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.

I like the shipshape shape of this ship-shaped ship.

Using only 101 pieces, Jonas Kramm creates a brilliant two-mast ship inspired by Käpt’n Blaubär. As you’d expect clever part usage abounds, but the best bit may be the rowboat that gets upscaled into the ship’s hull. The doubled white 3×4 curved panels for sails are brilliant as well, giving a great sense of motion to the build. There’s even a tiny masthead mermaid made from an orange bow and a a carrot top for a tail.

The 101 piece limit comes from the contest rules for the RogueOlympics, and Jonas has pledged to be back with even more 101 element creations. Maybe these builds can help inspire you to try your hand at your own microscale building!

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

A round of remarkable rovers

February is behind us, and so another Febrovery also comes to an end. The month-long tribute to the classic space rover brought us many charming and clever space rovers, but there are still rovers trickling in and I couldn’t let these gems by Andreas Lenander go unsung.

A good rover is not just about the vehicle, but the terrain it is built to traverse, and this one features a fractured surface filled with glittering jewels. But as Andreas says in the title of this model, it is all about the wheels, and these built wheels have bite. I’m talking about the tooth element used along the inner edge of the rims.

And speaking of wheels, this rover comes with double wheels in front and enough ground clearance to deal with the most rugged ground the universe can dish out. The stark black and white colors and the lights make me think Interstellar.

A spider mech to give you the creepy-crawlies

LEGO spider mechs aren’t too uncommon, but most of the time they give the impression of a machine with a lot of legs–after all, that’s what they are. But this one by Joss Woodyard is enough to trigger an arachnophobe. OK, technically it’s based on a Harvestman (AKA daddy longlegs) which isn’t a spider. But it’s still an arachnid, and with all those eyes and creepy arms and dripping….something–shudder–it definitely counts in my book. The green bits on the legs are the Technic wire clip, which you may have seen a lot of around here lately, since it’s being used in the latest Iron Builder challenge.

LEGO Borat is great success!

Why would Brothers Brick alumni Iain Heath burn Borat’s slingshot mankini into our retinas when we had since 2006 to forget it? Well, it turns out Sasha Baron Cohen and his fumbling foreign alter ego are relevant again. Borat: Subsequent Moviefilm (actual title is much longer) had come out in late 2020 and garnered three Golden Globe nominations. Mr. Cohen won the award for best actor in a motion picture, musical or comedy, for his starring role as the titular character. Rudy Guiliani, who also appeared in the film, won no such award because apparently, that wasn’t acting. Plus, Iain has a knack for knowing what is hot at any precise moment. We have like two hours to jump on that bandwagon before Iain moves on to the next hottest thing. So if we want to stay relevant, we pretty much had to publish this. Consider yourselves hip and enlightened. High fives!

Feel like getting your mankini in a bunch? Check out the other times Iain Heath had us in stitches.

Dropship to the rescue!

Reinforcements have arrived! Whether you are deploying soldiers to the battlefront or supplies in the midst of a humanitarian crisis, Anders Sinding’s dropship is the LEGO vehicle needed to get the job done.

This build looks like it arrives screaming down from the skies. It’s clear this dropship is capable of anything. I’m way impressed with the decision to not use transparent pieces for the cockpit, going instead with sloped bricks angled in a way to have the same jutting windscreen vibe. The engines are just as incredible, using not one, not two, but three fan intakes.

I like the clear blue piece on the nose. I’m sure it’s part of the dropship’s sensor equipment, helping sweep the landing area for obstacles or threats before deploying. As far as color goes, I really admire the choice to stick with red with white and blue accents.

Overall, I would be more than happy to see this ship coming to the rescue if I was in a tough spot.

Only the worthy can build this LEGO Thor’s Hammer

Truly, LEGO builder car_mp must be worthy, because this life-size version of Mjolnir, Thor’s Hammer, looks ready to demolish some dark elves or maybe just pin Thanos to the ground. Although it’s not a complex technique, the stacked brown and grey elements look great for the banded leather handle, while the smoothly tiled hammerhead itself seems to have the proper heft. Indeed, no doubt most of the 765-piece model’s complex building techniques are hidden deep within because it’s no small feat to get such a large weight to stay on the handle like that and not immediately fall off. The builder notes that it can be hefted, but does require some care.

