Home Again, at a Castle-Era House Near the Woods

Name of Model: Home again.

Created by: Brother Steven

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/76437548@N04/tags/home/

Details: This serene edge-of-the-woods scene is so realistic that it's easy to miss the story hinted at in the title (hint: look at what the excited minifigure is looking at). The variety of dense shrubbery and trees looks spot on, only outdone by the stone walls and bridge. There are a surprising amount of interesting angles in this model, although it's hard to tell what technique is holding some of the parts together (in the case of the water, you can see that the parts are loose). The house, the bridge, the horse, and the waterfall are all angled nicely. The fairly simple trees use angles the best, though - a few angled headlight bricks and carefully placed bars allow the leaves to have a realistic droop. The house itself has fairly simple tudor-style architecture, but makes great use of translucent 1x2 bricks for the smoke in the chimney and plates with flower edges for the cornice.

All About "Three Story Victorian with Tree"

Name of Model: Three Story Victorian with Tree

Created by: Mike Doyle

Found at: http://mikedoylesnap.blogspot.com/2011/01/three-story-victorian-with-tree.html

Details: There are actually a few other links relevant to this stunning model. Since Mike Doyle is something of a rising star in the LEGO community, he's attracting plenty of attention and having much written about his work already. It's great to see a relatively new builder creating such amazing models and getting recognized for it, but it makes it difficult for those of us who focus on writing something original about models we feature. Fortunately, I can also aggregate links fairly well - here's a round-up of sorts: The original blog post is the definitive page for this model (same link featured above) That's just one post on Mike Doyle's blog This model is also on MOCPages ...and on flickr ...and already dismantled! You can buy a commemorative print with a small chunk of the model now. There are also two work-in-progress posts about the construction of this model. LEGO Designer Marcos Bessa interviewed Mike Doyle about his projects, goals, and experiences In the interest of encouraging other new builders, Mike published his own primer on the LEGO hobby (I'd say he's off to a great start there!)

...and for those of you keeping score at home, this is post #1100.

A Beautiful Campus

Name of Model: A building complex started in 1991

Created by: aror

Found at: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=463229

Details: Every once in a while, you come across a gorgeous large layout that feels like minifigs could actually live in it. It's less like looking at a model, and more like seeing a little world. This minifig-scale model clearly meets that criteria - the four large buildings are flanked by smaller buildings, vehicles, and landscaping, in a way that resembles a well-maintained professional or academic campus early in the morning (before the crowds have come about). This project was started in 1991, and the colors reflect that - note how red and white are the main colors, and green is used sparingly. Back then, large plates and plants were the only widely available (non-DUPLO) parts in green. In spite of the limited palette, there's still a colorful ceiling pattern and plenty of other subtle details. The tall windows make this interpretation of minifig scale very close to that of the Cafe Corner set. The details around the windows aren't filled with tricky techniques, but they still take on a grand effect when repeated over these large walls. Don't miss the use of grey goblets on the chimneys, or the fantastic use of Imperial flags outside of a Pirates-based setting.

Large Light Yellow Katrina Cottage

Name of Model: Katrina Cottage-inspired Wisconsin Home

Created by: SoftaRae .

Found at: http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/244127

Details: I'm actually breaking my "no WIPs (works in progress)" rule with this one, but since this model is substantially done and already incredibly impressive, I think it's justified. The only things left to do are adding furniture and patching up the roof. Inspired by a Katrina Cottage design originally by Marianne Cusato, this light yellow (!) house adds a basement, fireplace, and loft to round it out to more of a full-size family home - specifically of the sort you might find in Wisconsin. The faithful-to-the-original architectural detailing and spectacular use of that rare color would have been enough to impress me, but there are also some fantastic interior details: floors covered in tiles (with a different pattern in each room to capture different textures), a largely furnished kitchen and bathroom, staircases, and the insides of the windows.

A House in the Hamptons

Name of Model: House in the Hamptons

Created by: Sean Kenney

Found at: http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/211033

Details: You may remember LEGO Certified Professional Sean Kenny (we may have featured his work before this). This time, he uses "nnenn scale" to fulfill a commission to build a LEGO version of a large house in the Hamptons. It does, unfortunately, appear that some of the sideways bits used to make the doors and windows may be just glued into place (they'd probably stay still with friction, but in a commissioned piece you need to be sure they can't be knocked out of place). However, there are some great details here - you have to zoom in to get a good look, but all of the outdoor seating is fantastic. The backs are even adjustable on the patio furniture!

