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.

Call it Leviathan

Many LEGO fans talk about hunting for their white whale – that one set they’ve been searching for all their lives. This is, of course, an allusion to Captain Ahab’s ultimately fatal obsession with finding an actual white whale in Moby Dick (do 168 year old books need spoiler warnings?). It would seem that that fairy tale whale is still out there hunting ships, as Oliver Becker demonstrates.

Has the white whale grown to such an immense size to dwarf the ship? Or is she a regular-sized whale and it’s the ship that’s actually tiny? We’ll never know for sure, but we do know that there’s some excellent parts usage at play here. Dead center in the frame of the shot is a white lever base, expertly used as the whale’s eye. I really love the swords with jagged edges used to create a splash – those few parts convey the creature’s movement. And it’s a big splash, so maybe it really is a larger-than-life whale.

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Gringotts just got hit by a reducio spell

Building in microscale requires a special skill set. One must have an eye for simplification of textures along with a firm grasp of the essentials of whatever it is. Eli Willsea has that skill, as this tiny (yet still large) rendition of Gringotts bank from Harry Potter demonstrates. I am guessing it comes from the first film, as there is a recognizable Hagrid down in the vaults, alongside what I suppose to be Harry and a goblin. Everything one would need for Gringotts is there, from the columns to the large dome, along with the crazy tracks for the carts in the depths beneath. My one complaint is that the columns on the front-corner facade are too straight, lacking the signature tilts seen in the films.

The rock pillars beneath the street are impressive, built in sideways rings and then threaded onto Technic axles, allowing them to spin around into different configurations. This is great, because it means that you can build the same shape a bunch of times and have it look different depending on how it is angled. The cars down on the tracks are delightfully simple, consisting of droid arms and round 1×1 tiles with bar and pin holders. The cart up on the street above-ground is also inspired, making brilliant use of wands on sprue to give delicate texture to the rails. It’s also being pulled by something skeletal (a thestral, perhaps?). This was originally built for our own Harry Potter Microscale Magic competition, but Eli failed to complete the photography in time. While that is too bad, it is certainly better late than never!

The Cybertruck and the collective gasp heard around the world

When Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk unveiled the Cybertruck recently the world let out a collective sigh of…what the hell were you thinking? Elon himself even uttered an unpublishable expletive when a shatter-proof test didn’t go as well as planned. While the electric pickup indeed boasts some rather impressive stats, (like winning a tug-of-war with a Ford F-150, ranging 250-500 miles without charging and doing 0-60 mph in 2.9 seconds) the overall angular design resembles something out of a bad 80’s movie. Quickly the jokes and memes flourished with a common theme being a kid could have drawn it. I’m pretty sure ten year old me made quite a few concept drawings that were similar to it. No stranger to dreaming up concept automotive designs both in childhood and adulthood is Ford engineer and prolific LEGO car builder Peter Blackert. While he is also aware of the jokes, Peter is an opportunistic builder who sees the positive in a lot of things, even this Cybertruck.

As odd as it may be, Peter captures the shape very nicely as evidenced by this particular digital render.

Just for fun, Peter has also rendered a Classic Space version!

Admittedly, the Cybertruck is like nothing else Tesla has to offer. Elon and his companies specialize in shaping the future and, according to him anyway, the shape of the future is a throwback from the 80’s. After getting over the initial shock, some, including Peter, have warmed up to the design. Should we trust his instincts and follow suit? As an automotive engineer and a passionate, prolific LEGO car builder Peter surely knows a thing or two about automotive design and what the future may hold.

A spider worth thrashing with

When you see a spider crawling around, is your first inclination to use the power of your shoes? What if I told you you could be snuffing out the next ace arachnid guitar player like Grayson M‘s Sid the Spider. He looks frighteningly awesome, right down to his studded jacket, sharp-looking shoes, and classic red and white guitar. He even has a golden ring on one of his left legs; that’s so eight-legged metal!

It’s right on the tip of my tongue, too!

When I first saw this post-apocalyptic build by SweStar one little word came to mind but, wouldn’t you know, I plum forgot it just as I was about to mention it. It’s a little one syllable nonsense word. Gosh darn it, the ol’ noggin isn’t what it used to be! Let’s see, there is a rather leggy mech, a black cat, a garbage can on fire and a mysterious figure with a papoose but none of that is helpful, really. I swear, I’d forget the nose on my face if it wasn’t right in front of me! Sometimes I walk into a room and forget why I did it. Has that ever happened to you? What the heck was the little word I was thinking of? Oh, well. With my luck, It’ll probably come to me just as I’m falling asleep. I hate it when that happens!

Spinner from Blade Runner takes off in a blast of steam

The gritty vision of a major metropolitan city after a mass-migration off-world is just one of the stunning visual elements in Ridley Scott’s Blade Runner. What is left behind is a world filled with the poor and downtrodden remnants of humanity struggling to eke out a living among crumbling infrastructures, lawlessness and an everyone-for-themselves dystopia. But at least they have flying cars, as depicted in this wonderfully detailed LEGO scene built by Keiichi Kamei. Keiichi’s scene features the classic flying car more commonly referred to as the Spinner, which is how the few police that are still around get a bird’s eye view of the city. It’s also perfect for dropping in and out of potentially dangerous situations.

