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.

MOCs of the LEGO Masters: Medieval farm brings buckets of charm

Maia (mbbricks) is one busy builder! She and her father are making their LEGO Masters debut next week, representing Canada in the US edition of the show. She’s also prepping an epic elven village for next month’s Brickworld Chicago that sends Rivendell-style architecture into the mountains. But the build I’m most excited by is this medieval farm, with a slick half-timbered top atop a rocky foundation.

Maia says this is her first time using the SNOT (studs not on top) technique for the irregular stonework. It’s always a joy to see builders stretching their wings with new skills. The woven fence technique is always a favorite of mine as it’s a technique still used to this day in some farms near where I live in Sweden.

Good luck on LEGO Masters, Maia and Jamie (BricksDad)!

This is part of our series on MOCs of the Masters where we preview the work of the newest batch of LEGO Master contestants. Have a look at creations from other builders in the lineup.

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Iced brickaccino for, uh, Jeff Vader?

Here’s a fun bit of AFOL lore for you, readers. One of my very first interactions with the online LEGO community – and indeed YouTube – was a brick-film of Suzy Eddie Izzard’s famous Death Star Canteen sketch. (It’s still online to this day, and having looked at the upload date I now feel terribly old.) I have to wonder if that might have formed the inspiration for Kelly Bartlett‘s fantastic Death Star cafeteria! It’s part of a collaborative display at this week’s Bricks Cascade event in Portland, OR: the Death Star Village. As the name suggests, it’s all the Death Star amenities we never got to see in the films. And Kelly has shown she has a knack for brand marketing… I mean come on, Death Starbucks?! It’s almost meant to be!

The barista droid has taken your order – why not take a look around while you wait?

Self-Portrait of LEGO’s next designer: Jiwoo Seon

Jiwoo Seon’s stunning modulars, like this gilded opera house, put her in LEGO Ideas 10k club three-times over. LEGO House is currently displaying her builds in the Masterpiece Gallery. In Seoul, her ornate framed floral works earned her a gallery show. But starting this August, Jiwoo’s building is taking her to someplace most builders only dream of – a seat in Billund as a set designer. Jiwoo’s models are consistently ornate, finding classical beauty in constrained colors. It will be fascinating to see how her distinctive style will translate into future sets. As she begins the next phase of her life’s journey, the artist shares this brick-built self-portrait.

And here’s the artist in her own words:

A fleeting moment never stays.
A candle burns and disappears, its flame vanishing too quickly.
But I believe—when I respond with instinct, the moment doesn’t vanish.
It remains, as light.
⠀
This piece is not a portrait of who I was, nor who I hoped to be.
⠀
It is the moment, the gaze that answered it, and the essence that sustained me, and the instinct unfolding through motion upon it—all brought together as a self-portrait shaped through my present gesture.
⠀
On the left, the candlestick and scattered matches represent the fleeting moment—a sharp, vivid instant that called for instinctive response.
⠀
At the center, a lavishly adorned frame holds my self-portrait blooming like blossoms.
It captures the gaze and emotions that responded to each moment, and the me who longed to bloom in the now.
⠀
To the right stands a solitary pillar—a symbol of the inner essence that has long sustained me.
Atop it, a ballerina spins in a quiet pirouette.
She is the embodiment of my present self,
built upon that essence.
Her movement is the convergence of instinct and gaze—a graceful expression of transformation, and the form of my will made visible.
⠀
Now, I stand—facing the moment, the look, and the instinct within me—shaped into one self-portrait.

M.E.R.P.-ing around all the M.E.R.P. long day

If you recall the Smurfs cartoon, they used “Smurf” as a noun and a verb and it was pretty much a replacement for any word you wanted it to be. For example: I smurfed my way onto the dance floor, I’ve been smurfing the internet for an hour now and go smurf yourself. I’m pretty sure LEGO builder Thomas Harding just invented a new noun and verb-M.E.R.P., which stands for- well, you can read if for yourself in the photo. It’s short, rugged, reliable and capable of traversing all kinds of terrain. I just want to M.E.R.P. around all day with those two adorable little space people. Maybe we can be M.E.R.P. pals, listen to cool M.E.R.P-ing music and leave a steaming pile of M.E.R.P. on the boss’ desk. Have I taken this pun too far? Sorry, I’ll just M.E.R.P. myself out, then.

Cello, is it me you’re looking for?

Yes, yes, I know this is probably a double bass rather than a cello. But I couldn’t come up with a bass-based pun for the title, so you’ll just have to bear with it. Besides, we should be focussing on this terrific LEGO musician as built by Mattia Carredu. The cello/double bass/contrabass/whatever it is is very well-sculpted – the wands for tuning pegs are a great touch. So, too, is its player, looking resplendent in blue. There are some great techniques at play here as well. Her dress includes an upturned cupcake tin, and the hat is a terrific arrangement of droid arms around a wheel. Individually, they’re great builds – but put together, they are the very picture of elegance!

