One of my favorite books from this past year, THE ART OF LEGO® SCALE MODELING (No Starch Press) is a fantastic look at the incredible work being done by hardcore LEGO enthusiasts as they create remarkably-detailed scale models of all manner of vehicle. Penned by Dennis Glaasker and Dennis Bosman (both skilled scale modelers based in the Netherlands), the book showcases not only some of their creations, but those of other builders from around the Globe – all working from their own designs.
Broken into sections, THE ART OF LEGO® SCALE MODELING includes trucks, ships, aircraft, race cars, heavy equipment, trains, military vehicles, motorcycles, and, of course, cars.
While the book is neither authorized or endorsed by LEGO Group, the final chapter, “How It’s Done,” features tips and tricks on how to get started, along with details on design, part acquisition, and customization methods – along with the new-ish ability to create custom parts thanks to 3-D printing and the like. They even do recommend some sets for would-be scale modelers that are official LEGO offerings, and noted to be great starting-off points. The Volkswagen T1 Camper Van (#10220), MINI Cooper (#10242) and Maersk Line Triple-E ship (#10241, though now retired) are all highlighted as excellent entries into the commercially-available LEGO Creator line.
It’s important to note that this book does not contain tutorials or plans for these builds, but it’s a beautiful gallery presented as a perfect coffee table-worthy hardcover collection. Each entry, from chromed-out Harley-Davidson bikes to sleek rides like the Ford GT, all include detailed information about the history of the real-life counterpart in relation to the scale model. What’s particularly interesting to me as a “toyographer” (my toy photos being a regular thing here on the site and my socials) is that this book contains a sizable amount of that as well, with some of these models taken out into the real world for some wonderful perspective work.
Rock Father-approved, and available now from Amazon or the No Starch Press website.
