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.

It’s time to acknowledge that elves are more than just toy makers.

It’s no secret that the elves of the North Pole are some of the world’s most proficient toy makers. But not every elf can devote themselves to the craft. To keep an operation like the North Pole running smoothly, you need elves devoted to all kinds of other disciplines. Lepralego is paying homage to the hardworking elves behind-the-scenes with this magical village build. This bridge is where North Poleians can come for some wonderful fresh baked goods, reindeer supplies, and even a stylish beard trimming. Or, they can spend their days off ice skating on the frozen river. The detailed stone work of the bridge and playful tilt of the shops’ roofs would make this feel right at home among LEGO’s official winter village offerings.

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Everyone’s favorite charitable outlaw

Growing up, one of my most favorite movies was Disney’s version of Robin Hood. After watching it, my cousin and I would run around pretending to be the famous archer, shooting our toy arrows at impossible targets. Apparently superb builder and LEGO designer, Markus Rollbühler loves the hero too. This sculpture of Robin Hood is excellent, with particularly great posing and parts usage. I’m partial to the bow, myself, but the minifig shoulder armor for the sword guard, palm tree segment for the boots, and large figure shin element for the log are all great too!

Stick around to see more creations by Markus, and well as plenty of builds featuring the man in tights.

A microscale build you’ll want to check twice.

What do you get for the LEGO fan who has everything? How about a custom creation. Even a small build can bring large amounts of holiday cheer, as Dan Ko demonstrates here. As part of a Secret Santa gift exchange, Dan called upon his excellent microscale skills to create this LEGO ornament featuring Santa Claus soaring through the air in a sleigh pulled by a single reindeer. Good microscale is about creative part use, and there’s lots of that at work here. The formal minifigure collar as Santa’s beard is a particularly nice touch.

Snow Monster on the lookout for thanksgiving turkey leftovers

The expression on this little LEGO monster’s face built by James Zhan, matches my expression exactly when the Christmas dessert hits the table. Surprised, but at the same time highly anticipating the same aforementioned sweet goodness. This little cutie, is fully pose-able and there are joints in all the right places. The bar holder works perfectly for the snow monster’s fingers. Adding one tan finger is a little touch that makes this creature look extra lifelike. The round plate with bar handle make the cutest little monster toes. The fact that this little guy is cute as a button is only emphasized by its rosy cheeks. Using flesh round tiles for the cheeks is barely noticeable, but notable nonetheless.

Wintery forced perspective for the win

Forced perspective is always the way to go when you want to get noticed by TBB. Using niche LEGO parts in a clever way is another way to get blogged. John Snyder did both so I have no choice but to write an article about this amazing build. The forced perspective is created by building something that is further away on a much smaller scale than the things in the foreground. The background is too blurry for me to identify cleverly used parts, but the objects in the foreground are a lot easier to identify. The path is made of 1×2 round plates mixed with plates in dark tan. This makes the path look like it is made of cobblestones. A simple technique with a great effect. The tree is made using several limbs of Chewbacca. The print on this piece works perfectly for tree bark. When it comes to foliage John got really creative. The autumn leaves are made with toy winder keys. The fallen leaves are made using star stud holders. For the grass John used minifigure claws

Mutation looks pretty good in purple

While Despicable Me is a great series of quotable movies in general, we all know that the true stars are the banana-obsessed Minions. That’s why they have their own titled movie, of course! The recent line of sets has been a popular addition to the LEGO family. One builder, Palixa And The Bricks, has had so much fun with the giant brick-build Minions, that she felt an evil mutated Minion had to be made. True to the movie, this guy is freaking awesome in purple. I love the caveman-style dragging hands and the chains for suspenders!

If you’re a fan of the movies, check out all of our other Despicable Me and Minion news, reviews, and custom creations! You can also see more builds by Palixa in our archives.

