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.

Classic space: upscaled, armed and dangerous

Builder Jacob Sadovich, who is probably best known to the LEGO community for his LEGO Ideas winning ship in a bottle project, has given us a very different, but equally impressive new model. At first glance it looks like a well built if fairly typical Classic Space star fighter, but look again and you’ll see it’s built to a much larger scale — a scale that allows him to pack in the details, from the clutch of wing mounted missiles, to the huge turbine intakes on each thruster.

Designed around the Technic LEGO figures from the late 1980s, this ship really is huge. Zoom into the front canopy and you can see Jacob’s modified pilot up close, replete with bespoke Classic Space uniform.

There are more surprises to be discovered when viewed from behind.

A rear mounted gun turret completes the military feel of this superb spaceship. Beautifully formed form an X pod, it pays homage to iconic World War 2 planes such as the Lancaster Bomber.

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LEGO Overwatch Reinhardt enters the battlefield

A LEGO Overwatch build has been revealed, and it’s this awesome rendition of the hero Reinhardt by Herbert Lee. The heavily-armored German is classified as a tank in the massively popular first-person shooter video game and his appearance here more than justifies the title. The model’s stout form looks like it can take a beating and the helmet looks remarkably accurate to the game, as does his signature rocket hammer.

As an added bonus the Reinhardt model’s base is also a meticulously built and overly greebled recreation of the Overwatch logo. It also puts into perspective just how big Reinhardt is in brick form.

Finally, check out how fan builder Herbert’s model stacks up against the official LEGO Overwatch set in TBB’s recent review of 75953 D.Va and Reinhardt.

No kidding, this fort is way too small for the both of us!

Do you remember that giant awesome LEGO set you always wanted as a kid but somehow never got for Christmas or your birthday? Well, it might not be that easy to get a sealed copy of that set now, but at least you can build an itsy-bitsy version of it! Letranger Absurde brings back the legendary LEGO Western 6769 Fort Legoredo from 1996. As a child I was fascinated by its wooden walls and I was sure it must take a thousand LEGO bricks to build such a massive fort. Now, this copy looks just as exciting with walls and towers made of some of the smallest LEGO pieces. And just when you notice an adorable micro cannon right outside the fort’s gates, you simply can’t help smiling at this tiny beauty.

You couldn’t paint a better Nightmare than this, even Before Christmas

Twas the Nightmare Before Christmas, when all through the house not a creature was stirring…except for SpaceBrick. SpaceBrick’s latest LEGO model presents a unique twist on the classic Tim Burton film by taking a scene and contextualizing it as a painting. His brick-built illustration is even mounted on an easel! The builder did a great job of crafting the moonlit cliff with a curl, and the surrounding scenery is to die for. Pairs of Harry Potter wand on sprue elements were used to create tombstones, which look Burtonesque in their own right. Look carefully, and you might also catch a glimpse of a tiny Jack Skellington.

The level of detail in this LEGO model is frighteningly high, right down to the tools of the trade scattered below the easel. There are half-filled tubes of paint, a paint spill, and wood shavings alongside the pencil sharpener. It all helps one feel the artist’s sense of accomplishment they must have experienced upon finishing their masterpiece.

LEGO X-wing locking S-foils in attack position

There are few Star Wars vehicles as recognizable as the X-wing — from the distinctive shape of the wings that give it its name, to the long tapered fuselage. This iconic starfighter has inspired many LEGO builders to attempt to capture it in brick, as well as official LEGO sets like 75218 X-wing Starfighter released last year. This model by JJbricks is a fantastic build at minifig scale and has some great details, such as the canopy, resting on an angled frame. The visible grey bits on the inside of the wing are also a nice touch. But some of my favorite parts are the laser cannons. Made with just a few pieces, they very accurately capture their on-screen inspiration.

And this rear view shows off a nice bit of greebling within the hexagonal body of the ship.

TBB cover photo for January 2019: Captain on the Bridge!

A new year brings us a (belated) new cover photo for The Brothers Brick’s social media channels. This month’s cover photo by Finn Roberts takes us high above the earth, to the interior of a spacecraft preparing to depart our planet’s orbit.

This scene is also built to fit the interior dimensions of an inflatable habitat module that Finn featured in a previous LEGO model, alongside a fantastic spacecraft used to assemble an interplanetary cruiser under construction. We can’t wait to see what the finished cruiser looks like!

Want to see your own LEGO creation featured across TBB social media for a month? Then read the submission guidelines and send us your photo today. Photos that do not meet the submission guidelines will not be considered, and will be removed from the group.

