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 dragon works for scale

This elegant LEGO dragon by builder Mitch Phillips is inspired by the red dragons from East Asian mythology that are said to bring good luck and happiness. I think it’s working, as this build makes me happy indeed. I love the elegant curves and the fact that many of the dragon’s scales are made from minifigure flippers. The red fins are complemented by orange Technic teeth as a different texture of scaling. Blue colors in the robot arms fingers and large fins mirror the crown of three-leaf plates in the head.

A closer look at that head reveals the intricate build in the eyes–highlighted by the use of the “One Ring” from the Lord of the Rings theme to add a touch of chromed bling. This dragon is fierce, but also a thing of beauty.

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Fortress of solitude. Also goats.

LEGO builder Jonathan Snyder has built a little something he calls “Solitude.” It’s part of a fortress wall using only two shades of tan and olive green. It proves you don’t need a lot of colors to build something charming. Varied textures created by masonry bricks, hinge plates, jumper plates and door rail plates all help create visually interesting surfaces. Goats also help make things interesting. Whether you’re building cars, spaceships, architecture or airplanes always incorporate goats to make things more interesting. Goats are both the cause and the solution to all our problems. Goats are always the answer. Goats!

Arcade action that’s just dynamite

These days any distraction is a good distraction, and Cecilie Fritzvold brings us a very good distraction, indeed. This awesome LEGO arcade features games that incorporate the dynamite bundle element. There are three of them in the video game, and several in the claw machine–most notably as part of the claw assembly itself. I also want to call out the quality setting for these arcade classics: the flooring has just the right “cheap linoleum” look, and the printed 2×2 tiles on the wall make for excellent posters. And that strawberry malt is just too cute. Man, I really want to try to win something out of that claw machine. It’s probably rigged, though.

If you love claw machines as much as I do, you’ll also want to check out this fully functional human-scale LEGO claw machine.

Build your own horse, Lucky Luke!

What’s even more difficult than creating just the perfect LEGO minifigure for your creation? Crafting the perfect character in a small scale without using minifigures. Well, ok, this build by Marion Weintraut actually uses a lot of minifigure pieces, just not how you’re “supposed” to. The long-running comic strip hero Lucky Luke and his horse Jolly Jumper are wonderfully gangly and full of cartoon whimsy. From the perfectly placed hollow studs for Jolly’s nostrils, to the small slope for Luke’s bandana and the minifigure pirate hook for his cigarette, there are so many techniques to love here.

Although, while I’m always a fan of unorthodox techniques, I do detect a slight twitch in my eye at the way the minifigure arms are connected for Jolly’s tail. Let’s both pretend we didn’t see that, and enjoy the rest of this splendid creation.

This is what we’ve been training for, folks!

I’ve never been a huge train person. I mean, I like trains and all, and love watching them thunder by, and enjoy building elaborate tracks with my kids for those little wooden magnetic trains, but the LEGO train itch has passed me by completely. Perhaps someday I’ll construct a train if I ever get around to building a large-scale city diorama (after I win the lottery or suddenly come into money, to pay for all the bricks), but not until then. Not so for Josiah Durand, as he demonstrates with this superb military train scene. It’s got everything you could want, from a chunky engine to various types of cars, especially that anti-aircraft gun car, and the landscape is also eye-catching.

Unlike with most train dioramas, the tracks are completely brick-built, rather than using the standard track elements. Additionally, the wheels seem to be a combination of wagon wheels, dishes, steering wheels, and other round things, rather than the typical train wheels. The fill-in between the ties and rails is an odd assortment of small, textured dark bluish grey pieces, especially chains and stud shooter triggers (I love seeing those triggers pop up in builds!). The only thing that seems odd is that the ties are grey and the rails brown when usually it is the other way around unless it is such an old track that the wood has greyed and the metal rusted. It’s nothing to get steamed up about, since either way this is still one good looking train display.

Love trains more passionately than I do? Then check out the TBB train archives!

