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.

This LEGO microscale sanctuary is full of surprising details

Astounding us again, Eli Willsea shares another vibrant build, this time in the form of a peaceful-looking sanctuary. The model is entered in this year’s Summer Joust competition and perfectly suits the medieval theme of the contest. An interesting colour palette has been applied to the build, with the soft tones of light grey, bright green and tan contrasting nicely against red.

Several unusual techniques have been used in the model. One of the most striking is the use of a car cabin piece as part of the main building. A few of the trees appear to be minfigure helmets, with the open sections turned away from the camera. You can also just see handle pieces placed sideways in the main courtyard, which represents pillars at the entrance to the inner building. Eli has truly succeeded in creating an enchanting scene with a tranquil aesthetic.

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Get your drinks at the Genesis Casino

One of the best things about building with LEGO for a hobby is that you can ignore it. What I mean is, when you don’t have enough time at hand, you can just park your hobby for a little while. Unlike sports, where your condition deteriorates. Or gardening, where the weeds take over. Or horseback riding, which tends to not go so well after not paying attention to your horse for a couple of weeks. Whenever I am crammed at work I tend to not build with LEGO at all. I do however keep my minifigure parts close by because I do enjoy putting together funky LEGO minifigures. In their latest creation, Darth Bjørn proves that they are an expert when it comes to building funky Star Wars minifigures.

The gold flooring in this build also deserves a mention. I didn’t know LEGO produced different tones of gold bricks, but apparently, they do. (Yes, and not all of them were intentionally different. – Ed.) Darth Bjørn used the two tones to create the pattern on the floor, which I personally haven’t seen before. I am really curious about the construction underneath the tiles. And last but not least there is a really simple but elegant design for drinking glasses. A transparent round plate is combined with a colored trans round tile and then turned upside down to mimic the rim of a drinking glass.

Who knew that a shark needs a mech?

Land sharks have become a reality, thanks to this fantastic model by Moko. Presented in a sand blue colour scheme, the mech reflects the body of a shark with its aggressive angles and muscular proportions. Turntable tops represent joint coverings across the mech, adding to the mechanical aesthetic of the model. The heavy cannon has some wonderful details, with the Hero Factory covering adding texture to the weapon. When facing this shark, its bite is the least of your worries.

The mech is also able to split down the middle of its upper frame to allow access for placing the shark or an optional cockpit for a minifigure. Check out Moko’s video to see how the model was built.

A mountain sanctuary as big as a mountain

After a long journey, two weary travelers have finally set their eyes on their destination – and what a destination it is. Builder Joe (jnj_bricks) is no stranger to working with effective forced perspective, and this time he’s delivered such a large model that it’s hard to fathom it isn’t actually to scale with the minifigures in the foreground. But this amazing build has more going for it than size alone. The lighting of the scene is incredible, and the mountain sanctuary looks suitably carved from the rocks that surround it. The pillars and arches offer enough variety to keep your eye entertained, while repeating enough shapes to make the location feel cohesive. But I think my favorite detail is the two streams of water falling in the background. The layering of trans-clear plates and tiles to create arcs of water falling off of and away from the cliff is in an incredibly clever touch that adds to the model’s overall feeling of realism.

More than twice the power of traditional Grayskull

The original Masters of the Universe figures stood about 5 and ½ inches tall. Robert Lundmark’s take on four of the series’ major characters measures more than twice as high. Standing at 32 cm (a little more than a foot), these brick-built versions of Man-At-Arms, He-Man and Battle Cat, Skeletor, and Beast Man would take the power of Grayskull to new heights if they found themselves transferred to Eternia. Robert’s done an amazing job at capturing these warriors in LEGO form. Every detail from Battle Cat’s armor to Skeletor’s havoc staff is instantly recognizable. Plus, the use of the Bionicle shin guard on Man-At-Arms’ neck armor is so close to the actual thing that it made me do a double-take.

This variant-based Loki variant is very antagonistic

There’s no doubt that one of the stand-out characters from Disney+’s hit show Loki was the adorable Lokigator, a reptile-based variant of the mischievous title character. Although he was only in one episode, Lokigator obviously struck a chord with builder Claudio Tavella, who drew inspiration from both the show and LEGO set 76190 to give us a Mech Lokigator. As a digital adaption of the Iron Monger set, this mean machine is loaded with tons of weaponry, as well a chest-based cockpit for any additional Lokis to pilot. He Who Remains might think he knows everything that’s going to happen, but I’d love to see how he handles this beast coming through the door of the Citadel at the End of Time.

Don’t miss more of the LEGO Loki cast that we featured recently, too!

