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.

If this is my ride to jail then sign me up!

Sometimes I wish I was born sooner, but if I were I might be soiling adult diapers and yelling obscenities at the TV by now, so I’m fine being the age I am, all things considered. Had I been a bit older though, I would have seen this whole “Showrod” phenomenon first hand. Showrodding pioneers such as George Barris, Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, and Tom Daniel (of Monogram Models fame) changed the definition of what a car could be with their flamboyant, over-the-top showstoppers. Certainly there is still car customization going on nowadays but nothing matches the heyday of the Showrod phenomenon in the 50s, 60s, and early 70s. There are very few car builders on the planet building this style of Showrod and even fewer people creating them in LEGO. One such LEGO artist, however, is Andrea Lattanzio who has replicated Tom Daniel’s “Paddy Wagon” with masterful build techniques and stunning photography.

To say I am impressed by this would be an understatement. I think the correct words I’m looking for are awestruck and quite a bit humbled. Everything from the C-Cab’s signature profile, to the gleaming custom chrome bits to the aggressive stance to its superb clean backdrop, even the font used are all the mark of an artist with a profound knack for presentation. With what looks like houses reflected in the rear hubcap, it would seem Andrea’s secret to stellar presentation involves, at least in part, natural outdoor lighting and a clear day.

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Go big or go home, Batman!

You should always dress like the job you want, not the job you have; which would explain why I spent the afternoon sequestered in the HR Office dressed as Batman. That wasn’t my original joke but still funny nonetheless. Speaking of Batman, after a long day of driving around in the Batmobile and throwing around Batarangs, even he needs some quality time to himself to pop a bat-squat. Otherwise he’d have guano all over the Batcave; on second thought, by definition, it probably is already brimming with it. Now that you have that idea stewing in your noggins, here’s a scene built by Thorsten Bonsch depicting Bruce Wayne having a moment. The toilet is a rather Gothic throne presumably atop a hollowed stalagmite. The vehicle door used as a toilet paper roll is inspired and the rubber band around his ankles acting as pants is some next level genius stuff.

Let’s just hope he’s always well stocked with toilet paper as that would seem to be a precarious predicament to be in should he suddenly realize he wasn’t.

A tip of the hat to a great mech

When it comes to quality LEGO mechs, builder Marco Marozzi sure knows how to build them. This latest offering, UM Soldat 2 Mech, has a real sense of expensive style about it. The combination of black and gold armor nicely offset the touch of grey from the exposed mechanical parts. Maybe this mech defrays some costs by leaning heavily into corporate sponsorship. There’s certainly evidence of that based on the numerous logos, some sourced directly from LEGO sets and some from UK nail art sticker sheets.

See more of this black and gold mech

Commemorating the Peterloo Massacre

August of this year marked the 200th anniversary of the Peterloo Massacre. To commemorate the massacre, James Pegrum, Dan Harris and Simon Pickard collaborated to build a LEGO diorama of the event. In their research on the subject, the team consulted an expert historian and the creators of a graphic novel depicting the Peterloo Massacre. They tried to recreate everything as accurately as possible.

See more of this action-packed display.

Bavarian Motor Works gets the Danish Brick Works treatment

With the release of the excellent LEGO Creator Expert 10269 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy set, we appear to be experiencing a corresponding uptick in fantastic motorcycle creations. Here’s a belter of a bike from André Pinto — a brick-built version of a customised BMW R80 RT. The shaping and overall frame are spot-on, and the sticker-work is just perfect, adding little touches of detail without overwhelming the bricks. The splash of gold from the ribbed hoses adds a lovely burst of contrast against the black, as do the red forks, and the overall presentation of the model is enhanced by the wood-effect base.

What’s got two legs and goes woof?

Wildfire — Game Of Thrones‘ very own version of napalm. In this neat LEGO vignette by ekjohnson1 we get to see the everyday reality of Wildfire production and storage down in the depths of the Kings Landing branch of the Alchemists’ Guild. Sure, the gloopy green stuff is worth a fortune, and makes short work of any invader vessels coming up the Blackwater. But drop a candle in it? Things get hot and messy real quick. The green liquid is nicely done in this model, with transparent pieces capturing its unearthly glow, but the highlight for me is the subtle angle on the brick walls between the timber supports — a nice touch which perfectly evokes the idea of the arched tunnels beneath Westeros’ capital.

