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.

Sweet cyberpunk dreams at the No-Tell Motel

What do you do when you are eagerly awaiting the release of a video game, and the wait is killing you? If you’re like Jan T. and are drooling over screenshots of RPG (role-playing game) Cyberpunk 2077, you draw inspiration from your obsession and channel it into a LEGO model. Jan’s No-Tell Motel offers an atmosphere that is simultaneously gritty and colorful; dilapidated city streets and patches of rusty metal contrast nicely with the teal upper floor and purple & green graffiti. There are also plenty of excellent details to spot, including thugs & junkies, grass peaking through the concrete, a balcony supported by a Technic shock absorber, and a Technic piston acting as a flower pot. Here, the world can go to Hell and still look beautiful.

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.

Chibi Sisyphus can never get ahead of his head

In order to fully appreciate this next creation, we’re going to have to define a couple of terms. The first is chibi. That’s a Japanese slang term that describes an art style where characters are drawn as small, chubby figures with exaggerated features. The second is Sisyphus. In Greek mythology, he was a king who was punished by the gods for his wicked ways. He is forced to push a giant boulder up an even bigger hill, only to have it roll back down every time it nears the top. At first glance, these two terms don’t seem to have a lot do to with each other. Leave it to Sheo to unify them into a really cute image of eternal torture. In this version, Sisyphus doesn’t have a boulder to push; instead, his over-sized chibi head is the enormous weight that has to be moved upwards.

Creative use of various arches and curved slopes creates an anguished, yet adorable, visage. The use of a curved brick for the leg gives a great sense of that upward pushing. I also like the detail of the 2×2 round tile for his belly, and let’s not ignore the build of the mountain either. The rocks are built out in all directions, with a combination of slopes, plates, and tiles giving some lively texture to the backdrop.

For when the trail riding is hard

LEGO builder Jake Sadovich is best known for his successful Ideas project that turned into 21313 Ship in a Bottle, but that’s not all he’s great at. His latest model is this rad bike sporting a ludicrous six-cylinder radial engine. With a wicked cattle skull mounted on the front handlebars plus the gunmetal, grey, and brown color scheme, the motorcycle has a distinct Western-punk feel. The bike has plenty of clever details, but particularly great are the brown tails for the skull’s horns and the Nexo Knight robot shoulders integrated into the radial engine housing.

Smile through your fear and sorrow...

The new Joker movie by Todd Philipps in my view tells one of the best origin stories for the Clown Prince of Crime. Being a fan of the Dark Knight and the various original treatments of his arch-enemy over the past decades, no comic panel could have told the tale that was told with the amazing embodiment of Joaquin Phoenix on the big screen. While this LEGO bust of the Joker by George Panteleon isn’t from the movie, it bears a striking resemblance to the Joker from Batman: The Animated Series, especially that nose and that wide grin. The amazing brick layering techniques in which every single piece seems to fit perfectly and brings this character to life gives me the chills.

Click to see more angles of this superb build

Sound and Fury: The Doof Wagon is the personification of driving music

The 2015 film Mad Max: Fury Road is a ton of fun. It has stunning visuals, great acting, an engaging story, and rich world building. And, oh yeah, just a touch of hyper-modified post-apocalyptic vehicles that really define the word “awesome.” Take, for instance, the Doof Wagon – Immortan Joe’s idea of driving music. Nicola Stocchi has created a stunning rendition of this beast that lives up to its on-screen origins. From the dual flamethrowing guitars to the towering tower-speakers, it took just over 3000 LEGO elements to bring this beast to life. There are lots of excellent details to call out, like the different types of 1×1 round plate that mix up the look of the speakers. Check out the use of Technic pins to add texture to the engines. And did you spot the minifigure squeeze-bulb horn? You have to wonder what luckless warboy gets to work that particular instrument.

The rear view shows off the build on the giant drums. Each is made from hard plastic wheel with a drum head cleverly made of a 2×2 round tile surrounded by four 2×2 macaroni tiles to create the equivalent of a 6×6 round tile. I’m also fond of the expert usage of wedge plates to match the industrial feel of the resonators.

Overall, this is one sweet ride. Why settle for rattling your car windows with a pathetic in-dash sound system when you could have the Doof Wagon blasting out “Sweet Home Chicago” at 220 decibels?

This LEGO diorama is a real train wreck

It’s a pretty typical scene: You’re running late. Trying to make up for lost time you watch the speedometer creep upwards as you race to your destination. If you’re unlucky, this might result in a speeding ticket. If you’re very unlucky, you might end up in a crash. And, if you’re one of the most unlucky people who ever lived, you’re a train engineer in Paris in October 1895. In that last case, you’re unable to brake. Your train runs through the buffer stop. And then it crashes through the upper-story station wall to end up standing on it’s nose in the Place de Rennes below. SEBASTIAN-Z captures this tragic moment, the Montparnasse derailment, in an intricate LEGO diorama.