Snow on the Stoop and a Tree in the House

Name of Model: Hot Cocoa

Created by: NaNeto (Nelson Neto)

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/naneto/sets/72157625523006203/with/5281707574/

Details: I know it's after Christmas (and that this model was posted to flickr on December 22nd), but let's be honest: most of us are still just starting to get back to "real life". Having snow in many places that don't usually get it doesn't help. You might not have a Snow Trooper over for hot cocoa, but otherwise, this probably does look pretty familiar. I just want to know why we don't see more 16 x 16 sized vignettes. The extra space really captures the setting - the mix of a sculpted snow look alongside slopes is perfect, and the fireplace, gifts, and curtain really round this out nicely. Even the floor looks great!

A Minifig Christmas

Name of Model: A Minifig Christmas

Created by: Nannan Z.

Found at: http://www.mocpages.com/moc.php/241320

Details: I'll keep this short since this is already fairly well-explained at the links above. The basic concept was to make a callback to the classic winter catalog covers that featured LEGO characters from various themes giving gifts to each other at some sort of holiday gathering. Here, the idea is kicked up a notch with collectible minifigures (not to mention Max!) and a gingerbread house.

Santa's Boat House

Name of Model: Santa's Boat House

Created by: monstrophonic

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/40348469@N05/sets/72157625624892252/

Details: LEGO focus groups most of their models with young people. At some level, that's fine - it's their main demographic. However, "those people" like different things than adults do - while kids always want more boats, racecars, police/fire/rescue sets, and other easy-to-play with models, the serious hobbyists invariably complain that they have too many wheels, boat hull elements, and goofy single-use parts. This is one of those models that makes great use of parts we frequently hear cannot be used. Obviously, the biggest stand-out technique is the use of rowboats as small dormers and the use of a viking ship hull segment as a larger dormer. Continuing the nautical theme, we see a pirate ship's steering wheel over the door, and just above that we see the newer fish element used as a decoration. Over the first-floor windows (themselves a classy tan surrounded by plates with rails and headlight bricks with tiles), we see 3x4 leaves with cherries on them. That great Christmas tree out front? Look closely - those are upside-down palm tree leaves. The use of some white strings with grips for strings of lights rounds out the tree. Of course, what I really love about this is the polar bear hiding between the Christmas tree. I didn't mention the great use of color or the texture on the side walls either!

Reinventing Texture

Name of Model: Two Story with Basement

Created by: mike doyle

Found at: http://mocpages.com/moc.php/228199

Details: Generally speaking, there aren't that many textures that you can get out of standard LEGO pieces. Sure, you can stretch the limits by turning pieces in every direction - the bottoms and tops of pieces have different textures than what we're used to seeing on the side. Here, a combination of a large (looks like miniland to me) scale, that technique of using every side of the brick, and intentional disassembly make this house look abandoned and worn down. The close-up shots give away some of the magic: cheese slopes and front-facing tiles without bricks behind create the rustic look of the snow-covered walls, some parts (like this door) just aren't attached, and open spaces between plates give the illusion of rotting wood (the use of angled tiles in that photo is surprisingly effective too). The kicker? This is this builder's first creation since getting started as a LEGO hobbyist. Some people just have too much of a talent for this...

Gamble House

Name of Model: Gamble House

Created by: The Brick Scho

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/50502540@N08/tags/gamblehouse/

Details: This gorgeous microscale rendition of the Gamble house in Pasadena, California, USA is fantastic. While the source material is an exciting bit of architecture, this LEGO version actually looks even better - the brighter shades of tan and reddish brown really pop, and the dark green here looks phenomenal. The balance of techniques is just right - the windows are flashy enough to stand out but still fairly faithful to the source material. When trying to capture a landmark in microscale, you sometimes need to make a bit of a caricature by emphasizing certain features. In this case, I think that the details where picked out as well as can be at this scale. Please check out the builder's flickr photostream for additional photos of this model and other spectacular microscale models of real buildings. I tried to add the tag "Gamble House" to all of these photos to make them easier to see here, but for some reason that option wasn't available on a few photos of this model - including one of the better overview shots and the photo showing how the roof sections line up. From the builder: Built: 1908 Architects: Brothers Henry & Charles Greene Pasadena, CA I hope that this has captured the look and feel of the Gamble House. The Gambles considered selling it, but soon changed their minds when prospective buyers spoke of painting the interior teak and mahogany woodwork white! The Gambles realized the artistic importance of the house and it remained in the Gamble family until 1966, when it was deeded to the city of Pasadena and University. Enjoy!

