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.

Midnight sweet train brings holiday cheer in LEGO

It’s not even Halloween, but some folk are already pining for a winter wonderland. Christmas comes early in LEGO courtesy of Eann McCurdy (Miscellanabuilds) whose delightful midnight train scene is both cozy and clever in design. As his eighth and final entry in the latest Iron Builder competition against Geneva D, Eann incorporates the required red cauldron in the engine’s boiler. The pileup of snow in front of the train is a perfect mix of parts, including ice cream, hoods, and a frog. I especially love the forced perspective created by snow-capped trees at two scales. A tiny red byplane appears in the background, referencing Geneva’s prior Red Baron entry.

As if the brilliant train weren’t a grand enough finale, Eann prints the scene as a postcard for a bonus build that amps up the holiday spirit. Candles, Chrismas lights, and candies show off an abundance of red cauldrons. Dr. Strange capes make a sweet appearance as candy wrappers. Decorated gingerbread is the icing on the ~~cake~~ cookies.

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Should any of ye be wishin’ ta beg for mercy, Captain Hutt will hear yer pleas

Any fan of pirate history knows the legend of the Jade Eye’s Return, and how young Duke Wavewalker and his ragtag crew fell into the hands of the nefarious Captain Hutt while fleeing the Imperial armada. Joe (jnj_bricks) pays tribute in LEGO to the memorable scene on the shoals of Cancun where Duke and crew were taken by skiff to the all-meaty shark pit. Joe’s clever mash-up was made for a challenge to blend Star Wars with history, so taking the plank-walking Sarclaac scene back to the golden age of pirates is a perfect fit. The skiff’s brick-built hull is a lovely design and Joe’s technique for partially submerged sharks is brilliant, nesting the upper jaw over a grey dome and using triangular tiles for the dorsal fins. What sells the scene is the excellent remix of minifigs. Of course, pirate Chewie would use Hagrid’s beard.

Beware the Queen of the Jellyfish!

Jellyfish are weird, aren’t they? It’s just a floating nervous system with tentacles. No wonder they make such a good basis for alien creations – and Korean builder DEES has served up a doozy in that regard! Let’s start with that most jellyfish of attributes: the tentacles. Loads of parts are used to make them up here, from trans-clear round bricks and flowers to a whole boatload of ball joints. The latter serves to accentuate the organic shapes of this creature, so wonderfully done on the body with inverted boat slopes and wheel arch pieces in all manner of pinks and blues.

Dive in to see what else this jelly has in store for us…

Unleash your imagination with Calvin and Hobbes

Cartoonist Bill Watterson has always been protective of his magnum opus Calvin and Hobbes, to the point where it’s tough to find any approved merchandise of the characters, but I like to think he’d smile kindly on this charming LEGO build of his two titular characters. Geneva Durand captures the boy Calvin and his tiger pal Hobbes crossing a log bridge in an image from one of their most iconic panels. Tiny white frogs make up Hobbes’s outstretched fingers, while Calvin’s characteristically touseled locks look good as sloped bricks. A red pot makes Calvin’s torso. Rocks and foliage spring up on either side of the bridge. It makes you wonder, what adventure are they off to next?

Going for gold in a gamut of great Greek games

Still suffering from Olympic Games withdrawal symptoms? Well not to worry! Not only have the Paralympic Games just got underway, LEGO builders such as Bousker are still getting in on the Olympic action. And they’re taking us back not to Paris this June, or even Tokyo back in 2021, but to Greece in ancient times! And even to those unfamiliar with Greek games like yours truly, there’s plenty of familiar sports to spot here. There’s the pommel horse over on the right, with a set of hurdles not too far away. Then there’s the archery, of course, and a pole vaulter who appears to be feeling the heat of competition. And all set against a nicely textured backdrop – particularly those rounded-off stairs. Definitely a gold medal for this one!

Take a Minecraft Warped Forest tour in LEGO for alternative rocks

In the Minecraft gaming world, player mods push the game’s visuals to new heights. In the LEGO community, builders like Michał Kozłowski (Edge of Bricks) similarly add AFOL innovation to the Minecraft theme and the results are truly next-gen. Michał’s ornate take on this Nether biome is night-and-day different from the official LEGO interpretation. Tooth plates make for excellent weeping vines on the fungal “trees.” Most impressive is Michał’s pixelated lava, which mixes solid and transparent orange elements and looks amazing when lit up with a third-party lighting kit.

Michał goes into detail on his LEGO Minecraft techniques on youtube, including his clever take on the Nether Portal.

