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.

The castle with windows a-plenty

The 1×1 plate with a printed black square showed up in 2017 as an architectural element in a few different LEGO sets. It has become a popular detailing element, especially in micro builds. This castle by Luka (First Order LEGO) has used it here to give this lovely little castle windows and contrast. He also used air tanks for the gate and seep, as well as white wands on the spires. I’m not sure if it’s intended, but the icy white and grey-blue look gives me a wintery vibe. Even more so with the nifty use of the medium blue Exo-Force hair on the lone tree near the base of the castle.

While you’re here, check out more of Luka’s excellent builds in our First Order LEGO archives.

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What’s behind the mask?

At first glance, you might think you’re looking at Optimus Prime sporting Rodimus Prime’s maroon color scheme and pinstripes from the original Transformers. Think again. This semi-truck is way more than meets the eye because it is a LEGO Creation of Rhino from M.A.S.K., the signature shape-shifting tractor rig/mobile defense unit from the 1985 Kenner toy line and animated series. Builder Hobbestimus actually made this his third version of Rhino, now complete with almost all the specs of its retro counterpart: battering ram, smokestack cannons, missile launcher (doesn’t actually launch), mobile computer command center, and detachable all-terrain vehicle, according to his Flickr page.

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Let the beat build

For over 30 years, music producers have been devoted to building beats using audio hardware to sequence their signature drum loops, or sample elements from vinyl records. Yet, no matter how much music is digitized through virtual studio programs, beatmakers still craft timeless hits through tapping buttons, turning knobs, and sliding faders. One of the latest LEGO creations from Arran Hearn honors one of music’s most iconic tools of the trade, the E-mu SP-1200.

Last week, Arran revealed the LP-1200 on Instagram, his biggest LEGO build yet, with over 2,000 parts. It includes the playable feature of a mini-floppy disk that can be inserted and ejected. The unit is well-branded through Hearn’s custom stickers representing the model LP-1200, the maker N-umo Systems, Inc., plus a sticker where machine’s digital screen displays data. The original drum machine studio staple is still used by hip-hop super producers like Pete Rock and Madlib (mentioned in his post). Arran’s LP-1200 was teased back in October 2018 with a photo of the internal elements. Previous creations included the MPC 2000 XL, the L-447 Turntable Cartridge, and the Technics 1200 + mixer setup. Hip-hop, you don’t stop!

Here is a detail highlighting some of Arran’s custom sticker work.

Kennedy Space Center awesomeness in 10...9...8...

Here at The Brothers Brick we often feature LEGO spaceships, shuttles, and rovers both real and fictional and we are usually quite impressed. But as you can imagine we achieved a new level of…impress-ness when we saw the entire Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A. This stellar creation was built by Lia Chan. Lia is a person of few words, no words, in fact. Other than providing a title we have no idea how many pieces this has or how long it took to build. One thing is clear is that this was a labor of love and the end result is just breathtaking.

Lia could have stopped there and we would have been plenty impressed enough, by golly! But an alternate configuration features the shuttle launching with a realistic plume of exhaust. That is just…stellar!

Forward, Troopers! Your Empire Needs You!

The Battle of Mimban was one of the greatest cinematic scenes from Solo: A Star Wars Story. Ever since we saw mudtroopers and stormtroopers slogging it out in the trenches, builders such as h2brick have dutifully recreated the chaos on both a large and small scale.

First off, let’s give h2brick credit for the bright explosions happening in this diorama. Fire is a detail hard to capture with bricks, but he’s managed to make it look like the mudtrooper nearest to the explosion is definitely convinced that it’s real. Adding to the detail are the layers of mud and rock that make up Mimban’s tumultuous surface. The nougat and brown blend well, as do the dark tan bricks oozing onto the grey concrete, making it look like the mud is encroaching on the Imperial camp.

Speaking of which, I love that h2brick included a scout trooper checking a hologram map. It’s the tiny things about this build that make it so fun to look at and want to build myself. For example, his design for the supply containers stamped with the Imperial insignia would be really simple to replicate. My only question is, what could be under the grating that the scout trooper is standing on? A forgotten wookiee, perhaps?