Interiors For A Doll House

Name of Model: Dollhouse WIP 2010

Created by: Heather LEGOgirl

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/heather_legogirl/sets/72157624340293253/with/4687471904/

Details: The name of the photo set may say that this is a WIP (Work-In-Progress), but the photos sure look like they show finished models. The furniture looks excellent and the rooms are surprisingly detailed. In the kitchen shot (above), you can see channel bricks used to create texture on the walls (which also make use of tan 1x6x5 panels - an excellent piece that has shown up in Pick-A-Brick recently). For the stove's burners, 2x2 turntable bases were used. The chair is a neat design too - the studs face the front of the chair, but are covered in tiles. The result looks very un-LEGO but still only uses very basic parts. The kitchen also features great techniques for a table, blinds, an opening microwave, refrigerator, and dishwasher, and even a cornice. The next room shows us how to do a lamp, shelves, dresser, and aquarium at this scale (the "dollhouse" scale this builder uses is very close to Scala scale and the scale used in Miniland). Then there's the desk, desk lamp, and chair further into that room. Next to the bed (which shows off a cheese-slope technique for pillows, as well as dark tan paneling on the foot board), we see a roll top desk (how the heck?!?). All of that was great. There's also a garage, though. The workbench features a peg board, tools, a saw, and a birdhouse. Under the bench, we can see paint cans and a chain saw (these little details really sell these as realistic scenes - did you catch that sponge in the kitchen?). The other side has a washer, dryer, and toolbox.

Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater in 1:40 scale

Name of Model: Fallingwater

Created by: Matija Grguric

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/matijagrguric/sets/72157623778661188/

Details: A while back (we didn't mention it because we don't feel comfortable recommending it due to the extremely high price per part ratio), LEGO released an official Fallingwater kit that is very faithful to the original structure designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The trouble with the official sets in the Architecture theme and other kits that build landmarks (such as the Taj Mahal, which is currently $50 off) is that the limits of currently available parts and acceptable pricing ensure that no matter what the LEGO company can sell in a kit, it'll be possible for a fan to do a better job with the same source material. In this case, we see Fallingwater rendered at a 1:40 scale (roughly minifig scale, although minifig dimensions are blurry enough to not really fit any scale exactly) instead of the microscale of the original kit. Also interesting about this model is that this one is clearly in a wintery season - note the spindly, leafless trees and the dark icy water. In the interest of being thorough and giving you all of the display and construction details, I'm stealing the description of this model that appears with most of the photos: Building info: Fallingwater, also known as the Edgar J. Kaufmann Sr. Residence, is a house designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1934 in rural southwestern Pennsylvania, 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh. The house was built partly over a waterfall in Bear Run at Rural Route 1 in the Mill Run section of Stewart Township, Fayette County, Pennsylvania, in the Laurel Highlands of the Allegheny Mountains. For the rest of the information regarding the house please visit Wikipedia. Project: I've had thoughts about this project since I've built Le Corbusier's Villa Savoye. I finally made up my mind in September 2009. when I began planning and working on some early designs. Scale of the building is minifig, or approximate 1:40. One of the issues was how to make the stone walls of the building. The result here is made out of 4 different shades of grey (old grey and bley). Other was the terrain and vegetation. In the end I decided to make it in winter atmosphere. Snow is something I always enjoy, and I was always more of a winter type of person, so here it is - my first snowy MOC. :) Building process spread over total of almost 7 months, and the structure is made out of more than 15000 bricks (just an approximate guess). It is placed on 6 48*48 baseplates, and measures 115 x 80 x 50 cm. It weights more than 20 kg. This MOC will be displayed in Technical Museum in Zagreb on "Kockice EXPO 2010", in May and June this year. I would like to thank dear Klementina for her help and support during the rough times - multiple structure collapses. ;) Check it out at the links above and/or at the museum in Zagreb in the coming months - this is an excellent model.

Dollhouse Furniture

Name of Model: bedroom

Created by: brn2stndout

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/search/?ss=2&w=32901144@N05&q=bedroom&m=text

Details: Yes, I know what you're thinking. "That's not LEGO!" OK, some of it isn't LEGO, but the use of LEGO bricks, tiles, plates, and a few other parts here is pretty clever. The back of the bed shows off an entirely new use for windows (especially of the sort you can't find the little glass panes for). The shelves are surprisingly effective, even though they're a very simple build. You could be forgiven for thinking that the coffee table is real. While the dresser appears to use non-LEGO legs, even the combination comes off well. The lamp uses angled 1x1 bricks to great effect on top of a more traditional table. Everything is built to look studless, with tiles on top of all the bricks. Sometimes I wonder if it's really worth the effort to hide the fact that you're building with LEGO - to me part of the appeal of building with LEGO bricks is that the end result does look like it belongs in a little LEGO world. In this case, however, I think it's clear that the tiles were the right move - and that the less "purist" combination of LEGO with more traditional dollhouse furnishings and accessories is definitely a good idea.

