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.

The cuddly king of the north

I realize polar bears are an endangered species and killing machines, but can you blame me for wanting to pet one? Especially so after seeing this extra cute LEGO recreation by Jens Ohrndorf. The build expresses a lot of character and that is not just a consequence of using the eye tiles. The subtle angle of the neck and the shaping of the back are very characteristic for a polar bear. It is a feat of photography that Jens made the bear not blend in with the ice base under it.

Icebear 2.0The builder calls the photo on his Flickr Icebear 2.0, because it is actually a remake of an older build. The older version is well worth taking a look at, but the improvements in the updated build are quite obvious.

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Loki’s eternal punishment – trapped in a LEGO hell

It makes a nice change to see a Norse god depicted in LEGO and for it not to be a version taken from the Marvel pantheon. However, Loki himself might not agree, as Pacurar Andrei‘s latest vignette shows the trickster god trapped in his eternal punishment — chained in the entrails of his own sons, with his faithful wife Sigyn shielding him from dripping snake venom. The legends had it that when Sigyn was forced to take periods of rest from holding the bowl, the venom would strike Loki’s face, causing him to shake and struggle, causing earthquakes. Nice. As for the model, the rockwork on display is very smartly-done (and reddish brown makes a pleasant change from the usual grey), and the colour gradient on the lava is lovely. All-in-all it’s a sweet little scene depicting an anything-but-sweet story.

Loki's Fate

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SPARTANS! Prepare for battle! For tonight, WE DINE IN HELL!!

If you’ve studied antiquity or maybe just seen the film 300, you are familiar with the story of the Battle of Thermopylae, where a small collection of highly trained Spartans defended the “Gates of Hell” against an overwhelming Persian force. Letranger Absurde has created a cute little vignette featuring the shields of at least 50 battle hardened Spartans forming a protective dome or tortoise formation. I love how the simplicity of the colours juxtaposes the textures of the shields and rocks. A cracking little build.

Spartans

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The best piece of junk in the galaxy

Star Wars celebrated its fortieth birthday last year, which was when this beautiful forced perspective by Jme Wheeler was built, within a 40-part series of builds for the Blocks magazine, telling the whole story of A New Hope.

Falcon Escapes

I love the colours in the sky and the micro version of Mos Eisley is beautiful in its simplicity. The angle on the Millennium Falcon flying away is very expressive, with stormtroopers looking up at it, completing the scene.

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A tavern in colonial times

The Green Dragon Tavern in Boston inspired  Jonas Wide to create his own colonial tavern set in the fictional continent of Celestia. It is a place where the latest scientific ideas are discussed and treks to uncharted territories are planned. A few techniques add a layer of complexity to an otherwise straightforward rectangular building such as the offset windows and the use of the gold bars on the quoins.

The Gilded Cup

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Going for the strike

This bowling alley vignette by David Zambito captures all the vibes of a classic pastime. There’s just the right amount of details to draw your attention to key features such as the bowling pins and the players. Even the gutters are there to remind some of us how much more practice is needed. Here’s hoping our minifig bowler scores a strike!

Bowling

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A good dentist never gets on your nerves

The Brothers Brick features many LEGO models created during build challenges like “Iron Builder” and the “ABS Builder Challenge.” Lucky builders get mailed “seed” pieces and are asked to create a series of wonderful, amazing designs in a short period of time. As luck would have it, Brick Samson (aka yours truly) was invited to participate in the ABS Builder Challenge round 2.8.

After an inspirational chat with a friend about the seed part (the dark brown wheel arch fender looking thing) and the narrow leather recliner was born. Add a suitable gaudy tiled floor, sterile white walls and cupboards, appropriate fixtures and a few lethal instruments and you have a squirmy colourful scene to send a shiver down the back of your spine. Enjoy!

Take a seat

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A sanctuary in the clouds

Take a deep breath and relax. Anthony Wilson shows us the best views are often found above the clouds. This creation depicts rock formations jutting from clouds built from a variety of sizes of white dish pieces. The composition’s soft pink background creates a very soothing aura, enhanced by the pretty cherry blossom tree. Sign me up for a trip to this spot to meditate and contemplate the meaning of life.

Oogway

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Livin’ in the wild

A LEGO creation doesn’t have to be themed around the post-apocalypse to feature individuals surviving in the wild using repurposed scrap and salvage. Travis Brickle presents a vignette featuring a makeshift shelter made from the hull of an old bus. There are outstanding details that rewards those who zoom in on the photo for a closer look. Can you find the custom built gramophone, easel, and rake? For a dwelling so removed from civilization, there’s certainly no shortage of household items to live comfortably!

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Hark the LEGO angels sing

What better way to celebrate Christmas than with a beautiful brick-built Nativity scene? Birgitte Jonsgard evokes the spirit of the Renaissance Masters with this creation — a classical arch framing a suitably reverentail depiction of the Madonna and Child, complete with Joseph, Three Kings, and a host of heavenly cherubs. The entire scene is nicely done, but it was Mary’s halo, and the angels in their clouds which particularly caught my eye. Lovely stuff.

LEGO Nativity

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I’m dreaming of a white reindeer [Instructions]

With its smattering of red and gold, this predominantly white LEGO scene by ianying616 makes a sweet and simple festive treat. The tree in the background is nicely-done, with just enough decorations to avoid looking stark. And I like the use of tan tiles amidst the restrained colour scheme — it gives a bit of contrast which allows the central reindeer to stand out. The little creature itself is a cool model, with good use of toothed parts, tiles, and curves to provide texture and detail.

White Christmas-Reindeer5

If you want to build your own festive white reindeer, ianying616 has kindly supplied instructions,. The first page is shown below.

ReindeerInstruction01

There are eight pages in total, and can be found in ianying616’s reindeer instructions album.

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A new beauty born of decay

When I first looked at this picture, I thought to myself that someone really needs to clean up the weeds on their mansion, but then with some quick research it turned out there is nobody to do the cleaning. Château Nottebohm is an abandoned castle in Belgium, which has been uninhabited for over half a century. While the landscape looks more like a savannah than a temperate forested plain, Marion has definetely done justice to the mansion itself.

Château Nottebohm 05

On the outside the building seems to contain no large bricks whatsoever, achieving intense chaotic textures characteristic of decaying buildings. Textures like these feel more at home in larger creations, but Marion has managed to make them look good even at this small scale. There are complex shapes achieved with more or less legal techniques, for some of which I am not even sure they can be done without cutting bricks, so purists beware! For a better understanding of some of these techniques, I suggest anyone interested to look at the work in progress photos, like this example here.

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