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.

First contact with a world of LEGO

Natural forms abound in this outdoor LEGO scene by Mark van der Maarel. Birch trees topped with dark green foliage stand in the foreground of a massive stone archway, overgrown in places with creeping vines. A brilliant medium blue stream babbles through the scene, highlighted in round while plates and slopes to give the water a level of unease. But one figure stands alone, quite out of place with its environs. A visitor, clad in white, ponders the beauty of a brave butterfly. With no indication of how this extraterrestrial nomad arrived or what its intentions are, the viewer is left to fill in the gaps on their own. And its that mystery which makes this work truly outstanding in my eyes!

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a SHIP not of this world

SHIPtember is officially over with but that doesn’t stop us from enjoying these seriously huge LEGO ships that we’ve seen lately. Take Maxx Davidson’s Aeronautilus, for example. The rules laid out by the LEGO Gods a millennia ago state that a Seriously Huge Investment in Parts must have at least 100 studs on one side but it says nothing about which side. This otherworldly SHIP is 104 studs high and 108 studs on the diagonal plane. Its construct is so alien in appearance, that one can barely imagine the beings that may have constructed it. Maxx, as far as I know, is an Earthly being but you get what I mean. My favorite part, besides its odd color scheme, is the smaller ships being launched from strange hatches throughout the hull. I imagine this is how a botfly works. Kinda gives you the warm and fuzzies, doesn’t it?

Paz Vizsla’s last stand against a bunch of red space-guys!

Here at The Brothers Brick, we know that whenever we feature a LEGO creation by KevFett2011 the TBB headquarters hot tub bill gets paid. You just keyword Star Wars or The Mandalorian and suddenly we’re making it rain over here! Or something. I don’t know how the internet works, really. “Stick to the colorful metaphors, Lino, and let us worry about the rest”, they said. We’re all a bunch of Star Wars nerds, so we’d feature this stuff regardless of the nitty-gritty. For those not as nerd-core as we are, Paz Viszla was the big, stocky Mandalorian who seemed invincible but ultimately succumbed to the might of Moff Gideon’s Praetorian Guards. Kev captured that scene nicely with this diorama. Nerding out over fantastic Star Wars scenes is pretty much what Kev does. Check out our KevFett2011 archives to see what I mean. And for the love of god, someone please build us a MrBeast diorama. This ocelot fur coat isn’t going to pay for itself!

Take a moment’s quiet in this atmospheric LEGO vignette

Whatever your take on their purpose, it has to be said that religious buildings like churches or cathedrals can be quite amazing places. There’s the spiritual aspect of course, but even on a purely material level, often they’re just downright pretty. That’s definitely the case with Casey McCoy‘s vignette. It’s a captivating scene depicting a priest in a moment of quiet contemplation. The whole thing is beautiful, but so are some of the building techniques! The cheese-slope stained glass windows are what draw the eye, and what give this scene its distinctive atmosphere. But cheese slopes are also used in the floor tiling to great effect. The candles are also great, made of Technic pins and lever handles.

You may be wondering how the Casey has managed to manipulate the figure into that quite un-minifigure like pose. The answer is with rubberbands, care and a lot of patience! A white rubberband also doubles as his clerical collar, which is a nice touch. There’s a good view of it here – a gorgeous snapshot that almost makes you hear the echoing silence of an empty church.

The latest in interstellar LEGO tech-quila

LEGO builder Pico van Grootveld toasts the end of SHIPtember (a month of creating spacecraft that are 100 studs or longer) with an agave-inspired hauler clad in an appropriate shade of green. Including features like a warp drive, anti-asteroid lasers, and fuel extension vats, this 139-stud starship is the preferred method for hauling limes, salt, and spirits from one side of the solar system to the other. The shaping here is beautiful, with well-crafted stabilizing fins along the sides and a technical-looking front hatch for quick loading and unloading. It’s just the thing for those late night runs to the triple sec nebula!

Do I make you itchy?

I love insects and spiders. Really, I do. Tops on my LEGO wishlist is the new 21342 Ideas Insect Collection but boy, does looking at insect photos make my skin crawl! I’m scratching as I type and that is a testament to how realistic this new flea creation by Mitsuru Nikaito is. “Associative itching” is a real thing and, according to the science-y types at the University of Pennsylvania, itchy associations crosses species because primates get it, too. It’s a sensation so good, I decided to pass it along to you all. Let me know in the comments if you’re feeling it too and, if you love creepy-crawlers, check out our insects archives for more skin-crawling goodness.

