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.

Stunning designs of the vehicles from Jurassic Park that you can now build in LEGO [Instructions]

Fans sorely missed the various vehicles from the 75936 T.rex Rampage LEGO set that was revealed and reviewed by our team. But as always, there’s the great fan base of builders that will give us what we all need to complete our dioramas or dino chase scenes. Thanks to Miro Dudas, we now have both the Staff Jeep (Wrangler) and Park Tour Transport (Ford Explorer) complete with free instructions for you to build your own.

Park Tour (Ford Explorer) Instructions
Staff Jeep (Wrangler) Instructions

Tip: To download the instructions, scroll down on the Rebrickable page and keep an eye on the right of the screen and look for “Building Instructions” if you’re on a desktop.

Don’t forget to also check out our review of the T.rex Rampage with an interview of designer Mark Stafford if you’re hungry for all things Jurassic Park.

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A whale of an opportunity at the Pick-a-Brick wall

If you have ever visited a LEGO store you probably would have noticed the formidable floor-to-ceiling Pick-a-Brick wall. One bin may contain thousands of flower stems and another may have a crap-ton of these pointy bits (metric crap-ton if you’re Canadian). There’s no telling what you’ll find there and you can take this stuff home by the cup loads. For me, I’m like a kid in…some kind of store. While loading cups full of LEGO bricks can be exciting, building something cohesive exclusively with what you found at the Pick-a-Brick wall can be a tricky endeavor, but Mansur Soeleman clearly saw…a whale of an opportunity.

I see plenty of white 2×2 corner plates, lots of 2×2 plates in light bluish gray and plenty of clips make up the baleen. The end result is a pretty good facsimile of a blue whale. You can say Mansur had…a whale of a good time with this. You see, brilliant puns like that is why I am the highest paid Brothers Brick contributor ever. At least that’s what they told me…or at least that’s what I understood when they said “voluntary”. Wait, what does “conditional trial period” mean?

And if you liked this cetacean built from a limited palette of bricks as much as you enjoyed my puns, we’re sure you’ll also enjoy André Pinto’s bonsai tree, also built from nothing but Pick-a-Brick parts.

This planter will grow on you

Realism in LEGO sculpture is a difficult thing to achieve, and when it’s done right it can be amazing. Barbara Hoel has created a tiny slice of (plant) life that feels very real indeed with Small Planter on Books. The human-scaled books each have their own unique style and size. The variations in the spines make this feel like a real pile of tomes, and not just a repeated build in different colors.

The planter and greenery really are what really caught my eye, though. Seeing a plant that is, perhaps, not the perfect specimen of health is pretty unusual. One side of the plant looks like it’s been kept out of the sun a little too long, while other parts are thriving. Unicorn horns and transparent green ball joints represent new growth. Rare blue capes and technic gears make for some vibrant flowering bodies and buds.

There is a detail view of an alternate build of the planter in Barbara’s photostream. I recommend checking it out for even more great botanical creations.

Mech made for the catwalk with a frame that just works

Mecha seem to be coming out of the woodwork left, right, and centre at the moment, and the warrior mech Howlite by GolPlaysWithLego instills a sense of gladness in me. This slim line bipedal mech holds all the familiarity and function of a humanoid hardsuit, only this time, driven by a Trandoshan (aka Bossk from Star Wars). The chest has been ingeniously constructed with a curved windshield forming a smooth collar for the transparent canopy to sit.

The balance between greebling and practicality within this mech is admirable. Not one section of this build is over done, yet it holds some impeccable parts use. The combined use of the new truncated cone piece, alongside a couple robot arms, ice cream cones, and a phone handset makes this pelvis section stunning. Its somewhat skeletal design and colour scheme gives utilitarianism a well needed facelift.

This terrifying LEGO Demogorgon is here to watch Stranger Things Season 3 with you

What’s the perfect LEGO accompaniment to binge-watching Stranger Things Season 3 today? Of course, it’s building the incredible official LEGO set of 75810 The Upside Down. But you should also check out this amazingly terrifying Demogorgon from expert builder Aaron Newman. Built in a large scale, it captures the otherworldly horror perfectly, with its gangly limbs and menacing flower head.

If you like this, be sure to read our interview with Aaron Newman. Want to see more LEGO Stranger Things? Check out these other incredible LEGO models:
75810 The Upside Down [Review]
LEGO Chief Hopper’s Cabin
LEGO Stranger Things Minifigures
LEGO Stranger Things BrickHeadz
LEGO Stranger Things Miniland Figures

Won’t you be my neigbor?

While kids don’t have deadlines to worry about or bills to pay, childhood can still be stressful at times. Watching “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood,” for me and other kids, was a nice way to leave our troubles behind and visit a sweet, gentle, understanding soul, even for just a little while. Matt De Lanoy has rekindled some of my fondest childhood memories with this Neighborhood of Make-Believe layout. Far left we see Grander Tiger and his granddaughter Collette at the Eiffel Tower while Mr. McFeely makes a speedy delivery to King Friday the XIIIth and Queen Sara Saturday. About middle and to the right we see Lady Elaine Fairchild tending to her Museum Go-Round while to the right of her in the background is none other than Mr. Fred Rogers himself waving to his friends in the Neighborhood of Make-Believe.

