dudes surveying the badlands.
It’s not often we re-visit a LEGO model, especially after only a few days. But when we shared an atmospheric post-apocalyptic scene from Adam Sochorec earlier this week we didn’t realise there was more to come. It turns out Adam’s build was only part of a larger collaborative build with Jan T. I love the way the rough terrain has crept over to cover the road, and how the two builds have been united with lovely rock work and landscaping. Jan’s harbour with its little fish market and decrepit building really adds to the whole scene. Clearly, even after the apocalypse, life goes on despite the struggles.
Collaborative builds are not unusual but what makes this one special is the story behind it. As Jan puts it…
“We started planning it about two months ago. Adam is from Czech Republic, so he had to convince his parents to let him go to Poland. Luckily, he made it and his 5.5 hours of travel were worth it. He stayed in my house for 4 days. We traded some parts and minifigs and spent two days and one night building the collab. We shared the bricks, Polish food, and a bottle of Becherovka with each other.”
Two builders are clearly better than one and the resulting collaborative build is a great scene. What a perfect reminder of how LEGO can be a source of fun, learning, community and life-long friendship.
One of my favourite genres of storyline, be that film, book or LEGO building theme, is post-apocalyptic. Adam Sochorec has created this atmospheric, futuristic scene that certainly has a few markers of a post-apocalyptic world. I love the distressed, run down building with a poorly constructed lean-to on the front. Perhaps this used to be an inviting porch into a comfy little home, but the building has definitely seen better days. The mix of colours used gives a real sense of ‘make and mend’, and I love the details like the old AC units, the rusting pipes and the paint-cracked outer walls.
There’s a rather downtrodden person sitting outside the front door. Is he hoping to be allowed inside or has he come outside to drown his sorrows in some strong moonshine served in an old, used glass bottle.
If there’s one clear sign the Cyberpocalypse is upon us, it’s that indoor plumbing has ceased to exist, and we are forced to use communal toilets on the street, or (though a little more civilized) public porta potties for our sanitary needs. Thus, my most recent build for the ABS builder Challenge features exactly that: a communal porta potty smack-dab in the middle of the shantytown. How much would I have to pay you to use it?
The roof of the main black building was my main inspiration for building this scene. I was able to come up with a cool roof technique using the seed part for the challenge: the handheld minifig fan, which enabled me to use the part a total of 24 times in this build.
While it’s always going to be hard to top the massive 20,000-brick diorama of The Last of Us by Tim Schwalfenberg that we featured earlier this year, the post-apocalyptic video game is so full of atmosphere that I’m glad to see other LEGO builders tackle the haunting game. Christophe captures the protagonists as they approach a dilapidated building. Foliage cascades from an upper floor, with broken glass hanging from windows. My favorite detail is the air conditioning unit on the second floor.
I do wonder what kind of interior Christophe has included in his build, because one of the only shots other than the one above is of Ellie’s guitar sitting silent in an empty room.
Is this encampment the last bastion of humanity in a world gone awry? Or are there other holdouts, lone refuges for the few who still know friend from foe. I suspect the inhabitants of this outpost created by Lego Master don’t know, but they’ll keep on fighting against the undead hoards no matter what.
Curved silver elements lend a nice retro chopper feel to George Panteleon‘s hoverbike, but it’s the smart use of sand green pieces to depict a post-apocalyptic sewer which grabs the eye. The tentacle tip makes for a perfect outpouring of skanky muck, and the soccer pitch part creates a great impression of a thick gloopy liquid in motion. I love when builders pay as much attention to the surrounding scenery as to the central model in a scene — it makes all the difference between a decent image, and a standout one.
If you haven’t heard of The Last of Us, it’s a third-person action-adventure survival horror game set twenty years after a plague decimated civilization. Tim Schwalfenberg has captured the tone of the game perfectly with this tribute, including anti-hero smuggler Joel, as he escorts teenager Ellie through the post-apocalyptic United States.
Tim worked on the build for around a month, putting in well over 100 hours, He estimates he used around 20,000 bricks (although I think it may be more). Measuring 3.5 by 2 feet (100cm x 60 cm) and featuring custom 3D printed bricks this masterpiece is a thing of decrepit beauty.
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