She carries a spare tire with her

A LEGO builder who goes by the name of -Disty- has built a totally rad lady on a futuristic bike. Her hair and outfit give her a cyberpunk feel that is so popular in post-apocalyptic movies. Both the bike and rider are fantastic builds on their own but together it’s a dose of perfection. But what happens if she were to blow a tire? Well, the builder cleverly used an inside-out rubber LEGO tire as her halter top, which presumably she could use in case of a blowout. According to my limited research just now she would thus completely break the law in Utah, Tennessee, Indiana, and parts of Mexico. Some states have ambiguous rules on the matter, some select US cities are OK but in free-thinking Ontario, Saskatchewan, and British Columbia she can totally rock out with the girls out! Way to go, Canada!

I’ve got two big blades and may or may not know how to use them

Meet Dalga, a new LEGO creation by Ron Folkers. He’s a highly armored specialist with dual blades and a pulse cannon. I’m pretty convinced he’s a great white killing machine and a schlub like we wouldn’t stand a chance. However, Ron tells us he’s a newly assembled inexperienced fighter who has not yet known the perils of combat. Still, I’m going to err on the side of assuming his whole head is a deadly weapon and I’ll just take my cookies elsewhere. If you’d like to risk it and stick around, you should check out some of Dalga’s friends.

Have fun storming this castle

If tiny LEGO castles are your jam, then Patrick B. has a treat for you. This 12 x 12 stud microscale masterpiece is full of so many cool parts that you’ll wonder why anyone bothers using standard bricks. The tops of Scala milk cartons make tiny blue tents, a minifigure microphone and tank linkage combine in the cannon, and dark green minifigure epaulets and tooth plates provide some vegetation. The castle itself is also a tiny work of art. If you look close you can spot bucket handles, minifigure hands, neck brackets, and even a basket as the interior of the front gate. And check out the construction on those towers! Quarter circle tiles are wedged into a 2×2 round plate to for the turrets. It’s a connection some might call “illegal” but I call “sweet.”

If you’d like to see how Patrick achieved all this, check out the Instagram post highlighting the build. And if that still isn’t enough great part usage to satisfy you, I should mention this isn’t the first creation of Patrick’s that we’ve featured.

Rattus LEGOlus is a most uncommon rat

In my opinion, rats have earned an unfair reputation… maybe it started with the whole bubonic plague thing, or maybe it’s the fact that they have a tail that looks like a snake. Whatever the reason, I think that we can all agree that this rat by Felix Jaensch is anything but common. The subtle angle on the side of the face is a nice touch, and the underside of a round plate for ears, along with simple sloped parts for the hands and feet are simple but effective.

Deep Woods Off

Heading into the forest? You’d best watch yourself. There are…things in there. Critters. Faeries who don’t take kindly to intrusion. Don’t believe me? I’ve seen ’em! And so has Ted Andes! Captured their likeness in LEGO, even! Those top wings are from 2015’s 76039 Ant-Man Final Battle, and the lower ones are from the 2004 Alpha Team Mission Deep Freeze sets. There’s Knights Kingdom II shoulder armor, and Bionicle Rahkshi Back Cover armor as their legs. Curved Hero Factory blades serve double duty as swords and long hair. This combination of themes seems almost as mythical as these faeries themselves!

A welcome shelter from the cold

If you are traveling across the land in winter, a place to shelter for the night and get out of the cold can be a true treasure. In this scene by Andreas Lenander, a humble stone tower provides a place for weary travelers to escape the harsh temper of winter. The use of stacked mason bricks at the corners provides subtle texture, along with the simple choice of a few green plates. I also love the river breaking out of the base, with some transparent plates to give the brook a babbling appearance.

Drilling beneath the waves, where LEGO comes from

It’s no secret that most LEGO is made from dinosaurs and carboniferous forests. But you have to drill hundreds or even thousands of meters beneath the surface of the earth to pump out that crude pre-LEGO material, often from platforms way out at sea. General Tensai takes bricks back to their source with this incredibly detailed, colorful oil rig that uses countless LEGO pieces in surprising ways. The overall effect is one of large-scale industrial activity full of pipes and conduits, a helipad with brick-built lettering, numerous towers, cranes, and gantries — and even a multi-colored oil slick on the ocean’s surface. But clicking through to the builder’s full-size photo rewards careful examination, from the Technic pump behind the red and white crane to the single minifig leg and yellow parrot projecting below the helipad.