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.
Tag Archives: Vignettes
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!
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.
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.
If you want to build your own festive white reindeer, ianying616 has kindly supplied instructions,. The first page is shown below.
There are eight pages in total, and can be found in ianying616’s reindeer instructions album.
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.
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.
No army is tiny enough to sieze this castle
I have no idea what the tiny attacking army is thinking, but apparently they are trying to besiege this cute, impenetrable fortress. The scene, built by Timothy Shortell, is as complete as they get. There’s ingenious use of parts in the siege equipment, the dark green plains are dynamic, the castle is highly detailed and, most of all, the intense cliffs at the back are amazing. I have never believed them to be useful in a serious creation, but at this scale and level of texture, the rocky wedges (part 64867) at the left and right ends of the cliffs actually look perfect.
The temple of paperwork
In an office as fancy as this one by Sven Franic, paperwork is no longer a chore, but a joy. Warm earth tones, elegant ornaments, and a comfortable chair make for a great atmosphere. Anyone spending most of their day writing would be envious of such an office.
The centerpiece of the build is literally a piece – the light gray minifig microphone piece, used in ingenius ways throughout the build. Do not think that is all, as there are unique uses for exotic parts everywhere. The radio and typewriter obviously stand out, but I strongly suggest looking at all segments of the scene more closely, because even such background features as the wooden window frame turn out to be tiny little masterpieces of their own.
A utopian place to call home
Life can be busy and sometimes we need to find a place that allows us to relax and unwind. Rather than search high and low for that special place, Milan Sekiz has built his own sanctuary with LEGO bricks. This tranquil scene is beautiful, with its soothing colour scheme and some very nice natural features in the garden. I love the way the colour combination of the leaves tone in nicely with the sloping roofs of the home in the background.
My own favourite part of the scene is the little stream and the cleverly constructed bridge connecting the stone path. Milan has used different coloured plates under the transparent light blue tiles to give the impression of a textured river bed.
There’s only one minor part of the scene that kicked me from my tranquil, meditative state; the combination of the yellow minifigures and flesh has a jolting effect on my irritable nerve.
We’re going to need a bigger boat
After writing our review of the giant shark-mech 70656 garmadon, Garmadon, GARMADON! from The LEGO Ninjago Movie, Elspeth De Montes was inspired to transform the shark into the most famous one of all. I mean, of course, the great white from Jaws, and Garmadon’s shark seems well suited to the role once the un-shark-like feet are removed. Add in the the back half of the Orca and some waves, and this vignette already has me humming duuuun dun…. duuuun dun…. duuuun dun….
Santa is ripped and ready to deliver
Saint Nick needs to be in peak physical condition at this time of year. Sebastian Bachórzewski‘s compact LEGO scene shows some of the efforts the big man goes to in order to be ready for the 24th. I particularly like the way the treadmill has been put together, and Santa’s clothing lying in his locker is a nice touch. However, I’m not sure pizza is a good shout — something higher in protein, perhaps with fewer carbs, might be a better nutritional choice.
For milling your tiny grain you need a tiny water mill
Microscale is an interesting LEGO building style for a few reasons. It lets a builder recreate ideas they could not otherwise due to the constraints of their collection or time. It also presents a unique challenge of capturing shapes and textures with only a few pieces, which would be easier (but perhaps less rewarding?) at larger scales. With this water mill by Robert4168/Garmadon, the grass and the front face of the house have the characteristic simple microscale charm, but the house’s left wall, the hill with the cute fence, and especially the thatched roof have a texture to them that even larger scale creations would envy sometimes.
Assassins don’t stop for tea in Boston
Assassin’s Creed III is actually the fifth major instalment in the Assassin’s Creed series. The game explores the life of an 18th-century assassin in Colonial America during the American Revolution. Boston was an important location to both the American and British armies and Ben Trischler has used this setting as inspiration for his street scene. I love the dark red brick texture Ben has patiently created for the main building (based on the Old State House from the game). The round windows look particularly impressive, while the architectural details around the central windows and doors add a lot of character to the building.
The bustling street scene below has some lovely textures and interesting details that draw the eye, like those Salmon-coloured Scala flower pots and the hay cleverly made from a pile of mop heads.