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.

Take a glance at the fancy ant

Around my house, especially in the summertime, killing ants becomes a hobby. There are lots of different sizes and colors coming in and trying to eat the piles of food that my kids drop on the floor during meals — big, small, red, brown, and black. But I smush them all. R 194 appears to have a different view on ants, one that is decidedly more pleasant and whimsical. Instead of a voracious intruder, we get a curious explorer, lighting up its way with a lantern, ready to dig with a shovel and pick, and investigating with the magnifying glass. The mandibles look spot on with the tooth elements, and the antennae are perfect made with paint rollers. The shaping on the head and the articulation of the joints looks great, and I love the delightful yellow boots on the hindmost feet. But I still don’t like ants in my house.

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.

Meanwhile, on the Satellite of LEGO...

The Brothers Brick contributor Chris Doyle once again builds something based on Mystery Science Theater 3000. What’s his excuse this time?

Some may call it a creative rut. I prefer to think of it as “finding my groove.” I had a blast building characters from the TRY Channel, and thought MST3k would be a great theme to continue with. It’s no secret that I’m a huge nerd when it comes to LEGO versions of MST3k things, and when a table-scrap of Tom Servo “just happened”, I knew it was too late to turn back. And, soon enough, Joel and Crow T. Robot had joined him on a stage based on the Season 2(ish) Satellite of Love.

This banana bike is quite apeeling

Building custom creations with LEGO is the perfect way to combine many passions and interests in endless combinations. This model of a classic Honda “monkey” bike (a series of minibikes nicknamed for the appearance of drivers hunched over the handlebars) by ianying616 is a very detailed model, complete with some custom chromed parts for the engine and handlebars, and what looks like a working suspension.

Besides the builder’s obvious passion for classic motor vehicles, they are also a Star Wars fan, as evidenced by their choice of riders for this bold bike. I don’t think the Emperor would approve of such a frivolous and flashy ride.

“If ye like the nut, crack it!” Also hockey sticks.

My plan for this article; no matter what the title shall be, I’d add “also hockey sticks” beside it. This build had me searching the interwebs for a snappy Scottish proverb and I found “if ye like the nut, crack it”, which roughly translates to; if you like the reward then you must accept the effort involved to achieve it. A fitting proverb for any LEGO builder, although I see now that a choice of words involving cracking nuts and hockey sticks can be a rather tender subject juxtaposed with a guy in a kilt. But my own inner coding states that if hilarity ensues, even unintentionally, then go with it. That may or may not have been the motivation for Eero Okkonen when he built this charming Highland Shepherd.

Everything from the bottom of his brògan to the top of his tam o’shanter is all Scottish Highlander. That epic beard consists of the aforementioned hockey sticks, which is not a Scottish invention but can crack some nuts if given the effort. Consider yourselves rewarded.

TRYfecta. (Even more drunk LEGO building from Chris Doyle)

It’s been a while since I’ve been to a LEGO convention, but years ago, after the public went home, there were all sorts of “unsanctioned, after-hours” events for attending adults. Of those, “drunken speed building” was always a fun time. Or at least, I think it was a fun time. I honestly don’t remember a lot of details. Possibly because I was participating in drunken speed builds. Ah, youth. Anyway. What were we talking about? Oh yeah, drunk LEGO building.
Recently, the TRY Channel featured a bunch of Irish comedians getting drunk. Pretty common video topic for them. But immediately afterwards, they challenged the same folks to try their hand at building LEGO sets. I’ve already shared my LEGO-versions of two of the sets of TRYers. Today we finish up the series with Jamie Jay Car and Shannon Keenan‘s attempt to build set 75946 – Hungarian Horntail Triwizard Challenge. Like the other folks in the video, they do their best, but success wasn’t really in the cards for them. Shannon was pretty frustrated with the set from the get go, even “accidentally” tearing up the instruction book. Jamie gave it an honest go, but eventually just gave in to the chaos and started putting stickers all over his face. Good times.

I wanted to bring some new elements to this set of characters. Jamie’s shocked expression meant leaving behind the Mixel eyes I’d been using on everyone else, and going with 2×2 radar dishes. And black hot dogs for his eyebrows, because sometimes 1×2 tiles just aren’t enough. Shannon’s ash-blonde hair was a challenge for me, as no shade of LEGO brick really captured it right. I went through a couple of variations before giving in and ordering the parts I needed in dark tan. The torn instruction booklet is the insert from a Harry Potter collectible mini-figure. Sometimes, sacrifices must be made.

I’m looking forward to an excuse to build more members of the TRY channel in this format. At my age, it’s safer than getting involved in drunken speed builds of my own. Maybe. (When’s the next convention again?)

Taking flight

LEGO element 2417, the 6×5 plant leaf, is a part that lends itself well to multiple uses. Many go the traditional route and use it as part of a tree. Sometimes it winds up as part of an alien creature. My favorite uses, though, are when a builder takes a bunch of them and creates complex patterns. Azurekingfisher is a builder who has shown great skill in this area before. But today, they take that skill-set and apply it at an entirely new level. In White Bird the geometric shapes have been joined with sculptural elements to create a bird that is simply stunning.

