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 Bridgetown that should be zoomed in on

I recall going to LEGO World in Utrecht with my uncle to just look at some of the awesome builds created by the attendees. Every once and a while, you’d stumble upon a LEGO creation that you spotted before online. It never ceases to amaze me that you can still spend a good amount of time looking at a creation in the brick even though you thoroughly analyzed it online months prior. Bridgetown by Markus Rollbühler is one of those builds I’d just love to see in real life. This creation is quite massive. The rocks and pillars at the base are not just there to support the small town on top of them. They are quite detailed and actually little works of art themselves. Building a tower out of curved slopes will always impress me. These round pillars even contain windows with a lovely detailed window canopy and a flower-filled windowsill.

As if that is not enough, each of the town’s houses is a standout itself. We get a hexagonal tower with a dome top of which I have no idea how it is constructed. We get a church with a brick-built clock dial. There are even cordless electric drills incorporated in the roof of the church. The corners of the building are rounded off, which adds a nice touch to the church. On the rim of the city, there are two Tudor-style houses. The one on the left uses treasure chest lids for the woodwork. On the one on the right macaroni tiles are used. I could go on for hours about this one, but I think you should just zoom in and explore all the lovely details and techniques for yourself.

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One laid-back Viper

Anime-inspired color schemes and NoVVember are two great tastes that go great together, and Shannon Sproule is a master of that delicious combo. This classic red and white body gets some pops of yellow color with an exciting pod-cockpit design. That’s not to say that there aren’t a few odd choices made in the Powerful Owl Viper, though. In Shannon’s own words, “The prone pilot position is of course rather silly, but there you go.”

Are you enjoying the yearly onslaught of Vic Vipers? How do you think they compare to previous Novvembers?

One Faaborg-ulous boat

With the giant LEGO Titanic gracing the seas, it’s only fitting that builders like Henrik Jensen are choosing to showcase some of the great steamships of the past. This 1/87 scale model has a few custom painted elements, but also makes clever use of existing parts, like those hockey sticks as part of the lifeboat racks. I’m also fond of the compact display stand and printed flags. A recreation that, dare I say it, is certainly ship-shape.

Henrik shared this info about the origins of his model:
In September I visited the island Ærø which is located in the South Funen archipelago. In the town of Rudkøbing, they have a museum called “The Old Shipyard”. There, the restoration of an old steamship that was close to being dismantled has been undertaken. It gave me the idea to build a model of a steamship that, along with several other small steamships, has been part of the lifeblood between the islands and the mainland, in a time before World War I, when bridges between parts of the country were not common.

At “Det Gamle Værft” they restored the ship “Angelo”, or as it was previously more aptly called, “Svendborgsund”. My model of the steamship “Faaborg” is partly based on photos of the ship, partly on drawings of “Svendborgsund”.

If you’re in the mood for more nautical goodness, be sure to browse our boats tag!

Star Wars isn’t just about fast ships and gunfights

It’s also about stunning vistas, and run-down buildings at the far edge of the galaxy. In this scene by GorillaGluedLEGO featuring a weather-worn structure in the middle of a jungle landscape, a lone figure feeds a small critter. He looks like a simple Bith trying to make his way in the universe. Or her way, it’s hard to tell with Bith, and most Star Wars names are pretty ambiguous. At any rate, there are lots of great details in this somewhat chaotic scene. The foreground is cluttered with various broken things, including an astromech, and what looks like a moisture vaporator, although it feels a bit out of place in a jungle. The building has some wonderful worn effects using color and texture to distress the exterior. There is another nice part usage in the vines wrapped around the trees, made from the plastic bit that is found surrounding leaf elements.

Taking modular buildings to the next level.

LEGO’s line of modular buildings have been captivating fans of larger, more advanced sets since 2007. Naturally, the line has inspired plenty of fans to create their own buildings to stand alongside LEGO’s offerings. Builder Sheo has taken custom modulars up a notch by producing a modern building with a working glass elevator.

