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Building with LEGO – micro-scale building

by Thita (admin) on November 12, 2013

In this series we are going over a few basic LEGO techniques and ideas for building a good LEGO MOC (My-Own-Creation). I’ll be taking examples from several LEGO builders to give you a good idea of different styles and possibilities of the techniques covered, though unless otherwise specified, the examples are mine. We’ve already covered LEGO Bases & Borders, LEGO Landscaping, Customizing Your Minifigures, LEGO Buildings & Vehicles and Picture Perfect Scenes, so now let’s take a stab at LEGO micro-building – something smaller than minifig-scale! 🙂

➡ LEGO MICRO-SCALE SIZING: Usually building in micro-scale with LEGO is a bit more challenging than building minifigure-scale; because of the small size, it’s hard to incorporate lots of details. However if you are up to the challenge, the first thing to do is to choose your scale; micro-builds can be built for the LEGO microfigures (as the one above), at an even smaller scale of two plates equals the height of a (hypothetical) person, or anything in between! Once you’ve chosen your scale – either by picking something you are already familiar with (like microfigure-scale or the scale of the #10230 LEGO Mini-Modular Buildings – as in the example below), or by starting off the build and seeing which direction it’s going – be sure to stick with it! It can be easy to have slightly varying sizes if you’re not careful, and thereby creating a confusing end result. At certain scales, person-sized details are not even close to possible, but at slightly larger scales, they can be added in some very clever ways! Below is an example of a very nice LEGO Mini-Modular building by moctown called the Town House.

One of the nicest things about LEGO micro-building is that it doesn’t require a particularly large LEGO collection. While it is possible to build a huge micro-scale display, most LEGO micro creations are very small (naturally!), but still look good. Micro-building is often more about the time you put into it than the amount of bricks. One of my favorite things about micro-building is that you can put a lot of thought into each piece, something that usually isn’t feasible at a larger size.

➡ LEGO MICRO-SCALE DETAILING: Adding details is where the rubber hits the road with LEGO micro-building. How do you get such tiny little details using LEGO bricks? One of the keys is to use the smallest bricks and other elements you have available for these sections. Another trick is to use connectionless LEGO techniques – balance pieces where necessary! I find I have to do this fairly often; in the example above, neither of the front two wheels are attached. And in the waterwheel below, a slight push will send the wheel flying! 🙄

Techniques and styles used for larger scale LEGO builds can also be used here. Rockwork and greenery have much the same style as for larger LEGO creations, but trees need to be much smaller! LEGO headlight-bricks are very useful, as are cheese-slopes and small odd-shaped bricks and pieces. Notice the careful piece use and the holes in the towers, made to look like window-slits, in the example below; Avell Castle by Toltomeja.

It’s also helpful to look at normal LEGO pieces in a different way. A simple white road-sign can become a full sail for a tiny ship, green spikes can become giant trees, and teddy bears become life-size beasts! Below is a unique example of a very cute Treasure Box Castle by Dodge.

Posing microfigures (or other figures used) is something of an art in itself in such a small scale. Since microfigures have no hands, getting them to hold anything requires the use of a rubber-band or something of that sort. Rinaci Castle by Brother Steven is a good example of this technique.

LEGO Micro Scale Castle by Brother Stephen

➡ SOURCES FOR LEGO MICRO- BUILDING: The now retired (but still available) LEGO Games line is a good source of LEGO microfigures and small parts, and the LEGO Minecraft sets have a great selection of useful parts for micro-building. Also, the second set of the #20216 LEGO Master Builder Academy has a full section on LEGO micro-building with tons of tips and techniques. And the #10230 LEGO Mini Modular Buildings is also a great way to start out with ideas. You can find all of them at the Online LEGO Shop, just click on the links.

