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.

Whatever floats your goat

If you’re like me, you’ve probably lost plenty of sleep wondering if there will be goats in outer space. Thankfully, Andreas Lenander has built a LEGO diorama that ought to squelch our nocturnal worries. It’s a rather neat Goat Transport Facility on Epsilon IV that uses robots and other science-y stuff to make sure the future and outer space still have these lovable and occasionally delicious creatures around to chew your socks or whatever. Amazing details abound whether they be the repetitive use of ingots, well placed tire rims or flex-hoses. My favorite part would have to be the adorable goats in their own floating hermetically-sealed containers. You can say the containers are…totes-ma-goats. Tee hee. Hah! Am I right, people? Hilarious, right? No? OK, I’ll just let myself out. Sorry.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

All aboard the scuttle bus

Can lots of legs get you there faster? One species of centipede is nicknamed the cheetah of the desert, so maybe. I’d like to think that if I had a whole bunch of legs I could rest some while using the others, like the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland. Well this LEGO myriapod, built by Vince Toulouse, doesn’t really have that option. Its 36 pairs of Insectoid legs have places to go and people to carry!

To see more creatures with many legs, check out this this little cutie, or this centipede mech. For the bravest, take a look at a mech from your nightmares.

Beware of the ‘borg

If you haven’t seen Treasure Planet, you must. It’s one of Disney’s most underrated films. And if you have watched it, you can probably pick this guy out from a mile away. John Silver is a partially cyborg version of the classic Long John Silver character from the famous Treasure Island stories, and this LEGO version by Jayfa is an excellent recreation. Using balloon elements to create a rum belly is top-notch parts usage. He also wouldn’t be the same without his little space-goo buddy, Morph.

We’ve featured Jayfa many times on TBB. If you’d like to see more of his exceptional work, check out our archives.

A whaley cool flying creature

If you ever watched Avatar: The Last Airbender, you probably thought that things like flying bison sounded cool. Because bison are cool, and things that fly are even cooler, right? Or perhaps you loved Fantasia 2000, with the flying humpback whales. Whales don’t fly, but wouldn’t it be neat if they did? Perhaps that was the inspiration Tim Schwalfenberg had, as he created this delightful build of one of the great flying whales of the Eastern Cloud Sea, carrying a passenger who could well be from The Last Airbender based on his looks. Rolled up cloth and vinyl elements make for a nice detail on the back, and I always love seeing barrels made from two half-barrels joined together. Add in a spectacular harness, and you have a creation ready to soar above some lands, gallivanting through some airwaves.

We could all use a little Tiki Madness

LEGO builder Paul Hetherington’s creations continue to amaze me. His latest masterpiece, Tiki Madness, draws on one of Paul’s interests outside of LEGO – tiki bars! Whether he’s at home in Vancouver or visiting a new city for a LEGO convention, Mr. Hetherington is always willing to sample a new tiki menu. And you know what, all that – ahem – research, has really paid off here. Tiki Madness would fit into any tiki bar, lounge or room, and tells a fun story too.

The main part of the model is a giant tiki mug, and if I’m not mistaken, the minifigures have tried to drown a giant pirate in it! But little do they know that pirates are especially talented at emptying mugs. Our pirate has clearly found his own mug, and started to drink his way out of there! Storytelling aside, there are some amazing parts usages on display here. For one, he’s incorporated so many different colours. And aside from the colours, a couple parts really stand out. Constractable Obi-Wan’s breastplate has been expertly turned upside down to be a nose, and a handful of white inner Bionicle masks make the perfect teeth.

The UCS Battlestar Galactica Viper MkII is fraking sweet!

If you’re going to be holed up at home for a while, let Davdup’s awesome LEGO Viper MkII render be a reminder that you can rewatch Battlestar Galactica. It’s a great show that drops frak-bombs like it’s nothing. The censors haven’t caught on to it yet so you too can let it fly like a six-year-old at a slumber party. Frakity-frak-frak! See, doesn’t that feel great? I am just fraking enamored over rendering the complex curves achieved with curved slopes of all different sizes. The dark red stripe along the wings and tailfin are spot-on. The tank treads around the afterburners are inspired but the shaping around the nose is my favorite part.

It seems Davdup is quite keen on sci-fi pop culture. He reminds us that, in these difficult times, you can also rewatch The Fifth Element and Blade Runner. Or adversely, if you’re more of a doer than a loafer, then you can build your own fraking thing and maybe we’ll feature it.

This water isn’t the purist I’ve ever had

Not every LEGO creation has to be made exclusively with LEGO bricks. Of course, there are some whose radical purist dogmas forbid anything besides what was intended by The LEGO Group to be used in creations, but they are extremists. Many builders would say that cutting, gluing, or painting go too far, but most other things are okay. And some say that anything goes, as long as the end result looks cool. Now, I’m not sure where Inthert falls among these groups, but this creation transcends mere LEGO and becomes something different with the inclusion of a real-world spray bottle. It may not be the sword of Exact-Zero, or the Polish Remover of Nail, but its incorporation into the build is both genius and surprising.