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Fright Knights flashback

Do you remember Fright Knights? Thomas “Thomassio” van Urk does, and he’s built a flashback tribute model to the LEGO Castle subtheme from the late 1990’s.

This homage is quite a bit more complex than the forgotten theme’s biggest castle set, 6097 Night Lord’s Castle, but features many of the key details that scream “Fright Knights” including bats (using original flags, soldier helmets, and bat elements), Willa the Witch on one of the towers with a telescope, and even main antagonist Basil the Bat Lord if you peer closely. More modern flourishes include the Bat Monster from an early collectible minifigure series, seen terrifying a hapless knight on the grounds outside the castle.

It’s not just new and old minifigures being included. Fancier building techniques than the original sets are on full display here as well, with tons of Studs Not On Top tiling and detailing all over the place. My eye immediately latched onto the round tower section shown below, which features some really nice double cheese wedge action to fill the gaps of the detailing wrapped around the tower.

If you enjoyed Thomas’ work here, see some of his previous models on TBB like the Dohodno Zdanie and giant sky pirate airship the Lady McZep.

This LEGO Volkswagen Beetle is a Bumblebee in disguise

For those of us who were in our early teens in the eighties, Michael Bay got it all wrong when he made his first Transformers movie. Listen to me, Mr. Bay: Bumblebee turns into a Volkswagen Beetle; not a Camaro. Travis Knight, the director of the new 2018 Bumblebee movie, was a teenager in the eighties and is a self-confessed Transformers fan. He nailed it.

We’ve already featured a really sweet LEGO version in Beetle mode by hachiroku24 and a screen-accurate Bumblebee robot by ekownimako. However, they don’t actually transform. I happen to think that this a pretty essential feature of any Transformer.

Making it transform is certainly not easy, but I pored over pictures of new Bumblebee toys released for the movie. I also happen to have a LEGO Beetle design that I like, which I could use as a starting point. It is quite small, though, at about 19 cm long (roughly 7 inches) and there is a lot of stuff that needs to fold into it. The end result is flimsy, it doesn’t really want to stand upright unsupported and it’s not nearly as nicely proportioned in robot mode as in the movie, but it works: the Beetle unfolds into a Bumblebee.

How small can you go?

Sometimes, the leviathan is small. In this magnificent tiny vignette by Grantmasters, a lone ship rides a ferocious ocean. It’s a safe bet that it’s the Pequod, since it’s hunting a white whale. As usual, Grant’s build is rife with excellent parts usages, from the little known Belville figure feet making most of the whale’s body, to the beard for a tail, or the axe blades for water.

Turning back the clock to classic aviation with the DC-3

The Douglas DC-3 is among the most iconic aircraft in the world, with a distinctive shape that’s instantly recognizable. Unfortunately for LEGO builders, that shape is also rather difficult to produce with LEGO bricks. However, that hasn’t dissuaded Vaionaut, who turned his skillful hands to this classic and produced a masterpiece. He started with an earlier design by Obuh Samateus and significantly overhauled it for accuracy and stability. Apart from the excellent shaping of the compound curves in the aircraft’s fuselage, the small touches, such as the brick-built German flag on the tail and the chrome non-custom chrome cowling on the engines, really make this model sing. The small service truck is easy to miss, but it’s a fantastic accompaniment also.

A shiny upgrade for the N1 Naboo starfighter

Embracing custom LEGO pieces can have dramatic results. In builder Inthert’s case, the decision to swap out standard grey bricks for custom chrome elements (taking a cue from the UCS Naboo Starfighter) on the upgrade of his 2017 version of the N1 Naboo starfighter is a shining triumph. Not only does this new version of the classic Star Wars ship capture the sleek lines of the original, something we saw from him recently in his TIE-Proteus model, its burnished finish echoes the art deco motifs of the Old Republic. I’m put in mind of the allure of vintage sports cars, whose glistening engines can’t help but entice even the non-motor enthusiast.

Charming North Pole residence could be Santa’s other house

Now that Santa’s big night has come and gone, the man has earned some rest and relaxation. What better place to unwind after a very busy holiday season than this lovely chalet by Jack R., perfect for relaxing with a steaming cup of hot chocolate after a day of skiing or snowboarding. Above the door, the stained glass look, made with transparent orange plates behind turntable bases, adds a touch of warmth to the scene.

Next to a nice stack of firewood outside, a couple of Santa’s sled team also enjoy a nice rest. Jack demonstrates a great use of battle droid torsos as the reindeer heads.