This serious ballista vehicle is not messing around

When you need to defend your outpost from aerial attack, you need an anti-aircraft Ballista. Like this one built by Douglas Hughes, which features not one, but two substantially armed turrets; one sporting rocket launchers, the other, twin machine guns. The cab is very well sculpted with angled panels, and that blue striped detail is a nice touch.

The vehicle is based on the Anvil Ballista from the multiplayer sci-fi game Star Citizen. But Douglas didn’t just build an amazing vehicle, he motorized it (maybe you noticed the cleverly integrated control box on the side) and lit the cab as well.

When you gotta catch ’em all, you need a Pokedex

If you are anything like young Ash Ketchum, you love collecting Pokemon while you are walking to work, or while you are walking around at work instead of working… hey, we’ve all been there. And so has LEGO builder Chungpo Cheng, who has built a folding Pokedex at the perfect scale to fit in the palm of your hand. The Pokeball is also just the right size and is quite nicely shaped. I wonder which Pokemon is resting inside. Hopefully, it’s my personal favorite, Marowak… wearing the skull of his father for a helmet.

The Future: 1972

The average person now carries more computing power in their pocket than what it took to put the Apollo 11 astronauts on the moon. However, Johan Alexanderson takes us back to a time when ties were wide, comb-overs were a thing, ashtrays were piled high with cigarette butts, and data was stored on reel-to-reel. This is the kind of vintage computer room my dad worked at in the 70s. A vehicle door makes an excellent spool of continuous feed computer paper. The green screen, the big cabinets, the data reels, even the color aesthetic and the utilitarian swivel chair all seem clunky and outdated to us, but at the time it all went together like swingers and fondue.

It should come as no surprise that Johan is a computer programmer who also seems quite inspired by a retro aesthetic. This wouldn’t be the first time he had delighted us with computing nostalgia. Check out this free-to-play “Classic Space Adventure” LEGO-inspired computer game he created utilizing over 400 pages of programming.

Enormous medieval town offers a gateway to the desert

LEGO Castle displays tend to focus on the Western European medieval era, with great grey fortifications set amid green forests, featuring knights engaged in combat, with perhaps the odd siege engine chucking rocks. How refreshing to see this huge collaborative display by thirteen members of SwissLug which breaks with tradition on two fronts: first, by depicting a city in the Levant (the lands of the Eastern Mediterranean), and second, by showing off the peaceful, multicultural side of life (probably right before the Crusaders show up and make a nuisance of themselves!)

Click here to enjoy the pictures of the diorama…

Feeling cute. Might growl later-idk

I’m more than one-hundred articles into this gig and I’m still finding things to go absolutely gaga over. My case in point, these adorable animals as rendered by Instagram user Legotruman. It is so hard to pick a favorite so we’ve constructed a composite image showcasing most of the animal renders here. My heart melts when I look at each of these portraits, which totally wreaks havoc on my hard-edged, devil-may-care image, let me tell you.

Click here to watch a grown man gush like a kindergartner

This Mustang is ready to run with the horses

Not much screams “American” like a big-engined, gas-guzzling, machismo-granting muscle car. The throaty roar of the tailpipes, the peeling tires, racing down a secluded stretch of road away from the cops…ahh, for the halcyon days of my youth, playing with my Hotwheels cars. A while back, LEGO Ideas hosted a contest to build a poster for the Ford Mustang to celebrate the release of the large Creator Expert Mustang set, and aido k submitted a digital entry, but wanted to make a ‘Stang in real bricks, too. The challenges were real, since making an 8-stud wide car with a battery box inside for the working lights is not easy. But the finished product looks great, clad in the classic white with blue stripes.

I love the angled windscreen to get a steeper look than the piece provides. A subtle variation in how far down the tiles on the side are pressed creates a delightful little scoop in the side door, and the roller skate makes a brilliant door handle. The fastback slope is smoothly done, too, integrating nicely with the rest of the car. The lights make this machine one of the coolest cars I have seen, with their warm glow enhancing the photos and the presentation. Now who wants to go burn some rubber and show those Camaros and Challengers who is boss?