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.

A perfect castle destination for that end-of-summer family vacation

When I think of all the activities and amenities I want in the perfect vacation locale, the first things that come to mind are: disease-filled swamps; crocodile-infested waters; dark, damp, and uncomfortable rooms; seminars on torture; unnecessary violence; and a complimentary continental breakfast. Fortunately for me, Patrick Massey has built exactly such a place! The dark green waters around Stormholme Castle tempt me with their malaria, West Nile, or dengue-carrying mosquitoes, and the lushness of the vegetation makes me certain that the humidity level is probably about as close to the carrying capacity of air as it can get; I love sweating profusely while being bitten by bugs, don’t you? The dark gray castle itself looks appropriately foreboding, given its swampy setting, and is, shockingly enough, Patrick’s first actual castle (he has specialized in the medieval fantasy genre for at least six years, yet never built a castle; a few towers, and small fortresses, but no castles). The wait has been worth it.

Click to see more of this incredible castle

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An Old Lady you really want to cradle in your arms

Music is cool. Electric guitars are cool. Brian May, the guitarist for Queen, is cool. The Red Special, the electric guitar that Brian May designed and built with his father is very cool. You know what else is cool? LEGO. And here’s something very, very, cool – Nick Jensen‘s stunning 1:1 replica of the Red Special in LEGO.

Learn more about this icon of classic rock built from LEGO

Darling, it’s better down where it’s wetter

Builder Malin Kylinger takes us under the sea with this lively and colorful model built in a picture frame. Ariel, Flounder, Sebastian and the evil Ursula are all on hand to welcome you to the depths where an array of sea life and corals await!

Sometimes inspiration can came from the strangest places, and in this case it came from IKEA! This compact little LEGO creations fits perfectly into a RIBBA frame which fortunately has enough depth to it that it can accommodate bricks and create a nice feeling of dimension. The school of silver fish with the blue transparent plate background draws your eye to the center where you can start to take notice of everything that surrounds them. The jellyfish are fantastic with their lightning bolt tentacles and I like the fact that the builder didn’t rely too heavily on sea grass to create the colorful plants. The sea floor bears closer inspection as it’s full of wonderful little touches. I really like the Swamp Creature’s mask at the bottom left in front of the gorgeous blue flower plant. I’m also quite taken with the interpretation of Ursula’s cauldron, ready to accept the witch’s brew she’s whipping up. So many beautiful details leave me asking: How many wonders can one cavern hold?

It’s not who I am underneath, but what I build that defines me

In this, the Caped Crusader’s 80th birthday year, what better way to celebrate the influence and impact of Bob Kane’s creation than with Timofey Tkachev‘s large-scale LEGO sculpture? The Batman has rarely looked better in the brick — the model’s shaping is spot-on, perfectly capturing those to-die-for Bat-Abs, and making a nice job of the comic world’s Second-Most-Iconic-Chin (Judge Dredd is clearly No. 1, in case you were wondering). The sculpting of the bat sigil on the chest is worth a good look, and I dread to think about the tricky connections which were required underneath all that armour to get the angles right.

A story in bricks: Ladyhawke comes to life in a family affair

Often, art ends up being a family business. How many Bachs and Strausses and Brueghels are there, to name a few? In the LEGO world, there are few notable families, too, one of which is the Durand clan. They boast such talents as Geneva (formerly known as KaiNRG), Isaiah (also known as Robert4168/Garmadon), Josiah (also known as W. Navarre), Sarah (also known as 24 Cupcakes), and Anna. All but Isaiah contributed to the collaborative build category of this year’s Summer Joust (put on by another famous LEGO family, Isaac and John Snyder), and the resulting story told in bricks is breathtaking. They opted for a full-frame, all-LEGO format for their presentation, which is exactly my cup of tea. They are telling, in four builds, the story of Ladyhawke, a 1985 medieval fantasy movie starring Matthew Broderick and Michelle Pfeiffer. The story begins in Aquila, built in technicolor by Josiah.

Click to see the other builds in the collaboration

A series of familiar scenes from Vietnam

Writers are often taught to write what they know, to create from a place of familiarity. This simple technique can also apply to building LEGO scenes depicting everyday life, like this delightful series by Khang Huynh, who, judging by their Flickr profile, is fairly new to building custom LEGO creations. They’re off to a great start, and I’ll be keeping a close eye out for more from this talented builder.

