TBB’s most popular LEGO models of 2014

As we kick off 2015 and reflect back at 2014, let’s take a look at some of the great LEGO creations we’ve featured here. LEGO builders all over the world built thousands and thousands of models over the year, but here are the ten that were viewed most on The Brothers Brick.

Orc pit  - Main 1. Mayhem in the Mines by Grant Davis (right) gave us a view into the dramatic tension between goblins and Uruk-hai. Apparently, these two kinds of villainous creatures from The Lord of the Rings don’t get along particularly well.

Grant’s multi-tiered diorama features realistic rocks in the cave, lots of wooden structures, and little stories on each level.

I hadn’t encountered Grant’s work until we featured “Mayhem in the Mines,” but with the top LEGO model on The Brothers Brick in 2014, I’m very much looking forward to what he’ll share with all of us in 2015!

Ghostbusters HQ LDD File2. Build your own Ghostbusters HQ firehouse with instructions from Brent Waller. With the release of his LEGO Ideas Ecto 1 set, I’d say Brent had a pretty good year!

But if your personal Ghostbusters layout was missing anything, it was probably the firehouse that the crew used as a headquarters. Brent saves the day, though, by giving us all instructions to build his firehouse design.

3. They mostly come out at night — mostly…”. Back in May, Xenomorph designer H.R. Giger died at age 74. We rounded up some of the best LEGO models inspired by the Alien franchise from previous years, as well as some great new scenes from Aliens put together by “Missing Brick.”

4. Functioning LEGO keyboard. Jason Allemann combined a circuit board from a real keyboard with various LEGO bricks and tiles to create a fully functional computer keyboard. Here’s the video:

5. Ruby, Weiss, Blake and Yang from RWBY. I don’t pretend to understand the subject matter of every single LEGO model builders create. This batch of characters from the web series RWBY built by Mike Dung falls into that category, but fortunately Iain knew enough to highlight these stellar character models.

RWBY1

6. I built a car. It turned out to be an alien robot. TBB’s own Ralph makes the list with his fully transforming Bumblebee from Transformers. Many builders build cars. Many builders build robots, hardsuits, and mecha. Only an incredible few have the skill — and audacity — to try to build both in the same model, with working transformation between the two modes.

Bumblebee (4)

7. Blood for the blood god, skulls for the skull throne. Most LEGO fans will readily admit that we have a bias for LEGO models constructed from physical bricks. It’s surprising to see a virtual or rendered LEGO model (other than instructions like Brent’s Ghostbusters HQ) appear on a “most popular” list, but the quality of both the builds and the rendering by Garry demonstrates how far virtual LEGO building has come over the years.

Tau Crisis Battlesuit Team

8. The ultimate Imperial Star Destroyer build from LEGO measuring over 2 meters long. After so many huge LEGO models we’ve seen over the years, size alone no longer impresses us. But the level of detail that Jarek put into his 6-foot-long ISD, combined with fully functional lighting, was truly awe-inspiring. We generally feature the models themselves here on TBB, but here’s the proud builder with his completed model on display.

Imperial Star Destroyer Chimaera (...and me)

9. LEGO Porsche 911 Carrera RSR Turbo 2.1. Like Caylin who blogged this, I’m not much into racing myself, but I appreciate a great car. Malte Dorowski’s 1974 Porsche has a gorgeous color scheme, smooth lines, and tastefully applied decals to recreate this iconic racing machine.

Full Castle10. Elsa’s Ice Castle from Disney’s Frozen in LEGO.

I have to admit that I’m not a Frozen fan. Okay, I can’t say that fairly, because I’ve managed to avoid seeing it over this past year.

Nevertheless, I can certainly appreciate both the skill and dedication by Simon MacDonald (well known to our readers as the man behind the wearable Boba Fett costume), who built a minifig-scale version of the ice castle from the movie.

Simon’s castle features extensive use of transparent elements, and even includes a fairly substantial mosaic floor. The whole build was inspired by a small staircase Simon built as a “table scrap.”

Which were your favorite LEGO models of 2014? Let us know in the comments!

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