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.

Deploy TIE bombers to root out Rebels hiding in asteroid belts

The Imperial TIE Bomber doesn’t get a whole lot of screen time in the Star Wars films, but its unique twin-fuselage design has made it a fan favorite over the years. Polish builder barneius uses the new TIE fighter canopy, placing his model in the same scale as official LEGO sets like 75211 Imperial TIE Fighter.

The ordnance pod with its forward missile port is wonderfully detailed, as seen in the photo above. This next rear view showcases the excellent shaping of the fuselages, along with the bomb chute that extends down from the ordnance pod.

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Buck Rogers and the 25th Century Thunderfighter

The 1970s brought us so many great sci-fi television shows in the wake of the original Star Trek series, from Battlestar Galactica to Space 1999. There was even a reboot of Buck Rogers, which served as the inspiration for this classic starfighter by Luis Peña. Based upon designs from famous Star Wars concept artist Ralph McQuarrie, this model features some excellent sculpting and color striping which closely matches its on-screen counterpart.

LEGO Soyuz launcher stands 1.25m high and took a year and a half to build

Since it’s first flight in 1966, the Russian Soyuz rocket system has become the world’s most frequently used launch vehicle. With over 1,700 flights in 50 years, this Russian stalwart has hauled cosmonauts, satellites, and cargo aloft, with its relatively simple design creating an enviable reliability record. However, this LEGO version of the latest Fregat version of the Soyuz is anything but simple — Jussi Koskinen has pulled out all the stops to capture every last feature of the spacecraft’s detailing. The scale of the effort involved is impressive — the model took 18 months to put together, and measures over 1.25m.

The overall structure of this massive model is excellent, and the shaping and angles on the lower boosters are particularly good. The smaller details are worth a look too — don’t miss the texturing around the base of the boosters, the scaffold-style connection between stages, and the nice integration of the Russian flag into the upper stage’s colour scheme. This formidable model wouldn’t look out of place on display beside the LEGO Ideas Saturn 5 set, and that’s high praise indeed.

So long, and #ThanksOppy – Mars rover Opportunity declared dead after 15-year mission

By the time the Curiosity Rover landed on Mars with its splashy “Sky Crane” in 2012, the unassuming Opportunity rover had already been trundling across our neighboring planet’s surface for 8 years. But on February 13, NASA declared its 15-year mission over, having received the last transmission from the rover ahead of a major dust storm on June 10, 2018. To commemorate the end of the mission for what is arguably one of humankind’s greatest achievements, here’s my LEGO Opportunity that I built back in 2012.

Get ready to raid some rocks

When it debuted in 1999, Rock Raiders was LEGO’s first theme dedicated entirely to mining, and this year marks its 20th anniversary. Set in a futuristic world, the teal highlights and yellow caution stripes now evoke a particular kind of nostalgia for those of us who had the line as kids. Purple-Wolf has put together a series of creations set in that grungy, dark underworld. First up is a sort of convoy truck called the Rubble Shovel, and it’s armed with the biggest plow possible. That plow is actually from Duplo, but it fits the aesthetic perfectly here.

See the rest of the Rock Raiders creations

Rolling out the dream team of steam

From the mid-1800s through the early 20th Century, the Industrial Age reached farms in the form of steam traction engines. While they were heavy and slow, they were preferred for their serious hauling capabilities. There is something captivating about these massive mechanical marvels, and that’s probably why Nikolaus Löwe built a fleet of three steam traction engines. Each one looks distinct enough to stand on its own. My favorite model is this traction engine, which is hauling a hay wagon. The vehicle’s color scheme is eye-pleasing, rendered in dark red, black, and gold. Meanwhile, the black chain links look great wrapped around the wheels.

See more of these relics from a bygone era

Rey’s speeder has never looked better than with this awesome UCS LEGO version

LEGO’s Ultimate Collector Series line of highly detailed Star Wars models has brought us amazing models such as the Y-Wing and Millennium Falcon. But there’s one thing that’s missing so far, and that’s any vehicles from the new sequel trilogy. Regardless of your feelings on the new movies, we can all agree that there are a lot of amazing ship designs in the films, and one of the coolest (and smallest) is Rey’s speeder from The Force Awakens. Builder Aniomylone wasn’t content to wait for LEGO to build a UCS version of it, so they’ve done it themselves with this stunning rendition.

Back in 2016 we featured another UCS version of Rey’s Speeder, but what’s fascinating here is how Aniomylone’s version is built with radically different techniques, yet is still incredibly accurate. I also love that there’s a custom UCS-style placard to accompany the speeder.

Black mecha hardsuit is ready to bring the hurt

Armored hardsuits are definitely a LEGO fan favorite subject, and this stocky fellow by Moko immediately caught my eye with some great details. First off, the shoulder guards, which use this unusual hockey helmet, are paired with the Bionicle mask to give the suit a bulky style. The elbow connection is also interesting, inserting clip bars into the underside of a 2×2 round brick. A small detail on either side of the pilot’s compartment is the printed construction tile from LEGO 30529 Mini Master-Building Emmet polybag. The overall effect reminds me of a goliath beetle.

See Manhattan as you’ve never seen it before with this incredible LEGO model

LEGO Certified Professional Ryan McNaught sure knows how to make an impression with LEGO bricks. For the centerpiece of his current exhibition, titled Brickman Cities, Ryan designed this stunning replica of Lower Manhattan, which utilizes LEGO in a way we’ve never seen before.

Constructed of more than 210,000 entirely white bricks, the 1:600-scale city is incredibly accurate. Continue reading →

Circling the wheel in space

If like me you’ve been following Tim Goddard’s Instagram feed, you’ll have seen him teasing a fleet of colourful microscale LEGO spaceships over the past few weeks. Well the big reveal is finally here: I give you the Perhelion Point space station and attendant spacecraft. Constructed as a series of scaled disks that rotate around a central core, it looks wonderful hanging atmospherically in orbit.

Up close you’ll find some neat building techniques, like the modified plates with pin holes, which are matched with turntable disks to form the station’s super-structure. Naturally, there are multiple landing ports and shuttles to liven things up too. Continue reading →

Tiny homes for tiny LEGO people

This vintage 1970 Chevrolet C10 and accompanying mobile tiny home by Thomas Gion may just be the cutest LEGO model I’ve seen on eight wheels in a very long time. To begin with, the sand green and white color scheme both fit the era perfectly and look fantastic, making the tri-tone truck completely believable. Then, the shake-siding on the tiny home, made of 1×1 and 1×2 cheese slopes, brings a homegrown vibe to the trailer.

But best yet, much like a real tiny home, the trailer packs a lot more on the interior than you would expect. Thomas has utilized every stud of space, packing it with a left bed, bathroom, kitchen, and foldaway dining set. The only problem I see is that there’s no place to store the ever-growing LEGO collection!

Lloyd, your Destiny is...small?

When I reviewed the newest official Destiny’s Bounty set, I was surprised at just how big the set was, coming in at a massive 21 inches long. Now, W. Navarre is seeing just how far to the other end of the spectrum Ninjago can go with this absolutely adorable tiny Destiny’s Bounty. As with any micro model, every piece counts and must be made good use of, but the curved roof of the Bounty’s quarterdeck is what I like most, since getting that rounded top is no small feat, though it’s helped tremendously by the new 1×1 quarter circle tiles.