Nativity
Commissioned Project
Inspiration:
A client had children who had enjoyed the LEGO advent calendars but was interested in ones that told the Christmas story during the countdown to Christmas. The design itself was inspired by Nativity scenes I had designed previously and the Willow Tree Nativity scene that I grew up with.
About the Build:
My design was also constrained by a reasonable budget and by what LEGO has produced. For example, LEGO has released sheep and camels, the latter of which is prohibitively expensive, but not a donkey. I opted for brick-built animals and existing LEGO prints. The design is modular and can be formed into vignettes of the Christmas story, seen below!
Built Fall 2023
Build Time: many months
The Animals
The animals featured in this model are ones traditionally associated with the Birth of Jesus, from the ox and donkey (Isaiah 1:3) to the flocks of sheep being tended by night (Luke 2:8). I also chose to include two camels, following traditional depictions of the nativity.
The animals are all built in a similar style utilizing parts such as the 1x1 curved slope for a snout, 1x2 rounded jumpers for ears, ice cream cones for legs, and Dispicable Me Minion hair tufts for tails!
The Minifigures
The characters of the Christmas story were difficult to choose. I beyond the holy family, I opted to include two shepherds, three angels (a far cry from a multitude), and three Magi. I referenced traditional and artistic depictions of these characters.
With some difficulty, I captured them using a combination of printed clothing from Harry Potter, Star Wars, Ninjago, and Prince of Persia minifigures. Face prints are from themes including Jurassic World, Lightyear, and the Disney Collectible Minifigure Series. I opted for unprinted torsos and legs for the angels, with a custom wing design I originally designed for Legends of Chima eagles.
While I considered using LEGO's baby figure for Jesus, that part only existed in yellow or light nougat skin tones when I was designing the model, rather than the medium nougat I had chosen for Mary and Joseph. Instead, I opted for a brick-built figure, with Jesus's halo being represented with a ring from Lord of the Rings sets.
The Scenery
The pieces of the scenery snap together with a modular system of quarter circles enabling the nativity scene to be displayed in different shapes, including a full circle or a line. The crèche is built across two of these scenery pieces and features a low stone wall and wooden beams outling the rest of the roof. The other two scenery pieces include a tree and a the shepherds' campfire, each with rocks that allow the modular connection.
The star is made possible by numerous parts recently recolored to pearl gold, including a claws, 1x1 plates with handles, 2x2 dishes, and ski poles. It clips behind the crèche and rises above it.
The manger is built using a part first used to connect Doc Ock's robot arms in Spider-Man 2 sets!