Diamonds on the water are falling from the sun

Those are lyrics from a song by Enya that I was listening to when I saw this diamond-shaped spaceship build by Roanoke Handybuck. This build is very fitting to Enya’s music, as both are beautiful, ethereal, and simultaneously dark and light. The spaceship is bright, smooth, with just enough greebling, and is adorned with gold cannons, antennae, and engines. The shaping is definitely alien; not scary and menacing, but rather welcoming and beautiful. With a small yellow frog as the pilot, I doubt this poses a threat. I like to imagine the frog is also listening to Enya inside the cockpit.

The builder packed this small ship full of interesting techniques to give it a unique look. The end connections of croissants form 45º angles with rounded edges, so that the diamond shape of the ship isn’t too sharp. A smooth windscreen that sits flush on top of the ship, and blends well with the smooth surface. The bright ship hovers above a dark maze, which provides a contrast between vehicle and the environment. The end result is truly a work of art. It makes me want to listen to Enya’s music, hoping the spaceship I build will be just as beautiful.

A cozy ski chalet with a working lift [Video]

Jason Allemann typically builds kinetic sculptures without minifigures in mind. But this time, he’s decided to come at it from the little guys’ perspective! The most recent addition to the JK Brickworks collection is a cute little LEGO ski chalet. Now it’s time to hit the slopes, so come with us as we take a tour!

In general, it has lots of character and fun details, but the most prominent feature is, of course, the lift. When the skier is placed at the bottom, the mechanism effortlessly carries the figure to the top of the slope. It’s a slick mechanism, and the only thing that would make it better would be if the skier came back around on his own to be picked up again.

Click to see more of this build and watch the whole video.

Who needs a hawk or falcon when you have a dragon?

Falconry – the practice of training birds of prey to hunt with/for humans – is an ancient tradition. For centuries, we’ve revered raptors. And in popular culture, movies captivate us with images of both medieval and tribal figures sharing relationships with these fierce birds. But perhaps in another, more magical world, dragons fill the role. Ever-talented LEGO builder Joss Woodyard has brought the chief of some distant culture to life, along with his small, fiery beast. Who said dragons have to be giant?

As always, with Jayfa’s builds, the character is clad in awesome elements (love those dark red spikes!) and stands in a commanding pose. Of course, the best part is the ode to the original LEGO Castle dragons with the red and green motif. While you’re here, check out more of Jayfa’s recent builds, and see if you can find the common element between them.

Baby Greedo shot first

I have felt a disturbance in the force. As if millions of voices cried out “that’s so cute!”, “did Baby Greedo shoot first?”, and “Baby Han is better than Baby Yoda!” It is certainly an adorable homage to a classic scene from Star Wars, as built by Ross Fisher. Here, Baby Greedo confronts Baby Han at blaster-point about a very serious space baby matter, probably something about baby Han stealing Baby Jabba’s favourite sweets.

While being a small and simple build, the choice of baby figures and their positioning is top notch. Baby Greedo’s head placed on a Baby Yoda torso makes him appear small and feisty, which is very in character. Baby Han is just Han’s hairdo placed on a baby-minidoll, and with that minidoll face, Baby Han displays a level of nonchalance evocative of Harrison Ford’s iconic portrayal of the famous scoundrel. The carton of blue milk on the cantina table is definitely the icing on the cake. Not only does it fits the babyfied Mos Eisley Cantina, but it’s also a product of Tatooinian livestock.

And the LEGO Oscar goes to...

This creation byJohn Snyder might reek a little bit of garbage. And that’s just the way we like him! It’s everyone’s favorite grouch, Oscar from Sesame Street. I am so glad to see that this rendition of Oscar in LEGO does the character justice. He looks fuzzy and hairy thanks to the abundance of wire connectors and some leaves. He is sporting his classic brown monobrow which makes him look extra grouchy. John even went as far as to use LEGO packaging to create all the garbage. Most of the non-brick parts in this shot, are produced by or for LEGO. Can you identify where they came from?

Your studs are showing

While some LEGO builders want to hide the studs on their LEGO as much as possible to create a smooth-looking creation, Luka often has their studs on display to add texture to their creation. The studs are not only facing upwards; they are facing right, left, and center. The effect is quite nice.

One thing I always struggle with when building with LEGO is making trees. Luka reminds us that it doesn’t always have to be a struggle. The trees in his build are quite simple but also quite stunning. There are a lot of droid arms used in this creation for various purposes; for the roof of the house and the base of the trees. Fun thing, in both situations, they are meant to represent wood. It is nice to see that the wood for the roof was probably bought locally, which has to be better for the environment. The foliage of the trees is made by using flower stems with and without leaves upside down.