Modular-Style Christmas House

Name of Model: Lego Christmas House

Created by: zaberca

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/15902478@N02/tags/christmas/

Details: I like to focus on some pretty clever techniques here, but sometimes you can build a very detailed and pleasing little model without getting too fancy. This one still features some nice tricks ("headlight" bricks to use tiles as a realistic brick texture, pairs of round 1x1 plates stuck with string in the middle to make lights, rows of parts used to get architectural details, wheel well elements as window arches, etc.) but is largely built with standard bricks, standing up straight in a simple and elegant pattern. The scale is perfect, too - the house is the right dimensions to fit with "modular buildings" like Cafe Corner and Green Grocer, but the dark red section only goes up to a more classic town height of 7 bricks tall. The remaining three bricks' height before the roofline is done with various architectural details.

This is Thursday's model of the day

Micro Gingerbread House

Name of Model: Micro Gingerbread House

Created by: Mariann Asanuma

Found at: http://www.brickjournal.com/view/article/8/ and http://modelbuildingsecrets.wordpress.com/2009/12/05/micro-gingerbread-house/

Details: Here's another seasonal gift of building instructions - a gingerbread house (presented by BrickJournal magazine). Designed by former LEGOLAND Master Builder Mariann Asanuma, this is another masterpiece - and (assuming you can locate the parts in your own collection - a challenge, but in this case it is actually possible that a fairly small collection could contain all the right parts) you can even build your own! Alternatively, you could build your own similar house (a worthwhile challenge that has already been attempted by at least one builder). Since I live in the US and we have insane consumer protection laws, I'm pretty sure I'm required by law to remind you not to eat any LEGO parts used for building gingerbread houses (please tell me you already knew not to eat plastic parts before the goofy law went into place to remind you about that...please!)

This is Friday's model of the day - and yes, we intend to catch up for Wednesday and Thursday yet...

Brown Town House

Name of Model: Brown Town House

Created by: Nick D.M

Found at: Flickr

Details: Wonderfully detailed interior. Coherent exterior. Details in all the right places. What more could you want? Wonderful job, "DarthNick". This is a masterpiece.

Update on James May's House

Found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/empiresteve/sets/72157622069763887/

Details: I've previously mentioned James May's attempt to build a house out of LEGO bricks. As you can see from this photo, the house is starting to shape up. As you can also see, there's a wooden structure that the bricks are going around. My guess? There was probably some building safety laws on the books preventing this from being a pure attempt at building a life-size house out of LEGO elements. There are 11 more photos to check out in the flickr set mentioned above, and they reveal this to be a fairly strange multi-colored creation with more than a few elements that reek of "cheating". I think it's clear now that there will have to be another attempt at building a full-size house in order to determine if it truly is possible to do it without using other materials. For a look at the front door and a similar opinion (I'm not crazy to feel let down about the wooden structure!), check out the update posted on Mariann Asanuma's blog earlier this week.

Victorian III

Name of Model: Victorian III

Created by: SoftaRae

Found at: MOCPages

Details: SoftaRae has a series of Victorian Houses based on some old houses in San Fransisco called "the painted ladies" for their variety in color. At first glance, it may be hard to distinguish that this is actually a creation made of LEGO bricks. Take a closer look. SoftaRae includes a number of close-ups at MocPages. And notice that this is Victorian III (Roman Numberals for 3) - this is the successor to the Victorian II featured here previously, and there's also one earlier building to look at in this series. Looks like we've got a lot of rare pieces & colors in here. I like the use of tiles on the exterior walls to give the sense of wood paneling. Note also the cheese wedge used decoratively around the windows. Not to mention the intricate use of 1x1 cylinders on the door and windows to look like colored glass.

The "Painted Ladies" District - Victorian II

Name of Model: The "Painted Ladies" District - Victorian II

Created by: SoftaRae .

Found at: http://new.mocpages.com/moc.php/97810

Details: Take a close look a this building facade - it's not minifig scale. It's not really miniland scale, either. This classic house is in an interesting medium scale that fits perfectly on 15 inches (48 studs) of baseplate going across (I'm not sure just how deep it is). The details are amazing, and the colors - this builder uses so many rare parts and colors that it's hard not to be jealous about all the great stuff going into the models. For this sort of beautiful details, though? Completely worth it.

This is Tuesday's model of the day

Doll House

Name of Model: My LEGO Dollhouse - The Dave Shaddix Home for Wayward Girls

Created by: Heather LEGO Girl

Found at: http://www.mocpages.com/folder.php/31815

Details: There aren't enough awesome, fully fleshed-out dollhouses built in Belville scale. Not only is this a full building - but it's fully furnished. There are even little Belville inhabitants living inside.

This is Tuesday's model of the day