The builder uses custom stickers to give the police vehicle it’s signature details, and I love the brick-and-slope-built steam clouds that really give the scene a dynamic aesthetic.

A happy crew on board the IEV Sunshine

Females make up half of the world’s population and many of all ages tell us they love building with LEGO. Yet why is it so rare that they are featured on The Brothers Brick? It’s not like we’re putting blinders on to their work, we purposefully seek out anyone building cool things with LEGO and yet the lady builder is somewhat of a rarity, even among our own staff. Rarer still is the lady builder who has designed spaceships. We see plenty of guys build spaceships, a casual perusal through our articles will confirm that, and some build with a single-minded devotion, like this dude here. Usually a spaceship builder’s write-up highlights payload capacity, armament, weaponry, and thrust and we follow suit with our articles; they build them, we write about them, the world spins and life goes on. But when someone like Malin Kylinger builds a spaceship we sit up and take notice. The reasons go far beyond the usual nice parts usage and visually pleasing aesthetics.

Click here to learn more.

What comes of building your house on sand

LEGO geometry typically involves lots of right angles. There’s really only so much you can do with a product that is based on a brick. However, that squareness need not be pejorative and can serve instead as an inspiration to mess with expectations. That is what this temple by Jaap Bijl does. While the building itself is based on the good old ninety degree paradigm, it is set crooked to skew the perception of the creation. Is it being swallowed by sand? Probably. This is likely the perfect example of what happens to a building built on sand, rather than solid rock. Foundations matter, people!

The build uses surprisingly little studs-on-top construction, as the steps are built sideways, most of the facade consists of tiles, and the beautiful blue stripe is being all kinds of SNOTty (or Studs-Not-On-Top-y). Then there is the dome on top, which is also studs-every-which-way. My favorite bit, though, is probably the texture of the tan area between the sections of dark tan and blue stripes, as well as above the doorway; the jumper plates and regular plates make for a very cool look, just like uneven weathered brick. The decay of the structure is lovely, even if the golden-weapon-equipped men guarding it are not.

Take a leaf from the Spyrius manual – fly it like you stole it

From 1994-1996 various factions and organisations throughout space fell victim to Spyrius — villainous thieves whose vessels sported a distinctive red and black livery. Spaceruner has taken inspiration from some classic LEGO sci-fi sets to build an impressive new flagship for this sinister bunch of space-bandits. The iconic colours are in place, including the signature trans-blue windows and canopies, but the size of this craft is on a whole different scale from the official Spyrius sets.

This beast of a model is 155 studs long — that’s 1.25m. The size is put to great use, allowing the builder space to develop a detailed interior. The vessel has all the facilities you’d expect of a flagship craft, including hangar bays, control bridge, canteen and galley, offices, and even a pool. The ship’s upper surfaces can be lifted clear to allow access to the internal sections…

However, despite the quality of the interior, it’s the colours and external shaping which marks this out as a striking addition to the villainous fleet. Take a look at these views from different angles which give a good look at the impressive engines and, my favourite part, the asymmetric domed section mounted on the craft’s left flank…

Baby Yoda you must build [Instructions]

With the recent Launch of the Disney+ streaming service, The Mandalorian series has been well-received and one character in particular has taken the internet by storm; of course, I’m talking about “Baby Yoda.” Images and scenes of the galaxy’s cutest toddler have blown up like a supernova. It was only a matter of time until a LEGO fan built the little guy, and Miro Dudas answered the call with an adorably charming rendition. Better yet, Miro decided to share the secrets of the Force with everyone in the form of free building instructions on Rebrickable!

In your eyes I am complete

Our readers over the age of thirty may already know the secret to winning over the hearts of that special someone. For the rest, this is what to do. Be sure to don a khaki trench coat with the sleeves pushed up to the elbow. Hop into your late 70’s model Chevy Malibu and head over to their place. Once there, hold a boombox similar to this one built by Chungpo Cheng high over your head and with the volume turned up all the way, stand outside their bedroom window and play some Peter Gabriel, but preferably not this one.

The end result should either have the person you most desire running longingly into your waiting arms or it may land you one hell of a restraining order. There really is no “in between” scenario with this stunt. But either way it would be totally worth it.

You might want to have that growth looked at.

There have been enough medical issues in my extended family that I know you have to take an unexpected growth or bump seriously. Early detection is often an important factor in survival, and ignoring things almost never has a good outcome. LEGO builder Djokson brings us a cautionary tale in this vein with The Husk of Minaurogg. I’m sure that Minaurogg was a happy-go-lucky type of person. You can see that reflected in their cheerful helm (skillfully constructed from a minifigure shield, robot arms and elbow bricks.) and well groomed nails. Sadly, all that mirth has come to a sudden halt as Minaurogg has come down with a bad case of…something. A growth of round tiles in transparent purple have boiled up, and a couple of giant pustules look ready to burst. There’s also severe discoloration of the arm with new spiky outgrowths on the shoulder. And that one red eye seems pretty bloodshot.

Ah, maybe it’s just me being alarmist. I’m sure I few days of bed rest is all that’s required to set things right!