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.

A LEGO E.T. that’s out of this world!

I don’t know if you’ve seen E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial or not, but it’s a delightful film that has been long overdue for some LEGO love. I’m happy to say this build from Alex Jones comes right from the heart (and for ours!). What’s not to love about this brick-built figure? E.T. has some of the strangest proportions for an alien lifeform, but that LEGO has some strange pieces. Alex brings them both together in wonderful harmony in E.T.’s shaping and details. Alex even got the iconic glowing heart and finger of the alien being incorporated into the build, courtesy of lightbricks. If you don’t phone home about this one, then lend your phone to E.T. so he can make a call! Just a warning, though — it’ll be a long distance call. A long, long distance.

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.

This hardsuit packs a punch in both offense and defense

I’m not sure if I’ll ever get bored of seeing LEGO mecha. There’s so much variation that can be achieved with a simple bipedal frame. Marco de Bon‘s hardsuit, with a touch of Warhammer 40K about it, is the latest to catch my eye. I’m partly drawn in the by the unusual colour scheme: dark green with red highlights looks very smart indeed. That shield is worthy of note too. The slope parts at opposing angles make for a very nice paneling effect, and what’s the best form of defense? Offense! As well as looking cool, putting some spikes on your shield is sure to yield results in this regard.

SNOT to the rescue!

I’ve built a lot of LEGO creations over the years, but I rarely build recreations of contemporary, real-world vehicles. However, I have tremendous respect for those who do, because it’s a daunting task, especially if you want to get all the little details right, like this amazing minifigure-scale New York City Fire Department firetruck by Oshi. There are no stickers used to create the stripes and numbers on the truck’s livery, just clever engineering via SNOT. Check out that half-plate white stripe, or the way the number 2 is made with a pair of white brackets!

A miniature meeting of the Middle-Earth minds

There’s so much Nice Parts Use (NPU) in Dan Ko‘s adorable LEGO Lord of the Rings wizards that I don’t know where to start. Look at Gandalf the Bley here. His beard consists of upturned eggshell pieces, and the top of his staff uses a skeleton leg. His nose is also a rounded 1×2 plate, which may not necessarily qualify as NPU, but it’s a great choice nonetheless. As for Radagast the Reddish-Brown, his beard uses an arch piece to give some shape to his face. In the hat, you’ve got an ingot flanked by the frankly genius choice of a pair of minifigure chairs. They give him so much character! Dan has even repurposed some wood stickers to add detailing to his cloak. That is NPU par excellence! Do we need a new acronym for this? NSU – Nice Sticker Use?

Tales of the Space Age 2: Electric Boogaloo

Some say that sequels rarely live up to the originals. Personally, I disagree, and there are plenty of examples: Terminator 2, the Godfather, the Empire Strikes Back… and Jan Woznica! Hot on the heels of his beautiful Ideas set 21340 Tales of the Space Age hitting shelves, Jan has graced us with another trio of space vistas. Aren’t they gorgeous? The use of printed tiles as increasingly distant planets in the left-hand one is especially neat. My favourite is undoubtedly the centre one though, depicting what looks like the Cassini probe orbiting Saturn. The way the flex tubes converge to give the illusion of rings disappearing into the distance is epic.

“I’m a simple man making his way through the galaxy. Like my father before me.”

When LEGO came out with the Constraction buildable figures some builders loved them, and some didn’t. They’re certainly cool for what they are but some builders had difficulty using them with their other LEGO sets or finding multiple uses for say, Rey’s head. Pierthviv, on the other hand, is clearly not one of those builders. They’ve had no trouble using the Constraction Boba Fett head for…um…exactly what you’d expect. But still, the similarity ends there because the brick-built body is nothing short (or tall) of amazing. The chest armor, shoulder plates, utility belt, and even his feet are pieced together with unparalleled detail. While I may be one of those dunces scratching my head over how to integrate my Darth Vader chest plate for something other than a Darth Vader chest plate, check out our Constraction archives to see how it’s all done by other more imaginative builders.

