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.

Diamonds and gold are a mech’s best friend

The expansion of transparent clear elements over the past decade has allowed for some intricate builds like this glittering mech by Moko, named the MF-10 Diamond Empress. While the frame of the mech is black, it is clad in transparent clear armor formed from tiles, slopes, dishes, windshields, and more. The Diamond Empress lives up to its name with a few parts in rare non-production colors, such as the 2×2 round tile in trans clear. Aside from the build itself, my favorite aspect of this model is perhaps the use of trans clear 12x2x5 tails for the skirting. Meanwhile, chrome gold and transparent red accents provide additional visual interest.

See more of this opulent mech

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It’s not faster than you need, it’s just faster than you’re used to

The Muscle Car of the Future — that’s how Blake Foster describes his latest LEGO creation. It’s a perfect fit for this beefy beast of a speeder. This thing looks like it’s bursting with engine power, and along with the lovely colour blocking, it’s bristling with functional-looking greebles. Check out the fins on those intakes up front, and the wonderful curved piping which creates a common design element across both the front and back sections visually tying the whole model together.

Even better, Blake’s speeder appears to run on fuel provided by everyone’s favourite mega-corporation, Octan…

You won’t get Grant out of Montana, he’s a digger

Since Jurassic Park roared onto cinema screens in 1993, many LEGO builders have recreated their favourite scenes. We’ve lost count of the number of T-Rex vs Ford Explorer dioramas we’ve seen, and many of the other action sequences have received their own brick-built tributes. However, Jonas Kramm has chosen to revisit one of the calmer moments near the film’s beginning — a dinosaur excavation in the Montana Badlands. Jonas has captured the scene perfectly — Alan Grant and Ellie Sattler are brushing away at the exposed Velociraptor fossil, surrounded by piles of gear. The dinosaur fossil is nicely put together, but the assorted equipment rewards closer inspection. I particularly like the rendition of the red “shotgun holder” — fired into the ground to generate a sonar image on the computer screen. (A screen which Jonas has thoughtfully shaded from the Montana sun, just like in the movie!)

A classic LEGO rendition of a legendary spacecraft

What better way to celebrate the upcoming 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing than with some LEGO Classic Space? The celebrated theme’s iconic colour scheme meets the most famous craft in humanity’s (admittedly short) space-going history in Dallen Powell‘s fun digital LEGO model. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got nothing but admiration for the recent 10266 Lunar Lander set, but I wouldn’t be able to contain myself if LEGO released this version alongside it. Eagle looks the business in this livery, and Dallen has made some great choices — the landing pads in red are simply perfect. And check out Benny, how pleased does he look with his new ride?!

The form of the Forum taking shape

I love it when two things that I like and know something about come together, like peanut butter and jelly or LEGO and Roman history. Tim Schwalfenberg brings us a slice of the early days of Rome, when they were still constructing the Forum.

Or perhaps it is later in Rome’s history when they were building a second, third, or fourth forum. I suspect it is early, though, since the streets are not yet paved and there is still active construction going on with a wooden crane lifting up a block of marble to add to a second building. If that’s not deep enough, please excuse me while I put on my scholar hat for a moment. It should be pointed out that not everything is completely accurate here: the Romans generally built with brick or concrete and faced the buildings with marble, rather than building the whole thing of marble; and also, Caesar Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome (reigning from 27 BC to AD 14) is said by the historian Suetonius to have said, “I found it of brick, but left it of marble”, since marble was rarely used before Augustus’ day.

However, taking my scholar hat off, this is an impressive build, with lovely columns of clearly Ionic styling. The structure conveys the grandeur that is proper to that mighty republic of the past. The trees are particularly nice, with the whips coiled around in an organic way, and evoke the stone pines of Rome well. The folded minifigure capes do a great job as togas, too; you can see a few senators, perhaps, near the sundial in their white togae candidae. My favorite piece usage, though, is the inverted jumper plates for the ladders. The whole thing is impressive. Augustus would be proud.

Castaway’s paradise

By far one of my favorite LEGO builders that I have discovered since becoming a contributor to TBB is Sarah Beyer, who consistently builds well-designed dwellings inside and out, no matter what the size or scale. Even when going in a more whimsical direction, like in her latest creation which she calls a loner’s paradise.

The level of detail deserves a much closer look, starting with the base. Multiple shades of plates below transparent blue tiles give the sense of hidden depths among the soft sandy shore. I also love how she used an upside-down dry vegetation part below the palm leaves. The different shades of brown used to build the house’s stilts gives it the perfect weathered look.

The verdant vegetation continues up the backside of the house and the top-most of many porches and balconies includes a winch for reeling in the catch of the day.

And if you want to see more beautiful houses by Sarah Beyer, be sure to check out some of her many models we have featured on TBB over the years.

