Category Archives: Models

This is what we’re all about. We scour the web for the best custom LEGO models to share with you. From castles and spaceships to planes, trains, and automobiles, you’ll find the best LEGO creations from builders all over the world right here on The Brothers Brick.

Lego Star Wars 75024: HH-87 Starhopper [Review]

75024 HH-87 Starhopper is one of the sets from the summer wave of Lego Star Wars. The set contains 362 pieces and retails for $39.99, which you can buy from the LEGO Shop.

Here is my summary of the highlights of the set, which are elaborated in the review video below.


Pros:

  • Unusual color for a Star Wars ship
  • 3 unique minifigs


Cons:

  • Average play features
  • Hardly any new elements
  • Messy design on the wing pattern and the nose

This is an average Star Wars ship at an unremarkable price. I was originally drawn to its unusual color scheme. Unfortunately, the dark tan parts are not uncommon and the lime green tiles are very cheap to obtain. I do not recommend this set for its parts. Even for a display set, the design is messy at places such as in the pattern on the wings and the nose. For kids, it’s a sturdy model and will stand up to lots of play, and they will likely not be as picky as an adult builder when it comes to parts selection and design. Thus, this set is best suited for the young ones, as it is meant to be.

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Assassination! by Brendan Powell Smith [Book Review]

Brendan Powell Smith takes a break from biblical action with a new tome released just in time for the holiday season that features great building and a heaping helping of the darker side of American presidential history. The book is entitled Assassination! The Brick Chronicle of Attempts on the Lives of Twelve US Presidents and it is now available through the link or from the usual suspects who still cater to those of us who enjoy a hard copy. Brendan is an old crony of mine who sent me a free personalized copy of the new book knowing full well that I wouldn’t be able to keep my big mouth shut about it. The first thing I noticed upon grabbing it from the mailbox was its satisfying heft and a larger format than the Brick Testament editions riding the bookshelf in my Legoratory. The book clocks in at 272 pages, features over 400 photos and retails for about $15 here in the States (depending on how you order it) and you can get a signed copy for about $20.

Assassination! The Brick Chronicle of Attempts on the Lives of Twelve US Presidents

Brendan’s building has come a long way since the first edition of The Brick Testament some ten years ago and I think it’s fair to say he’s on top of his game in this book. Creating 400 scenes without getting burned out or taking short cuts seems like an amazing accomplishment to me so I found that the actual quality of the building exceeded my expectations. What I enjoyed most however, was the writing and the depth of information that Brendan provides on each assassination attempt while maintaining a smooth narrative flow. Being a history buff, I thought I was pretty well versed on the topic going in but in each of the 15 accounts (Lincoln, Kennedy and Ford get 2 chapters each) I definitely walked away with more knowledge on the events than I had going in. My favorite chapter of the book was actually the first one which detailed the 1835 attempt on Andrew Jackson’s life. Brendan has always had a knack for selecting just the right minfig for the right character, but never more so than with Old Hickory.

Assassination! sample page

There are a couple of nit-picky issues with the book both of which are cosmetic in nature and more an issue of printing than authorship. Over the course of 400 photos, there is an occasional difference in brightness between photos that can be a little distracting and there were 2-3 instances where the white printing on the black background was faded to the point of being difficult to read. Neither issue effected my enjoyment of the book, which I rank as my current favorite among the current crop of volumes produced by Lego nerds recently. Coffee table books with pretty photos are nice but I actually feel better informed after reading Assassination! and I’m certainly better armed for any future engagements in American presidential trivia.

Brendan Powell Smith

With a great price-point, solid building and great writing I can’t endorse this informative volume enough, constant reader and I encourage you to purchase the tome at your earliest convenience for yourself or as a gift. Perhaps the best testimonial I can give is that everyone I have shown it to has been unable to put it down without laughing and remarking about one of the factoids. If you have friends who are anything like mine, you’ll soon be refusing to loan it out. Let’s face it, people never return books.

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Mia’s Roadster

As if there were any further proof needed LEGO Friends are cool, Tyler Sky (Bricksky) has entered nice hot rod roadster in Friends Bricks Along for the Ride Building Challenge. It looks like a real fun ride to cruise around Heartlake City.

