Capital resident recreates Dominion Cinema out of Lego

Tammy Watchorn who has built the Dominion Cinema out of Lego. Picture: Ian Georgeson.

Now, as the Lego Batman movie rakes in money at the box office, one fan has combined her love of film and the iconic coloured bricks to build a miniature version of the Dominion Cinema in Morningside.

Tammy Watchorn, a “young-at-heart” 45-year-old, said that building an accurate model of the city landmark was a challenge.

She used a photograph of the structure and her knowledge of its art deco design as guides, building the model with 2400 bricks over several weekends.

Tammy Watchorn with her Dominion Cinema replica made out of Lego. Picture: Ian Georgeson.

Opened in 1938, the Dominion is one of Edinburgh’s most historic cultural venues and retains much of the original decoration by architect T Bowhill Gibson.

Tammy said: “I had to do the steps three times as I kept getting them wrong. But once you get going with the basic layout it starts to come together quite quickly. The different levels on the roof were difficult to do, particularly as I wanted to be able to remove some of it so you can peer inside.”

Tammy was also keen to include the interior features that are unique to the Dominion, including its ticket booths, sofas and the coffee machine.

She said: “I really wanted to get the inside the same – it’s not perfect and I’d do a few things differently if I started over but I think it’s pretty close. I was also limited by the bricks I had which also adds to the challenge.”

Tammy said that she started out with Lego as child but was put off buying sets as an adult.

“I started buying Lego about two years ago,” she said. “I always loved it as a kid but not having kids myself thought it would be odd to buy for myself. But then I noticed the adult sets and bought my first one which was the Parisian restaurant.

“I was blown away with the level of detail and then bought a few more of the sets which helped me learn how to build some of the more complicated bits – particularly the interiors.”

Tammy also described Lego as a great de-stresser and said that, for her, the tiny bricks had an effect similar to that of mindfulness colouring books.

“One of the great things about it is how absorbed you get in it and how you’re using different parts of the brain,” she added.

The Dominion’s director, Lesley Cameron, said she was delighted that Tammy had been inspired to create the cinema from Lego, particularly while they are showing the Lego Batman movie.

And she praised the skill manifested in her model reproduction of the building.

“It’s fantastic,” she said. “We were thrilled that she chose the Dominion. She has a love of art deco, as we do, and it is wonderful to see how she had translated this through Lego.

“Her attention to detail is great – she has managed to include all the little touches that make us special.

“The bottles we provide for people and the lovely luxury seats as well as encapsulating the ambiance of the Dominion.”

She added: “Tammy is a loyal patron and we are looking forward to welcoming her back.”

[email protected]