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.

Brick’s Gambit

Nowadays, custom chess sets built from LEGO are not at all unusual. It is after all the most popular board game and can be played over and over again without getting boring. It has also recently experienced a surge in popularity following the Netflix series Queen’s Gambit. Being easy to build from LEGO, it is something many builders do at least once in their life. Here, Daniel Barwegen adds his own flair to the arsenal of stylised LEGO chess sets.

I was immediately drawn to the uniquely spindly pieces with the wide bases. Some pieces like the king and queen continue the design to their crowns, which are sharp and angular, and even the horse-heads of the knights include teeth and gears. I love that the pieces appear easy to grip, like straws and pencils, rather than not having enough space between neighbouring pieces. The textures on the rooks are also well done without being overbearing.

And yes, we’ve noticed that some pieces are not in their correct squares. And so has the builder. That’s the beauty of LEGO and chess – you can easily move the pieces back to their correct place without ruining the game.

Check out more life-sized builds of things other than chess sets!

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The famous cat stretch

Cats are majestic yet silly creatures, and generally, there are a few habits shared between big cats and their domestic counterparts. Among those habits is what I call the cat stretch, a pose that requires both front legs extended while the cat’s backend is elevated. LEGO builder nobu_tary expertly recreates this feline posture with some small LEGO elements in his kitty mini-build.

Very commonplace elements are utilized in this build; for instance, the front legs are minimally but accurately fashioned out of 1×1 cylinders with white cheese slopes serving as the paws, the cat’s head cleverly makes use of a few white 2×2 corner plates along with some tan 1×1 plates, cheese slopes, and semi-circle pieces. The rest of our furry friend’s body comprises of other slope pieces and tiles in tan as well as a tan cat tail piece. Surely this is a build that could be inspiring to both animal fans, and LEGO builders, pictured below is another brick-built feline build by nobu_tary.

Who will brave the deep chasm?

Anyone who is a fan of The Stormlight Archives novels will be thrilled to see Tim Schwalfenberg‘s LEGO take on The Chasm, a world in which the only source of light comes from cracks in the sky.

This creation is jaw-dropping. I love the color transitions as the light darkens deeper in the canyon. It really adds to the sense of depth in this build. How far does it go down? Sure, you can count the brick height along the chasm walls, but all the detail poured into this build gives the illusion of being near-bottomless.

The other detail I want to point out is the excellent plant work. From swampy saplings curing their limbs creepily to the vined flowers reaching upward for a glimpse of daylight. Like the color transitions, the way the vines wrap themselves along the rocky crevasse adds to the sense of how deep you are down in the ground.

I could gaze at this brilliant creation all day, though that might not be a wise idea. Watch out for chasmfiends!

Just trying to get a head

Some LEGO elements are easy to upsize, and some are a nightmare of odd angles and complex shapes that defy common techniques. This was a challenge ToM Dracone (@yannickbuildsthings) was up for, though, as this super-sized Bionicle Toa head is a spot-on likeness. I’m particularly fond of the eye ridge/side of the head angling. This statue also has a great base, with sandy colors and greenery that harken back to the Island of Mata Nui. The gold Hau mask helps provide a sense of scale, making this head feel like a massive totem on the shoreline.

If you’d like to see more photos and details, check out yannickbuildsthings’ LEGO Ideas submission. And when you’re done there, why not delve into our archives for more great featured Bionicle creations?

We could all use more capes around here

You could say LEGO builder Marius Herrmann is having the best month ever. Earlier I raved about a Police Enforcer bot in a fashionable blue jacket. Then my colleague “Mr. Waffles” picked up a scoop about a flying bot in a sweet pair of Scala pants. Now I’m here again and this time Marius presents a 51L “Elanoides”-NC Enforcer adorned in a ragged cape. What can I say? I’m a fan of all these fashion-forward bots. It doesn’t hurt that the build techniques here and photography are on a whole ‘nother level.

Why don’t you build something cool that’ll attract our attention? That’s how this all works, you know. You build something neat, we feature it, and the world turns. Shampoo, rinse, repeat. It just seems that Marius shampoos and repeats more often than most and that means clean hair and job security for us!

A scraggily troll lives under a scraggily bridge

When I think of building with LEGO, the first thing that comes to mind is building with bricks. Jessica Farrell has taken that to the next level, and built a bridge out of bricks, that themselves are built with LEGO bricks.

And these brick-built-bricks ain’t your standard sized bricks either – they’re all kinds of odd shapes, cobbled together to build a bridge with character. Some have moss growing on them, there are even weeds poking out through the cracks. The vast array of different parts used give the bricks and bridge a quite amazing texture. Underneath the bridge you’ll find your standard bridge-hider-under, an ugly troll, ready to eat whatever goats go trip-trapping over his bridge. Luckily both sides of the river are quite lush. I really like the healthy-looking lime and green grass, as well as the custom-cut lengths of flextube for reeds and bulrushes.

