About Rod

Rod likes building stuff, particularly steampunk and microscale. He's built for a number of the Dorling Kindersley LEGO books, including LEGO Play and the Awesome Ideas book. When he's not building, he writes, and has published a trilogy of old-fashioned adventure stories. To pay the bills he works in innovation and marketing for one of the world's biggest brewers, inventing new beers and ciders. This is clearly the best job in the world.

Posts by Rod

Fallout’s Red Rocket truck stop built in LEGO

Immediately recognisable to anyone who’s played Fallout 4 — or saw any of its promotional material — here’s a LEGO build of the iconic Red Rocket truck stop by Allan Corbeil. The 50s retro diner aesthetic is captured perfectly, but so is the game’s signature air of neglect and decay — no mean feat to render effectively in pristine plastic bricks. The rocket itself is an obvious highlight, but don’t miss the brilliant shaping of the girder supports beneath…

Red Rocket 4

Click to see more of the LEGO Red Rocket truck stop

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

An inventive picture of a past that never was

This inventor’s workshop building by Pieter Dennison has a wonderful “realistic steampunk” feel. There are enough quirky and clanky touches on display to inject a touch of the fantastic, but it’s all grounded in a grubby Victorian-era earthiness — the dark tones of the base, the subtle patches of faded colour set into the walls, the haphazard tiling on the roof. There’s a nice sense of activity and everyday life amongst the surrounding figures, but the winning detail for me is the wonky telescope poking out from the attic.

inventors workshop

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Space trucking across the universe

The arrival of the tiny Classic LEGO Space microfigure in the recent 5005358 Minifigure Factory set was bound to prompt a batch of teeny-tiny space creations. Andreas Lenander‘s microscale space truck is exactly the sort of thing I was hoping to see — impressively detailed and greeble-covered for the scale, spot-on in its colour scheme, and super-cute to boot. The rocky “tan-scaping” around the build creates a nice alien landscape feel (and the figures are well positioned to conceal those unsightly bases behind the boulders). And is there a little hint of Optimus Prime in the truck’s “face”? I think there is, and it makes me like this even more.

Classic space micro Big Rig

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Sleek LEGO ship is a star of a destroyer

Sleek and grey and deadly — a predator slips through the swell. At least that’s the image conjured up by Luis Peña‘s latest LEGO creation — a microscale model of a Porter-class US Navy destroyer. Although small in scale and simple in colour selection, this model manages to pack in some nice details and textures. I particularly like the use of “Wolverine claws” and quarter-circle tiles in the creation of the ship’s anti-aircraft emplacements.

Porter-class US Navy Destroyer 1:200 scale LEGO model

The Porter was a class of eight heavy destroyers in the United States Navy. Although originally commissioned by Congress in 1916, construction was delayed and the first of the vessels didn’t enter service until 1936. The destroyers went on to see action throughout the Second World War. Only one, USS Porter herself, was to be lost in action.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

An extraordinary LEGO car for an extraordinary gentleman

The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie received mixed reviews — a shame if you were a fan of the comic series on which it was (loosely) based. However, the production design was a definite highlight, with some amazing steampunk-styled creations popping off the screen. Martin Redfern has taken inspiration from the film’s rendition of Captain Nemo’s automobile to create this stunning car. Sleek retro lines are complemented with neat golden trim and some impressive grunt up front — all coming together in stylish steampunk fabulousness…

Nemo's Car

Click to see more of this great model, including the detailed interior and engine

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Infinitely small LEGO Avengers

Massive new Marvel movie coming out? What better way to celebrate than with a set of teeny-tiny LEGO Avengers? I couldn’t resist giving these guys a go in micro/nanoscale. There’s not that many characters you can reduce to this scale and still keep them immediately recognisable, but the distinctive colour schemes of comic book superheroes make it possible. The model is not quite purist — there was a little bit of cutting involved (HERESY!), and two sections are balanced on each other rather than stuck together. But I think it looks cool so I’m begging forgiveness. (Bonus points for any eagle-eyed commenters out there who can spot which piece I cut…)

