A LEGO fan has brought the toys to life around the ancient streets and landmarks of Rome Scroll down for exclusive words and pictures A Lego Pneumatic Front-End Loader parked at Piazza dell’Esquilino Italian architect and part-time photographer, Domenico Franco has cleverly placed the seemingly life-sized cars in front of historical sites such as the Colosseum, Trajan’s Forum and Via Giulia. But the images aren’t all that they seem, as they are part of Domenico's latest project where he constructed the fantasy scenes by building the tiny Lego cars and digitally placing them onto separately shot pictures of iconic locations around Italy’s capital city. Domenico, 46, said: “This project is not meant to convey a social denunciation, it is rather meant to throw a glance across the contemporary city with irony and disillusion on the contemporary Rome.” Starting in 2014, Franco created his images using 3D Software - Blender and Adobe Photoshop - to place the colourful Lego vehicles within images of the city.
A Lego Lamborghini Gallardo appears to be parked amongst other cars in a suburban neighbourhood He said: “The process is quite difficult, generally the first step is to imagine what vehicle I would like to use, then I wander through Rome riding my bike and with my camera to find a good location. “With the help of 3D software Blender, I then get the point of view and draw a grid in the same perspective where I want to place the model. I then print this grid onto transparent film and apply it on the LCD of my camera and, with a lot of patience, I set the camera the model and the lights and shoot. "The last part of the work is created in Adobe Photoshop where I import the two images into separate layers and so on.” Franco created his images using 3D Software - Blender and Adobe Photoshop Domenico’s finished pictures see a Lego helicopter touching down in front of the iconic Colosseum, a Lego train moving through the busy Porta Maggiore intersection and a truck rolling out a Lego Formula 1 Race Car.
Domenico said: “The most difficult one of the series was definitely the train - it was hard work to study and reproduce the sun light, direct shadows on the ground and the reflections on the bricks.” Domenico also builds each of the Lego vehicles himself and says it is the most enjoyable part of the process Franco also builds each of the Lego vehicles himself and says it is the most enjoyable part of the process. He said: “As an adult fan of Lego, the building process is the most fun thing as I am able to share this joy with my family. A truck appears to be rolling out a Lego Formula 1 Race Car at Via Statilia “All the models shown in the project are genuine Lego sets that belong to my collection or from the rooms of my children.” And for the Italian-born photographer he still loves to trick viewers into thinking the vehicles were really placed around the ancient city. Domenico creates the scenes by digitally placing images of Lego vehicles within photos of the city
Domenico said: “I have received a lot of appreciation from all over the world for my photographs, but the one question I still get asked is: ‘How long did it take you to build these giant lego cars?’”Just when you think the news out of the 2017 Detroit Auto Show is done, Chevrolet rolls out one last world debut surprise in the form of a life-size Lego Batmobile.Modeled after Batman's Speedwagon from the "The Lego Batman Movie," the 17-foot long Lego Batmobile from Chevrolet features intimidating looks sure to strike fear in the bad guys, and stud shooters ideal for Batman to make his rounds of Gotham City in. Chevrolet says the Lego Batmobile will be available in 12 different shades of black, and offer the latest cabin connectivity features such as hands-free calling, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration along with a built-in 4G LTE Wi-Fi connection. No word from Chevy on what's under the hood to supplement the jet thrusters out back, but it's safe to say that the Dark Knight probably prefers something with a healthy dose of horsepower.
The supercharged V8 from the Corvette Z06 would fit the bill and deliver enough muscle to chase down villains such as Scarecrow, Mr. Freeze, the Riddle, Poison Ivy and the Joker. Based on an aluminum square tube platform, the Lego Batmobile is built from more than 340,000 Lego bricks, and weighs 1,695.5 pounds. Each tire alone tips the scale at a touch over 100 pounds. Designing the Batmobile took 222 hours, and assembly saw the Lego Master Builders team needing 1,833 hours to complete at their shop in Enfield, Connecticut. If you can't make it to the Detroit Auto Show to check out the Lego Batmobile in person, you'll be able to see it soon in an upcoming Chevy commercial, and then on the big screen when "The Lego Batman Movie" hits theaters on February 10th. Detroit Auto Show 2017 Roadshow covers the new models and concept cars shown off at the 2017 North American International Auto Show in blogs, photo galleries, and video. Step inside Volkswagen's ID Buzz concept in 360 degrees
V2X Breakdown: What is my future connected car talking to, and why? Everything from LS to LC with Lexus General Manager Jeff Bracken 2018 Ford Mustang brings more power, better handling, angry face All Detroit Auto Show 2017 StoriesLet friends in your social network know what you are reading aboutTwitterGoogle+LinkedInPinterestPosted!A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. DETROIT -- Holy tiny plastic bricks! Could that be the Batmobile created entirely from Legos?Chevrolet unveiled its Lego Batmobile, which the company says was inspired by Batman's vehicle in the soon-to-hit-theaters, The LEGO Batman Movie.Some 344,187 Lego bricks were used to make the Lego Batmobile. It took 1,833 hours to build and was designed and assembled by Lego master builders in Enfield, Conn."10-year-old Malachi Julian, of Washington Township, said once he spotted Lego Batman hanging out on a wall near the soon-to-be-unveiled Lego Batmobile."To work on the Lego Batmobile with Warner Bros. is an absolute thrill for us at Chevy," Paul Edwards, U.S. vice president of Chevrolet marketing says in a statement.