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.

Now I know my A B Cs...

…Next time won’t you sing with me? With several toddlers roaming the hardwood, I sing the alphabet song frequently around my house. It’s a classic. That also seems to be what Dave Kaleta is singing with this gorgeous poster shot of all of his alphabet starfighters, built out of LEGO in collaboration with his young son. We have featured several of them on their own, like B and C, among others, but all together they are gorgeous.

And while we usually don’t promote contests here at The Brothers Brick, I can’t resist pointing out that Dave really is inviting you to sing the space alphabet song with him by entering your own alphabet starfighter into his contest (clicking the image below will bring you to the rules). It ends May 9th, by the way, so you have time to get some entries in!

See details of a few starfighters not seen before on TBB

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Boo! Scared you

Emotion is one of those things that really brings us to life. It really brings LEGO characters to life too, take Oliver Becker’s scared man. The emotion he’s currently feeling, some combination of fear and surprise is communicated clearly through with some expert parts usage. Most noticeable is perhaps the bush as his hair, standing up in fright. Moving down the face you can maracas as his pupils centered in his eyes, bulging out of his face. The piece that really ties it all together is the 1×1 technic brick has is an open mouth. Dinosaur tail/neck pieces are used in both black and white as his outstretched limbs, and his open hands are well represented with hot dog buns for palms and skeleton arms for fingers. I hope he wasn’t holding on to anything before he jumped back in shock!

How about a life-sized Britten V-1000 motorcycle?

What are you doing with your time? If you answered anything other than building a life-sized motorcycle out of LEGO then let me stop you now. Because Australian builder Ryan McNaught and his team has done just that. Cool, right? It’s probably way cooler than whatever the hell you’re doing right now. But before you go wallowing into a swirling cesspool of self-doubt and despair, let me point out that Ryan is a LEGO Certified Professional. He does this kind of stuff for a living, so that is why he builds such cool things. Toyco in Auckland asked them to build something special for their big store event and this is the result. Ryan tells us that “The Britten V-1000 motorcycle is not only a record-breaking piece of revolutionary engineering, but it is also a Kiwi icon and a testament to the vision of a single man.” Wow, I guess not being tied down to anyone-in-particular has its benefits. So now you can feel less sad about your lonely, uncool existence. See, it’s a post with a positive message!

While you’re mulling that over, here is a close-up of just some of the engine and organic exhaust pipes in detail. Toyco is holding a local contest to guess the exact amount of LEGO pieces this motorcycle contains. That figure is still confidential but based on this close-up I’m going to take a well-educated guess and state 42 pieces. Come on, Ryan, am I even close? You can tell me!

The portal drew him onward

Out for a walk in the forest, and you stumble across an ancient inter-dimensional portal. What to do, what to do? Only one thing for it — grab your gear and see where it takes you. Andreas Lenander‘s LEGO portal gate is nicely weathered, creating a sense of age and decay, and the tree is wonderfully gnarly and twisted — a result of it being constructed mostly from minifigure lasso pieces. However, the eyes are drawn inexorably to the glowing blue portal, a collection of around 600 stacked lightsaber blades, backlit to create a stunning effect. It looks great, but I dread to think what happens when Andreas tries to move this thing!

Back in brick

Forty years old this July, and AC/DC’s Back In Black remains the greatest rock album of all time. I’m happy to fight you if you say otherwise. Whatever your opinion on the album, I hope you agree this is a pretty damn good LEGO sculpture of the band’s iconic guitarist Angus Young, captured here in his trademark school uniform by Pedro Vezini. The cap, the skewed tie, the shorts, the socks, the duck-walk stance — all spot-on. But my favorite touch is the face, perfectly capturing Angus’ over-the-top on-stage grimaces. If you’re not hearing hefty riffs in your head right now, then there’s something wrong with you. I prescribe an hour of AC/DC listening as a little pick-me-up.

Annie are you OK? We’ll never know if Annie was OK

We’ll never know if Annie is doing “OK” despite the few hundred times that Michael Jackson asked the very same question. What we do know is the signature moonwalk move by the King of Pop that’s moulded into our minds decades later. This micro build of the moonwalk in action perfectly angled by the 1×1 tile with clip by Joeri Ridder coupled with the tip of the fedora is the embodiment of how a simple looking dance moves together with the right beats can impact a generation of music.

