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.

Aqueducts among the haze and the heavens

Not for the first time, I’m completely enchanted and a bit awestruck by a LEGO creation by Eli Willsea. There’s a lot of great textures and build techniques represented in the piece called The Aqueduct. I’m particularly loving the weary adventurer and his dog in the foreground. Would it be uncouth on a LEGO website to cite that I love something about this composition that isn’t even LEGO? The background presentation that Eli created for this piece; the misty, hazy hills and mountains are a brilliant touch. The color matching with the aqueducts gives the entire thing a sort of breathtaking quality. It was inspired by a piece by artist Guy Warley of the same name. I love it when the LEGO and art worlds meld in sort of a tranquil harmony. Please do yourself the favor and check out our Eli Willsea archives. You won’t be disappointed.

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.

There’s no mistakes in your world, only happy accidents

By now it might be safe to consider myself an accomplished painter. How did I get my start? It was the early 90s and I tuned in to watch the legendary Bob Ross on a black-and-white TV with bad reception. While I don’t have a luxurious afro and nor do I wear my shirts unbuttoned to mid-chest, one Bob Ross-ism stuck with me forever; the notion of happy accidents. I still make them and it’s exhilarating every single time! That’s why I was thrilled to see this new LEGO creation by Jim Jo titled The Joy of Painting inspired by Bob Ross’s show. It features an array of paintbrushes, pallette, paint tubes, a pallette knife to scrape in those heavenly mountains and a water jar already tainted with a lovely sky-blue color.

Click the link to discover more

Going for a walk in the city

One of my favourite steampunk concepts is that of the mobile city. Whether on wheels, in an airship, on tank treads… Or, as with Student Scissors‘ creation, on foot! I’ve heard of exploring a city on foot, but never of exploring by city on foot. While the eye is drawn to the city itself, this build was entered into the BioCup. So naturally, we have CCBS pieces everywhere from the airship and train to the legs and body. Body? Oh, yes – that’s a Bionicle piece too! Although curiously, and perhaps a little ironically, it’s from one of the few System-scale sets in the line. Well, it’s definitely a Bionicle mask, so I guess it counts!

The water is fine down by the Brandywine

Jesse van den Oetelaar has crafted this LEGO serene scene of a place in Middle Earth called the Brandywine River. It’s not a location I’m overly familiar with, but a river filled with brandy and wine does sound like a heck of a party! Unfortunately it also sounds like a recipe for a disastrous hangover. But hey, the last time a bunch of hobbits had a party they ended up saving the world, so it can’t all be bad! Anyway, I love Jesse’s use of depth here. It’s partly thanks to some seamless editing. But even so, the LEGO portion of this build goes back a deceptively long way. Combined with the clever photography it makes us feel totally immersed in the scene… And the river!

Mini modular LEGO Ramen shop is very tasty.

This cute build by Dutch Thriceman is packed with delicious LEGO details inspired by many sources, and it all comes together beautifully. From the stacked angled roofs to the utility pole and air-conditioning unit, to those two birds on the top, it feels like something right out of a Studio Ghibli movie. The wandering vine, and the clothes drying on a rack are also nice touches. And what a satellite dish!

But the fun details don’t stop with the outside…. This model features detailed interiors as well. Looks like this ramen shop is secretly serving Pigsy’s famous longest noodles from LEGO’s Monkie Kid. Pull up a stool if you like; I’m just about to tuck into a bowl.

The flatulent green gasser

Leave it to LEGO automotive superstar Tim Inman to build a car with a mullet and a flatulence problem. It’s a 1963 Chevy II Fastback Gasser. With its heightened stance and crazy pipes, it’s not the kind of thing you can buy at your local Chevy dealership, not even in 1963. No siree, this beast is custom! Gassers were a thing in the 50s through the 70s and, while I was a product of the early 70s, I wish I had been born just a bit sooner to really enjoy this gasser phenomenon. I totally would have loved seeing these rip down the dragstrip! This is probably the best thing I’ve seen all day and I’ve Googled “potatoes and jelly”.

Chicago’s Navy Pier, in a LEGO Architecture style

While I may be a LEGO-building Washingtonian now, there was a time when I lived in northern Indiana, South Bend for those playing the home game. And during my four years there, I made plenty of trips to Chicago and its suburbs. One memorable adventure was attending Brickworld in 2013 (my first LEGO convention). But another was the first big post-graduation meet-up with friends from college to see the sights downtown, including the infamous Navy Pier. So, yes, at one time I was one of those 1×1 round tiles in Jonah Schultz’s microscale build, probably one of the lime green ones. The design here is spot-on, with a better translation to microscale than I thought possible. The half-plate stripe just under the warehouse’s roof is spectacular, as is the use of claws and horns to give the appearance of waves on Lake Michigan. But the bit that’s got my jaw on the floor right now is that Ferris wheel made of Minecraft Tridents connected to a pair of 3×3 Technic disks. It’s a technique worthy of the Iron Builder competition for sure!