The Gare Montparnasse terminus has been simplified to a facade, with eye-catching details like the clock made from parts from Big Ben and Santa’s workshop. The broken window makes good use of transparent LEGO elements like wall panels, and 1×2 bricks and plates. The selection of minifigure onlookers are well constructed, and giving one of them a baguette is a nice way to help establish the location.

This particular scene has become a part of popular culture. A similar crash appears in a dream in the movie Hugo, which is where SEBASTIAN-Z first heard of it. Let’s hope wrecks like this stay in the realm of film and LEGO from now on…

A brighter future (maybe)

Don’t get me wrong; I love me some sci-fi dystopian futures. But, after a while, it’s nice to see something a little more upbeat. Stenertje treats us to such a vision with “Space Police II Outpost.” Sure, it’s a police station, but look at how friendly and clean it is! There are trees, festive flags, and even a mailbox. The local mounties ride kaadu instead of heavily-armored speeder bikes. And the ship at the center of it all! Clean lines, and what appears to be only a hint of weaponry. It’s a breath of fresh air.

Pulling back the camera a little, things may not be quite as placid. The tops of the pylons surrounding the launch pad are covered with missile launchers and guns. And is that a robotic Gatling gun off to the right?

Well, no matter. I’m sure the heavily armed fortifications are just relics from the past, and not some subtle build up for a future Space Police theme…

Three-legged doom

I don’t know precisely what the Martian tripods in H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds looked like, but I can easily imagine this three-legged walker by Mitsuru Nikaido being cast in the next Hollywood version. Towering over the battlefield and filled with mechanical intricacy, this monster tripod evokes overwhelming technology. All the exposed wiring made from minifigure whips, though a common technique, is particularly effective here. The gunmetal-colored egg container on the upper housing enhances the sense of alienness.

It’s time to pick up the Ford Mustang set, thanks to this alt build

LEGO Creator Expert’s latest vehicle, 10265 Ford Mustang, is one of the best vehicles LEGO has made. But Nathanael Kuipers decided to use the parts from the set to build another stunning vehicle, this beautiful classic pickup. With the clean lines and split grille that marked the Ford F100 trucks of the early 70s, it’s remarkable that every element in this truck came from a single copy of the Mustang. Now that LEGO has moved away from cars with a Volkswagen Camper Van and a Technic Range Rover Defender, maybe they’ll turn an eye to gorgeous trucks like this, too.

Baby shark, doo doo doo doo doo doo

For sure, the most epic LEGO battles of the late 90-s took place in deep oceans, where heroic Aquanaut miners fought against the villainous Aquasharks. Many years have passed, but the heroes (and antiheroes) are not forgotten — although, some of them have evolved a lot since then. LEGO designers Chris Perron and Markus Rollbühler team up and dive deep to find out that the waters are still as dangerous as 20 years ago. Now, the battlefield teems with giant sharks like this Mega Shark Scout. Designed for espionage attacks, the shark looks absolutely terrifying; aggressive design and the striking contrast of black, blue, and transparent orange picture an enemy you better avoid at all costs. But can you name all the pieces used for the design of the circle section right behind the shark’s head?

Mysterio has Spider-Man on the brain

When I was little, one of my favorites nick-nacks was filled with water, a plastic carrot and a few tiny pieces of plastic “coal,” and was labeled “Florida Snowman.” (Look, trust me here. This was hilarious when I was six years old.) I’ve always had a fondness for snow globes. In unrelated trivia, I was also a big Spider-Man fan. I never dreamed, though, that both of those childhood loves would come crashing together. Builder Flambo14 changed all that with a fun LEGO build inspired by Spider-Man: Far From Home. In this creation, Mysterio’s trademark fishbowl-dome head is a LEGO Christmas ornament filled with 1×1 round plates for snow. You’ll aslo find a simple-but-effective microscale New York City skyline and, of course, Spider-Man himself. There’s even a sand-green minifigure telescope as an itty-bitty Statue of Liberty.

Mysterio’s torso has some fun details, too. I like the use of the minifigure ring to help create the eyeball-patterns present on the cape clasps. The smoothness of the wedges used to construct the cape makes the exposed-stud build of the chest feel much more textured, just like the movie’s costume design. There’s also just the right touch of other gold elements to give him a bit of showmanship.

I’d love to see a whole series of Mysterio snow globes. If anyone else takes a swing at one, let us know!

A TARDIS console room fit for an adventurer

The ever popular television series Doctor Who has inspired many a LEGO TARDIS, including an official LEGO Ideas set. Wanting to go for something a little different, GunnBuilding has taken the TARDIS console room and re-imagined it in the LEGO Adventurers theme. As such, it is filled with plenty of historic artifacts collected on many an…adventure. This, coupled with the tiled floor and arch-laden tan wall, makes this model feel like IT BELONGS IN A MUSEUM! The camera and piles of books suggest someone has been busy and, if the hat hanging off the railing is any indication, that person is the one-and-only Johnny Thunder.

This model is a digital render and, as such, may include some pieces in non-production colors.