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.

Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’. Keep them doggies rollin’.

Classic Space the Next Generation returns in the AT-TCC – All Terrain Troop and Cargo Crawler by Boba-1980. The color and shapes of this fan theme harken back to the days of Mars Mission, but the with all the upgrades you expect from a sequel. I really enjoy the utility of this vehicle – the tires and treads should take you just about anywhere you need to go. There’s room for six passengers, and there’s plenty of cargo space in the two removable pods. My favorite feature, though, is the clever nose design made from two 6×10 windscreens.

Even if the orange and black of CS.NextGen isn’t for you, there’s a chance you’d be interested in the blue and yellow of Neo-Classic Space. There’s room for everyone out in the vastness of the universe, after all.

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Will budget cutbacks lead to more small-scale warfare?

The governments of the world spend a lot of money on military hardware. Maybe they should look to Aaron Newman for ways to save some funds. I mean, LEGO is expensive, but it’s not THAT expensive. And these micro-machines look pretty capable to me. Aaron has shared three quality builds, each with clever scale reductions. Standout details include the guns on the battleship made from modified 1×1 round plate, the curved sand-green slopes on the wings of the plane, and the modified cone in the tank’s barrel. If you’d like to build your own, Aaron has made the instructions available for free.

LEGO may not produce official military sets, but that hasn’t stopped the fan community from building their own. Our military archives feature some great builds ranging from the historic to the fantastic. (As well as reviewing the sets that LEGO sort-of-but-not-quite let slip through the cracks.)

Back to the future, sort of.

Usually when LEGO fans think of Vic Vipers, they think of NoVVember – but this new design by The Brick Artisan shows that a good theme isn’t confined to a singe month. The LL-551 Viper is full of sweet sci-fi details like twin laser cannons and integrated shielding. On the building side of things, there are all sorts of clever choices like using minifigure metal detectors as part of the hull. There’s also a wealth of quality greebling and great details like using the gap between arched bricks to house some tubing. This is one sweet ride that can help carry us over until next November.

The colors and logos also identify the LL-551 as part of the NeoClassic Space theme. Isn’t it nice when the future is clearly such a bright and shining place?

Take your pick, they’re all fantastic!

Sometimes you don’t need a metric heap-ton of LEGO bricks to build something truly fantastic. František Hajdekr is consistently quite good at achieving amazing detail with just a handful of parts. Here are four great vehicles that are just about the right size to compete with your favorite Hotwheels or Matchbox cars. I’m smitten. How about you?

The most adorable puppies in the world

Having a bad day? Thoughts of a global pandemic got you down? Just stop right there and look at the pure joy that is Aaron Newman‘s LEGO creation.

OH MY GOODNESS. They’re adorable! The little noses and teeny eyes longingly looking into my soul makes me melt with happiness. How can you say no when one of them begs for a treat?

Ok, time to be serious. Aaron says he made the doggies as a commission project. He tried to build them on a 1:1 scale, but decided he could do better if the scale was 1:2. It took a long time to get the right look for the eyes, ears and collars, but he’s very proud of the final result.

So are we, Aaron! Thank you for sharing this incredibly heart-warming build with us.

What’s cooler than being cool? Ice cold!

Dutch LEGO builder Koen Zwanenburg takes us back to 2002 (well, 1993, really) with this ice cool Mini Ice Planet 2002 diorama. All the great sets from the pivotal early nineties theme is represented here. We have the Blizzard Baron Ice-Sat V, the Deep Freeze Defender and finally Ice Station Odyssey. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any cooler, the whole shebang is built into a cohesive diorama reminiscant of the theme’s box art. It’s cooler than being cool and ice cold indeed! Here’s all the other times we were smitten by all things Ice Planet 2002.

Christmas stories in a galaxy far, far away

T’was the night before Lifeday and all through the galaxy, not a creature was stirring, except…except…ah heck, nothing rhymes with galaxy! Andreas Lenander re-imagines the storybook scene set with a Star Wars twist, showing Lord Vader reading a heart-warming tale of the treacherous Rebellion, and that fateful night when they destroyed his favorite battle station.

How to build your own LEGO snowman [Instructions]

Building a convincing minifig-scale snowman is a challenge, even for the pros. We’ve seen a few odd ones in previous LEGO Advent Calendars, that’s for sure. But once we go to a more medium-scale, Tiago Catarino shows us that it only takes a few common pieces to build a snowman perfect as a seasonal decoration, ornament, or something to keep around all year long.

Click here to view the instructions to Tiago’s snowman build!

Bearing gifts, we traverse afar

Many of us know the story of the birth of Jesus. We’ve seen the Nativity scene possibly hundreds of times in our lives, whether it be in storybook illustrations, our own simple scene set up on a fireplace mantle, or an elaborate life-sized diorama adorned in lights. As familiar as this may be to some of us, we still get a kick out of it when someone does the scene justice in LEGO. This year a builder by the name of byMartin dazzles us with this well-detailed rendition featuring The Three Wisemen bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the newborn king. I’m particularly loving the thatched roof of the manger cleverly constructed from tan Technic pins. This scene truly takes us back to over two-thousand years in Bethlehem. I can just about hear the camels braying and the sand rustling gently under their feet.

Regardless of which religion you may or may not follow, it is nice to be reminded occasionally that goodwill towards others is an important and beautiful thing. From all of us here at The Brothers Brick, we hope you have a joyous holiday season and a festive and fruitful new year.

2020 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 25

Merry Christmas, everyone! Hopefully today is one of the best days of 2020 and that you unwrapped several LEGO sets from under the tree.

We wanted to share a few more insights into this year’s LEGO advent calendars before the holiday season ended. These include leftover parts, minifigure collections and scenic displays that you can make with your advent calendar. Let’s jump in, shall we?

Continue reading →

Feeling blue? So are these monkeys.

The Temple of Twin Monkeys by Caleb Saw has nice part usage, but also a hefty dollop of mystery. For example, just what are these twin guardians protecting? (My guess is the legendary great lost shipment of Blue Food Dye #2.) The use of grill tiles for fingers works really well, and I like how their use as toes melds into the pedestals. The repeated use of 2×2 dome-bottom bricks for mouth adds uniformity and a touch of sculptural feel to idols, too, while the eyes are some excellently used train wheels. The temple itself has some great details in the curved stonework at the base, and the lines and leafy overgrowth give things a sense of age and neglect. If you came across this temple, would you explore it? Or would it be better not to monkey around?

For what it’s worth, there is an animal called a blue monkey, but they’re not quite this vibrant. Personally, I’d like to see more creative takes like this so we can buff up our LEGO monkey archives. So go get to building!

Shortlist announced for The Brothers Brick LEGO Creation of the Year 2020 [News]

For fifteen years The Brothers Brick has been highlighting the finest LEGO creations, and while 2020 hasn’t been the year any of us might have expected, it has still seen the global community of builders put together some amazing models. To celebrate ongoing creativity during a challenging period, The Brothers Brick team has taken a look back over the last 12 months and pulled together our selection of the best LEGO creations of 2020 for our fifth annual LEGO Creation of the Year award.

Take a look at the fantastic models we’ve shortlisted, and stay tuned for the announcement of our LEGO Creation of the Year 2020 on New Year’s Eve!

Be sure to check out the LEGO Creation of the Year 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016 to see what honourable company this year’s nominations are keeping.

Click to see all of 2020’s nominees