See more of this LEGO Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood scene

Have a drink on me, fellows, for tomorrow, we fight.

Scenes from Star Wars movies and television have been a major source of inspiration for LEGO builders since the first time we were transported to that galaxy far, far away. Some builders take more subtle inspiration from the Star Wars universe to create scenes that we never saw but were there all along, like this model of barracks for Rebel troopers on Hoth by Gabe F, a charming view into the day-to-day life of the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to fight the tyranny of the Galactic Empire.

The carved organic snow landscaping is great, and there are lots of little details like portable bunks complete with temperature gauge and power cords, pin-ups on the wall, and cups of caf littered throughout. There’s even a lost sock. Hopefully, the owner has a spare pair to keep their toes warm.

Oh Captain, my captain

LEGO mosaics are near and dear to my heart, as is the character of Captain America. Bluesecrets brings both together in a stunning creation featuring Cap in his bearded “Nomad” phase. This mosaic is 45 inches wide by 35 inches tall (about 114 x 89 centimeters) and is comprised of nearly 40,000 plates. Many brick mosaics use a “studs out” approach where the top of the brick is visible. In contrast, Bluesecrets uses a “studs up” technique where the plates are stacked on top of each other. This allows a higher level of detail in the image, but requires different (and, in my experience, trickier) craftsmanship as the “pixels” that make up the image are rectangular instead of square.

I bet she knows how to open doors, too

When LEGO builder chubbybots saw the new Jurassic World set with a dinosaur mech (75938), he felt like the Tyrannosaurus needed an upgrade to even the fight. And what an upgrade it is! From the robotic legs with enormous claws to the extraordinarily long arms (for a T-rex), this dinosaur can now pack a punch as well as take one. The powerful blasters on the back look certain to take down any foe, be they robotic or organic.

The use of many textures in the greebles both lends an air of authenticity and implies that this is a custom suit made at home, rather than a sleek factory-produced exoskeleton. I love the Bionicle armor covers on the knees, and the splash of red at the shoulders gives the otherwise grey and earthy model a bit of zip. Adding Emmet as the pilot, rather than Owen, is a clever nod to both roles played by actor Chris Pratt. Did the T-rex really need the upgrade? I’m not so sure, as I have seen it take down pretty much every other big bad beast on the island.

Rock block box to rock your socks off

When thinking about LEGO brick built characters, a few names spring to mind and LEGO 7 is absolutely one of them. His creations seem to prove themselves, time and time again, and I find myself really looking forward to any of his new works of art. There is just so much to love about his newest build, Animal Music Box, that it’s hard to pick where to begin. This handiwork is booming with colour, expression and simulated sound. As this is an all inclusive show, the speaker stacks and attached lighting rig frame the background banner superbly, leaving the band to focus on the music. Though there is a lot going on in the main image, he has been kind enough to break it down into individual elements too.

So, lets delve into the box itself before getting onto the plethora of characters found within.

A border keep to keep the border well-kept

A castle built in the north must be strong enough to survive the icy winters and keep the enemy hordes at bay. Looking at this one by Marco den Besten, we can safely say that the inhabitants will be well-protected from both. Built near the southern border of the icy guild of Mitgardia, where it borders the rival guild of Avalonia, the fortifications are thick and the walls high. Ample crenelations protect those on the walls from any enemies who might aspire to shoot arrows at them from below. Plenty of action fills the scene, with troops marching over a bridge, a farmer bringing produce to market, folks fishing, and even a ship approaching the dock. Are the intentions of the sailors friendly? I don’t know, but axes are drawn.

Marco is famous among LEGO castle builders for his large displays, and perhaps even more famous for his large evergreens made of uncountable spines/vines. The way the towers are set at angles to the walls makes for a visually striking shape, a far cry from the square castles I used to make as a kid. Like this creation? Check out more huge castle dioramas built by Marco den Besten such as a fortified city and a city in the snow.

The grass is the sun and the stone is the blue sky

Certain core LEGO themes like castle and space seem to have very specific directions of experimentation and technical progress. We generally associate castle builds with unique textures, but having a colour palette usually limited to various earth tones. Colour experimentation is not unheard of in the theme though, but remains the rare exception that reminds us of specific builders like Luke Watkins or jaapxaap, among others. This time, Anthony Wilson goes to the extreme with what almost looks like a negative image of what would otherwise be a cute but quite ordinary castle scene.

There are so many tones of blue, yellow and orange in this build that even if I try to count them all, I would probably still miss one or two. The transitions between the different colours in the grass are especially smooth and really add up to a realistic effect (as realistic as yellow grass can be). The 1×2 tile-based wall is not a new technique, but the two rows look great overgrown by all sorts of dark brown plants. The yellow ninja minifig and its animal companion add that vitally important bit of life that complete the scene.