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.

By the sea, by the sea, by the beautiful sea

After wowing us with his circus model, Ian Hoy is back with another incredible scene. This time he’s trading in performing animals for some fun times at a beach fun fair. The scene is filled with little details and it features, among other things, a brick mosaic backdrop and a drop ride with a shark theme. Having spent a lot of time at boardwalk carnivals as a kid, this piece really speaks to me, bringing back fond memories of haunted house rides, rollercoasters and boardwalk french fries cooked in peanut oil. Just looking at it, I can almost smell the salty air and hear the funnel cakes sizzling away in the deep fryer. There is so much great stuff packed in here, it’s hard to know where to begin, so let’s start at the bottom and work our way up, shall we?

The beach area is populated by a variety of beach goers engaged in the many activities. I love that the word “ocean” not only tells you where we are, but is incorporated into the overall design by having it being created as a sand sculpture by a bathing suit-clad minifigure. I also enjoyed checking out some of the smaller details like the treasure chest buried underground and the baby sea turtle and mini sandcastle by the shore. Continue reading →

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Explore Chinese mythology with this Zhongli Quan figure

Builder Cindy Su invites us to find out more about Chinese myths with this wonderful little figural model of Zhongli Quan. Chinese mythology is rife with humans turned immortal, but perhaps the most famous among these is The 8 Immortals. Dating back to the Jin dynasty in the 12th and 13th centuries, the 8 mystical figures are part of the Taoist pantheon. They have been a subject of Chinese art and mythologies for centuries and are still popular today.

The subject of this particular build is Zhongli Quan. He is pictured here carrying his traditional large fan, imbued with the power to turn rocks into precious gold or silver and even resurrect the dead. The sculpting of his body shows off his rotund shape and the use of satellite dishes is perfect for his exposed chest and belly. His hairstyle, utilizing round balls gives the whole thing some wonderful shapes and texture. The hot dog buns as his ears is a particularly clever use of parts.

On her Flickr page, Cindy notes this figure as 1 of 8. I look forward to seeing her depictions of the other 7 immortals and their journey across the East Sea.

Tiny house is big on charm

One of my favorite creators of LEGO modern architecture, Sarah Beyer, is equally skilled at both minifig scale and microscale, as evident in her latest tiny model, Whitesalt Villa. This modern structure is defined by the unusual use of an arch piece, which has some very interesting circles on the underside. Sarah continues this visual theme with a single brick with technic pin hole over the entrance. The angled placement of the building and the water feature have a very tranquil effect.

A Toa rises again, only to crush you beneath her heavy boots

I’m afraid I missed out on Bionicle almost entirely, as it started getting big right as I faded into my dark ages, and was mostly gone when I came back out of them. It’s a shame, really, since they had some incredible parts and a wide range of colors for those parts. That being said, I have always been a classic LEGO System guy, largely eschewing Technic and the ball-joint-based Constraction style for the old-fashioned stud connections. I usually scroll through photos of LEGO creations and skip past anything Bionicle-related, in fact. But sometimes a creation of that sort is so good, so perfectly balanced and detailed, that I cannot help but admire it. Such is this Toa by Anthony Wilson. The colors pop with the trans-pink in both the crystalline base and the accents of the figure, and the pose as she strides across the base exudes confidence and swagger.

Sweet Mayhem’s starship’s windscreen makes for an excellent shield, ready to deflect any attacks from an enemy. The glinting pink eyes shine out from behind the Matatu mask in a menacing manner that befits her name, Tuyet the Tyrant. The textures of the base, with the spaced-out 2×2 tiles and the greebles beneath, complements the presentation perfectly, but the highlight of the whole build for me is the midriff, so sleekly captured with the shoulder armor piece. It evokes the exposed stomach of so many heroines of nerdy fantasy games and comic books, yet in a way that still says that she’d kill you without a second thought, and easily, too.

Marvelous medic mech

Mech Monday is often one of the best things about the start of another work week, and today is no exception. With this colorful mech by Markus Rollbühler, we see one of the most interesting parts uses I have seen in a while. Minifigure legs are used here to form the center of this medical mech’s charming face. And what better place for legs, than in a saddle? In this case, this saddle with stirrups from the LEGO Friends theme forms the rest of the mech’s head.

There are so many other great part uses worth mentioning, like the fenders from the Disney/Pixar Cars franchise used on the thighs. And how about those window screens, snapped to either side of the forearms? One more great detail to call out is the big hand part used for the heel.

Getting pump(kin)ed for Halloween

Some people gripe about Christmas decorations going up in stores too early. (Full disclosure: I’m one of them.) On the other hand, I don’t hear many folks complain about a bit of early spooky cheer for Halloween. Corvus Auriac is one of those ready for the festivities to start, based on Creepy Pumpkin. Made up of only 82 pieces, this Jack-o-lantern has nice curves and an expressive face. And check out that great part usage! The stem is made up of a frog and a Ninjago scarf – truly a combination of elements I never expected to write about.

If you’d like to make one for yourself, keep an eye on Corvus’ Instagram, as they’ve promised to share a tutorial soon!

Behold the Argonath, the Pillars of the Kings

Gondor is the greatest kingdom of Men during the Third Age of Tolkien’s Middle-Earth. Its northern borders are marked by The Argonath, a pair of huge statues standing on the banks of the River Anduin. Jason Pyett has taken on the challenge of building a LEGO version of this dramatic location from The Lord Of The Rings, and the result is an impressive piece of microscale building.