Bold colors and some fresh beats

Virva Staccato is ready to tear the house down! Inspired by the drum kit from LEGO Friends set 41449 Andrea’s Family House, this exceptional drummer can only be the work of uber-talented artist, Eero Okkonen. The funky color scheme gives the character a ton of flair and attitude, but it’s the parts usage that gives it the wow factor. Details from the house, like the window shutters on her top and 1x2x2 trans opalescent window panes for the glasses. I’m also a big fan of the pigtails from tires and Hero Factory robot legs for earings.

This has to be one of my all-time favorites, but it’s hard to choose from all of Eero’s other great LEGO characters we featured! Stick around and check out a few more!

The peaceful garden temple

LEGO builds are often quite small-scale compared to minifigures, with buildings occupying the equivalent space of a car, and castles the size of houses. Here builder Andreas Lenander has flipped that script on its head with a temple gazebo scene in a garden that’s the size of many LEGO castles. Unsurprisingly for Andreas, there are lots of lovely details, too, though one of the best might be the minifigure katana holders that make the hanging lanterns on either side of the gazebo.

Bring something edible to the picnic or end up being the picnic

This poor little fly is about to end up being the picnic instead of just going to a picnic. Toddrick (B.D.) created a lovely build using a lot of black pieces to create the fly and the Venus flytrap. They also incorporated a lot of theme-specific bricks that all deserve a quick mention. So let’s go! It is very nice to see the Fabuland basket again. I like how detailed it is considering its age. Inside it is a Belville skirt and an apple. For the eyes of the fly Clickits icons have been used.

The Venus flytrap also contains a lot of weird parts. Let’s start with the leaves at the base, which are made out of Hero Factory cocoon petals, the flower petals are made out of Belville flower petals and the Venus flytrap head is made from the Ninjago Overlord dragon jaw and head. All and all the weird parts add the much-needed pops of color in this otherwise very black creation. This build definitely deserves a quick zoom so you can distinguish all the funky black parts used in the fly and the Venus flytrap.

Azure stripes and open skies

Inspired by the colors of the Martini-sponsored Porsche racing team from his childhood, David Roberts created a fantastic racer for a pilot with an inimitable name. Martin Igglesramsworthbottomthwaite, or Martin I, as he’s known by his fans and enemies, brandishes a Bond-like persona when he’s not flying his vibrant speeder. The model features various pieces of mechanical detailing on each side of the multifaceted engine sections, with azure domes capping the inlets. Bright red compliments navy blue and azure stripes along the body, making for a brilliant photo finish for all of Martin I’s victories.

On the rear, the nozzles for the engines are framed by multiple vents with azure bands running the length of the sides. Those rear lights will surely be the only ones his competition will see for most of the race. At least, the ones after that freak storm that flooded his cockpit. Drainage holes can help win races, it seems.

Conquistadors clash with Aztecs in a night of fear and greed

Sometimes, imagined history can be as colorful as the real thing (which I typically find more surprising than fiction). Talented historical builder Josiah Durand is no stranger to the Aztec and early colonial period of history — we’ve featured his ruined pyramid of Tenochtitlan and Mesoamerican ballgame scenes previously. But in his latest scene inspired by Pre-Columbian civilizations, Josiah imagines what might have happened if a smaller group of Spanish Conquistadors had attempted to wrest riches from the Aztecs decades before Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Things do not appear to be going well for the Spaniards…

Josiah incorporates elements from the Aztec Warrior minifig in the Series 21 Collectible Minifigures, mixing the pieces so each warrior is unique. Behind the minifigs, microscale palaces and temples provide a forced-perspective background, with a mountain range behind them. Beneath, transparent bricks arranged on their sides serve as a highly textured water surface. But my favorite detail is the pair of Aztec statues on the lift side of the scene, with distinct noses and feathered crowns. Titled “La Noche Triste” (“the sad night”), I’m personally rooting for the indigenous Aztecs, and won’t be especially sad if the invading Conquistadors meet a sticky end atop those distant pyramids.

Unloading on Scarif with the U-wing that could have been

Star Wars and LEGO have gone hand-in-hand for quite some time now. Uncountable LEGO User Groups are centered around the very concept of building models based on the Star Wars universe. Suffice it to say, there is a wealth of models inspired by the galaxy far, far away. As many ships as there are in George Lucas’ fever dream of a series, a whole can of worms opens up when you look into the concept designs for some of the most iconic vehicles. This ship, built by Jan Südmersen, was inspired by a concept design of the rebel U-wing fighter from Rogue One. Quite different from the movie design on a few fronts, the main difference is the lack of wing-like strike foils. For those that aren’t hip, the s-foils were apparently used more for increasing the shield profile of the ship and less so for aerodynamics in an atmosphere. I doubt this big boy needs much help from some wings, though, as it looks like it can take a few hits without a problem.

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