Infinitely Small

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Black Falcon’s back – a classic Castle updated

Amongst all the LEGO Castle sets, 6074-1 Black Falcon’s Fortress is a firm fan favourite. Originally released in 1986, it saw a re-release in 2002. If you missed out on those versions, why not take inspiration from Mark of Falworth and build your own take on this classic fortification? Of course, Mark’s castle is significantly larger and more complex than the official set, featuring lots of sideways-building techniques to create arrow slits and wall texturing.

Black Falcon's Fortress.

Click to see more pictures of this fabulous Castle, including its detailed interior

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Delivering the cuteness

Studio Ghibli’s animated movies are a constant source of inspiration to LEGO builders, and Kiki’s Delivery Service is no exception. Here’s the film’s feline duo, Jiji and Lily, re-created in the brick by car_mp. The curves of the cats’ bodies are nicely done, particularly the studs-out section depicting Lily’s neck fur. But as with other cartoon-themed creations, it’s the addition of the large Mixel eye tiles which injects a bunch of character and fun.

Jiji and Lily

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

LEGO version of the LEGO House

The new LEGO House in Billund, Denmark is designed to look as if it has been built from giant LEGO pieces. Aside from the official set 21037 – LEGO House, we’ve not seen many actual brick-built versions. Lasse Vestergård is out to change all that with this wonderful 1:100 scale re-creation of the Danish original. The model does a great job of capturing the distinctive shapes and colours of the structure, and has an impressive level of detail…

LEGO House Billund

Click to see more pictures of this great model

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Scaling the heights of capitalism

It’s always interesting when a LEGO builder who is well-known for a particular style decides to dabble in something different. We’ve previously featured the work of Sarah Beyer — her minifigure-scale architectural homes are beautiful (even if regularly devoid of any actual minifigures!). Here, she shifts to microscale, and tackles an altogether different structure — a corporate skyscraper that wouldn’t look out of place in an episode of Suits.

Bank Tower MOC in the sky

The photography here is excellent, the low angle creating an impressive sense of height and heft. Whilst the bricks and building techniques employed are simple, the texture gives the whole thing a realistic feel — the key to an effective microscale creation. The model’s base is as stripped-back and attractive as its upper storeys — don’t miss the use of the golden ring as the base of the fountain in front of the bank’s lobby.

Bank Tower MOC entrance

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

The happiest place on Earth, built with LEGO

Disney’s Magic Kingdom, and particularly Sleeping Beauty’s castle, has been a popular subject for LEGO builders. However, many of the attempts to recreate the magic “in the brick” have been in microscale. It’s not often we see someone take on a major re-creation of the park at minifigure-scale. Etel Enzos does just that, with a wonderful diorama of Orlando’s main attraction, complete with central castle and some of the surrounding themed “lands”.

Magic Kingdom LEGO Diorama

Click to see more photos of this excellent model

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Be our guest and browse this stunning LEGO version of the library from Beauty & The Beast

This LEGO re-creation of the library from Disney’s Beauty & The Beast by Sarah von Innerebner isn’t just huge, it’s also stunning. From the soaring spiral stairs, the ornate fireplace, the tall windows and their curtains, through to shelf after shelf of books — the entire model is beautifully crafted, and (from what I remember of the short scene in the movie) wonderfully accurate.

Beauty and the Beast Library1 by Sarah von Innerebner

At the heart of the scene, Belle and the Beast stand before the fireplace. The predominantly white and gold colour scheme provides a glittering backdrop yet doesn’t overwhelm the details on display. I love the red and green furniture, and the little touches like the writing desk and globe. The tiled floor offers a nice contrast to all the white.

Beauty and the Beast Library4

Click here to see more photos of this amazing creation

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.