Thai-style church gets the LEGO architecture treatment

While the LEGO Group may have only just released the first set based on a house of worship with 21061 Notre-Dame de Paris, churches have long been a popular theme for adult builders, whether coming from an interest in architecture, history, or faith. Inspired by a recent trip to Thailand, builder Anne Mette Vestergård recreates a landmark church very different from the cathedrals and chapels more often seen in LEGO: the Holy Redeemer Church of Bangkok. Built in 1954, the church is built in the style of traditional Thai temples, with square columns, stacked gables, enameled tiles, and decorative chofa along the roof edges. Anne Mette does a phenomenal job recreating the details in miniature, down to the microscale cars out front. Unikitty tails in white integrate surprisingly well as a Thai-style flourish. But it’s that colorful tile roof in the distinct Thai palette that makes the church sublime.

Danish builder Anne Mette creates large-scale architectural models professionally, mostly at minifig scale, for public viewing. Whether you’re interested in Nordic history, theme parks, or LEGo as a medium to explore current events, her works are well worth checking out.

To the Batcave, Rachel!

Christian Bale will always be Batman to me, and the Dark Knight trilogy remains my definitive version of the Caped Crusader’s career. So of course this Tumbler build by ABrickDreamer leaped out at me, so to speak. I love the Tumbler itself poised in mid-leap as it returns to the Batcave (presumably with a heavily drugged Rachel Dawes in the backseat), but as far as parts usage goes, the real MVP is probably the waterfall itself. Power blasts, trans clear minifig stands, rods, and the minifig “flying” stand all work together to give the impression of water cascading from different heights.

Here’s a view from the back, complete with a burst of flame to propel the Tumbler through the opening. Will it be fast enough to save Rachel from the Scarecrow’s toxin? Well, go watch the movie.

The bricks afoot!

Picture a locked room, a dastardly crime, and a thief hiding amongst the guests and staff of a house full of secrets and you’ll get a scene exactly like this LEGO build by Sam J.J.! The characters in this build have found the secret staircase hidden behind a hinged bookcase, but they are still deceived! To save space on the build, Sam used forced perspective to give a flat series of bricks the appearance of a staircase running deeper into the walls of the house. While the minifigs focus on the staircase, let’s take in the rest of the build. The decorative sections on the wooden columns are mostly made from one, two, three bricks and seemingly a whole lot of friction. The table with its teacup is made from wands and book covers. And finally, the stained glass windows are made from turntable bottoms. Now back to our minifigures. Remember, when there’s a mystery, it’s always the butler who did it!

No such thing as an ugly duckling

If you need a little extra cuteness in your day, look no further than this LEGO art piece by Bert Van Raemdonck! I’d argue the strength of this build is all the subtle details. From the single stud for the cygnet’s nostril, the two tiny feathery tufts on its head, to the adorable little nub tail, all these things add up to be greater than the sum of their LEGO parts! Special mention needs to be given to the cygnet’s eye, as Bert has found the perfect piece for the job; a bicorne hat! Finally let’s talk colors. Bert has used light aqua for the swanling’s highlights, while on its other side the colors transition through gray and tan into yellow and bright light orange. With that, its time to wrap this up. I hope this cygnet signals a certain upswing in your day!

LEGO Megazord is a Mighty Morphin’ Masterpiece

Move over LEGO Voltron, there’s a new combining mecha king in town and the power is on their side. Builder Moko has been impressing us for nearly 20 years with LEGO mechs that mix style with unmatched play function. Moko’s latest masterwork will be instantly familiar to any ’90s kids and sentai fans: the Megazord from Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers (Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger in Japan). Moko recreates each of the five Dinozords that transform and combine with functionality to rival the best mech toys around.

Standing 18″ (46cm) tall, the Megazord falls between the heights of Voltron and the Hulkbuster. It’s remarkable how much articulation and detail Moko achieves at this scale while also achieving a studs-free look. The model is also impressively sturdy in all three forms, with joints that allow it to hold dynamic poses. It’s easier to fully appreciate Moko’s craft by seeing the model posed and transformed in action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPreAwpI-h0?si=BQ2RBd_-xhYf6B2k

Go, go power on for more pics of Moko’s Megazord! !

Tommy in the trenches on the Western Front

During the First World War, an explosion in the rate and range of weapons fire made field warfare a last resort. Trenches provided a modicum of safety for soldiers on the Western Front but at the cost of a drawn-out war of attrition. Historical builder The Halls of Montezuma honors the British soldiers who gave their lives in the Great War with a vignette of trench life in LEGO. The scene takes place near Ovillers in northern France, which Montezuma recreates with excellent brick-built terrain that mixes light tan and white bricks to depict the region’s chalky soil. Densely packed carrot tops make for beautiful grass, with snaking foliage in dark green giving extra texture to the scene.

Military history buffs will find many models to appreciate in The Halls of Montezuma’s collection, as well as in TBB’s own WWI archive.