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 tribute to some ancient architects

Sporting some of the cleanest lines I’ve ever seen, this Roman temple by Lech Kulina is a brilliant bit of LEGO architecture. Widths of a half-plate or less permeate the construction, especially on all the plinths surrounding the temple. And all angles have been cleanly cut off thanks to the use of brackets. The build is so clean that those small bits of decay stick out like a sore thumb. Each notch in the tile, each blotch of tan discoloration, each profile brick is given greater meaning by the “purity” that surrounds it. It’s quite possibly the truest representation of Roman architecture I’ve seen recreated in plastic. Make sure to check out Lech’s Flickr album to see how he pulled off such a feat!

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A zippy little speeder

I love a LEGO speeder bike build! When I’m short for time or have builders block, I build a little speeder and am always impressed with how useful those small parts can be. Here, Lucas Shannon puts that versatility to work with a bike of their own. Handcuffs are used to hold onto laser pistols which adds great texture and detail. This also allows a connection point for the interesting windscreen assembly, attached via a clip.

Taking a look at the back, we can make out the root piece upon which this hover bike is built: a motorbike frame sans the wheels! The way that Lucas has filled the wheel wells and utilized just about every possible connection point on the frame is quite impressive! I’m excited to see what I can take from this into my own designs.

The Maestro is ready to drop some ‘bows

While I haven’t been plotting any LEGO villainy in the opening round of this year’s Bio-Cup, I have been working with brown Bionicle bits as of late for my own malicious machinations. So let me tell you, Ted Andes was employing quite the limited part palette when he took on a violin-themed evil-doer, Il Maestro Di Violino. The shape he’s managed here is excellent, and the incorporation of the Kakama Kanohi mask is perfect. For a “last minute entry,” this feels like a well-planned symphony of parts. It immediately conveys “violin” and “villain” with just one glance.

A warrior with a face only a builder could love

Whether you’re a fan of the LEGO Ninjago theme or not, you have to give it props for surviving for so long. Some kids that grew up with Ninjago are now adult fans making fabulously inspired and skilled creations. Now, while I can’t speak to the history of the builder known as Woomy World, I can certainly say that this Oni Lloyd-inspired build is top-notch, and a solid tribute to the theme. The entire thing is riddled with fantastic parts usage, from the dragon-headed weapons, to the clothing and body armor. What really takes the cake, though, is the expressive face. It utilizes a hat for a nose, a hood for a chin, and even a tan crab holding horns for teeth/tusks. The character is both menacing and cool all at once!

While you’re here, stick around for more builds and sets related to the LEGO Ninjago theme. We also have plenty of articles about brick-built characters in general too!

LEGO inn-sights and inn-ovations

If there’s one thing that stands out most in this terrific LEGO inn by builder Tomasz Bartoszek, it’s the repeated creation of curved surfaces without using curved bricks. Both the sloped roof of tiles and rounded wall of the tower generate their curves through the use of 1×2 tiles, set at appropriately-varied angles. The result is a beautiful, clean look that perfectly captures a stop just off the roadway, in settings both real and fantastic. On top of that, I love the blobs of vegetation dotting the roof. But it’s the incorporation of Harry Potter wands into the eaves that adds the perfect finishing touch to those concave slopes of shingles.

Off the wall or off the grid, you decide

Famed LEGO builder and Ideas set designer Andrea Lattanzio proposed the question; have you ever thought about living “off the wall”? That got me thinking; does he mean off the grid? While I use the term “off the wall” occasionally, I went ahead and looked it up and the definition is cited as eccentric or unconventional with their example being
“a zany, wacky, off-the-wall weirdo”. In that regard, to answer your question, Andrea I give you a resounding hell yes! Eccentric and unconventional all the way, mio amico! However, he goes on to say that the characters in this creation “probably ended up living like this because of an all-out war that wiped everything out.” So does that mean off the grid, then? Andrea goes on to say that they seem quite happy, so that’s a good thing.

Whether they’re off the wall or off the grid there’s no denying these great shapes and build techniques. He pays homage to plenty of creations from his past; the tile with the blue cottage is in reference to the 21338 A-Frame set that he designed and the white boat on the roof may be the very one taken from his Stilt House Ideas concept. Can you spot other references? There are Easter eggs a-plenty!

