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.

The Desolation of Smaug(‘s t-shirt)

Known to many as a master of Star Wars LEGO creatures, Shaun “Brick” Sheepa has of late turned his attention to the Lord of the Rings. Having done horses, Ents, and everything in between, he has set the bar pretty high. You’ll be glad to hear that this latest beastie keeps that average sky-high! This is of course the kleptomaniac dragon that is Smaug. Is it pronounced Sma-oog, or Smorg? I never can remember. Anyway, as well as gathering gold and plastic bricks, he has clearly taken a shine to second-hand clothes. The wings are apparently made from a cut-up old t-shirt. Not one for the purists, perhaps, but there’s no denying it looks superb!

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Jellyfish are just the aliens of the sea

Do you ever go the LEGO store’s Pick-A-Brick wall, take whatever they have in a given colour, and see what you can make of it? That appears to be what’s happened here with greenarj. I have to say, if I’d gone for trans-blue at said wall I’m not sure I would’ve thought to make a jellyfish! Certainly not one with snowflakes and whips for tendrils. Knowing me I probably would’ve made something space-y. The trans-blue is actually a great choice, though – it has the same ethereal quality that these sea creatures possess. They’re beautiful, but they’re also weird, aren’t they? Are we sure jellyfish aren’t just aliens that ended up in the ocean and couldn’t get out? Maybe this is a space build, after all…

A kooky koala using just thirty LEGO pieces

We’re used to seeing larger LEGO creations from Dan Ko but this time he presents a cute koala using only thirty pieces. He tells us the koala is among the wildest and most dangerous animals in the world, if not the whole universe. Wait, does Dan know something we don’t? I was already aware Australia housed thousands of animals hellbent on killing us all but I didn’t know the koala was among them. Crikey!

How the Wild West was won

I don’t know why but I seem to love the Old West. No, seriously, I can’t explain why. It’s not like I dress like a gunslinger or watch Westerns or anything like that because really I don’t. So you can imagine how (unexplainably) pleased I was to see this amazing LEGO Wild West town built by ilive. This has everything you can expect from a booming Old West town: horses, train tracks, stagecoaches, even one of those western windmill dealios. You can get lost in all the amazing details. A layout this good makes me wish LEGO would bring back the Western theme from 1996. I mean, seriously, who didn’t lose their gunslinging, horse riding, cow rustling minds when Fort Legoredo came out?

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Someone drained the pool of color!

Usually, black and white images are just a camera effect, but this LEGO billiards table by euphonica is photographed in full color, but the build itself is grayscale. That’s a neat way to dodge the lack of voodoo balls (the official name of those Bionicle ball joint elements) in all the necessary colors for a proper pool table. Color aside, though, this pool table looks just about good enough to play.

Most weird things can be explained away by swamp gas

According to official government files and weirdo LEGO builder Fedde Barendrecht, the strange phenomenon seen in the ’60s by farmers and other people without degrees has nothing to do with UFOs or hallucinogenic drugs. Yep, it turns out all the eerie lights in the sky, stories of alien probing, and the whole go-go dancing fad can be explained away by swamp gas. I’m loving Fedde’s presentation of this little creation on top of a pretty green geode. Neat! But all the weird flying saucers over Area 51 were definitely swamp gas and nothing more so don’t go thinking otherwise if you know what’s good for you. But still, who knew swamps could be so flatulent?

A LEGO Gnome and his patch of mushrooms

This stout LEGO gnome built by 8mm-plastic has lots of character, from the rumpled hat to that big fluffy beard. He stands beside a well-crafted mushroom while glittering butterflies flutter. At first glance, it might seem that those butterflies are the smallest creatures in the build, but look closely on the ground in front of the mushroom and you’ll find a snail made from just 2 parts.

There ain’t room in this build for the both of us

Don’t get distracted by gGh0st‘s exquisite hat choices in this imminent LEGO duel. The real battle is one of technique between the two buildings in the background. Will the bank take the win, with its multitude of wooden slat techniques (stacked plates, stacked jumpers, and stacked candles)? It’s also got that darling lettering and an interesting black awning. But the brown building is no slouch, either. Smooth curves and sand green highlights at its crown lead down to more slats, this time with gray cheese slopes. The golden yellow curtains in the window are a great touch, as are the anti-studs (undersides) of a couple of 1×3 jumper plates at the base of the building. And each structure sports its own type of brick-built door. I can’t tell which one I like better!

Miniature LEGO floating island sports a hoot of a nice part usage

Using only 92 LEGO elements, this whimsical model of a floating rock with a miniature windmill by Mbricks packs quite a lot of nice part usage, or NPU! While hair pieces make great foliage as they come in a rainbow of colors, my favorite part is the white owl used as a cloud. A couple of flexible whips make excellent roots.

Bruticus Maximus is a bunch of brawling Transformers combined!

A LEGO Transformer built by Alex Jones is no special thing. I mean, let me clarify; it certainly is special, mindblowing even, but he’s built dozens in his time and has by now mastered the art. But a combiner, by his own admission, is quite a difficult thing. Behold Bruticus Maximus, a massive transforming brawler comprised of five individual brawlers. They are the Combaticons: BlastOff, Brawl, Onslaught, Swindle, and Vortex which are somehow both the best and worst fraternity brother names ever. He tells us that weight and clutch power become a difficult obstacle when building a bipedal mech this large. But clearly, he has pulled it off with finesse.

Here is another image showcasing the individual Transformers in vehicle and robot mode. Alex seems to be a master at, not only Transformers but all things awesome and pop culture-ish. You owe it to yourself to check out our Alex Jones archives to see what I mean. And if Transformers is totally your jam, then tuck and fold into that archive as well.

So GLaDOS to see you

Ivan Martynov has turned to everyone’s favourite evil-robot-overlord-with-homicidal-tendencies for inspiration in the Digital Iron Builder contest. This doesn’t appear to be GLaDOS herself – but there’s no telling whether it’s just as evil or not. The seed part is a SPIKE sensor, an unusual part in its own right. It does look superb as the iconic eyes of Aperture Science technology though. In a way it makes perfect sense for this particular part use – the colour sensor is basically an eye, of sorts. The massive robot in the centre would be impressive enough on its own here, but the addition of a turret and Personality Core really ties everything together.

Chrome Crusher redux: less chrome, but more crushing

There seems to be a lot of nostalgia for LEGO’s Rock Raiders theme going around at the moment, and I am so here for it. French builder F@bz has turned his attention to 4970 Chrome Crusher. I always thought this was the coolest Rock Raiders set, and F@bz has done a great job of upping that cool factor! There’s been a touch of realism added too. The original cockpit piece was quite open to the elements, and this one made from ladders and a net will probably offer a bit more protection from any small rocks flying around. The drill also looks more purposeful. It isn’t chrome like the one in the set, but I think this one truly is a thing of beauty!