Harness the magic in this witch’s tower made of LEGO

Fresh from its appearance at the Christchurch Brick Show in New Zealand earlier this month, this LEGO-made island-bound tower by Nathan Hake is simply astounding! Created over the better part of seven months, this mammoth medieval masterpiece sprawls out over a pair of islands and includes several noteworthy features like a shipwreck, black dragon, stone bridge, abandoned docks, magical portal, and a detailed tower interior. Details like the underside of its overhang and the tendrils of smoke rising out of its chimney stand out brilliantly on the tower. While more experienced builders will marvel at Nathan’s stud reversal on the rocks of the big island halfway up the side. Building at this scale, such techniques can become unwieldy, but it’s handled here quite adeptly.

Check out more of the tower’s magic below!

Military spaceplanes: Dyna-Soar and the Orbital Test Vehicle

Usually I don’t build space-themed models, but my latest two models are exceptions. Then again, they aren’t exactly your everyday space builds, representing real-world spaceplanes developed for the US military. The first is the X-20 Dyna-Soar (for “dynamic soarer”). This was an ambitious program to build a reusable manned spaceplane. It started within weeks of the Soviet Union’s first Sputnik launch. It never came to fruition, though. A few years later, with the first prototype already under construction, escalating costs and an unclear mission resulted in its cancellation.

The second is the much more recent and successful X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle. This is an unmanned reusable spaceplane currently in service with the US Space Force. So far, two vehicles have flown six missions. The latest was the longest, with almost 909 days spent in orbit. Its official role is to demonstrate reusable space technologies. However, there has been speculation that it carries reconnaissance equipment and may even be intended for anti-satellite missions or to test space-based weapons.

In less than two weeks, both of these models will be on display at BrickFair Northern Virginia, as part of the “eXperimental Military Collaboration”.

Don’t fall asleep looking at this build – you’ll feel rather sheepish

Character master Oliver Becker has crafted this charming scene of a shepherd and his flock (of, er, one sheep). Now this might sound odd, but I’m actually glad there’s only one sheep here. Not because I’m ovinophobic, but because if I started counting sheep, I’d surely fall asleep and miss the rest of this great build! The sheep is very good, chewing away on the grass, with its spindly legs. (Well it’s chewing with its mouth, but you know what I mean.) And any build that uses X-pod covers is a good one in my book. But the shepherd is where the whimsy really comes into this scene. He’s a great caricature, using inverted arch pieces twice – in his boots and for his face. He’s quite rotund though. Maybe that’s where the rest of his flock went…

How it’s made: nano-fig special

Ever wondered how LEGO’s nano-figs are made? Caleb Schilling has given us a sneak peek at their production line mid-manufacture. Bet you thought it was all ABS and injection-moulding, eh? Think again! Now I’m no expert, but I believe that inside this machine, there are tiny little gremlins (smaller even than nano-figs) armed with tridents, who carve these pieces out of coloured plastic. These tools of theirs are wonderfully versatile. You can see two of them sticking out the side, which when pulled presumably give the gremlins a poke, so they know which shift to be on. Some older ones also seem to have been re-purposed for the conveyor belt. How resourceful! It’s a wonder such production methods aren’t used elsewhere, really.

(Hm? What do you mean, I’ve failed the trial period for TBB’s production expert…?)

Visit the town hall in this quiet LEGO city

There’s a quiet beauty to this masterful LEGO structure by builder Lukasz Liwnik. So many clean lines and un-pocked walls show that the minifig citizens of this village take good care of their town hall. I love the bright shades of white, tan, and gray contrasted against the darker, deeper colors of the surrounding concrete and foliage. And speaking of foliage, those trees are absolutely gorgeous, utilizing the three leaves plate to cover up the inner-shaping of the hedge. But nothing beats the technique used to make those second-story windows. What a simple, elegant solution to a complex shaping problem in brick!

Taking a look at the back of the hall, Lukasz has also included a fountain, sculpture garden, and produce vendor looking to sell his wares. And all of the other minifigures look so busy in their various poses throughout the scene. I hope I get to see more of LUGPOL’s town layout soon!