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.

Yo dawg, I heard you like trains

Railways aren’t all built alike, and that’s what allows Pieter Post to create this awesome bit of recursion in a LEGO diorama. The green engine is a narrow-gauge steam engine, allowing it to be transported on a standard-gauge flatcar. The engine and flatcar both are magnificent, with lots of details that are so cleanly sculpted they blend in, even down to the wood-slatted structure on the back of the flat—a structure whose purpose escapes me. I also love that Pieter hasn’t simply shown the pair on a straight piece of track, but instead took the time to sculpt a small diorama. The uneven edges add a great deal of visual interest and give the scene a feeling of being part of something much larger.

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The spineless worm got what he deserved

Most of the time, when a lone warrior faces off against a dragon—well, it doesn’t end so well for the warrior. Not so with this strong and stalwart fellow by Dan Ko, who looks like he got the better of this fell beast without breaking a sweat. This small-scale build has some mighty sweet part usage, from the brow of the dragon’s head made from the front part of a mech torso to the long and twisted spine made from robot arms and teeth. But I think my favorite part has got to be the large beard made from the hair of a Minifig.

Radon-86 gets glowing reviews

Part of the thrill in buying LEGO’s Collectable Minifigures is what builders do with them after they’ve unpackaged them. Yuri Badiner has taken the yellow robot from Series 22 and has given it a job involving radiation that the rest of us wouldn’t want to do. This is nicely built however, the real star here (besides the happy little bot) is Yuri’s exemplary photography. The tilt of the horizon is a neat trick they teach us in art school that can denote tension and danger. Clearly, this is a dangerous environment but this bot seems happy to do it. The way the composition is lit here also gets glowing reviews from us. Yuri is no stranger to good photography and getting his minifigures into hairy situations. Click the link to see what I mean.

Ready to race? This speeder from the Mandalorian sure is!

Jared Reisweber has created this fascinating model based on Cobb Vanth’s speeder as featured in The Mandalorian Tv series. The vehicle has an interesting design as it is made out of a podracer engine with the addition of a seat and controls for the pilot. The technical details such as the odd piping, wires and cables creates the impression that the speeder has been cobbled together out of scraps and spare parts.

From the back, there are even more intricacies such as the large wheel which forms the back thruster and the gears which might represent some of the turbines of the engine. The splayed out foot pedals are also a nice touch and demonstrates Jared’s attention to detail throughout the build.

We bow to this royally awesome Zerg Queen

Okay, so maybe she’s not actual royalty. But Cecilie Fritzvold has constructed a menacing mother whose orders I would obey out of fear for my life. This Zerg Queen from StarCraft II is complimented wonderfully with a spawning pool base and some eggs, which are brought to extra-icky life thanks to the printed trans-bright green dishes.

Vidiyo jealousy

Sometimes a LEGO theme just doesn’t spark your interest. For me, this happened with the Vidiyo theme. Sure I noticed a couple of nice minifigure parts, but for me it just wasn’t enough to hop on the Vidiyo express. Aurore however did not skip on the Vidiyo sets and they show this off in their latest creation. We can spot parts from the Dragon Guitarist and the Flying Unicorn Singer had to sacrifice its wings for a figure in this creation. Now that we are talking about Aurore, their minifigures are always spot on. I am convinced that they put at least the same amount of time and effort into putting the figures to go with a creation together as is spent on the creation itself. Check out their profile and see for yourself!

Smug Smaug Sits Smartly in the Spotlight

There are a lot of Lord of the Rings LEGO creations out there, but Geneva Durand brings something extra to this offering. The great dragon Smaug sits atop a golden horde – pretty standard there – but this horde is lit from below with a warm yellow glow. The dragon’s form is excellent, with a good mix of red colors and a solid wing design featuring curved tile to create texture. Triangle tiles are clipped and wedged upright to create the creature’s spine, and golden horns are used to give him a grumpy expression over the Mixel 1×1 round printed tile eyes. The mix of golden-toned elements, chromed gold coins, and under-lit transparent elements, though, is what made this build stand out to me. Mainly because I wonder if Smaug’s body heat is melting that pile of gold, or maybe he just farts fire. Well, whatever it smells like, this build looks great.

Want more LOTR goodness? Check out some other featured builds!

Mattel is Swell – even in a digital age

For many, the late 1980s were a golden age for toys. Case in point, the Mattel Starcom line, and the 1987 release of the Shadow Vampire. John Blackstar has recreated this lost vessel in virtual LEGO, and boy does it hold true to the original. (Here’s a link to a short video featuring the Mattel version.) Sure, LEGO has yet to release some of these elements in the colors seen here…and I’d have to see the exploded view to understand how (or if) some of these bricks are actually connected. But that’s okay. The end result here is sleek, stylish, and makes me want to see LEGO start reviving “lost” toylines. Maybe then we can get some Micronaut crossover action. That’s super-sweet, too.

If you like to stretch your building imagination beyond the limitations of physical brick, why not take a stroll through our other featured digital builds?

Honey, I shrunk the Harbour!

The cityscapes from the Architecture series do well to capture individual landmarks with detail; this is true. And while this is an excellent way for LEGO to save on bricks, builders like Samuel M aren’t shy about pushing the parts limit to honor the cities they know and love. This Australian builder clocked in 30 hours of work over four months on this massive micropolis. Over 10,000 pieces were used to recreate a geographically accurate Sydney Harbour and a laundry list of landmarks. Stand-outs like the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House may be hard to miss, but Sam spent a lot of time trying to capture it all.

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A face as pretty as a song

At first glance this build by Dan Ko is interesting enough. The LEGO Space Police Logo draws you in, and maybe if you’re a child of the 80’s you’ll recognize that red beast as a Mantisaur from the He-Man universe. Or maybe you’ll just dig the Mantiasur’s cool part usage like hotdogs for eye ridges, feet, and claws. Or the 1×1 round plate “teeth” that remind me of another creepy build from Dan. But then you look closer at the rider and you can’t help but think….”Hold on. That dude has a guitar for a head.”

How do you feel about this character? Do you want to be his friend or do you want to pull a Hendrix and remove this being from our reality entirely? I admit to being slightly torn, myself. Anyway. If you want to return to the noble past (future?) of the Space Police, I suggest you view some of our previously featured builds!

Kingdom for a handful of dark bluish gray slopes!

Besides sharing fantastic creations through the front page of the Brothers Brick, I like collecting building ideas to use in my own models sooner or later. No kidding, I have a ton of folders with pictures and links to my favorite ideas in numerous genres. Castle is one of the genres I’m planning to explore, but I’ve been in search of a perfect vision — until today. Kallstark Stronghold by Louis of Nutwood might be exactly what I was looking for. The way the castle merges with the landscape puts this build on par with modelmaking masterpieces; obviously, a LEGO version lacks weathering, but the texture of the walls adds so much character. The towers’ and walls’ proportions may be questionable, but I’m a fan of the current composition. The castle looks a lot bigger than it is. And this is precisely how it gets a little bit of magic — I need to know what is happening inside!

A mysterious warrior takes a moment to reflect

This mystical scene comes from the creative mind of W. Navarre. In the build, we see the silhouette of a figure perched on a rooftop, with the roof tiles cleverly portrayed through the use of ball joint plates. The warrior is overshadowed by a bright moon, which has a great variation of textured pieces representing the rocky surface. Waves crash against the house surrounded by a bamboo forest, featuring the use of tan Technic pins as bamboo stalks. The odd angle of the house mixed with the mystical aesthetic makes this one unique display.