Lego Snow Globe

FlanBrosInc

I don't really know where to put this. I guess it's 'building & technique' related.

I just put together a custom Lego snow globe for a Christmas present to my girlfriend, who, thankfully, shares the same enthusiasm for Lego that I do. She also collects snow globes.

The minifigures are of us. (I don't normally dress like that, but the minifigs are under the guise that we're 'dressed up.') I was going to make my own model to put inside, but then I realized Winter Fun had the torso and husky that I needed anyways.

It's a huge snowglobe and the way it magnifies the interior is absolutely fascinating. It's a sight to behold when it's right there in front of you. I tried to capture a few photos that do it justice, and here they are:

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Animated Snow Globe 2.gif

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TheMaker37

That looks great. Is there some kind of kit for snowglobes?

FlanBrosInc

I found a place called National Artcraft that sells snow globe kits in the US. I used their largest size and it's fairly massive. It holds about a half gallon of water. If I had the time and money I'd make a hobby of making a snow globe for each Lego theme, lol.

graphite

That is really cool.  Nice work.

mr_benn

I have the 'official' Lego snow globe with the Santa figure in it, but this is just great, good work!

iso3200

This looks excellent - she'll be very pleased I bet. Great work.

Brickfan50

Very nice, but I still don't want my bricks exposed to water...

mr.piggles

That's really beautiful and thoughtful. Even if someone wasn't a fan of Lego, I bet they'd be impressed.

ZombieCoops

It looks stunning, very well done.

BOBJACK_JACKBOB

Brilliant. Will be stealing this idea for Christmas next year!

FlanBrosInc

Thanks guys! It was surprisingly easy to make, too, once I had everything needed. I calculated the base size I needed and then made a mostly round plate in the right size using three of part 30565 and one of 6003 along with a couple 2x4 plates. I also raised the platform up a little bit using a 2x4 brick on each side. I glued those bricks to the rubber gasket so if it could bend without the base starting to peel off. To fill in the empty areas I glued a few of the little LEGO flower heads to create a snow-like look. I kragled (Krazy glued) the pieces together and the model to the gasket, filled the globe up with distilled water, a tiny bit of glycerin and a little bit of rubbing alcohol. Then put the snow bits in, pushed the gasket in and slowly added more distilled water to get rid of the air bubbles. Then used the silicone to glue the gasket on. It took, at most, a couple hours once I had everything I needed. The globe is huge. If you're looking for a mantelpiece, something to display, or anything else of that nature, it'd be just the right size, but if you're looking for a regular sized snow-globe definitely go for something smaller.

kiki180703

Very nice @FlanBrosInc !

JustAnotherDrew

suuuuper late i know!! but i fell in love with this idea and i'm having the worst time glueing the legos to the rubber piece!! what did you do?!

ecmo47

http://www.nationalartcraft.com/subcategory.asp?gid=6&cid=37&scid=54#2

Very Nice! It will be interesting to see how it holds up over time. 

FlanBrosInc

Oh, wow. Didn't expect to see more replies to this. I used silicone adhesive and made sure the piece were glued down heavily. I then propped up the bottom with a 2 x 4 brick on each side and glued those (with lots of adhesive) to the rubber base. Worked like a dream. I've been putting a few more together and it's been a lot more difficult, though. I suppose there's a bit of trial and error involved. 

As for holding up over time, still looks the same now as it did when I first made it. The rubbing alcohol prevents bacterial growth and the glycerin thickens the water.