Tag Archives: Vignettes

Vignettes are like the haiku of the LEGO world. Usually built on a base 8 studs wide by 8 studs deep, vignettes show a little scene or a moment in time. But like written poetry, there’s plenty of variation on the basic theme.

Hobbits on the run and hideaway

Three is company, but four with a Ringwraith is a crowd. Coming from builder Thorsten Bonsch, this LEGO scene is the fifth build in a series taking on the legendary world of The Lord of the Rings. Depicting moments iconic to both the films and the books, these builds favor the books in the details. That’s why we see three instead of four hobbits–Merry didn’t join the group until the next chapter! Thorsten returns to this story moment after ten years away, though this time at a much smaller scale. What makes or breaks a build at this scale are the details, and the details here are amazing! Take a look at those tree roots, how they frame the hiding hobbits and flow towards the leaning tree. The tree takes you to the Ringwraith sniffing out the Ring, but Sam stops Frodo from revealing their location. These aren’t the hobbits you’re looking for, Ringwraith!

Ten years ago, Thorsten realized too late that Merry wasn’t part of the group of hobbits hiding from the Ringwraith pursuing Frodo and the Ring. This time around, the mistake is corrected with Frodo, Sam, and Pippin in the hideaway. The ten year-old build is quite beautiful, and I recommend checking it out. It’s at a larger scale than this one, and on a steep slope rather than the hollow Tolkien described in the book. Also look forward to the next build in this Middle-earth vignette series! It will expand to other builders once Thorsten’s contributions are finished. I do enjoy a good adventure through Middle-earth!

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Area man calls 911 after spotting a mutated chicken on his property, police are baffled

When deputies arrived at the scene after responding to a call from a local alfalfa farmer about a strange creature outside his window in the middle of the night, they noticed an unusual sight at the edge of the man’s land, which seemed to be a weather balloon or a new-fangled washing machine. The strange object was stamped with “manufactured by Versteinert“. After setting up a cordon around the site, a black vehicle arrived on the scene, and two well-dressed gentlemen stepped out wearing dark sunglasses and holding up a small penlight…

Just another shower Hutt scene...

I particularly enjoy a LEGO build that injects a certain degree of humour into itself, and this little scene from Albert Lee hits the nail on the head. The brick-built Hutt captures both the contours of the body and colour of the species. Some nice parts have been used to recreate the shower with the blue web piece from a recent Spider-Mech and the water-filled hose adding some subtle action to the build. Some nice detailing then complements this vignette.

Have you ever wondered how the Hutts kept so clean? Neither had I!

Our road leads into the desert of Arrakis

From Arrakis comes spice and these LEGO vignettes by builder Bryan Firks, whom you may know from the second season of LEGO Masters. I had the good fortune to chat with Bryan about these scenes and the inspiration behind them. He became a fan of the “Duniverse” after watching the 2021 film Dune, sparking an interest in the original book and the richly detailed world. Soon, the idea to create a series of microscale scenes developed in his mind. He drew inspiration from 2021’s TBB creation of the year, Jan Woźnica’s Tales from the Space Age, for providing atmosphere and color. Equipped with new color palettes, he employs similar techniques with his vignettes. On the left, transparent neon orange antennae represent orbital strikes on the old city of Arrakeen. A spice refinery explodes in the foreground. In the center, we see an ornithopter hovers above a spice harvester with levers as its wings. On the right, there’s one of the legendary sandworms of Arrakis! The worm is captured brilliantly with round bricks interlinked by flex tubing for poseable segments. The sand dunes give a sense of scale to the worm, showing just how massive it really is!

Bryan faced a few challenges rendering these scenes on this scale. Being a Lord of the Rings fan, he wanted to use Uruk-hai swords for the ornithopter wings. Alas, they were too big for this size. The sandworm presented a fun challenge, and using an inverted 2×2 dome for the gaping maw is very cool! The flow of direction, from left to right following the lines of the orbital strike through to the worm’s mouth, is intentional to give the build a sense of motion. Another clever choice is the night-day-night pattern of the backgrounds, giving the vignettes a lovely balance. The mirroring of the dual moons in the night scenes helps to frame and hold the day scene in your attention as you take in the whole. My favorite part of the build, besides the sandworm? It demonstrates how inspiring the LEGO community can be. Anyone can become inspired by another builder’s creation, leading to more beautiful homages and builds!