The Second-Best Restaurant at the End of the Universe

If the Restaurant at the End of the Universe is fully booked, don’t sweat it- You can always find a welcoming booth at Milo’s Diner. This intergalactic waystation, built in LEGO by Terra Ender, is built on the remains of an irradiated asteroid that definitely isn’t hiding any secrets beneath the spacedust crust. No, at Milo’s you’re always welcomed with a smile, whether you’re Space Police, hard-working M-Tron miner, or totally-above-board Blacktron accountant. They even serve droids!

T.E. is previewing this impressive installation before displaying it at Brickworld Chicago next month. For those who won’t be warping into the Windy City, we have all the details here. Order up!

Grab a booth at Milo’s, where the soup of the day is always the soup du jour

Paranoid android disappears completely into exit music

AI “doomers” worry about the devastating impact artificial superintelligence could have on humanity, but what if the real doom is the crushing sadness felt by the machines? Builder Kat calls this LEGO creation the e-motion engine, and just going by those eyes (created from the negative space in a Bionicle Phantoka torso), this little guy could be the slightly more adjusted sibling of Marvin the Android. Kat draws on a wild mix of parts, from a Vidyo strap for the headphones to inverted tire knees to a stylish Scala jacket. Kat doesn’t post often, but each of her builds is a treat, especially her entries into the 2023 BioCup (like this incredible Cyberpunk scene). Which reminds me, the competition is returning soon!

Extermin8 with extreme prejudice

You see just one of these buggers crawling across your kitchen counter and you know there are hundreds more in hiding. Who can relate? That was my college dorm room experience. It was a bummer because I’m pretty sure I signed up to have only one roommate, not hundreds getting into all my stuff. Thankfully LEGO phenom Dicken Liu comes to the rescue with a can of insecticide. The dead roach, with it’s broken leg and fishing rod antennae, is a clever touch. It serves as a reminder that getting on top of a roach infestation can be icky business. Cockroaches don’t even seem to appreciate alternative rock, although I specifically stated on my roommate application that alt rock was my jam.

Take this stunning LEGO Blade Runner 2049 concept Spinner for a spin

Sometimes you’re just in the mood to watch 163 minutes of brooding intensity, existential dread, and wondering if your friends are replicants. GolPlaysWithLego can surely attest to this as evidenced by this impressive LEGO concept LAPD Spinner from Blade Runner 2049. Its hard angles and utilitarian feel bring scenery to mind of rainy, dark cityscapes, quirky characters, and talking; lots and lots of talking, with occasional bouts of fast action and stunning scenery. A Spinner this slick deserves a closer look. And if you’re inspired to make a 2049 spinner of your own, we also include free instructions for Gol’s compact take on the iconic vehicle.

Click to see things you people wouldn’t believe before they’re lost in time like tears in the rain

Home is where the DOTS live

LEGO may have phased out the DOTS line of mosaic-focused kits, but Justyna Zakrocka keeps the spirit alive with her innovative 32×32 tile-focused tableaus. Returning after a long hiatus, her latest scene is an exercise in elegance with a window frame that uses subtle depth to bring the scene to life. Justyna breaks up the usual 1×1 dot style with long tiles for a clean look. A few vintage elements from Scala perfectly complement minifig-scale accessories to find lifelike proportions. The builder’s square designs are always a delight, but I especially love this delicious sushi boat tableau.

This U-Wing takes a beating and keeps on smuggling

Rogue One gave us the U-Wing, with its four over-sized engines and two long s-foils. Star Wars: Rebels, however, delivered a slightly more used version. Liam Hunter has built the beat-up version in LEGO, with only two engines remaining and battered s-foils. If I am honest, I really prefer the look of the U-Wing in this shape. And thanks to Liam, I get to see it in a great level of detail.

A fantastic full-hearted build of a half-timbered hovel

Classic LEGO Castle sets could loom large with a few hundred parts thanks to molded wall pieces and base plates. When your goal is to capture craggy stonework, weathered walls, and rolling terrain, hundreds of parts becomes thousands. Peter (forestArcher) wanted to build in the maximalist medieval style for a long time, with whimsical angles where everything feels on the verge of collapse, but never had the parts to pull it off. After an infusion of new pieces, Peter was finally able to tackle the fantasy architecture. Take a moment to admire that crumbly foundation that mixes SNOT techniques, profile bricks, and subtle slopes. It’s a beautiful half-timbered house that looks like it would come tumbling down if you blow on it!

Peter shares the builds that inspired this journey into medieval brickwork. Each is a wonderful model on its own, and a reminder of how much innovation and iteration exists in the castle genre: Gloomy Gulch by Luke Watkins Hutchinson, Eldford Barracks-GoC by Roanoke Handybuck, The Pilgrim by Joe (jnj_bricks), Awakening by Classical Bricks, Fin the farmer by The Maestro, The four seasons – Birth by Brickleas.