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.

Emperor Palpatine watches his plans fall into place.

Spoiler warning for a series of movies that came out between 1999 and 2005. The Star Wars Prequel Trilogy make it pretty clear that Senator, later Chancellor, Palpatine was the puppet master behind the Clone Wars, leading to his accession to Emperor and the formation of the Galactic Empire. ZiO Chao‘s latest creation captures this idea perfectly. The bust of the Emperor works well on its own, as does the vignette of Anakin and Obi-Wan dueling over the lava, but the hands really tie the whole thing together – they frame the fighting Jedi as something that Palpatine is playing with. The size of the three characters really emphasizes how big of an impact each character had on the war. Even as generals, Obi-Wan and Anakin were merely pawns in a larger game of chess they weren’t aware of. The expression on the Emperor’s face is priceless, as he subtly yet gleefully stares at the scene, grinning as the final pieces of his plan fall into place.

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Her name was Lola, she was a showgirl

The Levitating Over Land Automobile — better known as “Lola” — was made famous in our world through the TV Series Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and even appeared in an official LEGO set, 76077 Iron Man: Detroit Steel Strikes. Having said that, this build by Eric Teo is the version that you’d really want to bring home for a test drive, with striking curves. The only similarity is the windscreen, which uses the cockpit bow, with the rest of the body remodeled to bring out the best shapes of the 1960 Chevrolet Corvette.

Rovin’ around with more Classic Space goodness

Not too long ago, Alec Hole revealed his enormous Galaxy Explorer and now he’s back with a companion rover that’s just as exceptional. It stands out with a unique two-seater cockpit design for a pilot and his companion to go exploring the landscapes of distant planets. The rover’s cylindrical tanks at the back have some interesting-looking greebling that makes it look all authentic with serious space functions. To top it all, the highlight of the build is that this rover is built to fit into the cargo hold of Alec’s monumental Galaxy Explorer.

Battlefront II comes to life with epic playset

“For the Chancellor!” This creation features the best of the 2006 video game Star Wars: Battlefront II. Built by Sebeus I, the scene illustrates an incredible canyon cliff, complete with weathered surfaces. The various tan slope elements are my favorite part, but I also like the laser fire, particularly the accurate in-game colors. To me, this model is so well done it bridges the line between realism and video game experience.

Representatives at the Interstellar Conference of the 3rd Sun

Despite this website’s origins as a minifig blog way back in 2005, it’s not often that we highlight minifig-only LEGO creations — often frowned upon by more “serious” LEGO builders as mere “figbarfs.” But there is incredible joy in putting together pieces of LEGO in unique ways, no matter how small the resulting creation. And from time to time, something truly stellar emerges from the imagination of a builder, like these fantastical aliens by VolumeX.

There is so much ingenious use of “single-purpose” minifig parts here — like Queen Amidala’s hair for the face of the leftmost figure or Ahsoka Tano’s head-tails above a Mon Calamari head and octopus legs from the Atlantis theme on the middle figure. I could pore over these all day.

Whoever saves one life, saves the world entire.

Steven Spielberg’s award-winning 1993 film Schindler’s List is not a movie that inspires frequent LEGO builds. Nevertheless, Austrian builder Patrick B. has hauntingly captured the typewriter that Oskar Schindler and Itzhak Stern use to list the names of people Schindler attempts to save from the Holocaust. Patrick’s LEGO build includes many of the key items Schindler has on his desktop, including pens, paper, a stapler, and a wonderfully symbolic candle. The melting wax and drop of ink dripping from the pen are particularly beautiful touches.

Aratech 105-K Lancer Bike from Star Wars: Clone Wars

The 2003 TV series Star Wars: Clone Wars has always been one of my favorite pieces of Star Wars filmography. As a child, I think it was the first Star Wars saga I had ever seen. Yes, some of the moments in the show were impractical and far-fetched compared to those depicted in the canonical movies, but I think that’s what made it so memorable. Lancer bikes were a prime example. Why one would need to fight with lances in a world of laser cannons and starfighters, I don’t know, but it made for an epic and memorable scene. I’ve been trying to recreate the lancer bikes in LEGO for some time now with the goal of making the definitive version. Originally I had one that could seat a full figure, but it didn’t look the greatest, so I opted to disassemble the legs of the figure and made a version that ended up looking much more accurate.

