Category Archives: Building Techniques

Not sure what SNOT is? Want to learn innovative new ways to create awesome LEGO models of your own? Peruse our posts about LEGO building techniques to pick up tricks & tips from the best.

A flying fortress of LEGO bricks

The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is a four-engine heavy bomber aircraft that played a key role for the Allies in World War II. When the prototype B-17 first flew in 1935, a reporter for the Seattle Times was watching and coined the name “Flying Fortress” with his comment, “Why, it’s a flying fortress!” The B-17 was mainly used in the strategic bombing campaign of World War II. PlaneBricks has built a fantastic LEGO version of this famous bomber, complete with the machine guns poking out of clear ‘blisters’ to allow bombardiers and gunners to visualise their targets.

See more images of this classic LEGO aircraft

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Sagrada Familia completed at last

The Sagrada Familia is a famous Catholic church located in Barcelona. It was designed by a Catalan architect, Antoni Gaudi. Sagrada Familia is a huge architectural project with colourful, mathematical design elements, and Gaudi knew it would not be completed within his lifetime. Construction began in 1882 and it is anticipated that completion will actually be around 2026! Koen has built a microscale LEGO model of the completed Sagrada Familia that looks like an official LEGO Architecture series model. The use of inverted ice-cream cones is inspired.

A view from another angle shows another feature I particularly like, Koen uses the scroll brick as a nice decorative component of the doorway. Koen has cleverly managed to balance the simplicity required in microscale with the hugely complex design of this particular structure.

Log houses never looked this good

In the LEGO creations of today, it seems as though technique is being emphasized more than ever before, especially within the castle genre. It seems as though not a day goes by when I don’t see an innovative way of making an everyday texture. This build by alego alego features a wonderfully designed blacksmith shop, primarily made using various Technic connector parts as individual logs. While I have used one or two of these parts as a single log in my own builds, I never would have conceived of making a whole building out of them, and the result is fantastic.

Check out these posts below for more amazing landscaping techniques:

Build your own super cute orange LEGO fish [Instructions]

This amazingly cute little fish is a perfect showcase for how to exploit the natural shapes of LEGO bricks to form imaginative creatures. Builder gonkius uses two curved slopes meeting each other to form a perfect fish mouth, and a curved fender element suddenly looks as if it were always made to be fish fins.

However, this adorable little fish is also a perfect example of complex engineering that looks deceptively simple. Think you’re pretty good with LEGO? Maybe you can even reverse engineer some of the builds we highlight. But how many parts does it take before a model is too complex? This fish has only 39 pieces. See if you can reverse engineer this guy using only the image above.

We’ve got the instructions below if you want to skip straight to the solution and build one yourself! Let us know in the comments if you think you figured it out without the instructions.

Click to see the instructions

A never before seen santa scene

Santa is usually found at the front of a sleigh piled high with presents, racing across the sky – not slumped out on a bench with some treats scattered around and a wad of cash in his pocket. DOGOD Brick Design‘s take on jolly old Saint Nick conforms to the latter version of events though.

While we might not be able to give insight into Santa’s mental state in this scene, we can very easily appreciate how thoughtfully designed this build is. From the shaping of the santa figure, to the look of the bench, to the wonderful upscaled light post – there’s a lot to appreciate here.

Build a SHIELD Helicarrier with less than a hundred pieces [Instructions]

South African builder Wayne de Beer made the rounds a few months back with hisTallneck build from Horizon Zero Dawn that he graciously released with instructions to build your own. Now he’s doing the same with his own microscale version of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier featured in a few of the Marvel movies. It uses less than a hundred pieces and can be made with regular pieces alone, or improved with a few printed pieces and stickers.

Check out the step-by-step instructions for this tiny SHIELD Helicarrier

Achieve serenity with free LEGO building instructions for an “Outlaw Spaceship” from TBB [Instructions]

As a holiday gift to our readers, The Brothers Brick commissioned talented LEGO artist Tyler Clites to design a LEGO model that everybody can build. This custom “Outlaw Spaceship” should make any sci-fi fan’s heart twinkle like a firefly in the depths of space.

Our simple, step-by-step instructions and parts list will help you assemble this unique model unveiled for the first time here. It’s full of LEGO building techniques you won’t generally see in an official LEGO model, so it’s also an opportunity to learn a few tips and tricks. Let us know in the comments if you like these instructions, and we may do them more regularly in the future.

See the step-by-step instructions and parts list for our Outlaw Spaceship

A neat historical flick made from the brick: “Chicago Pile-1: A Brick History” [Video]

Recently, Dave Pickett from the YouTube channel Brick 101 created a video for the Argonne National Laboratory called “Chicago Pile-1: A Brick History”. The final product turned out great. Coming in at 2 minutes and 51 seconds, the animation is full of all sorts of thoughtful touches. From the composition of the scenes to the LEGO buildings found within, this is absolutely the work of a maestro.

But how exactly did he make it? David’s behind the scenes video gives some insight.

Watch the behind-the-scenes video and learn more about how LEGO stop-motion movies are made

There’s an app for that

In this technology-driven age, our devices have a big impact on our everyday life. We have devices to track our sleep, devices that shop for us, and devices we wear and carry with us wherever we go. With this collection of LEGO creations, nujumetru has captured the wonderful and sometimes disturbing relationship we have with our technology.

See more photos of each model in the series after the jump

Amazing detailed recreation of a city train station in Germany

The City Station of Trossingen in Germany built by Steffen Rau is simply breathtaking. The architectural detailing and color are astounding and eye-popping, with intricate features on the facade that look like it took some marvelously complex techniques to achieve that even an architect would be proud of. The siding just below the roof which was most likely wooden gives a beautiful compliment in color to the red roof tiling and a nice contrast with the mid-section in black and white.

The back of the building features the train tracks and a platform with minifigure commuters waiting for their train to arrive.

See more of this massive LEGO train station

Bugatti in a haystack

What classic car collector or enthusiast wouldn’t flip out to find this car in a barn? Norton74 has put together an instantly recognizable scene in this LEGO creation depicting all the excitement of a treasure hunt.

The farm clutter is wonderfully deliberate and is immediately familiar to anybody who has driven down a country highway on the way from here to there. From the wood piles and crates to the toppled gas pump. And don’t miss the hay stacked up inside the barn. What really sells the narrative is the loosely placed tiles, which add to the barn’s weathered appearance.

I feel the need, the need to burn some rubber

I’m a fan of the Studs-Not-On-Top (SNOT) techniques, especially for builds where you want the finished model to have few of the iconic LEGO studs visible. It’s a feat made even tougher on a smaller build, particularly if you need to keep the model looking true to its real-life counterpart. However, builder Jonathan Elliott seems to have a knack for pulling it off well. I still can’t decide on a favorite—the Mercedes AMG in white or the grey Porsche 911 Carrera, maybe? Actually, at this scale, I can own them both.

Click here to take a closer look