Gnepnug the Forager gathers mushrooms

Behold! Another fun little LEGO creation by John Snyder featuring a woodland gatherer. I’ll be honest, my first thought upon seeing this build was, “Oh, look! The Wicked Witch of the West!” But then I saw the title and realized it was an insanely cooler character, Gnepnug the Forager. I’ve never seen anyone use a Bionicle leg plate before as a face, but this works! The use of multiple minifigure capes for worn-in clothing was a clever idea. I also appreciate the lack of a baseplate, with John instead opting for what appears to be a green LEGO sail piece.

The hare of the bunny that bit me

A Gatling gun, grappling hook, chainsaw, and an unfolding semaphore tower is not the kind of things you’d usually associate with little pink bunnies. But LEGO builder Ted Andes has done just that with this Nousagi (野ウサギ) Reconnaissance Tank. This mech-tank looks like it means serious business. However, just a few pretty pink touches and bunny stickers clue us in that one can pilot a tank and still have a playful personality. The open hatch gives us a glimpse of a playful young driver who can still get down to brass tacks when serious reconnaissance stuff needs to happen.

Aye, there’s a castlehead for you

There’s trainheads and castleheads, but usually it’s meant to refer to fans of the various LEGO themes. However, here’s a build that takes it quite literally. Designed by Corvus Auriac, this 5,400-piece microscale model depicts a castle built on a rock that might be a little more alive than its builders suspected. It’s packed with lovely details from the dragon burninating the town to the tiny wizard tower sprouting out of the side of the castle’s tallest roof. Do yourself a favor and give this one a close look, as you’ll be rewarded with lots of clever parts usages. One of my favorites is also the one used most here: most of the trees are made from dark green minifigure epaulets stacked on each other.

Two great Star Wars ships for all your bounty hunting needs

Whether you need to chase down two-bit scoundrels who owe money or tool around the galaxy with your foster kid in the Star Wars equivalent of a ’96 Nissan Stanza, you’re going to need the right equipment. First, you need a cool outfit, preferably one you’ll wear your entire life, even if you put on a few post-Sarlaac pounds. Next, you’ll need a bucket on your head and a credo about not talking much and never showing your face except during some mushy parts. Lastly, you’re going to need a sweet spaceship and that’s where LEGO builder Tim Goddard comes in. Here we see Boba Fett and his Slave I as well as “Mando” from The Mandolorian with his Razor Crest. Tim makes excellent use of both old and new gray bits for that lived-in mottled effect.

We’ve featured Tim’s Razor Crest before but with the added stands and posed next to his new Slave I, we couldn’t resist bringing it out again for an encore performance.

Johnny Thunder gets colorized

Norlego takes us on an LEGO Adventure with everyone’s favorite non-licensed LEGO adventurer Johnny Thunder! In some creations, the minifigures are the last things that get added to bring the scene to life. My guess is that in this creation, the minifigures were created first and inspired the rest of the build. All the usual suspects are there. We have Johnny, Pippin Reed, Dr. Kilroy, and wherever Johnny goes his nemesis Sam Sinister follows. Also, there are Slyboots, Mike and Harry Cane. This time they are portrayed in a more realistic skin tone rather than yellow.

Norlego built an irregularly shaped base with lots of angles and exposed studs, perfectly mimicking the desert lands of Egypt. What would an oasis be without some lush palm trees? These are made beautifully. The use of the prickly bush for the dead leaves at the base of the palm tree is a really nice touch. The colour of the swordleaf indicates whether a leaf is dead, doing fine or a baby leaf. Or maybe I am just looking into it too much? Last but not least I think the table deserves some love. It is made out of triangle road signs. The seams between the road signs make the table look fold-able which would really be handy when going on an adventure.

Want see more Johnny Thunder creations? Check out these articles.

Monkey see, monkey do bigger

I’ve seen giant LEGO pieces, and even upscaled fish and chickens, but I’ve never before seen a giant LEGO monkey, and this one from mybrickbuild has me tickled pink. The classic LEGO monkey was one of my favorite pieces in the original Pirates theme, this giant one makes me want to see a whole LEGO Pirates set built at this scale. It’s a digital render but it looks like it’s mostly buildable with real bricks, except for the 2×2 round bricks with Technic holes, which aren’t currently available in brown. The arms and curling tail are courtesy of the new curved 2×2 round piece that forms the trunk on the Bonsai Tree.

If you like seeing things made bigger with bricks, check out our upscaled LEGO archives!