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.

Fish market is open for business

This charming street market by de-marco looks like it might be inspired by a real location, with so many clever details, like the angled roof made from alternating cones for a nice tile look. The sideways windows above the shop are a great alternative to upright placements, and the cones repeated along the front rooftop work well to echo the awning below.

The builder has a good eye for distinct details that really help set their scenes apart, like in this model of a police station, where a sideways fence piece, possibly a small holding cell window, and stacked air-conditioning units provide points of visual interest. but my favorite detail is the dark-orange star on the top.

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Toss a LEGO coin to your witcher...

It looks like Jonas Kramm is on a vignette roll again, and we here at The Brothers Brick love it. After a series of scenes from the Disney+ series The Book of Boba Jonas has switched genres and streaming services, starting a new series based on the Netflix show The Witcher. This scene is full of great part usage, using several Minifig accessories, not to mention legs, that are used for the gray chimney and as architectural details. Sideways fence pieces make great tall latticed windows and the dual sword holders adorn one of the buildings.

Chad Rhino vs Flaccus Legionnaires

History lessons and LEGO make better partners than the passive fan may realize. Builder Hunter Erickson, for instance, connects to bygone eras with brick-built displays of notable moments in the past. Throughout his work, Hunter has used LEGO to cover some of the more interesting moments from recorded history. All the while, he has utilized some great techniques to achieve realistic scenery, machinery, and animals. Here we have a wonderful example of color blocking from the darker base to the light brush and muted colors of the grass. The scene’s realism even goes as far as to create a shadow over the soldiers due to the dense canopy of the spindly tree they all huddle under. The rhinoceros is actually a design from Builder Stefan that we covered way back in 2010. Hunter certainly resurrected the design for good reason.

In this build, Hunter captures a potential moment from the Flaccus Expedition of 50 A.D. through the Sahara desert and most likely coming to an end around Lake Chad. The Legionnaires venturing into Africa with Septimius Flaccus had most likely only ever encountered or seen the creatures around them in gladiator battles. Being this close to something like this Rhinoceros had to be more terrifying then than it would be today. At least for some local-yokel Romans.

Jet pack jumps perplex jealous Pykes.

Jonas Kramm has been doing a series of vignette builds to commemorate the induvial episodes of The Book of Boba Fett. His latest features Boba Fett and Din Djarin teaming up in the final episode’s climatic end battle. Rocketing upwards in their jetpacks, Boba and Din have gained the high ground in their battle against the Pyke Syndicate. Jonas’s vignette perfectly captures the feel of the architecture in the city of Mos Espa, from the arched doorway to the well-greebled moisture vaporator. And the angle of the photo makes it feel like the two Mandalorians are hanging in the air like magic. But, if this build is for the last episode, does it mean no more vignettes are coming our way? Fear not. You can relive the best parts of the show through builds from Jonas and more right here.

Grogu’s Force lessons

I don’t think it’s any secret that most people’s favorite The Book of Boba Fett episodes were largely Fett-less. Jonas Kramm has paid tribute to the show’s identity crisis with his latest build based on Episode 6. In this scene, the child Grogu faces off against a Jedi Training Droid on the planet where Luke is establishing his new school. Jonas has packed a lot of accurate detail into this 14×14 vignette, from the bamboo forest to the flintlock weapons used as twigs in the water. I appreciate the round quarter 1×1 tile in Ahsoka’s hand, acting as the small package that the Mandalorian left for his foundling. But, perhaps the most accurate detail of all is that this scene also contains an entirely artificial recreation of Mark Hamill. Special effects jokes aside, if you dig this build, make sure to check out Jonas’s other vignettes of the show here and here.

The river bends towards this little round house

Builder Auctobre has crafted a delightful vignette of a fisherman returning home with his daily catch. The beauty in this build is how everything seems to twist and curve in some way; from the roof of the cottage to the trunk of the neighboring tree, and even the small dock. It’s a combination of techniques that make the scene feel organic and alive.

