LEGO Micro Cities

Book Reviews, Reviews, , ,

I joined Instagram last year. One of the first amazing LEGO accounts that I discovered was @jeff_works. Jeff’s beautiful microscale cities are mesmerizing. When I heard a few months ago that he was releasing a book oh his designs, I knew that I had to get my hands on it. Lucky for me, No Starch Press was willing to send me a copy for review.

Right from the start, let me say that this is a beautiful book. The models are lovingly photographed and the layout is perfect. If I had any reservation, it would be the rather dark backgrounds, but even that fades once I’ve started looking at the pictures. I mean, just look at the end papers.

Inside, the book is nicely structured. There is a short preface, followed be a chapter about building bases for the models. This sets a nice tone for the book as it gives helpful guidelines but encourages the reader to experiment and put their own stamp on it.

The next eight chapters each cover a different style of city.

Each of these chapters starts out with a few notes about what sets that style apart from the others and some full-color images of Jeff’s original models. These big glossy images really showcase what is to come.

Within each city, there are instructions for building a number of buildings. What I like most about the models in this book are that the elements tend to be fairly common.

At the end of each set of building instructions, there is a page or two of advice on how you might customize the design. These suggestions range from alternate elements and colors to complete revamps. I really appreciate this aspect of the book, this encouragement to be creative and set your imagination free.

The book wraps up with a chapter of finishing touches. A selection of smaller models to round out and integrate the buildings.

This is a great book. Pretty enough that you could set it on your coffee table and wow anyone who picks it up, yet useful enough that nearly any AFOL should be able to find some great ideas inside. I fully intend to start recommending this book to builders who are interested in how to get started with microscale models.

Two thumbs up!

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Keep building and enjoy!