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.

Experience the unspeakable horror of the Old Gods

I am a huge fan of Lovecraft’s writing — and horror in general — so imagine my delight in seeing Revan New‘s latest spooky LEGO creation. This crumbling manor hides eldritch secrets that would render the casual viewer mad as a hatter! The building is architecturally beautiful with its front columned entrance and central tower. I really like the builder’s use of sideways building to bridge the area between the main building and the upper tower piece. The multiple roof treatments are quite nice too. The two smaller side roofs have a pleasing shape and the central domed roof is just beautiful. The landscaping serves the scene well by sticking with muted earth tones to continue the theme. The whole scene reminds one of an abandoned mausoleum, which is not a bad comparison when you’re trying to evoke a scary atmosphere.

Of course, no tribute to Lovecraft would be complete without an eldritch, tentacled creature. Read on to see what horrifying secrets await inside

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Although it’s not an official LEGO element, I can safely say this build is one-hundred percent purrist

When I first took a glance at this scene by Eero Okkonen a week ago, I assumed the glowing eyes of the monster, called Uku-Li by the builder, were simply the result of some interesting building techniques, lit up by a light from below. Interesting? Yes. Technique? Maybe. Built from LEGO bricks? No, because as I realized upon closer inspection, that is indeed an actual cat back there, in fact, it’s the builder’s newest cat, Ukuli.

Star of the show aside, I always love to see modern takes on old LEGO themes, this particular build is a modernization of the Orient Expedition subtheme of the Adventurers line. We can see Johnny Thunder on the right, evidenced by his signature hat, Dr. Charles Lightning at the center, and Pippin Reed taking photos on the left. And don’t miss the use of a Duplo grass piece as vegetation in the top right corner.

Plot your course to Leviathan

I love to see LEGO parts used in innovative ways, as well as LEGO creations that are just a bit different from what you normally see. This map by alego alego hits the target for both of those things for me. While the 1-to-1 map and accessories aren’t huge by LEGO model standards, they’re all jam-packed with detail and nice parts usage. The map itself is a simple mosaic, including a well-integrated circular compass rose, as well as appropriate printed tiles. The perfectly sized black compass case is very simply represented by the Vader pod piece. My favourite details are the hilts of chrome knives used as pins on the map, and the subtle use of these rock/claw pieces as wax piling up at the bottom of the candle. What creative part usage can you spot?

LEGO Masters presents: Superbaby and the hairball heist

This week LEGO Masters contestants and newlyweds Tyler Clites and his wife Amy may have predicted their future. It entails a huge baby demanding all their time/energy/milk and attention and a few cats who might like equal billing. But a ferocious monster cat emerges from beneath the floor tiles and is hellbent on defeating Superbaby and…whatever else monster cats are into. This mini version of their real-life entry demonstrates why parents and pet owners can’t have nice things. If it sounds like the makings of a comedy-monster movie that’s because it is. Last week’s challenge was about movie genre mash-ups and all the entries were just as wild and unpredictable. The show has been a madcap rollercoaster ride so far so be sure to catch LEGO Masters tonight at 9pm on FOX to see what trouble Tyler, Amy, and the other contestants will get into next.

Be sure to also check out our extensive coverage of LEGO Masters and the show’s contestants, celebrity host, and judges.

Take the twins on a nine-second road trip

There’s nothing like taking the family and the pets on a scenic road trip. On second thought, leave them at home, there is no room for them in a Tommy Ivo dragster anyway. And if you’re soaking in the beautiful sights along the way, then boy are you doing it wrong! Ian Ying has built a LEGO version of TV Tommy’s legendary Twin Buick AA Dragster and the result is…well, legendary. The real thing has broken several world records including being the first gasoline-powered dragster to break the nine-second barrier. I’m sure this LEGO version must break a few records like…um…best use of custom chromed-out motorcycle rims or something. Whether it be the copious amounts of chrome or its aggressive stance, I’m pretty smitten with the whole kit and kaboodle. But then again, I would be. It would seem Ian is an up-and-coming builder to watch out for because here are the other times his stunning creations has made our hearts flutter.

A magical adult beverage

You may have heard of the Green Fairy associated with Absinthe, but did you know that Guinness has a fairy, too? Perched atop a foamy brew, this red-headed sprite is ready to promote all sorts of questionable decision making.

Okay, maybe I made all that up. And maybe that’s just root beer. But something makes me think this drink is higher octane than that. Only LEGO builder Timofey Tkachev knows for sure.

Built for the Fairybruary contest on DoubleBrick, Timofey has used garage door panels and ice cream scoops to bring the beverage to life. The fairy has some interesting part usage, too, including more of those garage door panels and even Unikitty tails.

My only concern really, is that she’s decided to sit directly in the beer. That can’t be sanitary.