Pegasus in the modern era

The winged horse of Greek mythology has evolved quite a lot over the eons. Controversial origins and dangerous quests have fluctuated with ideas from fairytales and childrens’ stories. Well, Builder Stijn van der Laan has presented his own version and its certainly not suited for little girls. Unless those little girls have a penchant for war. The RX-12 Pegasus is an unmanned aerial vehicle partly inspired by modern drones with a prop plane twist. Some nice parts usage with newer elements rounds out this build for a smooth design.

The clean, almost studless top portion of this build does well to trick the eye. Stijn made use of the new wedge pieces from the Porsche 911 to achieve the nice slopes on the nose and prop sections. The counter-rotating propellers also use black “flipper” elements to nicely emulate the style of the real thing.

Of course, something like this usually has to land eventually. The builder did a great job with the thin but effective crafting of the landing gear, which I imagine nicely tucks away under some of the exposed panels. This drone has a delightfully sleek profile and a ton of accesories if you feel like checking them out. I love seeing models build to scale with the Technic figures. They may be a bit of a relic but they’re still a delightful piece of LEGO history.

Oh, a little disclaimer from the writer. War is a serious and difficult aspect of the human condition. I will celebrate the design of the builder and even certain capabilities of the real-world inspiration but I do not stand by the warfare supported by such devices. Instead of bombs, I wish we could use these to drop knowledge. For archaeological and ecological surveys, for species and habitat maintenance. Perhaps one day we shall see such an aspirational era.

Miniature tree inspires an even more miniature LEGO model

Sometimes smaller is better, building with a limited selection of parts can lead to creative outcomes, like this simple but beautiful bonsai tree by Louis of Nutwood built around the curved animal part. The planter sits on a wooden tray just like the official LEGO Bonsai tree set, albeit using a mere fraction of the brown tiles.

Check out another tiny tree by the same builder

Take the top off and show off that old muscle

Gearheads and design fanatics will always find a way to include cars in their life. Those that share a love of LEGO (and sometimes even those that don’t) get to delight in tinkering on their own project cars. Even if they’re a fraction of the size of the original. Builder Dave J faced some extra challenges with this model of ’69 Camaro Convertible in dark azure. The limited parts available in that color forced Dave to get pretty inventive with some brackets to achieve a smooth and clean design.

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Penelope’s Friendly Viper

What do you build when your sister asks you to play with her LEGO? I’d say a Disney castle or a fantasy adventure diorama. But according to Frost, sister’s bricks are perfect for building a Vic Viper or two. Obviously, for her favorite characters, like Penelope. I like this one for its shape and glowing coral color, which looks amazing with open space in the back. Even such a simple Vic Viper got a couple of nice piece combinations, like the tiny bow and arch pieces on the tip of the wings.

Your new Uber driver has arrived

In case you’re going anywhere tonight, Jonathan Elliott has just upgraded your Uber ride. It’s no a longer a modest 17-brick-big 605 Taxi from 1971, but instead, it’s an ultra-futuristic EV vehicle. Like the emissions, the number of open LEGO studs has gone from over 30 to nearly zero. Although it took the brick-built taxis to evolve this far, let’s hope the real ones will become equally cool soon enough.

The White Bridge of Randland in LEGO

A few episodes into The Wheel of Time on Amazon Prime and fans of the original series by Robert Jordan have already sounded off about what’s disappointed them. Being outside that group but familiar with the disappointment a book-to-film/series adaptation can bring, I can understand a few of their points. Nonetheless, I’ve enjoyed most of what I’ve seen so far. Pacing and casting choices aside, the series has inspired fans of the series and LEGO to create their versions of its iconic moments and places. Builder Douglas Hughes brings us the second in a series of scenes he’s contributed to a Randland-inspired collaboration. Here he’s created his own version of Whitebridge in Andor. Or should I say the White Bridge? Both, I guess, so take a moment to appreciate all those detailed and ornate buildings rising up to match the height of the bridge.

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