The statues tower above the river, their left hands raised in warning to the enemies of Gondor. The choice of colours and level of detailing manage to evoke the idea of weathered stonework, and the proportions of both figures are nicely done. Fun fact: Jason has built the movie version of this monumental pair — depicting Isildur on the left, and Elendil on the right, armed with the sword Narsil. In the original description from the books, the statues depicted Isildur and his brother Anarion, and both were armed with axes.

From the origins of shred

During the 1950s, the now-prolific Jim Phillips designed the Screaming Hand image, which later in 1985 became the instantly recognisable logo for the well-known Santa Cruz Skateboards company. With impeccable attention to scale and detail, LEGO builder Brick Flag brings this true icon of skateboarding culture to the Brick. As a builder with a history of skateboarding, I too have attempted to build this gnarly skate totem, though with much less success than this great representation. The colour scheme for such a depiction is pretty unavoidable, though the dark azure is utterly prefect for such a build. The part selection has been superbly chosen considering the limited piece pallet available.

The Screaming Hand has represented hardcore skaters practically the world over for around 35 years, and this LEGO creation has done it justice in many ways. Before we go into its details, take a moment to observe the similarities when held against the original. The shaping has been achieved beautifully, considering the form and function of the human hand. Yet the I can still hear a ripple through the readers/builder at home, lamenting the colour selection for the ball joint and socket modified plates, which are sadly only produced in greys.

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Used car for sale: 1971 plates. Buyer must collect. Price: $9.5m

It’s the most expensive car ever made, and although four models were manufactured originally, only one remains on the planet. Three Lunar Roving Vehicles were carried to the Moon on Apollo missions 15, 16, and 17, with one spare kept behind on Earth. Those four aluminium-framed buggies cost a grand total of $38m back in 1971, making each of the four worth nearly $10m back then. You have to imagine if someone were to salvage the buggies from the lunar surface now, these things would be priceless. If you fancy a Lunar Vehicle of your own, it’s probably not worth saving up, and consider rather taking a leaf out of Robson M‘s book and building a LEGO version.

This is a cracking little LEGO model — relatively simple construction, but immediately recognisable with just enough detail to capture its inspiration. And the presentation is top-notch, perfectly echoing the high-contrast photos of the Apollo missions. My only gripe? Those rubber tyres. The real LRV had aluminium mesh wheels to cope with the extremes of temperature and to throw off the lunar dust. But tyres aside, I still want one of these to go with my 10266 Lunar Lander set — turning it from a depiction of the first manned landing, into one of those last trips (for now) which we took to our nearest celestial neighbour.

Raawwr! No one beats a Tyrannosaurus Rex

We’ve covered Jonas Kramm‘s series of vignettes based on Jurassic Park all the way up to the climax of the movie. Has it been a thrill-a-minute? You bet your 65-million year old amber cane it has! The last we saw, the power to the park had been turned off by Dennis Nedry as he attempted to steal and escape with frozen dino embryos. This of course caused havoc at the park, with all the dinosaurs escaping; this is not a big problem when we’re talking about a mild-mannered Brachiosaur, but it is when there are T. rex and Velociraptors amongst the beasts.

And that is exactly the issue Dr. Sattler has as she tries to restore power to the security system; she has climbed down into the maintenance area, only for a nimble and crafty raptor to attempt to eat her. They can open doors, you know. Jonas has packed the small footprint of the vignette with loads of details, especially the black fencing that forms the border. The grating everywhere gives it a technical look, perfect for a breaker room, and the panel with the lever looks great. The raptor bursting through to eat Ellie is terrifying, though, so let’s move on to a happier scene.

Click to see the final two vignettes in this epic series

Craft me a hammer, sword, or a horseshoe or two

Growing up in the 1990s, one of the things that made LEGO castle sets so appealing was the way in which they were advertised; catalog images were perfect at world-building, with sets placed within carefully crafted, colorful environments. Robbadopdop‘s blacksmith shop evokes those fond memories, and his attention to detail would have impressed my 8-year-old self ten times over. There’s plenty of clever parts usage to appreciate here, including a minifigure ruff for flower petals, hair representing the end of a mop, and disposable sprues from plants with 3 large leaves for green vines winding up the side of the building. The building itself employs an excellent use of color and utilizes a diverse range of parts, which helps it feel both gritty and fun to look at.

One of the coolest details is the way the roof flexes, complete with staggered shingles. If you’re wondering how this detail was achieved, Robbadopdop has shared pictures of the internal structure. He used rigid tubing, which can be easily cut to size and is flexible enough to shape, and the roofing was then draped into place. The end result is fantastic.

A gardener’s worst nightmare

If you have a green thumb, running into a loathsome worm could leave you with no thumbs. This slimy, purple annelid with two massive claws was built by Duncan Lindbo, and it looks terrifyingly awesome. Purple, dark pink, and orange elements complement one another nicely, along with a drip of neon green drool. What really makes the build is this hilarious photo, driving home the point of how disgusting a loathsome worm is. It’s a truly unique way of displaying one’s brick-built creatures.

A closer look reveals Duncan put a lot of heart into his build…literally! The beast’s underbelly is comprised of 3×3 heart plates and 1×1 heart tiles. Don’t let all the love and playful colors deceive you, though; the worm’s mandibles are reminiscent of the Predator’s, and they look ready to inflict some serious pain (along with a deadly dose venom). Everything about it screams. “you can look, but don’t touch!”