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.

Is a LEGO builder’s work – or a church – ever truly finished?

I used to live down the road from a cathedral, and the one thing I have noticed about them and churches is that more often than not, they seem to always have scaffolding up somewhere for restoration work. This is based purely on anecdotal evidence of course, but I will use Margrabia Mokotowski‘s beautiful LEGO church as another datapoint to support this dubious claim! Inspired by a real church in Margrabia’s native Poland, it wouldn’t look out of place as the centerpiece of a medieval township, even with the heavy weathering in evidence with some nice texturing. The ever-present scaffolding, though, belies its true setting in a modern-day LEGO city. It’s funny how a few minifigures and safety barriers can change the context of a whole build by a few hundred years!

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Wyrms: like dragons, but cuter

Supposedly, the difference between dragons and wyrms (and wyverns, and drakes) lies in the number of limbs they have, and whether they have wings or not. That may be so, but the name “wyrm” just sounds cuter than the others, don’t you think? Maybe that’s why Jonah Schultz refers to this adorable little LEGO guy as a wyrm, even if it technially has too many limbs to be one. That minifigure-leg snout is too cute to belong to a fire-breathing monster! How do we square this particular circle? Maybe Wyrm is its given name? Wyrm the Dragon. Yeah, that sounds fitting! If a little confusing…

Winning at Minecraft, fatherhood, and LEGO

You may have noticed that the LEGO corner of the internet is currently awash in builds featuring the Drowned trident from Minecraft sets. And that must mean we’re amid another round of Iron Builder. Defending champ Caleb Schilling channels his love of LEGO minecraft with this tribute to the wholesome meme known as “Are ya winning, son?” The perfect recreation of the pixelated game on the son’s computer monitor is spot-on (and a great use of the skeleton head 1×1 plates I was drooling over in this recent review). The look of the two brick-built characters is wonderful, especially the little details like how the kid’s shoes bend outward slightly at the ankles, or the 1×1 brick with a stud on the side for the father’s mouth. And the trident part definitely takes center stage, used brilliantly in the legs of the desk. Intertwining the prongs to form a right angle is quite the pro LEGO move!

A pair of ripping LEGO railcars, with scenes to match

Builder Pieter Post has a history of some excellent LEGO railcar productions, and this pair of scenes adds two more to that list. First up is a rail weigh station, featuring a beautiful hopper car in brown. Here, his wonderful technique relies heavily on jumper plates to create the reinforcements along the sides of the car. I also applaud his use of brackets and cheese slopes to get the perfect clean slope up the sides of the hopper. The surrounding vignette is almost as detailed as the car, showing a daredevil railworker falling from a ladder while trying to change a lightbulb. What an unlucky fellow!

He’s almost as unlucky as the night watchman in Pieter’s other scene. Featuring a boxcar clad in dark green, the creation employs some brilliant tiling technique to provide a smooth, slatted look. The use of depth to break up the sides of the railcar, just as on the hopper car, is truly inspired. Hopefully the bandit in this scene doesn’t give the guard too much trouble…

When LEGO and basketball mix, it’s nothing but net!

You can keep your LEGO minifigures, because I’m an absolute sucker for brick-built people. And Cecilie Fritzvold provides two teams-worth with this homage to b-ball. In this first shot, we see a player going up for a dunk, with his outstretched arm palming the ball as he ascends upward over the defender. Bar and clip connections, angled parts, and ball joints are all employed to bring this scene to life. I can almost hear the labored mid-air shout followed by an inevitable crash of that outstretched hand as it grabs the rim.

But this is only one side of the court made by Cecilie. At the other hoop, we have a spirited game of 3-on-3. I love the unique takes on athletic wear and jerseys on all the players, each one sporting their own style. I also appreciate the intentional positioning of the players: the guy in black and yellow setting a pick, while the player in red calling for the ball down on the post. And all of this great action takes place in front of a gorgeous bit of wall art, spelling out “HOOPS” with an appropriately-themed double-O. Even the court is LEGO, utilizing an interesting technique to form the top of the key. Forgive me, but I can’t wrap up this post without calling this build an obligatory “slam dunk!”

A boatload of gluttony

Meet Gourmand; he’s a demon so gluttonous, he needs a throne made of the front half of a boat. He’s also the newest LEGO creation by alex_mocs built for Biocup and their Nine Circles of Hell competition. Just in case you didn’t read the fine print because you’re too busy winning the Nathan’s Hotdog Competitive Eating Contest for the sixteenth time, Joey Chestnut, this demon represents the deadly sin of Gluttony. If you like what you see, then open a pint of ice cream, toss out the lid, and hunker down to feast on our Alex_mocs archives.