Something wizard this way comes!

Following last week’s episode of The Mandalorian season 2.5—I mean The Book of Boba Fett, LEGO builders across the galaxy got their grey bricks out to recreate a certain starfighter. Builder Jonas Kramm took a different route and built a follow-up to his previous vignette from the series. In this small diorama, The Mandalorian is offered a new ship in Peli Motto’s garage. While he didn’t build the entire vehicle, Jonas focuses on the discovery of a partial ship hiding under tattered cloth. What starfighter could that be?

Is it a Porax-38, a variant of which we saw in the “prison break” episode of The Mandalorian season 1? Or is it what we think it is? Jonas keeps the mystery and suspense alive by only building a dismantled engine hiding under a Silent Mary sail piece. Various clutter complete the diorama, such as grey and silver greebly pieces representing spaceship parts and two droids, one of which is a BD unit that people who have played Jedi: Fallen Order will recognise.

As The Book of Boba Fett is about to wrap up, we wonder what other scenes Jonas will build next.
Check out more builds we’ve featured: Jonas Kramm on TBB

The fourth Law of Robotics: always keep your AI happy

What do you do when your drone tells you a lame joke? Right, you laugh. Look at Pascal Schmidt‘s drones. They are happy, which means the people around them are safe and happy, too. A combination of brutal dark gray mechanical suits and innocent smiling faces from DOTS gives me chills every time. Practically it’s the most effective way to give your build character, but in this case, the suits are excellent, too.

Three cheers for brick-built backgrounds! Ra! Ra! Ra!

I always say it, there are just not enough Stargate builds out there. That seems to be changing more and more, as seen here with this vignette by Builder Douglas Hughes. Somewhat of a double hitter for references, this model follows in the style of our 2021 Creation of the Year with its own distinct character. Capturing some Stargate history, Douglas imagined the false god moving into his new apartments. A Cheops class warship shoots a matter stream down into the Great Pyramids of Giza as the sun sets behind it, the Nile alight with a red glare. Clever building techniques and color-blocking create a gradient that effectively emulates the dulling brightness of the setting sun. The use of black bricks for the pyramids and ship is a great way to achieve the silhouette effect. The translucent red river is my favorite part though, as it’s a perfect way to capture the depth of field with an added layer of realism.

This is a great example of the power models like this have and Douglas did a fantastic job with its color and layout. Maybe 2022 will bring us more of these delightful vignettes in addition to more Stargate love. Whatever it brings, I hope its not a bunch of Goa’uld in a Cheops.

The isle of magic

If I were searching for an island of magic like the explorer in this LEGO vignette by Josh, I’d be pretty excited when I saw this. Josh doesn’t provide us any further details on the specifics, but this mysterious island is flowing with lava and surrounded by a steaming sea. At the center lies some sort of magical cauldron. Note the subtle gradient beneath the transparent light blue tiles, giving the water a sense of depth.

Take note of this impressive castle vignette.

Francis Wiemelt has delivered a 12×12 castle vignette featuring a medieval scribe, attending to his work in a room worth writing home about. From the slanted brickwork in the ceiling, to the well textured stone floor, there are loads of impressive details in this build. My favorite part is the scribe’s desk, which is made (appropriately enough) from books.

Is it gone?

It’s that time of the year for “new year, new me” declarations, and leaving certain things in the previous year which just ended. Builder Michael Jasper decided to build those sentiments as a small LEGO diorama.

When I think about it, New Years Day hangovers aren’t even that bad. Neither are New Year’s resolutions that no one will keep for more than a week. But that is every year. Things are already different at the start of 2022. Are LEGO Stores in the U.K. increasing the prices of Pick-a-Brick cups by almost 25%? Yeah that’s not exactly a good way to start the year. Newer lockdowns and restrictions? It’s a bit much but we’ve gotten used to them by now. We were all hoping this year will be better than the last, and the one before.

Nevertheless, COVID-19 persisted.