Color me inspired with this LEGO Nintendo Game Boy

As we count down the days ‘til the release of the LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System (it’s tomorrow!), a LEGO Game Boy creation is just what we’ll need to add to our museum of buildable retro gaming consoles. Author of Tips for Kids: Transformers: Cool Projects for your Lego Bricks, and LEGO builder of many everyday items, Joachim Klang was inspired to build the green pocket-sized classic after finding an actual Game Boy Color at a flea market. Seeing the clean rounded edges and the cartridge built into the back are convincing details that it might power on. Klang’s recent creation is an upgrade from his previous lineup of Game Boy Color builds from 2017. Still, my all-time favorite is the see-through version with purple tint. LEGO x Nintendo = you’re playing with power, clutch power!

Also, check out these other LEGO Game Boy creations!

How to build a swell little well! [Instructions]

Former LEGO designer Tiago Catarino continues to deliver fun techniques in his free tutorials! I’m a big fan of this little well. It’s simple and easy to build, yet the unique roof design gives it character. The best part is that you can put it into a number of settings and decorating around it would be seamless. Of course, it’s probably best suited to a medieval square, don’t you think?

Click the link below to watch the video and see how it’s done!

Watch Video!

What the crazy European kids were into

When I think of my childhood the Ford Pinto comes to mind. That’s because we had one when I was growing up and apparently Dad thought nothing of our safety. But across the pond, LEGO builder Jonathan Elliott tells us that during his childhood, the Mk1 Ford Transit was the ubiquitous thing in the United Kingdom as well as Germany, Belgium, and Holland. It’s still a Ford but apparently far less explosive. In fact, the Ford Transit is so revered out there that the platform is still used today in everything from school buses to police and ambulance applications. Jonathan replicated the shape nicely with this little build proving you don’t need a vanload of pieces to create an accurate LEGO model.

Seas the day

If sailing vessels are your jam, then Simon Pickard has a treat for you. This LEGO microscale galleon packs an impressive amount of detail and shaping, making great use of sloped brick to form both the hull and sails. I like how a round 1×1 plate with bar is combined with a clip plate to give the spirit sail a rakish angle. The display stand is pretty swanky as well. I’ve always been a fan of using the turntable base as a design element, and the varied shades of blue work well to make the sea of 1×1 round plate in transparent blue really pop.

This isn’t the first nautical creation by Simon we’ve featured. The last one was minifigure scaled. Will the next one be micro-micro scale? How small a boat can you make out of LEGO?

The Palm Beach concept that took 1956 by storm

Palm Beach, Florida is known for idyllic beaches, palatial mansions, and Jeffrey Epstein. Wow, that escalated fast! But optimism abounded in the 50s and legendary Italian designer Battista ‘Pinin’ Farina created the Rambler-Nash Palm Beach concept car in 1956. This ended up being one of his most eye-catching concepts and Tim Inman has replicated the design nicely in LEGO. It has all the niceties you can expect from a piece this size; the doors open as well as the hood and the interior is well detailed. Whether it be the thin flex-tube strip along the side, the rounded air intake up front, or the sloping tailfins around back, there is plenty to love about Tim’s creation. Tim has really been on a roll lately as we’ve also featured his Mercedes G550 recently.

We used to build LEGO spaceships and wonder at our place in the stars

Going by the latest reports, Christopher Nolan’s long-awaited Tenet will finally hit big screens less than a month. While we still wait, it might be the best time to re-watch another movie by one of the greatest directors of our time. CheeseyStudios suggests the 2014 epic sci-fi Interstellar. His build of The Endurance spaceship is much more complicated than it looks. Note it consists of 12 sections, which means that the angle between them is 150 degrees. Caleb managed to find just the right piece for this task, giant flex joints.

And if you are interested in the design of the Ranger shuttle, note a brilliant use of ninja swords. Thanks to the curved swords, the otherwise somewhat blocky model becomes very recognizable.

At least it wasn’t just whitewashed

A limited color palette can be tricky to work with in a creation. I’ve done LEGO builds where I only used one color, and it was challenging. Cab ~ here has limited the palette in this cathedral to just three: light bluish grey, transparent red, and transparent yellow. The back-lit stained glass is beautiful, each window unique and telling part of the Easter story, according to the builder, if in an abstracted way. The vaulted ceiling, held together by interior flex tube, looks great, too. It does look a little bland with only grey, however, or maybe just incomplete; so perhaps now that the masons have finished their part, the rest of the artisans can get to work adding paintings, gilded ornaments, and tapestries to outfit the cathedral for its intended purpose, glorifying God.

Like church architecture? Check out some more churches and cathedrals in the TBB archives.