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.

CHAPPiE is consciousness. CHAPPiE is alive. CHAPPiE is LEGO!

Hong Kong-based studio Three Zero creates incredibly detailed designer action figures for a premium price, like a deluxe version of CHAPPiE that would have set you back $230 if you’d ordered in time. Too rich for your blood? Then consider making your own from LEGO, like Wang Juan, a builder who only just debuted on socials. Wang’s character builds are incredibly detailed and articulated. For Chappie, the builder works mostly with System parts to recreate the Three Zero version of the character.

Wang’s account includes a mix of incredible character models – mostly renders – inspired by games and street art. We’ve reached out to the builder to learn more. For now, as a fan of Neill Blomkamp’s gritty South African mash up of Short Circuit and Robocop, let’s help Chappie live again.

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SNOT Mosaics are nothing to sneeze at

Mosaics are an amazing entry point into LEGO creativity, but the sky’s the limit for how you can create beautiful patterns with bricks. Every week, dozens of new designs are shared as part of #MosaicsOnMonday. A few weeks back, I was struck by this design from the event’s co-host Dana (virginia_bricks) which uses SNOT bricks to add more depth and negative space.

Dana credits Onibabalego for leading her to the technique, and no wonder. The French builder has pioneered mesmerizing mosaics from SNOT bricks and unconventional pieces. Her kaleidoscopic builds are truly inspiring.

There’s a joy and a magic in finding surprising ways that LEGO elements can jigsaw together into tight patterns. What I love about onibabalego’s mosaics is how they incorporate gaps of negative space into the design. And the colors!

What in tarnation? Timofey Tkachev is back with a rootin’ tootin’ varmint shootin’ Yosemite Sam in LEGO

Back in the halcyon pre-COVID days, Timofey Tkachev was one of TBB’s most featured builders. With a catalog of works that includes massive spacecraft, modulars, props, cartoon characters, and mind-bending artistic sculptures, Timofey defies categorization. Back in 2023, Timofey’s prolific run seemed to come to an end as the builder stopped posting for a couple of years. Now he’s back with a rootin’ tootin’ take on Yosemite Sam the third Looney Tunes tribute from the builder. It’s a spot-on likeness of the trigger-happy toon, making good use of orange tiles in that magnificent moustache. The canted cacti are quite impressive too.

In honor of Timofey’s return, we’re reposting our interview with Timofey from 2017, which you can read below.

Continue to our interview with Timofey from 2017

There’s nothing fishy about this fantastic undersea LEGO palace (except for the fish)

Jakab Kovács doesn’t color inside the lines when it comes to castles. Sure, he built a traditional tribute to the Black Falcon fortress that was hosted at LEGO House, but he’s also made a purple castle, cloud castle, and, for his latest project, an undersea castle.

Jakab eschews the typical Atlantis or mermaid tropes, finding a look that draws on an almost Czech Baroque style with its pointed domes. I love the subtle angle of the castle wings, the orange and yellow accent colors, the undersea garden plots and their fences, and the minifig faction with the wispy bodies and white hair. I wonder what a full series set in this world would look like? Are there manta ray mounts and pet eels? Do these folk trade with surface dwellers? I’d happily spend more time in this undersea haven, but alas, it’s time to come up for air.

LEGO midi-scale U-Wing takes flight, and looks great

In my opinion, the U-Wing, introduced in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, is easily one of the most interesting fighters since the X-Wing. So I was excited to see this model by Matt showing this iconic fighter at a smaller scale, but in no way skimping on details. Taking a closer look at the front wing assembly, you can see a very interesting combination of modified plates with upward brackets to form the wing along two building angles. The choce of the modiefied slope with the cut-outs is the perfect canopy as well.

Oh, and in case you were wondering if the wings swing back for atmospheric flight mode… Yes they do.

LEGO Designer Carter Baldwin gives the Exo-Force drones a military sci-fi upgrade

Before joining LEGO as a set designer, TBB alum Carter Baldwin was an influential AFOL in the military sci-fi theme who fused elements of Aliens, anime, Mechwarrior and the occasional LEGO throwback theme. Recently Carter has been revisiting the Exo-Force theme with a serious upgrade to the line’s iconic robots.

