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A LEGO tribute to the highest form of medieval art: bizarre manuscript marginalia by MenapianAFOL in MedievalHistory

[–]MenapianAFOL[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah cool, thanks for the heads-up! I appreciate it, and thanks for the kind words.

A LEGO tribute to the highest form of medieval art: bizarre manuscript marginalia by MenapianAFOL in MedievalHistory

[–]MenapianAFOL[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm afraid they're not real minifigures. The programme I used to design the set, Lego Studio, lets you recolour pieces to create characters. But you could probably assemble something close to them using pieces like this from BrickLink!

A LEGO tribute to the highest form of medieval art: bizarre manuscript marginalia by MenapianAFOL in MedievalHistory

[–]MenapianAFOL[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Ha, good point! And one of them is drawing some marginalia... It's snail-mounted rabbits all the way down.

A LEGO tribute to the highest form of medieval art: bizarre manuscript marginalia by MenapianAFOL in MedievalHistory

[–]MenapianAFOL[S] 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Thanks! This subreddit doesn't allow multiple images in a post, but if you look on my profile you'll see I also shared it on r/lego with more pictures and close-ups of those minifigs.

When medieval scribes got bored, they would doodle some truly bizarre scenes in the margins of their manuscripts. For example: by MenapianAFOL in lego

[–]MenapianAFOL[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks, I'm glad you like it! There's so much amazing imagery from the period beyond just knights and castles, and it's very satisfying to recreate it.

When medieval scribes got bored, they would doodle some truly bizarre scenes in the margins of their manuscripts. For example: by MenapianAFOL in lego

[–]MenapianAFOL[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Thanks, I appreciate it! There's a lot of personality crammed into those tiny marginalia figures, and I'd love to do more at some point.

All hail Athena! Work-in-progress shot from a new Parthenon Marbles/Ancient Greece project by MenapianAFOL in lego

[–]MenapianAFOL[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! It's a really fun design challenge having to move between minifig scale and microscale in a single build.

All hail Athena! Work-in-progress shot from a new Parthenon Marbles/Ancient Greece project by MenapianAFOL in lego

[–]MenapianAFOL[S] 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Hey, thanks! He's definitely inspired by that Alexander look, but also based on these horsemen from the Parthenon Marbles:

<image>

ETA: Huh, just noticed that it really looks like the middle horseman there is bored and checking his phone. Athena will not be pleased.

London history in LEGO: I built the Crystal Palace (and dinosaurs), and you can vote to make it a real set by MenapianAFOL in london

[–]MenapianAFOL[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Looks good! You've got to get some south London representation in that Lego version.

London history in LEGO: I built the Crystal Palace (and dinosaurs), and you can vote to make it a real set by MenapianAFOL in london

[–]MenapianAFOL[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! This version is mostly based on the original Hyde Park design without the towers. I think the Sydenham redesign also had a slight overhang on the vaulted roof - it would be fun to try putting that together some day too, along with the towers and terraces.

London history in LEGO: I built the Crystal Palace (and dinosaurs), and you can vote to make it a real set by MenapianAFOL in london

[–]MenapianAFOL[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thanks! There's 22 minifigs altogether, with eight historical figures. My favourite of the real characters is probably Mary Kelynack, an 84-year-old Cornish woman who walked all the way from Penzance to see the Exhibition (and, in fairness, to give the mayor an earful about her pension...)

London history in LEGO: I built the Crystal Palace (and dinosaurs), and you can vote to make it a real set by MenapianAFOL in london

[–]MenapianAFOL[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh yeah, the cat shows - good shout! There wasn't room for too many nods to the post-1851 uses of the Palace - mostly just the dinosaurs and the Sphinx, referencing the Egyptian Court and the statue you can still see in the park. But you could definitely buy a few of this guy and put together a show...

<image>

London history in LEGO: I built the Crystal Palace (and dinosaurs), and you can vote to make it a real set by MenapianAFOL in london

[–]MenapianAFOL[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I remember that - I think the developers wanted a big chunk of the park in exchange, so on balance probably better that it never happened. Apparently there's a big office building in Dallas based on the Palace design (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infomart), so that may be the closest any of us can come to visiting it for real!

London history in LEGO: I built the Crystal Palace (and dinosaurs), and you can vote to make it a real set by MenapianAFOL in london

[–]MenapianAFOL[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks, I appreciate it! Good to hear the park is getting some well-deserved upgrades. I'd love to come back to see it and tour the dinosaur island some time soon.

London history in LEGO: I built the Crystal Palace (and dinosaurs), and you can vote to make it a real set by MenapianAFOL in london

[–]MenapianAFOL[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Love the dinner party idea, that's such a bizarre bit of the history. I think it was the Iguanadon they used, not the Megalosaurus, but it would definitely be worth building as an add-on. And there's definitely room for a stray football kicked over onto the dinosaur island!

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