Have a look at the video below to get a peek inside and watch the elevator in action.

Take the train to Château Guillard from Overwatch

We’ve checked in with esteemed LEGO builder Matt De Lanoy and found he’s been quite busy this past year building the fictional Château Guillard castle from Overwatch. He tells us, “this castle was started in April 2019 and finished in November 2021. I would estimate the actual building/planning time to be about 6-8 months. There are approximately 70,000 pieces. The castle itself rests on a 50 x 50-inch footprint, the tracks bring the whole layout to 60 x 60 inches.”

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Take a seat with this anime character in her banana chair

After a long day, chilling out in a banana chair looks like a great way to relax. Magmafrost13 has built this dynamic looking character based on Black Hanekawa, from the Monogatari anime series, as she stretches out on a vibrant lounger. The chair has a complex construction as a variety of angled plates have been placed to create the arc of the banana chair. Magmafrost13 has perfectly captured the humanoid form of the anime character including the bend of the body with the chair. The hair has some greatly varied shaping with cat ears sprouting from the top of her head. A pyramid piece portrays the nose which is ideal for conveying the sharp, anime style.

VVery nice ice

The LEGO fan community is filled with various builder-driven challenges and monthly themes. One of the most popular challenges for space builders is Novvember, wherein builders use the month to recreate the Vic Viper from Gradius with their own twists. If you’ve been following us here on The Brothers Brick for long, you’ll no doubt have seen a fair handful already. This version by Pascal gives it the Ice Planet makeover, with an opaque windscreen and blocky but studless angles.

Okay, now you can put up the tree

I’m a firm believer that the holiday season seems to creep into our lives sooner and sooner each year. Though many are delighted to lean into it, I reserve myself to celebrate Christmas only after Turkey day has passed. Now that it has, I think it’s fair to put up the tree. This year I might take after builder Peter Carmichael and go with a fancy, fake one. The secret to a good plastic tree is the texture of the bristly branches, which the builder has achieved with a ton of three-pronged stem pieces. Subtle but elegant decorations of gold keys and white garland with lights give character to the tree. Capping it off is a delightful, translucent blue snowflake.

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The color technology

According to the picture description by Pascal, this Vic Viper has to do something with secret spacecraft technologies. To my surprise, a close look at the build didn’t reveal any hyperdrives, wires, tubes, laser guns, or force shields. I mean, all of these are probably there, but this build looks more like a piece of concept art. It takes LEGO bricks’ geometry to the extreme with elementary shapes. Ultimately it’s the color accents that make the whole thing stand out. Simple and bold!

Set your eyes on this classic ‘60s dragster

If you’ve followed builder Tim Henderson for any length of time, you’ve probably guessed he’s a car guy. Tim’s latest build pays homage to Dean Moon, founder of the Moon Equipment brand of racing equipment and accessories. This bright yellow dragster was built by Moon in 1961 and has remained a sort of mascot of the company ever since. Tim’s done an amazing job of recreating the vehicle in minifigure scale, making excellent use of a Legends of Chima hammerhead as the engine. And replicating the “Mooneyes” logo on the side of his Ford Econoline van to haul it is the perfect finishing touch.

What happens when you combine Blacktron and farming?

Name a more unlikely duo. You’ll be hardpressed to find a more odd pairing than Blacktron and farming, yet that mashup is precisely what Dario Đipić has done with this insane combine harvester. Decked out in the theme’s iconic colors of black, white, and trans neon green, this harvester looks ready to collect…wait, what does it collect? I spy skeletons on the edges of the cutter. Hmm…maybe that does track with Blacktron. After all, the Space Police were always after them for some reason.

Oh, and as for unlikely pairings? Well, ok, maybe there are a few others just as out there. Like Star Wars and Fabuland, which is apparently a whole thing. Don’t believe me? Check out our Fabuland archives.