It seems that Farmer Gary needs to water his field, and has come up with a novel way of distributing the necessary fluids. Will it work? Unlikely. But the build, built for MOC Wars 2020, is great. Check out that weather vane, for example, using an ice skate and a minifig hand. Or the grass, with sand green 1×1 clips. The variation in texture between the building, the path, and the vegetated areas works perfectly, displaying a keen eye for detail. If only Farmer Gary were so keen.

Ce n’est pas un mème

René Magritte had something to say about the treachery of images. And the Matrix film series had a lot to say about the nature of reality. It looks like Timofey Tkachev has some thoughts on this matter, too. I mean, a picture of a LEGO sculpture of a scene from an imaginary world played by a real person? That’s some mind-bending stuff if you think about it enough. (Or maybe this self-isolation is just getting to me.) Regardless, this is one stunning bit of sculptural work. In The Choice, Timofey has once again built with an enviable level of photo-realism. I mean, just look at the shaping in those hands!

My favorite detail is the choice to replace the traditional red and blue pills with appropriately colored 2×4 LEGO bricks. Part of me wishes that one of them was a knock-off brand, though. Just for that added bit of snark.

A serene journey over the falls

LEGO builder Paul Vermeesch comes out of a year-long hiatus to deliver a beautiful scene inspired by the works of Aaron Becker. Becker illustrated three books known collectively as The Journey trilogy, filled with beautiful images but no words. The protagonist travels about a fantasy world armed with a piece of red chalk. With it, she creates various modes of transportation colored red which stand in stark contrast to the dream-like colors of the rest of the illustrations. Paul has captured the feeling of the books beautifully in LEGO, using a limited, earthy color palette and a single red canoe.

One of the things I love about this model is how open, airy and light the whole thing feels. Everything in the scene seems tall and spindly. The building is a fairly simple structure adorned with lovely architectural details including the green half dome at the top. The landscaping is a great combination of sideways building and interesting flora. The tall, thin mushrooms dot the landscape which features some really fantastic trees made from brown flex-tubes, 1×1 round bricks, and olive green leaves. I particularly like the detail of the flags strung up between them on the right.

I’ve seen a lot of treatments of waterfalls, but this one is a bit different. I love the choice to use smooth bricks for the water and the 1×2 clear plates as the foam. It’s a wonderful bit of contrast that adds to the illustrated quality of the piece. In keeping with Becker’s original style, the central focus is the red canoe. Aboard the boat, the sailor looks quite happy even as he’s reaching the edge of the falls. At least it’s not a long drop.

Before skateboarding and punk rock there was Krass and Bernie

LEGO builder Chris Vesque tells us that in a very specific time of his life, before skateboarding, before hip hop, before punk rock, before geeks and fandom…just a bit past Star Wars and Classic Space, there was Krass & Bernie. He goes on to say how CARtoons Magazine and the art of George Trosley captured his imagination and his funny bone. Krass and Bernie is a comic penned by Trosley about two car customizing enthusiasts who are short on good sense but long in creativity and ingenuity. Their misadventures often culminate in something as ridiculous and over-the-top as this dragster-beetle. The beefy tires, the blown V-8 and the Beetle that seems to defy gravity are the stuff that can only exist in CARtoon dreams. I’m smitten! Whether it be the screaming hand Santa Cruz skateboarding logo or the Beastie Boys License to Ill album cover we’ve been smitten with Chris’ counterculture LEGO stuff before.

Yes, you can take it with you

When you want your coffee “to go”, Breado’s Bricks has you covered. This compact LEGO brewer can fit in your pocket! I mean, you probably wouldn’t want to do that. But you could. That’s all I’m saying.

Like other offerings from this builder, there’s extensive use of custom silvered elements to bring a shine to things. But don’t overlook the “standard” LEGO elements in there, too. I like the use of the compass-print 1×1 tile (From the Collectible Minifigure Hiker) and the 1×1 round gauge tile as indicators.

My coffee orders tend to err on the side of “does that come in gallon jugs?” so maybe this isn’t an ideal size for my personal use. But it sure would free up some space in my kitchen.

Stunningly large microscale model of Burj Khalifa

At first glance, this LEGO model of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai could be mistaken for the official set… wait, who am I kidding? there’s no possible way you could confuse this incredible model by Rocco Buttliere for the LEGO set made with only 333 pieces.

There are so many great details that I’m not sure where to start. How about with the inner ring at the base of the model, which uses circular roller-coaster tracks to create a faceted plaza between all three spurs of the building.

Rocco also creates large trees that match the look of the tiny trees made from green flower parts.

Along with the many stunning architectural details like the symmetrical recessed circular gardens, and the gently curving buildings along the edge of the model and the multiple sloped and terraced plazas, the three tapering spurs capture the look of this iconic landmark beautifully.