I hope the above examples give you some inspiration to try out LEGO micro-scale building. What do you think? Do you like the challenge of building in such a small scale? Are there any techniques you really like? Feel free to share and discuss in the comment section below! 😉

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

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LEGO Minifigures Series 11 review – part 3

by Thita (admin) on November 11, 2013

in LEGO Minifigures

(Written by Cameron)

Let’s continue with our review of the minifigs in LEGO Minifigure Series 11 that got released recently. This is a particularly nice series with some very interesting minifigures and unique accessories; a Diner Waitress, a Yeti, a Gingerbread Man, a Holiday Elf, a Female Scientist, a Grandma, a Pretzel Girl, an Evil Mech, a Welder, a Constable, a Barbarian, a Scarecrow, a Tiki Warrior, a Jazz Musician, a Lady Robot, and a Mountain Climber. A great selection, isn’t it? 🙂

In a previous post we have looked at how to identify the minifigs in the Series 11 blind-bags (see: Guide to Feeling for LEGO Minifigs Series 11), and in the first part of this article I reviewed closely the Barbarian, the Diner Waitress, the Evil Mech, and the Welder (see: LEGO Minifigures Series 11 Review – Part 1) and in the second part we talked about the Yeti, the Pretzel Girl, the Constable, and the Scarecrow (see: LEGO Minifigures Series 11 Review – Part 2). Today I will show you in detail the Gingerbread Man, the Holiday Elf, the Grandma, and the Female Scientist.

So let’s start with the LEGO Minifigures Series 11 Gingerbread Man. This is probably the most imaginable minifigure the LEGO group has ever come up with. The head is a brand new piece, that I’m sure will be used in many interesting LEGO creations. The facial printing is made to look like icing and is kind of mischievous. If you look closely, you can see tiny pieces of spices on the torso, head, and legs. That is an amazing amount of detail for one minifigure! I would have also added gumdrops, although that may have been overdoing it. 🙄

The Gingerbread Man has no back printing, but he really doesn’t need it. The legs have some more icing-like detail. He only comes with one accessory; a coffee-mug that says “Dunk Me!” I think the Gingerbread Man is my favorite minifigure from Series 11 along with the Yeti. I already got two; I hope they don’t devour each other!

Now we will move on to the LEGO Minifigures Series 11 Holiday Elf. I have been waiting for an elf minifigure ever since Santa was released in LEGO Minifigures Series 8. One of the most notable pieces of the Holiday Elf is his hat. It is similar to the Lawn Gnome’s hat from LEGO Minifigures Series 4, but this time with elf ears! His face is very cute and elvish.

The hat and the legs are bright green, while the torso is regular green. The torso printing is not too detailed, but for an elf it is perfect. The Holiday Elf comes with two accessories; a teddy-bear which is similar to the teddy bear of Sleepyhead from LEGO Minifigures Series 6, and a big red box with a golden bow printing.

Now let’s look at the LEGO Minifigure Series 11 Grandma! She looks a bit more modern than Grandpa from LEGO Minifigures Series 10, but they would still make a perfect old couple. Her hair is the same piece as that of the Hollywood Starlet from LEGO Minifigures Series 9, but in light gray. Funny, because I always thought the Starlet’s hair looked kind of grandma-like.

Grandma’s shirt indicates she is a cat-lover, with its three cat heads on it. It certainly looks like a grandma sweater. Her pants are light-aqua – a new color that first appeared in the LEGO Friends sets. Grandma comes with two accessories; a basket and a cat. The basket is not new, but the cat is. And she can even fit in the basket – well, sort of…

And last but not least; the LEGO Minifigures Series 11 Female Scientist. She is a perfect companion for the Mad Scientist from Series 4 or Mr. Good & Evil from Series 9. Her hair is the same as the Zookeeper’s from Series 5, but a darker brown. Her shirt has a nametag that says “Professor Bodin”. There must be a designer on the LEGO team with that name!

The legs of the Female Scientist are also printed with pockets of her lab-coat. She comes with two potion-bottles with different color concoctions – who knows what they are for, but she seems pretty happy about them! 😈

And that wraps up Part 3 of my review of the LEGO Minifigures in Series 11. My family and I have spent hours at Toys’R’Us looking to find all of the minifigures in the series. Now there are only four more to go! How about you? Have you been able to find all of the minifigures in the series? Are you collecting them? Which one is your favorite? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below! Also, I’m a KFOL (Kid-Fan-of-LEGO) and this is my third post here at theBrickBlogger. Hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading, and feedback is welcome! 😉

And you might also like to check out the LEGO Minifigures section for more news, reviews and discussions, or choose from the following posts:

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Building with LEGO – micro-scale building

LEGO Minifigures Series 11 review – part 3

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