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.

Restocking Fort Stockton

Part of a larger LEGO concept by the builder, this model of the docks at Fort Stockton, Wullham features some lovely architecture, delightful parts usage, and realistic rock formations. Flickr Builder Evancelt enjoys historical era models full of red jackets and muskets set against natural scenery with old buildings. Here they used some simplistic parts as crenellations and molding along the top of the fort, while cleverly employing letters with a red seal as diamond-leaded windows. Well-molded sea grasses and foliage compliment the sharp change to rock as we move down to the dock. Basalt formations are a delightful bit of geology that we don’t see enough of in LEGO builds or real life. Using dark grey at the base to illustrate the spray and waves of the sea on the rocks is a great decision that adds to the realism of the build.

Of course, the multilayered dock is also wonderfully detailed. Multiple shades of brown make up the boards, while reddish brown and dark brown in the supports mirror the water effect used on the rocks. The lamp piece is a good period setting element that matches well with the flat-topped chest. I love seeing historical models that aren’t focused on war. Sure, these are soldiers at a Fort but still, this is more about daily life than about a battle and I’m all about that. Not to mention how soothingly executed that blue sea is on the eyes. Well done, Evancelt, well done.

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Spooky, hungry alien will eat you in good time

Doesn’t he just look…friendly? Those big eyes and that toothy smile just set your mind at ease, right? This model of B.A.R.R.Y. the hungry alien by LEGO Masters contestant Caleb Campion is a grotesque balance between friendly and frightening. His delicately sculpted head has a Grendel-like appearance that only a mother could love, not to mention the cursed Jar-Jar Binks heads that Caleb used as hands. The red cape from the Monkey King mech gave him a bit of a challenge but the final result blends well into the red tentacles swarming out from beneath B.A.R.R.Y.’s body. The bright red stands out well against the stark background and perfectly frames the mess of exposed innards in the creature’s chest. If I had landed my craft and been greeted by this, I’d be hightailing out of the atmosphere already.

B.A.R.R.Y.’s ready for his close-up! This creepy face might be the last thing you see on this distant exoplanet. Eagle-eyed builders will recognize the plethora of droid arms used to round out his head in addition to the droid head used as his nose. With everything going on, or going wrong, with this build I’d believe it if you told me this is what it looks like when you take a Muppet’s skin off. This looks like someone locked Animal in that attic from the insurance commercial for a hundred years.

It’s no surprise that a LEGO Master’s contestant could weave together bricks in such a cute but creepy way. Caleb Campion continues to show us the chops that got him on the show in the first place, setting up not only well built characters but also complimentary scenery that helps tell the story.

A Nahuatl future

Taking its name from the Aztec or Nahuatl word for strength, the Chikautok Jr-2 by Flickr builder Oskar certainly has a strong design. This spacecraft features some powerfully contrasting color blocking to break up the otherwise smoothly flowing body. Various Bionicle elements work their way into the engine and wing sections, adding texture and a technological feel to the build. White rubber bands blend in with the triangular engine/wing combos, serving a functional purpose with a design flair. The red canopy for the cockpit flows smoothly from one side of the craft to the other while blending in almost seemingly with the red stripe along the center of the craft.

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This Spider-man scene is bananas!

Over the years we’ve seen the LEGO banana being used in various creative ways. The part was originally designed for LEGO Belville, so it’s a bit out of scale when it comes to LEGO minifigures. Fans love using it for claws, teeth, horns, fangs and yes bananas. Thanks to themarkstudios_84 we can now also add motion effects to that list. The Pork Grind figure is looking very sleek and the inclusion of motion graphics makes these figures look like they popped right out of a comic book.

Pork Grind and Spider-Ham appear to be running. The bananas represent the movement of the legs. Adding the tasmanian devil swirl tile is a very nice touch. And the difference between the ice cream scoops and the Monkey Kid cloud also indicates the difference in height between the two running minifigures. The thought cloud adds to the comic book feel, same goes for the stars flying around poor Spider-man’s head. My guess is Spider-Ham tried to hit Pork Grind with the mallet, but he ended up hitting our friendly neighbourhood Spider-man.

This dangerous Dissolver melts our hearts

Ivan Martynov is a master of creature construction. His latest digital build is a monster that channels corrosive liquids through his arms to leave his Bionicle foes reduced to a puddle of goo. But, with those massive bendy arms, I bet he gives some pretty good hugs, too. Has anyone tried giving him a hug? Maybe that’s all he needs. Did the Toa ever think of that? I bet not.

Excellent Excalibur in a stone with a secret

Dicken Liu has added another life-sized weapon to their collection, following on from the lightsaber that we featured a few weeks ago. While this one still comes from a long time ago, though, it does come from a galaxy that isn’t so far, far away, even if it exists mainly in legend. In fact, you could be forgiven for thinking this is just your average very good LEGO sword. But since it’s embedded in a rock, there’s no mistaking it: this is the legendary Excalibur. As a piece, this looks excellent – the gold highlights and green foliage add some visual interest to the black and greys of the rest. But hang on… There do some to be a few holes in this particular stone… What’s going on here?