Holy LEGO build, Batman!

I’m a huge Batman fan, be it comics, cartoons, films or brick. In LEGO form, I’m always looking for something unique that’s perhaps not black (or very very dark grey!) and along comes DekuScrub72 with this fantastic build, lifted straight from the classic ’60s series! The vignette recreates the famous scene of the dynamic duo moving past an open window and meeting a local with a hint of the Gotham skyline beyond with Trans-Brown plates adding subtle detail as windows on the city block beyond and the Unikitty stand as clouds. And, just like the way the show was filmed, the scene is tilted 90 degrees!

“There is a vortex of Fate all around us”

The final installment of The Witcher vignette series from Jonas Kramm takes us to the Battle of Sodden Hill. This LEGO build depicts a scene from the final episode of season one of the Netflix series. Triss Merigold, a powerful sorceress, defends the gate with a web of vines against the invading forces of Nilfgaard. Jonas captures her ferocity and determination with a practiced eye. The parts usage of this piece, like Jonas’s previous builds, is wonderful! Various slopes, plates, and quarter tiles capture the stonework’s weathered and aged texture. Swords, clips, and ingot bricks define the doors’ details. Dark brown arm pieces act as the stalks for the flowering vines growing along the structure. A beautiful build to end a fantastic vignette series!

Just another quiet night in the local...

LEGO builds that are injected with humour are particular favourites of mine. In this regard, I particularly enjoy Ross Fisher‘s builds and his latest perfectly captures a wrong time, wrong place scenario.

The characterisation in both expression and pose of minifigure is effortlessly recreated in LEGO form here and the building the figures populate has some nice touches too, with the loose roof tiles and wood frame of the building capturing the era of the high seas.
“Now back away, slowly, as if we were never here…”

Tiny steam engine bursting with charm

Using a certain seed part as a focal point for a build can be challenging but in a good way. Constraints can fuel creativity… like in this clever little train by Thomas Gion that uses a particular Technic connector for the center of the steam engine. And while this is a great part usage, my eye was drawn to the genius use of sideways tiles inserted into the base to form the rails and slats for the train tracks. The simple stone arch and landscape round out this small but mighty model.

A small raft with a big problem

The latest build by Josh is fiercely triggering my thalassophobia. I can’t help but feel for this lone seafarer, having his world rocked by some elegantly simple kraken tentacles as they rise up from the water below. I can tell from that small, ramshackle raft that he was already on a journey fraught with hardship. And now he’s got to deal with a kraken? No way would I be as calm as that parrot. Stupid parrot, don’t just sit on that hat! Fly away! Go get help! It’s a giant monster from the depths below! Man, I hate the ocean.

Onwards, to the Sierras

Evancelt Lego has captured a little piece of the Wild West in a beautiful LEGO colour palette in this snapshot of the Westward Expansion. Theres some nice takeaways here from the construction of the carts and the autumnal trees using horn pieces to the clouds made from ice cream.
And as they rode off into the sunset, the wagon train was last heard humming Wandering Star…

The law of surprise

Builder Jonas Kramm is back for a third week of his vignette series based on the Netflix show The Witcher! This LEGO rendition of a scene from season one episode four is instantly recognizable for those who have watched the show. The minifigure versions of Queen Calanthe, Princess Pavetta, the knight Dunny, and Eist Tuirseach are well executed. Even though this vignette is small, it’s packed with details and brilliant parts usage. The simple yet elegant throne pairs well with the feast of a meal on the table. The mosaic on the floor is visually striking and is a wonderful usage of sand green and olive 1x2x2/3 slope (AKA “cheese grater”) elements.

I’ll take the next train; this one looks a little crowded…

Ben Cossy was inspired by the PS4 Spider-Man game and wanted to capture the Mr. Negative subway battle in brick form. But, with no Mr. Negative minifigure to turn to, Ben adapted his idea into a classic Spidey/Venom throw-down. The kinetic energy imbued into the combatants and the subway car battle damage is an excellent example of storytelling in vignette form. But, looking past the action, you’ll see that Ben’s captured all the details of a subway car wonderfully, from the brick-built doors to the numerous ads and posters. Although we have to wonder about the “Wayne Technology” ad. Is this a continuity error, or are the multiversal shenanigans getting that far out of hand?