While building minifigure scale trees is tough because they’re so parts consuming, micro trees present their own challenges! So after looking at 7 secrets for deciduous trees and 8 ways to build a LEGO palm tree, let’s see what we can do in micro!
It makes sense that LEGO pieces designed for grass and small leaves would work well as trees at a smaller scale. And as it turns out, upside-down stalks make the ideal evergreen tree.
For the build above, I also used bamboo leaves to depict corn stalks – but warning! Placing the bamboo leaves in such close proximity was severely stressful on the bricks and quite a few broke!
Since the stalks need to be upside-down, attaching them to the build is not always easy. The simplest solution is: don’t attach them. That’s what I did for the build below…
Of course, they have a tendency to fall over. Imagine the horror of building this forest without attaching any of the tree tops!
That would have been a bad idea. So I reversed the trunks with a few different techniques – sometimes using a short bar, sometimes using a Technic pin connector in brown, sometimes reversing a whole 4×4 green plate, which would allow me to attach multiple trees.
Bamboo leaves are also useful pieces when it comes to creating micro trees. They have something of a palm tree effect, and that can be heightened by giving the stem a slight curve.
Other small green parts do a good job as micro trees as well. Cones and spiky horns, to name a couple:
For this next build, I used a combination of cones and small green flowers. Although these are very simple techniques, they often convey the idea of a tree better than an elaborate “NPU” (nice piece use).
A few additional colors give a micro build an autumnal flair. Note the stacked 1×1 plates as deciduous trees!
This post has focused mostly on simple, easy way to create micro trees with common parts, but it would be quite incomplete if I didn’t at least mention some of the extremely creative micro tree techniques other LEGO builders have developed – such as these hair trees by Jonas Kramm, or these trees at a slightly larger size – though still smaller than minifigure scale – by Milan Sekiz, or these cheese slope trees by Chris Maddison, or this guide to a clever use of stalks and green flowers by Sheo.
What do you think? Have you tried building micro trees before? Do you have additional techniques to share? Do you plan on trying out something new from this post? Be sure to leave any comments or questions below!
If this tree guide was helpful, you might be interested in checking out the previous two guides:
Geneva D 
Two more ways are using jumper plates and the new-ish 1×2 curved slopes with a travis brick on the inside. You can also use Minifig hair 😀
This is a cool post, keep it up Geneva!
Thanks! 🙂 Yep, so many ways to build micro trees! As I was writing this post I realized how little variety I’ve actually worked with in this area…
Here is a technique I came up with a while back. https://www.flickr.com/photos/151030209@N04/38814488951/in/dateposted-public/
Sometimes the simplest designs are the most effective! I could see that working well in an architecture scale build!
The lego club at our lego has a challenge each week and the goal was to build a fall tree. After fiddling with a large scale brick leaf, I used dark red 1 by 2s to mace a micro fall forest. Everyone at the club is wondering why I always build micro (there is a shortage of pieces there)!
Micro scale makes building with a small amount of pieces so much more fun! I may have to do more of that in the next few months as I’ll be spending a considerable amount of time away from my bricks!