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.

LEGO version of James Bond’s submersible Lotus Esprit

Considered by many to be the best Bond movie of the Roger Moore era, The Spy Who Loved Me features an undoubted highlight — Bond’s Lotus Esprit sportscar transforming into a submarine. Nicknamed “Wet Nellie” (in homage to Little Nellie, Bond’s famous gyrocopter) the car’s stylish lines and aquatic abilities immediately earned it pride-of-place on most 70s fantasy car wishlists. If you always wanted one, why not follow Luis Peña‘s lead and build your own LEGO version? It’s unlikely you can afford the real thing — in 2013 Elon Musk bought the prop vehicle from the original movie for a cool £550,000!

Despite its tight dimensions, Luis’ model includes all the details you’d expect, including the wheel arch fins and the iconic slatted windows. It also features a smart interior…

The only thing that seems to be missing is a compartment for dumping Alka Seltzer tablets into the water behind the vehicle. That’s how the moviemakers created the streams of bubbles trailing from the sub during the film’s underwater sequences!

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Unsettling figure will haunt your dreams

Sometimes the most effective LEGO creations are those that skillfully employ a sparse economy of parts. This creepy figure from Cezium does exactly that–building genuine character from a handful of pieces. Whilst this (blind?) old lady appears to be only gathering herbs, her eyeless visage and the skull-bearing staff create a real sense of unease. I suspect there’s nothing but a frame beneath the cloth habit, but it doesn’t matter, as what is visible is well done. The face (built from an upside down Raptor body no less!) and the skull are excellent, and the use of spider leg parts for the staff’s tips is perfect. Couple the model-building with atmospheric photography and you have a wonderfully unsettling LEGO creation.

Epic 4-scene collaboration by Shobrick and Cole Blaq, plus an exclusive look behind the scene [Feature]

LEGO TOKYO is a special collaboration between Aurélien Mathieu (better known online as Shobrick) and Cole Blaq. To be precise, it’s really Shobrick’s swan song from the LEGO scene–and what better way to make a grand exit but with a monumental partnership to release four epic scenes that were put together by professional set designers and talented artists.

Click to see the duo’s amazing images of LEGO Tokyo and read about how they were created

A proper vehicle for the true heroes of the city

Every superhero needs a top-notch ride. While Batman has to choose among all of his Batmobiles, other heroes, like firefighters, have a lot to show, too. Steven Asbury, an expert in the sphere of city fire safety, is constantly upgrading the city department’s engines. Here’s the new Arrow XT platform with a ton of things to spy: a dozen of compartments, flashing lights, switches, and some skillfully designed custom stickers.

And on a quiet day, this truck is still a finest jewel of the modern LEGO city.

Take control of Twitch’s LEGO Shock Drone from Rainbow Six Siege [Video]

One of the most fun games I play with friends is Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, a tactical multiplayer game of attack and defend resolving bomb defusal or hostage situations. In the attack phase, I like playing as French GIGN operator Twitch, who is equipped with her own hand-crafted camera drone outfitted with a taser. To show some love for this game, I built the Shock Drone with LEGO in 1:1 scale.

The bulky design of the Shock Drone compared to other operators’ standard camera drones allowed enough room internally for Power Functions. Each front wheel is powered by a motor and controlled by SBrick, which, just like in Siege, allows me to control the drone with my phone. You can see it in action, as well as a glimpse at the internals and a gameplay comparison for those unfamiliar with Siege, in the video below.

An inhuman horror from another time

I’m fascinated by Mihai Marius Mihu’s latest Cthulhu themed creation. Featuring a red shrimp-like ‘old one’, whose beady white eyes and muscular torso resonates a sense of otherworldly grandeur. It’s a unique monster design that utilises some excellent modelling skills to creepy effect. The composition sees the demon towering over the diorama’s micro scale fortress, again hinting at an inhuman scale suited to its Lovecraftian subject matter. Working like a latter day Hieronymus Bossch, Mihai’s art shows us the uncanny potential of the LEGO brick.

Giving old builds new life with these LEGO insect automata

It wasn’t very long ago that we featured an interview with superb Japanese builder Takamichi Irie. We’ve also covered a number of his builds on this site. So if you’re having deja vu about seeing this lovely animal before, you’re not crazy! The sleek scorpion is back as one of Takamichi’s signature automata. Using only brick-built cogs and simple mechanics, he’s breathing new life into this automaton and other eye-catching builds.

Click to see this scorpion automata in action!

Take a cable car to the clouds

One of the things I love about Alan Boar’s LEGO creations is the amount of time he takes to research his subjects. In this case it’s the Taikoo Ropeway, an early cable car system built in 1891 to link Hong Kong’s Taikoo Dockyard to the Taikoo Sugar Refinery. The finished diorama, built in collaboration with his wife and son, is rendered in an aesthetic reminiscent of Chinese landscape painting. Designed in monochrome, the Mount Parker setting is wonderfully accented with stylised brick clouds. In front of the clouds, a grey building frames the predominately white ropeway scene, helping to highlight a host of fascinating features.

It’s a long road ahead

Route 66 is the mother of all highways in the USA, cutting across the nation from coast to coast through small towns and scenic vistas. Though it’s since been eclipsed by the interstate highway system, it’s captured a special place in history for making the trans-American highway a reality. LEGO builder hachiroku24 brings us back to Route 66’s glory days with an awesome rendition of the highway marker sign, part mosaic and part sculpture. The excellent use of the 4×4 quarter-circle macaroni tiles lends both the numbers and shield outline just the perfect curves.

Who stokes the fire in the long-forgotten castle?

Halloween has come and gone, but it should not be the only day of the year when we get to see dark and moody themes. Tymothy Shortell would agree, having built castle ruins that look perfect for the season yet apropriate throughout the year.

All the colours, or lack thereof, make for a great atmosphere, mostly facilitated by the dark gray of the castle wall. While the castle is my favourite part, the landscape is very important too. The whole scene is a round shape, with natural flowing transitions between rocks and grass. The editing and photography are what takes the build to a higher level though, especially a dim orange light shining through a window.

Modest microscale church

A good microscale model can be defined by innovative use of new LEGO elements re-purposed to create unexpected new forms. A great microscale model combines this with traditional parts and colors to form a symphony that sets the model apart. This roadside chapel by Jens Ohrndorf is a perfect example of this mix. Take the entry roof, made from this modified plate with a small raised tab. Or the windows, made from the underside of 1×1 plates. Lining the foundation is a row of light gray ingots. I also enjoy the trees, which are just the right size for the scene (a design inspired by the trees in 10253 Big Ben).

Stunning LEGO Venom mask is fully wearable

The symbiotic anti-hero Venom comes to life in LEGO bricks in a lifelike replica helmet/mask built by Brickatecture moc industries. Shaping is on point in his interpretation of Tom Hardy’s Venom, with tooth plates adding a bit of texture to the jawline and eye.

What makes his Venom mask interesting is the open right side, revealing the symbiote’s host face underneath. It’s a smart decision that adds a lot of character to the build, and shows off the model’s true scale as a life-size mask.