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.

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.

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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.

This stunning U-Boat has roughly 15,000 LEGO pieces and removable hull panels

Sometimes something comes along that has us simply awestruck. That would be the case with this stunning LEGO 1/38 scale U-BOOT TYP VII C built by Ciamosław Ciamek. This model has roughly 15,000 pieces and is about 70 inches or 177 centimeters long. It also took staggering four-and-a-half years to build. In case you were wondering this is the same type of U-Boat from the Das Boot movie, which, in my opinion, is one of the tensest and most exhilarating movies ever made; a worthy watch if you haven’t seen it already. The hull panels can be removed on both the port and starboard sides. Here’s a view with the port panels removed to view the interior spaces.

dive deeper to see more

In order to finish first, you first must finish (building)

Calling a build for a contest ‘First Place’ could be seen as a tad arrogant. But I think we can let it slide in Vohdoff‘s case given the quality of this latest Bio-Cup effort. It’s a build so smooth I had to triple-check it was indeed made of Bionicle pieces, let alone regular LEGO! All the panels are so seamlessly blended – I bet this thing cuts through the air like butter. The bike itself is very Akira-esque. It bears a resemblance to modern high-performance motorcycles you might see on the road, but there are just enough unusual elements to give it a near-future sci-fi aesthetic. The same could be said for the rider in their chunky leathers. Take the head, for instance: it comes from a K-2SO buildable figure, which could imply a mechanical pilot. But it looks just human enough that it could equally be a futuristic helmet suitable for high-speed riding. Either way, they have good taste in machinery!

The ship is the knife and outer space is the butter

I always knew LEGO could be sharp (underfoot), but this ship from Tim Goddard really shows off how sharp! There’s not a curve to be seen, outside of the canopy, on this interceptor, giving it the intended sharp-edged appearance. The ship looks like to could cut through anything as it speeds along on its mission. It possesses the style choices of the classic LEGO Space theme–always a welcome sight! Even the canopy is in the color scheme of the theme, but that’s not where it comes from… The canopy is the only curve in the build, and it comes from that most excellent Lightyear 76832 XL-15 Spaceship set. It’s the perfect canopy for this build, lending itself well to that tapering wedge of the nose. I also really appreciate the sloping where the wings join the body. The use of wedge slopes with hinges isn’t a new technique, but it’s one that works really well for filling and adding definition.

Taking a look beneath the ship reveals the full arrowhead-like shape of the interceptor. It also reveals some cool detailing, like the laser cannons mounted under the wings, done with brackets, round plates, and lightsaber hilts. However, my favorite detail on the underside are those brackets running down the midsection of the nose. They create a neat effect I just can’t get over, especially when paired with the other textures around them. Not to mention, these no doubt add some dynamism and choice when it comes to a display stand. They offer plenty of connection points for an angled display scene.

It’s not Amazon Prime, it’s a Prime Amazon

Seeing nature transformed into plastic bricks can be an amazing experience, and Maxx Davidson shows us just how it’s done with this 1:1 recreation of a Yellow Crowned Amazon. This green and yellow parrot has some gorgeous curves to it’s body, and some beautiful plumage to boot. I admit, though, that it was the 1×1 round bricks and “jumper stand” handles that form the talons that first caught my eye. It’s a neat solution that successfully mimics the real biology’s textures.

Like what you see here? Well there are a lot more realistically sized creations in our archives!

The dust in your home is a menace

It’s my experience that LEGO, much like Nature, abhors a vacuum. But this trio of soot sprites by icebat02 are a good reason to still break it out every once in a while. I mean, I can’t believe how smug they all look, lounging about in this beautiful modern living room. Each of them clearly has its own attitude, given the clever choices in eye, arm, and leg placement. And while the motes are quite striking on their own, with poofed-up bodies made of levers and tubes, the scene they inhabit displays some wonderful techniques as well. I find the design of the coffee table, consisting of transparent panes on top of a smattering of green cheese slopes, to be simply outstanding. The verdant artwork on the right wall matches the coffee table nicely, adding a second pop of color. And the lavender flowers throw me right back down to that awesome couch with not a single stud showing! Overall, an excellent example of both character design and color usage.

Parts of a feather will flock together

I’m sure I read a piece of wisdom on this website a few years ago that read: “for a great LEGO creation, you don’t need a lot of pieces – you just need a lot of one piece”. Having had a look through Azurekingfisher‘s photostream, I wonder if they might have said it themselves. They are clearly a big fan of the classic leaf element, which sees a lot of use in their collection. It’s done everything from mosaics to planets. Another frequent use is as avian feathers, often with spectacular results – none more so than this stunning bird! I love creations like this that use the inherent mechanical properties of LEGO parts to creative effect. Since the plastic is quite thin in places on this bit of foliage, it can be gently flexed into a curve, at odds with LEGO’s inherent grid-based nature. In this case, the part repetition also makes it visually appealing. Especially in pink! I’m not sure if it’s based on a particular type of bird – to me, it’s reminiscent of a phoenix. Which, for a build this majestic, is entirely appropriate!