Drathax the Covetous wants all your stuff. Even that. You know what I mean!

Guard your belongings. With “Covetous” in his name, this Drathax The Covetous LEGO figure built by Matt Goldberg can’t help but want all your stuff; even that thing you’ve kept hidden in a shoebox under your bed for years. You know what I’m talking about. I don’t need to say it out loud and embarrass you in front of God and everybody, do I? Apparently, there’s a circle of Hell for souls who want all that you have, even that one thing under your bed. It seems old Drathax is guilty of the deadly sin of Greed. It’s kind of a trending thing over at Biocup; they’re building LEGO creations based on the Nine Circles of Hell. So you may see other dirty, filthy, sinful entries to titillate your shameful senses. You filthy, saucy minx, you!

This moody piece gives us the blues. Several shades of it.

When describing this LEGO creation, a commenter on Casey McCoy’s photo stream said it best; “I’ve never had a lego model stir my heart the way this one does. Absolutely fantastic composition and beautiful use of color. This is art.” When something like this evokes such profound emotions, it is art indeed. This piece is called Die in Your Arms and I’ve found myself gazing at this image for long moments at a time. Perhaps the dead being was already white when they were alive but I imagine that, as its soul drains from its body, so does the blue color. Casey tells us that this model only uses the following colors: Black, Dark Blue, Dark Azure, Medium Azure, Dark Bley (bluish gray), Light Bley, Light Aqua, and White. He also went on to say that it won Best Vignette at Brickworld Chicago 2023. The folks of Brickworld most certainly made the right choice.

It’s a chert-y job, but someone has to do it

Sometimes LEGO can be educational in the most unexpected ways. For instance, I had no idea that chert was a type of sedimentary rock until I espied the aptly-named Chert Chewer by builder Zane Houston. And, boy, does this Rock Raiders mech know how to chew! Equipped with 6 chrome drill bits, there’s no stopping this beast from taking down it’s quarry. The whole thing is a beautiful balance of color, occasionally allowing bits of turquoise and yellow to pop out from behind its gray skin. And I appreciate the inferred articulation with joints and pistons all over the hulk, frozen in place as it scoops out another handful of rubble. But the base it stands upon is by far the highlight for me! Those clean striations in the brown rock set the perfect scene for when the chert needs to be chewed.

Resurrecting the Boothill Express

The Brothers Brick’s snarkiest writer and editor Lino Martins (hey, that’s me!) dusts off some LEGO brick after a three-year hiatus to build the Boothill Express. Initially designed by Ray Fahrner, this radical show rod started life as an 1850s funeral coach and was outfitted with a massive Hemi and some of the sickest pipes ever. Kids in 1967 got their greasy mitts on the first model kits with a space between “Boot” and “Hill”; “Express” was spelled the same, as it turned out. This model boasts working steering and a detailed interior. This was a blast to build but the question is; has this resurrected my LEGO prowess or should I crawl back into my crypt? Let us know in the comments. In the meantime, if vehicles revitalizes your dead heart as much as it does mine, then click the little blue link to see what my like-minded friends have been up to.

A dear-ly beautiful work of LEGO art

This stunning art model by qian yj takes LEGO art to a whole new level. Using round tiles instead of more traditional plates creates a subtle texture for the background, which helps the layered mountains and clouds stand out. The deer stands on spindly legs among clouds made with three colors, adding shadows and depth despite the few layers. Even the non-LEGO background of black with gold lettering adds to the ambiance.

A pair of all-star mosaics from a diehard LEGO and Seattle Mariners fan [Video]

After only 10 minutes of conversation with Owen Jones, it’s clear that he loves two things in this world: LEGO and Mariners baseball. So he certainly wasn’t going to let an opportunity to fuse his two passions pass him by. To commemorate Seattle hosting this year’s MLB All-Star Game, Owen worked up a beautiful mosaic of the official logo. Featuring a very Pacific Northwest silhouette, the insignia is clad in Mariners colors of turquoise and dark blue. It’s such a clean representation that it feels like an official LEGO set. But Owen, with all his baseball nostalgia, didn’t stop there…

There’s more to this story! Click for the builder interview!