A true inhabitant of the Perilous Realm

If you are anything like me and were raised watching plenty of Disney movies, your idea of what a fairy looks like is probably skewed towards Tinkerbell. That is, a relatively benign, miniaturized, and heavily sexualized female (big breasts, tiny waist, long legs, etc.) that hangs out in bushes or around flowers. Now, that’s all well and good, I suppose, for those who get their kicks that way, but it leaves out an enormous portion of the realm of Faerie. LEGO builder Alexey Tikhvinsky gets it. Eschewing the dainty feminine for something that reminds me of the Polynesian culture in Moana (I told you I’ve watched plenty of Disney movies), Alexey has created something with wings (like Tink), garbed in plants (also like Tink), and holding a spear (not like Tink). The stormy eyes paint a picture of something definitely not benign if the spear didn’t clue you in first. This is the real Faerie. Don’t mess with it. It isn’t called the Perilous Realm for nothing.

Carrey on my wayward son

The 1990s are a golden age of under-appreciated comic book movies. Sure, just about everyone loves the 1992 Batman flick, but what about Mystery Men? Or Darkman? Or, better still, 1994’s The Mask? Based on the Dark Horse comics of the same name, Jim Carrey starred as a wisecracking, fourth-wall-breaking, indestructible anti-hero. Sort of the Deadpool before Deadpool. Pistash has recreated one The Mask’s most meme-able images in LEGO, and it’s just as expressive as the movie version. (Or its animated inspiration.)

Some standout bits of construction include the use of a zebra-print tile for a handkerchief, and what I think are FreeStyle wheel pins for pupils. And there lots of curved slopes in magenta for the tongue. But I bet you noticed that bit for yourself.

Let’s end with a bit of oddball trivia I discovered while researching this post. I mentioned the Mask’s similarities to Deadpool earlier, right? Well, in 1988 Jim Carrey had a role in The Dead Pool. Eerie foreshadowing or just a stupid coincidence? You make the call.

Why should the Empire always get the cool ships?

While brainstorming ideas for my own entry to the Assemble the Fleet Contest, I went down a bit of an internet rabbit hole of ships and concept art from lesser-known Star Wars video games. Among them was the Assault Frigate Mark II, only seen in the Star Wars: Empire at War RTS games, which I took one look at and dismissed as impossible to recreate in LEGO due to it’s almost entirely rounded shape. A few weeks later, to my dismay and excitement, The Brickforce proved me very wrong with his beautiful microscale rendition of the ship.

Making good use of the multitude of new rounded, angled, and sloped pieces LEGO has released the past few years, the builder has managed to skillfully recreate the rounded form of the ship, with minimal gaps between the bricks for a smooth look. The splashes of color top complete the build, both incorporated into the complex shaping of the hull and in the Nebulon-B-esque pod array coming off the bottom of the vessel.

A rover made for relaxing

February is over, and LEGO builders who participated in the month-long building challenge known as Febrovery even got a bonus day with this leap year. Several rovers have been featured here on TBB this month, but this open-topped model by Anthony Wilson instantly caught my eye, mostly with the presence of something not usually seen in space exploration vehicles, a tree, and a very nicely sculpted one at that. I would say this tree-topped rover was a breath of fresh air.

Santa Maria del Fiore – a Florentine cathedral to lift the spirit

When the master builders of the Renaissance were building things from bricks, they were not using ABS plastic like LEGO master builders do today. They were building with marble, constructing some of the most beautiful buildings ever built. The proportions, the balance, the arrangement of the different elements were intended to raise the hearts and spirits of those visiting to an experience of the supernatural. Scaled down and converted from marble to ABS, those same buildings remain awe-inspiring. Take this model of Santa Maria del Fiore, the cathedral of Florence, Italy. Perhaps bricksandtiles is not Arnolfo di Cambio or Filippo Brunelleschi, some of the men who designed various parts of it (the cathedral was under construction from 1296 until 1436, when the dome was completed and the church was consecrated, so lots had their hand on it), but nonetheless this LEGO version is spectacular in its own right.

The famed octagonal dome is built from countless rounded 1×2 plates, mimicking the tiled roof splendidly. Sand green grille tiles serve as green marble borders to the intricate multicolored inlays on the real thing. But there is a lot more inlaying of sand green with the white, brick built all over the place. With the tower and the baptistry, the whole structure is a massive LEGO build, worthy of the UNESCO World Heritage site.

Of course, this is not the first version of the cathedral featured on The Brothers Brick; check out another LEGO Florence cathedral we featured last year.

TBB cover photo for March 2020: Bricks, bricks never change

This Fallout homage by Ralf Langer captures that moment you step out of the vault perfectly (and such a memorable moment it is in every game). Between the desolate landscape and the lonely billboard, it’s hard not to think of the better times before nuclear war, but let’s look at the positive side of things. Take a close look and you’ll spot many details that bring this Fallout scene to life — from the tires and exposed wires surrounding the vault entrance, the tears in the billboard leaving exposed boards, and the subtle curvature of the desertscape (we’ll be watching your Instagram for your technique reveal). The simple yet awe-inspiring contrast between the vault and the open world drew us to this image for March’s cover photos on The Brothers Brick social channels.

Want to see your own LEGO creation featured across TBB social media for a month? Then read the submission guidelines and submit your photo today. Photos that do not meet the submission guidelines will not be considered, and will be removed from the group.

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