Let’s see what happens when we pull the sword from the stone…

Smaug brings fire and ruin to Lake-town

From The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug comes a scene of fiery wrath by W. Navarre. This build exists for the Middle-earth LEGO Olympics, bringing an iconic scene from the movie to life. Bard the Bowman pauses a moment as his home is set ablaze by the vengeful dragon Smaug, his determination to save his family and fellow townsfolk set by the heat. The fire illuminates some wonderfully crafted LEGO building and buildings. The homes have great details and features, though those sconces are no longer necessary with Smaug’s flames lighting the place. Some of the roofs have printed tiles, but others have the textures of Technic tread pieces. Of course, the town isn’t the only cool thing in the scene–the ice floating in the water is pretty neat too. The ice is brick-built sideways with slopes and wedges to give it those angles and edges. Though, I think most of it will melt until Smaug stops throwing fire around everywhere.

Spiders are not the only forest creature to be wary of

LEGO nostalgia is a big thing these days — and I’m not just talking about the footprint of the colossal 10305 Lion Knight’s Castle. Sigmund Haugland has big-ified the legendary yesteryear factions of the Black Falcon knights and the Forest Guardians in this amusing scene. Our brave Falcon knight must be suffering from a bout of arachnophobia, given the way he’s pointing his spear at the poor spider. The Forest Guardian is taking advantage of the situation to lob a net over the unsuspecting soldier. Perhaps he’s in league with the spider? I’m never sure whose side they’re on. These forest dwellers sure give off some chaotic-good vibes. Either way, both protagonists in this picture are full of character. I like the use of the closed eye for the mouth on both characters – despite using the same piece, they both have very different expressions. The door handle is nicely done as well using a pair of antlers.

Hobbit-sized Bag End is a micro masterpiece

So admittedly, I’ve got a bit of a thing for LEGO trophies — those small builds organizers hand out when you win a category in events like online contests and LEGO conventions. I love the design decisions that have to be made when you’ve only got a tiny patch of real estate to work with. So I’m absolutely gaga for this tiny Bag End trophy by builder Caleb Huet! His use of the smallest green curves to shape the hill is excellent. The details on the front, including the use of snowflake tiles for windows and brown horns for the trim, are such an accomplishment with so few pieces. And the iconic round green door makes this microscale marvel instantly recognizable without any minifigs or title cards. And that’s not even mentioning all the organic shaping that went into the tiniest topiary atop the hut. Whoever wins this model in the Middle Earth LEGO Olympics is a lucky LEGO builder!

This castle’s a keep-er

There were few LEGO sets as a child that were precious to me, but one that was just perfect was the Black Falcon Fortress, and in this miniaturised digital form, ZiO Chao has realised a favourite set of mine that I needed to share! In building this in a miniature scale, ZiO hasn’t compromised on detail at all. Everything that made Black Falcon’s Fortress a great build can be found here too.

Let’s explore more of this diminutive fortress here

The Jury is out and we’re probably screwed

A LEGO builder who goes by the wackadoodle name of MySnailEatsPizza has concocted this Bionicle creature called The Jury. They tell us that this is a “Divine Automaton responsible for seeking truth and evaluating guilt”. They go on to say it is “composed of many consciousnesses, its single eye pierces the soul”. That settles it then. I’m pretty sure they know it was me who opened a bottle of dish soap in The Brothers Brick hot tub. Admittedly some maturity could have gone a long way but I definitely didn’t leave a whoopee cushion on Andrew’s office chair so don’t get that idea in your heads.

Motley pirate crew without a parrot

I love a good motley crew, especially when it is made out of LEGO. This can be straight-up minifigures or brick build characters. In this case Dan Ko created a pirate crew. They had a ship, but they wrecked it. Apparently, they left the steering to a mosquito, which to be fair doesn’t sound like a very smart idea. These guys are a fest for the eye and there are quite a few bricks used in smart ways. Let’s take a closer look. We have a mouse, a rat, a hedgehog, and a mosquito and every one of them has a very cute snout.

The hedgehog is sporting a technic ball joint for a nose and wind-up keys for its spikes. This is not your everyday hedgehog. This is a well-groomed hedgehog who permed its spikes. The rat has a microphone nose and shovel legs. I am not sure if the shovel and the cheese slopes are kept in place thanks to gravity or friction, but it is really original. For the mouse, Dan Ko incorporated a lipstick nose, which to me is the most creative. Last but definitely not least is the ski stick nose used on the mosquito. All these guys need now is a new ship and maybe a foul-mouthed parrot.