Introducing the Constructobots….

The Sentries…

See all of Carter’s Exo-Force upgrades and lore

Nothing says summer like a trip to the Grand Canyon

Minifigure habitats are fun, but I prefer microscale vignettes like this minimalist scene by Nannan Zhang. Here, the Grand Canyon is depicted in a three-dimensional scene that feels like a Polaroid picture extruded by a 3D printer. The sky background, combining plates and bricks in stripes, reminds me of the fantastic LEGO set Visions from the Space Age.

Seen from the top, the striations of the rock faces are made by stacking wedge plates of a variety of sizes and shapes. And the wandering river along the bottom, made from light azure tiles, really pops.

A build with real horsepower

You can practically hear the hoof beats emanating from this amazing build by Jan Woźnica. Jan has captured a sense of speed and power in a surprisingly compact, minifigure-scaled steed. The horse’s organic shapes, and even the posing of its mid-gallop legs, are perfectly recreated with just a few pieces that a lot of builders would consider table scrap. Why, there’s even a pair of brick-built legs for the minifigure rider astride the animal, adding to the realism of the scene. Giddy up!

Bapanada! Welcome to this map store from LEGO Dirtmouth

The long-awaited Hollow Knight spin-off, Silksong, is slated to finally come out later this year. (It’s really happening this time, right? Right?!) It’s been a long wait, but it has allowed LEGO builders such as DJ (GioiaLego) to hone their craft and bring the roguelite to life in brick form. This is one of the first locations you see in the game: Cornifer & Iselda’s map shop. It can be difficult to translate 2D designs into LEGO’s 3D nature, but this is a terrific execution! The parts choice for the Hollow Knight is perhaps most noteworthy; purists may not be keen on the dots added to the crash helmet, but there’s no escaping what a perfect choice the spike is for its nail weapon!

Silksong is coming any day now, honest – but until then, you can pass the time browsing our archives of other Hollow Knight builds.

“Top 5 LEGO record stores in the modular style, go.”

Dana (virginia_bricks) is best known as the co-host of #MosaicsOnMondays on Instagram, but for this build, she breaks free from the frame with a charming record shop modular. Built as a corner unit for her LUG’s collaboration at the upcoming Brickfair Virginia, the building captures American Main Street charm with an exposed brick apartment over a brightly painted storefront. The shop could just as easily be a beloved institution going back decades or a part of a modern downtown revival. My favorite details are the awning, which cleverly evokes a keyboard, and the subtle facade texture under the window. And of course, any old brick building becomes infinitely more cozy with dense flowering vines climbing up the side!

The music shop windows look even more inviting at night with custom lighting setting it aglow.

LEGO Adventurers meet Jules Verne imagination at the Crystal Palace exhibition

Johnny Thunder and friends must have picked up quite a few souvenirs in their expeditions to distant lands and lost worlds. But, except for that one time Baron Von Baron turned his mansion into a theme park drop ride, LEGO never showed what the Adventurers got up to when they returned home. Bart Marable provides the answer with the breathtaking Crystal Palace Exhibition, an homage to LEGO Adventurers, Jules Verne, and the grand 19th century exhibitions of scientific wonders.

The enormous structure of white girders and glass is modeled after London’s Crystal Palace which stood in Hyde Park from 1851 to 1936. It also evokes 21353 The Botanical Garden at a much larger scale.

The historical Crystal Palace had nothing on Bart’s fantastical version. Have a look at these LEGO exhibits, brought to life with mechanical functions:

Come with me and you’ll see a world of scientific wonders

Feeling crabby? Don’t forget your morning coffee!

It’s July, which means it’s time for one of my favourite monthly LEGO building challenges: it’s #TimeForCrab! As the name suggests, it’s a month full of LEGO crab builds that are as adorable and absurd as they are numerous. Áron Gerencsér – better known to some as Pohaturon – has made himself a cappucino with a touch of crustacean flavour! Apart from the fun design, there’s also some fun parts use. The chocolate squares are great, but this is one of the first alternate uses I’ve seen for the Pixar lamp shade. And what a good one it is too!