While the dark red pattern on the stand is likely blood from a recent battle, I placed it there as a sort of allusion to the frequent dark red explosions that occurred in the series.

Some alone time in the Herbology Lab

Neville Longbottom is working overtime for that extra credit in this lovely scene by architeclego. A quick scroll through their Instagram feed shows architeclego’s skills at creating great models and a mastery over lighting and effects that really elevate their photos to the next level. This beautiful little Harry Potter themed creation is no exception!

While everyone else is out practicing their broom skills and spell casting, Neville is hard at work on his Herbology homework. His wand is at the ready and earmuffs firmly in place for working with the screaming mandrake root.The lab has a lived-in look with the many jars and plants scattered around the room and the two levels give the whole thing a nice sense of vertical scale. Ron’s rat Scabbers even makes an appearance, peeking out from behind the pots. It takes a deft hand to seamlessly use non-LEGO objects in a model, but architeclego does so here with great results. The real plants blend in quite nicely with their plastic counterparts and the spray of water in the greenhouse is a perfect dash of realism.

While the whole scene is fantastic, it’s the lighting and effects work that really make this scene shine. The daylight coming in through the windows looks authentic, but it’s the light beams coming from the greenhouse that provide the most impact. We all love seeing a nicely photographed LEGO model, but as this set up demonstrates, a little attention to lighting effects can really transcend the art form.

Sauron looks pleased with his creation

Sauron, the evil creator of the One Ring at the center of the Lord of the Rings books and movies spends the majority of his screen time as nothing more than a giant flaming eye at the top of his dark tower of Barad-dûr, he does make a brief appearance at the beginning of the film version of The Fellowship of the Ring, in the physical form of a towering spike-armored figure with a mighty mace, which he uses to lay waste to countless enemies. Aaron Newman has built an amazing model of Sauron poised at the edge of a lava flow, holding up his creation, perhaps just after pouring his cruelty, his malice, and his will to dominate all life into the One Ring.

The distinct helmet and armor feature some of the new blades found in many of the Ninjago sets released last year, as well as a very nice ragged cape made from a couple of large capes. I am especially glad that Aaron chose to build his model in gray rather than black, as it would have been much more difficult to see all those great details.

A collection of Cambrian creatures

The Cambrian Period was the first geological period of the Paleozoic era, lasting from 541 million to 485.4 million years ago. This time in earth’s history witnessed an explosion in the appearance of multicellular organisms like those represented by these LEGO sea creatures built by Luis Peña. Each one is a prehistoric work of art worthy of display in a museum.

Have a closer look at these sea creature’s from earth’s distant past.

Attack of the Giant Man [Instructions]

If you’re a fan of the Marvel Superheroes theme, you might remember the only official Giant-Man LEGO figure was found in set 76051 Super Hero Airport Battle. It was built and designed to look like an upscaled minifigure, but the sharp angles made it feel a bit boxy. Personally, I prefer what hachiroku24 has done by using various parts typically found in LEGO’s constraction (buildable action) figures like the Elite Praetorian Guard. I think it gives the figure a more life-like appearance and, if you fancy it, you can build one of your own using this video instruction guide.

Breaking News: deadbeat dad ruins kid’s life, hand

A Tatooine man known as Darth Vader has ruined his son Luke’s life and chopped off his hand, sources told our reporters last Monday. This creation by Joffre Zheng depicted the scene immediately after the lightsaber duel on Bespin where Vader and Skywalker took the kerfuffle onto a dangerous overhang. After slicing off Luke’s hand, a portion of guardrail and some other mechanical doodads, the two exchanged heated words. Vader had reportedly goaded Skywalker about the power of the Dark Side before revealing that he was his father.

Unbelieving that such a deadbeat could be his dad, Luke jumped hundreds of feet then slid down what might have been a garbage shoot. He later emerged, clinging to a radio antenna beneath Bespin’s superstructure. Skywalker was later rescued on board the Millennium Falcon by his friends Chewbacca, Princess Leia Organa, and Lando Calrissian. “The kid was bummed”, Calrissian told our reporters. “Like, totally bummed, man.” Authorities were not called to the scene of the incident, and it was reported that alcohol was not involved. At press time Skywalker had also learned that Leia Organa was his sister, making the passionate kiss they shared earlier quite awkward indeed.