The bird’s body has some nice part usage as well, bringing in textures from parts like open-stud 1×1 round plates for the eyes, and a turntable base on the chest. The touch of gold from the tooth plates as claws adds just a touch of opulence to the build. If this is just a step in Azurekingfisher’s building career, I can’t wait to see where they head next.

The Dark Side of nice part usage

Versatile as LEGO bricks are, sometimes there are pieces that are just…challenging…to work with. There are common but annoying parts like big ugly rock pieces. There are wacky things like a rare Duplo stand from a short-lived licensed theme. Whatever the case, it takes a special kind of builder to take these elements and see them in new ways. A kind of part mastery. Some might even say….Jedi mastery. For example, LEGO builder Logan W. has taken the normally single-purpose Bionicle Midak Skyblaster cannon and incorporated it into an impressive replica of Darth Vader’s iconic lightsaber. The cannon forms the emitter shroud, while the hilt is made from strips of black tile connected to octagonal bar frames and a Technic racing wheel rim.

Logan was inspired by a Two-Piece-Only lightsaber created by The Igzer. The two pieces in use there are the aforementioned Midak Skyblaster cannon and a bit of Bionicle shoulder armor. If you’re looking for a minimalist approach to Jedi weaponry, you should check that build, too!

Escape the mecha and spaceships of our society and build a cabin in the woods

Inspired by the book Walden; or Life in the Woods, Andrea Lattanzio escapes from the fast food restaurants and gas stations (and futuristic rovers!) of the modern world into the wilds through his latest build. I wonder if Thoreau, the main character of the aforementioned book, would choose LEGO as his outlet instead of escaping to the wild if he had lived in modern time?

The diorama captures everything a self-sufficient cabin in the woods would have (including a bit of the woods). The textures and little imperfections on the cabin capture the hand-crafted appearance very well, most notably the tiles on the roof pressed down only half way and the window with a half-plate offset in its top and bottom halves. The pine trees are done quite well, with leaf elements placed at convincing angles on the central axis. The use of the old tree stump piece adds a lot to the atmosphere, as do the inspired choices of gray homemaker hair part as a stone and brown stud shooters in the dead tree on the right side of the diorama.

Space is brighter than you think

Too much sci-fi is brooding and dark and grey. If we develop the technology to travel amongst the stars, surely we’ll carry a sense of optimism towards those infinite horizons? What better way to signal our positive attitude than to bedeck our spaceships in bright cheerful livery? Scott Willhelm‘s bright blue LEGO starfighter fairly bursts off the screen — a neat little model, with a striking colour scheme, in a nicely-presented image. Beneath the bright plating, there’s a dark grey chassis, festooned with functional-looking greebly details, but it’s the blue, and the purple and white striping, which captures the eye.

(Okay, maybe the overall message of hope in our interstellar future is undermined by us having single-seater weapons platforms flying around. But at least they’ll LOOK friendly.)

A parade of Christmas characters

Yes, ok, the stores have had their festive decorations up since the morning after Halloween, and you’re already sick to the back teeth of Christmas music. Still, if these little guys don’t melt your heart and bring some festive cheer to your soul, you’re dead inside. Koen Zwanenburg has put together a collection of LEGO Christmas characters to get us all in the mood for the holiday season. These models are an absolute delight — super-cute, and simple enough looking that they’re bound to inspire people to build their own versions. However, I’m sure this apparent simplicity is the result of painstaking hours spent on each model to get it just right — such elegance only arises from effort. I like all of these, but the Nutcracker Soldier is a standout — just look at that moustache! Perfect.

These are in the same style as Koen’s previous cute cuddly toy LEGO creations, and make for a wonderful festive addition to the collection.

Winter in the Shire

“In a hole in the snow there lived a Hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell… No, this hole was warm and snug, a cozy place in which Bilbo could thaw his toes after a wintery walk.” Patrick B. has created the perfect little winter scene from the Shire, with a hobbit hole covered in snow. The sledge is nice little creation, as is the snow-clad tree atop the mound, but be sure to zoom in on the hobbit dwelling’s frontage — the windows are lovely, and I particularly like the reversed plates used for the door, a surprising but effective choice.

Catch the Pokemon Magnemite before your TV goes on the fritz [Instructions]

Is your radio going all static-y? Are your lights flickering? Do you feel a slight tingling in your dental fillings? Are your pets acting all weird, I mean weirder than usual? Paranormal enthusiasts will say that you have ghosts, astrologers will tell you that we’re going into Mercury Retrograde but Pokemon Go players may cite that a disturbance in the electro-magnetic flux just might be the presence of a Magnemite, and you’d better catch it quick before it wreaks havoc on your fridge magnets. Builder Poke Bricks is totally into Pokemon (no, seriously, it’s true!) and we just might see a lot more brick-built Pokemon creatures in their photostream soon.

Want a Magnemite of your own? Then follow this step-by-step video to make it happen.