Over the course of the years I’ve built castles, dragons, life-sized tools, pirate towns, windmills and waterwheels, you name it. But I’ve never built anything quite like this–a commission model of six stacks of servers, loaded with detail to recreate, like tiny computer screens, wires, and fans. And this isn’t just any server, either: this is The Vault, Sermon Audio’s new array for hosting over two million sermons and making them available for worldwide listening. Creating a LEGO replica of their achievement was both an honor and a challenge!
I began with a rough size guideline–6″ deep by 18″ long, and height to match (about 9″). Translated into LEGO bricks that worked to about 16 bricks deep and 60 studs long plus 5 plates to create gaps in between each stack. (Actually, that’s 6.5″ by 19.5″, but it’s pretty much the closest fit within the system.) This conveniently made the front of each stack eight studs wide, a number that is generally handy to work with (8 studs = 6 bricks and 2 plates).
(Sariel’s LEGO Unit Converter definitely came in handy for this part of the process!)
I started with the frame. The plan was to waste as few bricks as possible inside while still keeping the build sturdy, so each stack is hollow inside, with only the top and bottom reinforced.
One of the most important bits was the wiring, and flex tube sure came in handy there. Grill bricks were also useful throughout (and here I’d always thought they were the most useless pieces in the whole portfolio).
Another important part was writing THE VAULT on top of each rack. I played around with some brick-built lettering, but that’s notoriously difficult at a small scale. After I realized it was either printing or a vault the size of a desk, I sent an order off to MinifigFX, who did a fabulous job printing me some 2×8 bricks… upside down.
Designing each screen to be unique and match as closely as possible the actual display screens on The Vault was probably the most challenging part of this build. I’m personally not satisfied with the green line chart (though I’m satisfied that I can’t make a better one, spent the better part of a day on it) and few folks that I’ve shown it to have recognized the first screen as a world map, but considering the scale, I’m content with the level of detail achieved.
But though I was able to get enough brick-built detail into the larger screens, achieving a comparable result with the smaller screens was out of the question. Instead, I decided to use stickers–but not just any stickers…
I built little scenes of a variety of pastors whose sermons can be found on Sermon Audio. See if you can identify any of them!
Then I printed those at a seriously tiny scale on transparent paper (shout out to the local printer who did a great job with these), cut them up, and stuck them on window screens.
Part of me wishes these were backlit, but they’re pretty decent as is and a fun detail to reward a closer look.
Speaking of fun details, while the back isn’t likely to be seen much, I couldn’t just leave a gaping hole for anyone snooping around back to see the red filler bricks inside. Instead, the only red is on that spider.
I significantly overestimated how much hose I would need for the wires on front, but that turned out handy when it came to adding a bit of back detail!
While the back is not accurate at all, you can judge for yourself how I did on the front here:
And if you’d like to see the LEGO Vault in person, or the real Vault for that matter, stop by the Bob Jones University library and take a look!
If you enjoyed this look at the LEGO Vault, you might also have fun checking out these other creations of mine:
- Behind the Scenes: Cleanup
- Pilgrim’s Progress: A LEGO Saga
- Behind the Scenes: Qarkyr Box Gardens
- Charleston Skyline
- Shinmizu Village
- LEGO Ninjago Diorama Build Log
- Build Log: Swordfish – Ninjago-style SpaceSHIP
- LEGO Bird’s Nest
- Forestman Cottage Breakdown
Got any interest in purchasing a custom model of your own? Give my commission page a look!
Geneva D 
What do you think?