In this first scene, built using a colorful but muted palette, we see a city street being worked on by a most unusually colored excavator. Also, notice the teal brick separator tool stacked on the roof. I really like how the look of the separators is continued around the corner. Another great detail is the use of a Power Functions motor as a transformer.

Check out more Vietnamese scenes by Khang Huynh

Two-headed Dragon Roars to Life

Builder Patrick Biggs strikes again with another super-technical creation: “The Brothers.” This two-headed, dual-tailed dragon is enough to strike even the bravest of knights full of fear. The way Patrick designed the dragon is equally awe-inspiring.

I find the way the builder united both Bionicle-esque pieces with normal studded parts on the legs and tail of the dragon to be truly innovative. Additionally, the crazy amount of joints across the entire dragon allow for an large amount of potential poses, allowing for stories to take flight. I could easily see one of the heads breathing fire across a village while the other roars, announcing doom across the land.

What’s the matter kid? You never had lamb chops?

Faster than a T. rex can eat a lawyer, Jonas Kramm continues cranking out Jurassic Park vignettes. After bringing us the raptor dig and introductions of John Hammond and Dennis Nedry, Jonas now takes us to the Tyrannosaur paddock. Everything about this scene is iconic from the colorful Ford Explorer touring vehicle to the T. rex bait behind the fence. There is some excellent composition here, including the angling of the fence and lush landscaping behind it. Judging by the smile on Lex’s face, she probably hasn’t seen the goat yet.

See more amazing LEGO Jurassic Park vignettes

Don’t just walk – boogie to your favorite tunes with this LEGO Walkman

We’ve seen excellent Walkman-themed LEGO models in the past, but this one by H.Y. Leung is an absolute cracker. The cassettes are beautifully put together, and the parts choice and shaping on the headphones are particularly good. The buttons on the tape player’s side are relatively simple, but accurate to the original piece of hardware. And, whilst the cable doesn’t appear to be “purist” LEGO building, its messy tangle adds immensely to the build.

And they all lived together in a little crooked house

Mastering the art of LEGO architecture can be difficult enough, but jaapxaap goes a step farther with this seemingly impossible little house full of color and texture. This type of work, dubbed “ramshackle style”, is a personal favorite of mine. The skill required to pull off an organic building such as this is a special one.

The sloping roof is extremely impressive with its purple tiles and the seamless way the two roofs meet. One of the keys to this style is a variety of texture which the builder pulls of admirably here. The combination of profile bricks, SNOT pieces and tiles create the feeling of a house that is constantly in repair. The building’s color palette is quite appealing in various shades of brown accented with pinks and purples. The landscaping is similarly appointed with an array of plants of different sizes, shapes and colors.

See more of this purple-roofed house

Majestic microscale mansion in the sky

There is something magical about a floating castle. Not just the unanswered question of how and why it drifts among the clouds, but also the exotic promise of breathtaking views from pretty much any vantage point. In this microscale castle by Dr. Zarkow, I am left wondering where all that water is coming from. One of my favorite details has to be the small green gears used for leafy trees. The new wand from the Wizarding World makes the perfect prow for the floating ship, and don’t miss the use of a white car tire beneath the dome.

Does all this steampunk bug you?

Renowned builder Jonas Kramm is no stranger to the world of Steampunk superheroes. In 2013, he created an amazing Steampunk Batcave, and now returns to the theme. This time he has re-imagined Marvel’s Ant-man and the Wasp as Geantelman and the Steam Wasp. The Wasp is a bit removed from her spandex-clad cinematic counterpart but still sports a version of the iconic Pym bug-control helmet. The rest of the figure features an interesting mix of parts, including wings constructed from window lattices, a torso from Talia Al Ghul, and skirt from Elizabeth Swann Turner.

Geantelman also wears a steampunk version of the ant-control helmet, but that’s overshadowed by the giant ant he’s riding. (I say giant, but is it really? Who can tell with these size-changing heroes. For all I know this could be a 1:1 scale build.) The ant is full of great details, like the use of a Nexo Knights breastplate with shoulder pads as the eyes. Multiple copies of Luke Skywalker’s cape form the wings, a mining helmet is used as the lower jaw, and the often-used ice cream scoops represent steam. The real stinger though? That has to be the wind up key on the end.