It takes a village to make a village

I’ve recently started being interested in the idea of collaborative LEGO builds. Everyone does their part and they all come together to create an amazing piece of art. Such is the case with The Village of Thornefeld a terrific medieval village collaboration from Cole Blood, Timothy Shortell, Grant Davis, Eli Willsea, James Libby and Jake Hansen.

I had the pleasure of seeing this model in person at Bricks Cascade. Photographs can never quite capture the grandness of these large creations, but it was joy to see up close. What’s incredible about this build, besides it’s huge size and masterful execution, is the cohesiveness of the whole thing. Each builder worked within a tight color scheme and used matching rock styles to make all the sections mesh seamlessly. I love the way the ground slopes slowly upward, creating a wonderful rolling landscape and various levels. This is great territory for storytelling which each builder does nicely, creating a bustling village that’s full of life.

Exceedingly painful to step on

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s yet another post about COVID-19. But I think it’s safe to say that this LEGO build by Oliver Becker has brought virus-inspired creations to a new (microsopic) level. Oliver is a country doctor in northern Germany, so he seems particularly qualified to create this sort of model. Scientific accuracy has never been quite this scary.

We here at the Brothers Brick hope everyone is staying safe, practicing social distancing, and washing your hands. And just like you, we’re looking forward to the day when this sort of build is “historical” rather than “topical”.

On legs of steel through the American southwest

It’s been many many years since we’ve seen any LEGO creations in the fan-created “Tech West” theme. The theme mashes up LEGO space and western, with a dash of steampunk, with a heavy dose of Serenity and Wild Wild West. Although builder captainsmog may label this “Colonial Futurist” but I’m personally transported back to 2004 rather than an alternate 1874. What I love most about the stagecoach is how the detailed robotic legs move just like horse legs. This is no horseless carriage — the horse is just mechanical. Similarly, notice how the front of the speeder bikes ridden by the marauding bandits are shaped like horses’ heads.

A slick Sanctum for Stephen Strange

I’m a sucker for superhero movies. I love the superpowers, the epic explosions, the over-the-top bad guys, and even the mysterious hideouts that shelter the heroes. One such hideout is Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum (Latin for Holy of Holies), a building on Bleeker Street in New York City that serves as both a storehouse for mystic artifacts and a node for protecting the Earth from enemy attacks. Anders Horvath has built a beautiful rendition of the Sorcerer Supreme’s lair, in the style and scale of LEGO’s Creator Expert modular buildings. In fact, it would fit right into your collection at home. It is based on official LEGO set 76108 Sanctum Sanctorum Showdown but upscaled to a point where it is a whole new thing. The interior is lovely, too, so you should check out the album on Flickr. I love the appearance of a microscale Disney Castle, as well as the different weapons on racks. Based on the residents, I’m not positive the Masters of the Mystic Arts still use the place (though they left behind an Infinity Stone), but at least you can get a sandwich or slice of pizza next door!

One bug you want to catch

Here’s a gentle reminder that there’s still beauty to be found in nature. Japanese builder Takamichi Irie shares a lovely LEGO rendition of a cicada. I really admire the fragile construction of the wings. Whips, bar holders, tubing, and minifigure hands combine in a delicate symphony of nice part usage.

Reading up on cicada’s life cycle, I’m reminded that many varieties spend most of their lives underground, only emerging once a year. Some don’t even appear for 13 years or more. There’s something familiar about that right now. Can’t quite put my finger on it, though.

If you like this bug, be sure to read our interview with Takamichi. This builder has been making amazing insects for a long time.

Really, it’s just a classic invasion scenario

It seems like the old ways aren’t quite forgotten yet, and they’re not about to go quietly, either. In this diorama by Carter Witz, an alliance of Lion Knights, Royal Knights, and Forestmen are invading a modern City hamlet. It looks like the classic army has embraced some new tech, though, as one of the Forestmen rides a new-style horse, and both sides of the clash are built with excellent modern techniques.

In fact, don’t let the amusing storyline cause you to overlook the details in this build, which is rife with complex approaches to achieve its polished look. From the carrot tops embedded in the building’s wall to the upside-down teeth above the windows, Carter spared no expense to make the scene come to life.