A spirit to bring your lonely soul home

Constraction figures have been a source of contention among LEGO fans for years, starting with the launch of Bionicle in 2000. Are they really LEGO? Are they just a subset of Technic? Or are they something else entirely? Obviously, the correct answer is yes (but to which question?), and they are a gift that keeps on giving with their many unique and surprisingly versatile pieces, not to mention the cult following they acquired among certain parts of the fan community that routinely churn out awesome builds. Builder Patrick Biggs is one such fan, if his photostream is anything to go by. His latest creation blends System, Technic, and Constraction parts together so seamlessly and organically as to lay to rest the earlier questions. It is all LEGO. And speaking of laying to rest, the centaur-like figure, capped by a deer skull, is a spirit that cares for broken, lost, and lonely souls, finally shepherding them home. I’m not sure that this spirit is one that I would like to see were I broken, lost, and alone, but perhaps some people would find it comforting.

There are many great parts usages here, from the torso armor used for the lower abdomen to the Hero Factory blades used as calves on each of the four legs. But far and away the best, and even inspired use, is the shin guards as hooves and lower legs. It looks the part perfectly and almost seems made for the job. I must point out, too, the beautiful color arrangement and work in contrasts; the black body with the white deer skull and the green plants with the red flowers, on top and bottom, make the image pop. Everything is balanced, just right for a spirit to lead your soul home, I suppose. It is beckoning. Will you follow?

In search of...unsolved mysteries

The only things I could readily glean from Cameron’s write-up was that this was built from plenty of Bionicle parts and it was inspired by the moon. The rest of the description, even the title, is written in some crazy moon-language. But is it Morse code, Hexadecimal, Dewey Decimal, or the ravings of some crazed lunatic? The world may never know. Add to this mystery the fact that this seems to be the first thing he has built since 2016 and you have a quandary that proposes more questions than answers. Was he replaced by a robot? Is he some sort of patron weirdo saint? Has he been affected by the tides or some monolithic alien presence? Your guess is as good as mine. Will the readers at home have better luck deciphering this mystery? If not, here’s some video instructions on how to build your own doggie desk buddy.

Keep out, nothing to see here, go away!

If the small “keep out” sign to the left doesn’t get the message across, then maybe the two hanging dead pirates will. Greg Dix built a scene inspired by Pirates of the Caribbean and has made it clear that he doesn’t want you to mess with whatever is beyond this natural arching structure. It looks like a nice clean wall that he probably doesn’t want your grubby fingerprints on. We will stick around just long enough to admire the clever build techniques that make up the slanted, rugged arch, that was surely no easy feat. Greg tells us this will be his last build for awhile as he is moving out of country, so soak it in, dear readers, but don’t get too close. In fact, you should check out his previously featured Island Fortress instead as it is much more inviting. Now go away. Scram! Git!

Get ready to rumble with this riot control mech. Or get ready to run

If you are planning on making trouble for the government in Marco Marozzi‘s world, you better be prepared to face the music. And by the music, I mean this manacing crowd control mech, who if you are unlucky and he runs out of ammo, will instead stomp you to paste without breaking a sweat.

Marco is a mech builder who uses lots of amazing mechanical details in his models that root them in the practical world, with joints that feel like they actually work, and this mech is no exception. The back of the legs use the helicopter ski element to anchor several greebly bits to maximize stompiness.

Another highly detailed section is the head and chest, which use the main torso part from many Nexo Knights power mechs to provide a richly textured look. But one of my favorite parts is half of an old hinged claw used as the back part of the foot.

Bonding over Modulex

When taking a deep dive into LEGO history, you’re bound to run into Modulex – a spin-off line from LEGO started in 1963. Designed for architectural planning, these tiny bricks can be hard to come by–but they certainly do work well to create images of the workplace. Elspeth De Montes noticed two of the human figures in this classic line were also very reminiscent of another classic series. Naming this image Good Morning Moneypenny transforms this well-built office into a tiny slice of life from a James Bond film.

My favorite detail is Moneypenny’s computer. I’m certain the Modulex team didn’t have a desktop workstation in mind when they made those parts!

We haven’t seen the last of Darth Maul just yet

I had such high hopes for Darth Maul. Everything from his double lightsaber, to his black hooded cloak, to his red and black tattooed face, exuded seething menace. However, just as quickly as he was introduced, he was sliced in half at the waist by Obi-Wan. He was fighting like a boss right up to that point but then it was like he forgot his super-jitsu skills for a minute there. Just like Boba Fett’s unceremonious demise, I was rather disappointed in how Darth Maul went down and imagined him piecing himself together again to seek unholy revenge on those Jedi do-gooders (and it seems those running Lucasfilm/Disney agreed). Apparently Jarema had a similar notion for the fallen Sith Lord that takes an even more menacing stance.

Here we see a shirtless Darth Maul flexing his Deltoids, his snarling face like some kind of voodoo tomato. His bottom half is a horrific mechanical six-legged spider body with each leg terminating in a sword blade. A complex network of chains seem to fuse his upper and lower body together. The end result is madness, which incidentally is what the builder calls this piece.