This LEGO Moldy Crow from Dark Forces tosses Star Wars canon into the trash compactor

Folks, every story has a beginning. And the beginning of my love for the Star Wars universe began playing the Dark Forces video game on my Playstation as a kid. Decades before Rogue One became the new canon, I spent hours playing as Kyle Katarn as he tracked down the Death Star plans in his ship, the Moldy Crow. And thanks to builder Luca, that HWK-290 light freighter now exists in glorious LEGO form! From my numerous failed attempts, I know the sharp angles of the spaceship to be particularly difficult to capture in brick form. Add that to a lack of space-y parts in brown and dark tan tones, and the true talent in this build comes into focus. Its sharp angles are impossibly clean, and the colors perfectly match those in the game’s cinematics. Even the background build, showing the Crow docked while Katarn uncovers more of the Dark Trooper project, feels like a Dark Forces screenshot. Take that, Jyn Erso!

This is definitely my preferred type of tweeting

It’s taken a few attempts, but spring seems to have finally sprung here in Finland. In any case, the birds are a-singing every morning, which puts me in the mood for LEGO builds like Louis Barbedor (Loysnuva)’s. He’s a cute little fella, isn’t he? The bird, that is. I’m afraid I don’t know Louis well enough to say either way. I like the construction of the body – it’s very nicely rounded off with some newer curved slopes and wedges. The branches are a nice touch too; presumably their main function is to support those spindly legs, but it works so nicely as a stand for this little tweeter.

A wild serpent of a grand scale

It is truly remarkable the forms that can be made by repeating a handful of LEGO parts over and over. And this vicious-looking serpent by Aiden Rexroad is a wonderful example of such a technique. By repeating the pattern of turquoise minifig flippers and magenta tri-leaves, Aiden provides the perfect scaled look for this beast. This color pattern matches nicely with its spine of bright light orange fins. I would love to see the inner workings concocted to hold the outer shell in place, especially how the design was tapered at one end and connected to that fierce visage at the other. And speaking of its face, the blank white orbs used for eyes make for the perfect menacing touch!

Raising up a classic from the depths of 1996

It was a different time in 1996. Prince Charles and Lady Di call it quits just as Mad Cow Disease hits the UK. Coincidence? Nearly everything topping the music charts was vapid tunes we’d much rather forget but LEGO was doing some fun things. Among them was the 6190 Shark’s Crystal Cave from the Aquazone theme and famed builder Bob DeQuarte gives it a modern makeover.

I particularly like the plate-stacked ocean floor in dazzling colors and the crystal cave and aquatic plant life are not without their charms. But the real star of the show is most certainly that shark submarine staying true to its original color scheme and play features with the added inclusion of dark blue, which didn’t exist back then. There’s been a resurgence of awesome Aquazone and Rock Raiders set redos from 1996 and 1999 lately which, in my opinion, is far better than revisiting “The Macarena” or Cher’s “Believe”, respectively.

Any colour you like, as it long as it’s black... And red

When it comes to LEGO cars, Jonathan Elliott sets one heck of a high bar. Our archives will help to erase any doubts you might have, but so too will this mega hot-rod. It’s at a slightly bigger scale than his usual, minifigure-scale-ish vehicles. All that means though is that it’s even more chock-full of details, particularly in the engine bay. And just like any self-respecting car enthusiast, Jonathan seems to enjoy tinkering with his models; the wheels on this were originally black, but a small tweak to blood-red rims has elevated this build from looking sinister to downright deadly. Which, in a hot-rod, makes it just about the coolest thing on the road.

A mech for all seasons (actually just one)

Spring has sprung and we’re seeing vibrant colors outside suddenly. And also bunnies; lots and lots of bunnies. LEGO builder Tom Loftus is surely feeling Spring in the air as evidenced by this delightfully bright mech. It makes use of a plethora of purple pirate hats which come from the 10313 Wildflowers Bouquet set from the Botanical line. If you haven’t picked up any of these sets just yet I strongly advise that you do. It is probably my favorite line nowadays and this is coming from a guy who is totally gaga for cars and monsters and stuff. Amazing non-flowery things can be built using the parts from these sets. Give the Botanical archives a gander to see what I mean.