Re-firing up the Ninjago Fire Temple

It’s hard to find someone in the LEGO Community that doesn’t like Ninjago. Even if we don’t follow the entire storyline and history, most of us have bought a few sets even if just for their super cool and useful parts. Jakub Drobny took the 2507 Ninjago Fire Temple set from 2011 and, with newer parts and colors and build techniques made it awesome-er-er. I particularly love the trees and tank treads that create the textured roof tiles. Without the dragon and the inclusion of the waterfall, this creation seems much more serene than the old set of yore but with a name like Fire Temple, we just know some action and drama is sure to erupt soon.

A LEGO Star Wars creation that’s nicely Tie’D up

I still recall getting my first LEGO Star Wars sets in 1999, and I think back to how simple Darth Vader’s TIE Advanced was in 7150 TIE Fighter & Y-wing with just 409 pieces between the two ships. So I’m in awe when I see incredible versions like this TIE-D by Sy Lyphics, which packs a whopping 1,573 pieces into a minifigure-scale recreation of one of the more awesome TIE variants. The sculpting on the bubble fuselage is particularly adept, with those triangular grey roadsigns looking purpose-made for the job.

This one isn’t just a looker on the outside, though. Sy has created a fully functional cockpit, an incredible achievement considering the difficulty of creating a brick-built sphere that’s hollow.

This build’s a grind

Castles are nice, but there’s something I love about a tranquil domestic scene of medieval life, and what encapsulates that better than a stone mill and miller’s cottage? This lovely little diorama is the work of ZCerberus, and although the stonework is nice, and the round mill is great, some of favorite techniques here are more subtle. First, there’s the mixing of brown and dark red for the roof tiles, a subtle swap that helps give a lived-in nature. Similarly, the mixed olive green and dark tan for the ground makes a wonderfully earthy tone. And secondly is something so foundational it took me a minute to even realize it: this diorama has two bases, thanks to a black slab beneath the sculpted landscape. Usually, LEGO dioramas have one or the other, but I really love the presentation here.

Airships over Antarctica: The Battle for Flat Earth

That title; I’m just gonna leave it right there and see what happens. Actually it comes from LEGO builder Pete Strege. Anyone who is anyone knows that if climate change is real, Antartica would melt off the edge of the Earth and drown the rest of the world, presumably on the other side of the globe…er, I mean disk. That is why it is so important that the denizens of Antarctica protect it with all their might. Here we see a massive polar bear balloon piloted by penguins, penguin blimps piloted by polar bears and a squadron penguin-piloted plains worthy of an old-timey “buy war bonds” film. There’s a lot to love here. This creation acts as a reminder that no matter what shape the Earth happens to be, it is worth protecting because it’s the only planet we have.

“Luke, you switched off your Power Functions! What’s wrong?”

LEGO Star Wars did have a brief flirtation with the Technic brand at its inception, but while we’ve seen everything from supercars to Unimogs in Technic since, we haven’t seen even a single starfighter. Rather a shame, don’t you think? Thankfully Dyens Creations is on hand to fill that hole. This X-wing is an impressive model in and of itself. But where can you find the parts to build one? Why, they all come from 42145 Airbus H175 Rescue Helicopter! That added parts limitation really makes this model impressive. And being a Technic creation, it naturally comes with some motorised functionality: the wings fold, the landing gear retracts, the canopy opens and the targeting computer can be adjusted. Most impressive.

Alternate builds are an art unto themselves – so why not see what else people have turned their LEGO sets into in our alternate builds archives?

A platypus? A... LEGO platypus?

*gasp* PERRY the LEGO platypus?! That’s right, the intrepid Agent P and his erstwhile nemesis Dr. Doofenshmirtz are the subject of Tino Poutiainen‘s latest build. The devious doctor’s latest scheme is taking aim at the LEGO Character and Creature Building System (CCBS) line! This machine, dubbed the Systeminator, will reduce all your glorious Bionicle and Hero Factory pieces to mere studs. Poor Perry here is the first victim. Is this how Tino is planning to eliminate the competition in the 2023 Bio-Cup, for which this is built? Is that even legal? I’m not sure the regulations accounted for this eventuality. Can we get a ruling on this? Like, quickly? Perry’s in danger!