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.

Very cool catch-up trains

I’ve got a little time this evening so figured I might as well post some old things from my bloglist.

First up is Caleb Randolph’s Swedish Class B. As though packing in the details wasn’t enough, Caleb has gone where others fear tread and added sound. As for the model itself: I’m particularly impressed by the running gear (the bars that move hypnotically on the wheels) as it’s nice and thin.

Swedish Class B

Secondly there is Cale Leiphart’s “K4s”. This pair of beauties are SNOTtastic in their details, in particular using panels to obtain a nice thin board next to the boiler (the big round bit).

IMG_2246

And last but not least is Peter Norman’s (swoofty) Hiawatha Beaver tail wagon. In case you’ve never noticed I do like me some streamline moderne design.

Hiawatha Beaver Tail Parlor Observation

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Bring LEGO Stephen Hawking home for the holidays

Speaking of the inimitable Mr. Iain Heath of The Living Brick, it’s been nearly six years since his Miniland Stephen Hawking began taking the Internet by storm. Iain’s latest experiment in cloning little plastic cosmologists has been successful, and you can own your own LEGO Stephen Hawking with The Standard Model.

Iain surprised me with a copy of his custom set yesterday, so here’s a quick review. (No photos of my own, since the whole point of a custom kit made by a fan is the parts list and their personal design.)

One of the reasons Iain’s LEGO version of Professor Hawking has stayed viral for so long is that it evokes the man himself so well. I had the privilege of hearing Stephen Hawking give a lecture on M-theory here in Seattle this summer, and Iain has captured the nuance’s of his appearance wonderfully, from the angle of his head to the computer he uses to communicate.

The instructions are clear and easy to follow, printed on nice glossy paper. It’s always interesting building someone else’s design, since it gives you a view into their thinking process. Iain’s model is full of one-stud connections and bricks attached at odd angles — this isn’t a model to give your six-year-old to play with on the floor.

At $39.99, you’re not buying this model to use the parts in your own LEGO creations. Iain has only produced a limited run of 100, and you’d be buying it because you think it’s awesome (like I do) — or because you know it’d make a perfect gift for that LEGO fan who has everything. “The Standard Model” will make an excellent display model on the desk or mantle of any fan of the universe, Stephen Hawking, and little plastic bricks.

You can pick up your own copy of The Standard Model from Amazon.com. If you can’t find the link later, just remember TheStandardModel.info (which’ll take you to Amazon).

UPDATE: Iain is running a bit of a Black Friday sale of his own. Enter the promo code “BROBRICK” at checkout and you’ll get $10 off. Combined with free shipping from Amazon, that makes this a pretty sweet deal for a custom LEGO kit. The sale starts at 6 AM PST on Wednesday (Nov 21) and runs through midnight on Sunday.

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Please don’t eat the Truckster

This one’s a year old, but we missed it last year and Iain just blogged it over on The Living Brick, so I say it’s fair game. Joe Klang (-derjoe-) built the Wagon Queen Family Truckster from National Lampoon’s Vacation.

Griswolds

I’d seen all the other National Lampoon vacation movies, but somehow managed to avoid the first one until recently. This is a beautifully rendered LEGO version of a very ugly car, but for those who’ve seen the movie, that black bundle on the roof is a wonderful touch…

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A house from Lille-Fives

I don’t often blog “modular houses” as I find them a little dime-a-dozen. However Richard “lafabrick” enticed me to break this habit as he has made such an impressive reproduction of a house in the Fives to Lille neighbourhood in France. This house is so cleverly made it’s probably the first (and likely the only) time I’ve ever allowed four examples of techniques from a single model into the LEGO Techniques group.

MOC House's Lille-Fives Front 2

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Blown away

Hippotam‘s vignettes are always fascinating to look at. His latest shows off the barber’s new hair dryer along with a clever use of the Friends hairpieces.

New Hair Dryer

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VV trident a,b

In contrast to the helicopter I just posted, Bartosz Kacprzyk (the oneman) has posted a Vic Viper for Novvember that’s so unusual it almost feels plausible. Those weird wings just have to be for something important.

VV trident  a,b

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Stealthy Chopper

I’m a big fan of fictional, yet plausible models. And this ‘Shadow Stealth’ helicopter by Simon T. James is a fine example. Usually compound curves look a little odd to me, but here they perfectly convey the choppy lines of real world stealth vehicles. I dig this.

Shadow stealth helicopter (1)

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A Warm Welcome

ShareburG‘s entry for the Colossal Castle Contest over at Classic Castle makes me smile. So many of the details just stand out to me. I like the rounded tower; the little cart with barrels is pretty fabulous, too.

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Double-decker London Routemaster bus

Ralph (Mad Physicist) is assembling a fleet of British vehicles for displays he contributes to as part of the Brickish Association in the UK. His latest is a Miniland-scale Routemaster, better known as the double-decker London bus. Ralph captures the iconic curves wonderfully.

Routemaster (1)

I never got the opportunity to take a ride on one while I was in London a few years ago, but oddly, there’s one that a local garden center uses as a greenhouse up the road here in Seattle…

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Sailing the skies aboard Luis’s other-worldly Volare Onerariis

Airships with houses on them are just plain fun — implying a life of endless adventure among the clouds. Luis Baixinho has created this delightful vessel for his own OutroMundo theme. I love the nets tying down the cargo, but my favorite detail is the tile roof of the cabin.

Volare Onerariis (1)

Luis has been creating the people, places, and vehicles of OutroMundo since 2004, so be sure to check out lots more good stuff on Flickr.

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.

Pop-up LEGO Todai-ji opens to reveal Giant Buddha

Back in 2009, the Internet marveled at Japanese builder talapz‘s mind-boggling pop-up Kinkaku-ji pavilion. Now, he’s at it again! This time, he’s built Todai-ji, a temple in Nara, Japan that houses the world’s largest bronze statue of Buddha.

Nara was one of Japan’s first capitol cities, before Kyoto and Tokyo. Todai-ji and the Giant Buddha (Daibutsu) are part of a UNESCO World Heritage site, encompassing treasures from the period of ancient Japan (AD 710-794) that shares the city’s name.

For those of you inclined to try building your own pop-up Todai-ji, there is hope! In the second half of the video, talapz provides step-by-step instructions (449 steps) to build your own pop-up Todai-ji temple from a parts list — complete with Bricklink IDs — of 8816 LEGO elements. Good luck!

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More Cars Parts!

I came on to write this post and had to laugh when I saw what Chris had just posted…it would seem that SPARKART! had a similar stroke of creative genius as Gilcelio :D

The Queen Would Not Approve

The Caped Cars-ader

S-Cars-lett Speedster

Captain Ameri-Cars

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