Autumn always brings a splash of color

This time of year is exciting for a few reasons; one of which is the diversity of color that autumn brings. The other neat thing about September, (or should I say SHIPtember?) is the bevy of massive LEGO ships we get to feature here on The Brothers Brick. Take Nathan Proudlove’s HMY Seraphim, for example. Her Majesty’s Yacht, HMY Seraphim, the personal transport and diplomatic vessel for Her Imperial Majesty, Catherine De Marques, the Empress of the Holy Roman Galactic Empire is glorious in scale but apparently, Her Majesty also demands lots of color. Who am I to argue, for I am but a plebe? While I’m well aware that Nathan’s scope of influence is as vast as Her Majesty’s kingdom, in terms of color and pattern, I’m willing to bet a dollar that Nathan borrowed a little DNA from concept designer Chriss Foss for this one. Am I right?

You’ll definitely hear this 8,000 piece LEGO Tremortusk coming

Man, I really need to play the Horizon series of video games. Now that might seem like a bit of a random ramble from yours truly (hey, it’s what I do best). After all, Horizon: Forbidden West came out 18 months ago now. The reason it’s suddenly on my mind is down to this mean-looking machine that Nicola Stocchi has built from nearly 8,000 pieces. This elephant-like creature, called Tremortusk, is apparently designed “to cull the human population”. I’m glad I read that particular piece of information. Had I only heard the name I would’ve guessed Tremortusk was a Pokemon or something. Somehow, I doubt this thing will take kindly to a Pokeball being lobbed at its head. So now I know not to try that. Every day is a school day!

This isn’t the first creature in Nicola’s Horizon menagerie either – have a look at some of the others. They’re not all as friendly as Tremortusk here, mind, so tread carefully.

Be careful with this beautiful black panther bust

Sometimes, good art requires patience. You may have a painting like Monet’s composed of thousands of little dots, or you might make Rubik’s cube mosaics. Or you’re Dicken Liu, and have turned a selection of LEGO bars and hinges into a beautiful black panther bust. I cannot imagine how long this must have taken to line everything up! We’ve seen similar builds in more two-dimensional mosaic form, but this is the first I can remember being a free-standing model. There’s all sorts of parts hidden within, including snakes, brooms, laser rifles, fishing rods, handlebars and more. And while I can appreciate the time this design must have taken, am I the only one who kinda wants to crush it to see how it deforms…?

Eventide-In the hours of the evening before midnight

Thanks to the Lego Ideas challenge: “Celebrate Japanese Culture” we’ve been seeing a lot of Japanese-inspired creations lately and we’re all for it. Oskar tells us this 2486-piece mosaic was built for that challenge and that eventide- 宵 (yoi) is a Kanji character symbolic of the hours of evening until midnight. It also signifies the eve of an event, particularly of festivals. In celebration of the many various flower festivals held in Japan, he chose to depict a flower motif blossoming from the warm orange glow of the setting sun – symbolizing the growing merriment on the eve of festivities. With this intention, he went with a blend of inspiration from traditional woodblock motifs and modern graphic design to offer a broader imagery of festive values both past and present in Japanese culture. I’m rather smitten by each petal; made from four triangular tiles.

Benny and his spaceship pretzel, Pretzel, PRETZEL!

If you’re like me, you didn’t know you’d go gaga over a LEGO pretzel spaceship flying over a character-strewn beach today, and yet here we are. Pretzels have been my lifelong favorite snack so naturally I’m glad to see that Pascal Hetzel and I are on the same wavelength. I must admit that even I didn’t expect to be cheering for Benny and his delicious spaceship today. It checks all the boxes of stuff I’d be into: beefy engines, sick exhaust pipes, tropical islands, Iron Man, The Mandalorian, Benny, sharks, Darth Vader, Batman, Santa Claus, and PRETZELS! Heck yes! What is it; my birthday? This piece begs the question; how can I love something but still not know what the heck is going on? That’s the story of my life, really.

In case you haven’t yet experienced a delicious salty-good overload, here’s a close-up shot of the pretzel ship in action. Love that sweet rooster tail, bro!

An undead LEGO army marches on Skaerbaek Fan Weekend

This past weekend, LEGO fans from all over the world converged on Skaerbaek, Denmark for the ultimate builder gathering (that also happens to be in LEGO HQ’s metaphorical backyard). Builder and LEGO designer Wes Talbott featured this fantastic horde of baddies at the Fan Weekend, about to pass through their nerco-powered portal to attack their sworn foe, the Moon Elves. The intricacies of the portal are spectacular, from the organics growing out of its side to the stone dragon heads sitting atop it. But my favorite part has got to be Wes’s integration of bones and skulls into the structure, using the 1×1 round plate with bar. The part really gives those skeletal minifig heads a jaunty slant, evoking the makeshift/natural/ritualistic nature of goblin magic. But don’t let the glowing green gateway distract you from the brilliantly-crafted army surrounding it. Specifically, that big, boney behemoth in the background is a masterclass in character creation and choice part usage.