Mia's Roadster

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Simply the Cat’s Meow

Cole Edmonson just posted a great sculpture of his cat, Cooper. The light up eyes on this piece really put it over the top. My cat-loving daughter is going to want to build something like this of one of her cats…

My Cat Cooper

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.

Life-size Titanfall R-101C Assault Rifle

I meant to blog this next model back when it debuted in September, but something shiny must have distracted me from the Titanfall R-101C Assault Rifle by our old associate Nick Jensen (Nick Brick). Working features include: removable magazine, moving trigger, sliding charging handle, flip-up iron sights and a detachable HCOG sight that lights up. The rifle is a replica of the one used in the video game Titanfall, and purists can breathe easy because even the sling has the lego logo, although the builder does not specify where it comes from.

Titanfall R-101C Assault Rifle

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.

Annie Leonheart

I had the pleasure of briefly meeting Arkøv. at BrickCon last month and he’s as cool as the other side of the pillow and humble too. To say there is some “NPU” going on with his latest model is an understatement, in fact there are so many great details that it is difficult to pick a favorite. I think Arkøv’s description of this beauty cannot be improved upon, so I’ll leave you with the builder’s own words: “From Shingeki no Kyojin, the anime about big naked people eating little people with swords“.

Annie Leonheart

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.

History of the World

In his latest effort, the simply titled History of the World, Lasse Vestergård has wonderfully combined microscale architecture with collectible minifigs to create a timeline starting with ancient Egypt and ending with modern America. I’ve seen many fellow hobbyists construct brick-built display units for their minifigs but never one with such panache or purpose.

Description

Lasse also took the time to make the back of the display interesting as well, by including a map of the world.

Description

“And of course, with the birth of the artist came the inevitable afterbirth… the critic.” My only complaint about this otherwise fine project is with the title, which is a little misleading as the model seems focused on western civilization to the exclusion of the rest of the world. However, when you try and boil down the entirety of human history into a dozen vignettes, you’re bound to leave somebody out.

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.

Two from Uma

Our chief medical officer here on the Brothership has informed me that our stockpile of hemoglobin is critically low, so please welcome newcomer umamen who brings some fresh blood to this venerable blog. We are proudly presenting a pair of Uma’s mecha for your Sunday viewing pleasure, the Gundam RX-78-2 and the MS-06F ZAKU II which were both inspired by the collected works of Pete Corp.

LEGO Gundam RX-78-2

LEGO MS-06F ZAKU II

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Time for a snack

Schfio just prepared a light repast for your pleasure. There is so much perfection here, from the transparent-over-white milk bottle, the various cheeses and eggs, not to mention the toast. It is all so nicely done.

DSC_6843xx

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.

Take to the stars with ice trawler Polynya.

sioka sculpting makes his first appearance in the ivy covered halls of TBB with a S.H.I.P. that has just about everything you could ask for: great color control, fine details like hangar bays and life-boats, powerful engines and that hard to define cool factor. One of the reason’s I was attracted to this model was that it simultaneously looks modern and old-school, like the handsome love-child of Dasnewten and Dan Jassim.

Ice trawler Polynya... Not so SHIPtember

For you trivia fans, the name polynya refers to an area of open water surrounded by sea ice. It is a Russian term полынья which refers to a natural ice hole, and was adopted in the 19th century by polar explorers to describe navigable portions of the sea.

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.

And now for something crappy

This toilet, by Moko, perfectly describes my mood today and makes me smile at the same time. I’m glad he built it.

Toilet bowl

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 Ultimate Video Game System

I don’t want to hear about the Play-Box 420 or the Dream Station 5000 or even the hopelessly derivative Intellivision; the greatest video game system of all time is the Atari 2600 and TBB regular Chris McVeigh (powerpig) has finally brought the mighty console to life. Back in the day we only needed one button to shoot/jump/kill and it was red so you couldn’t miss it even if you were all jacked up from too much caffeine and sugar. So set the dial on the way-back machine to 1977, grab your unscratchable copy of Journey Escape and revel in the four-switch “wood veneer” greatness. If you don’t believe me, just check out a very young Heisenberg react to the 2600 in this advertisement from the early 1980’s. Who needs ultra pure crystal meth when you have Mega Force!

I dreamt in pixels that night.

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.