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.

Brickfair Virginia: fourteen builders from six countries collaborate to commemorate the Vietnam War [Feature]

Last year, after Brickfair Virginia 2017, over a few drinks Magnus Lauglo, Aleksander Stein and I had a discussion on what to bring for 2018. The three of us have been attending BrickFair for years and have often admired the large collaborative displays at the event, with builders creating something together. Because of this we figured it would be nice for us to collaborate too rather than bringing our own stand-alone models. We soon agreed to build scenes from the Vietnam War.

I suspect that most ideas that come out of conversations in bars lead nowhere and that is probably a good thing. However, earlier this year we found that we were still pretty excited about this idea and we found that more people wanted to get involved. Ultimately, eleven more builders contributed (in no particular order): Peter Dornbach, Stijn van der Laan, Matt Hacker, Dean Roberts, Eínon, Evan Melick, Casey Mungle, Corvin, Yasser Mohran, Bret Harris and Brian Carter. Corvin, Aleksander and I are the only builders who don’t live in the US or Canada to regularly attend the Virginia event, but our Vietnam group turned out to be a pretty international crowd. We had builders who live in six different countries: the US, Denmark, Switzerland, Portugal, Norway and the Netherlands.

We picked Vietnam as the subject because we all watched classic Vietnam War movies when growing up, it is largely novel for most of us and it is far less common for military builds than models from, say, WW2. We considered building a single collaborative battle diorama, but chose to build separate scenes instead. It is hard to find a single battle that is actually interesting to build, as there is usually just a lot of terrain involved and multiple copies of trees, bunkers or vehicles. Separate scenes have the advantage of allowing different builders to give the subject their own twist. I was excited to see what the other guys came up with. The Vietnam War offers a lot of scope for building interesting military hardware, but we could also show some of the history, including the aftermath. Given the wide range of different models on display, we nailed it.

See more details and a gallery of the builds

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The Valzaleer spacecraft has a beautiful veneer

This incredible spaceship by AdNorrel features distinctive profile shapes and smartly integrated LEGO pieces. The lovely bits of filled-in details within the crevasses and armored surfaces of the starship are great examples of greebling done well. Not too out of place, not too overshadowed — there’s some real inspirational craftsmanship here.

I don’t want all of my articles to become running checklists of parts, but see if you can spot the messenger pouches, croissants, and frying pans. It’s a really fun scavenger hunt kind of model.

Click to see even more of the Valzaleer

Nature always wears the colour of the spirit

Earth, Fire, Water, Plants — all these elements combine in rockmonster2000‘s Nature Guardian figure. The tribal mask-style face is excellent — bound to intimidate any who dare trespass on this Elemental’s territory. The body is a combination of Technic and regular LEGO parts, something that isn’t easy to do well. I particularly like the drips from the watery arm and that trailing frond of greenery from the foot. They add visual interest and some real character, breaking up what might otherwise have been a little predictable.

Take a moment and appreciate the calm

Serenity. It’s what many of us experience as we build LEGO models — rummaging through the brick bins can be as meditative as raking the sands of the Zen Garden. Rollon Smith captures a little oasis of calm in this model — “a peaceful place for peaceful hobbies”, he calls it. It’s a nicely built scene, packed with detail. I really like the mix of “wood” along the shoreline, and all the little domestic touches visible on the open upper floor. That splash of pink from the tree adds an attractive colour contrast to the building’s black and red tones. Overall it makes a pleasant change to see all those new-ish Ninjago printed pieces making an appearance in a model which isn’t packed full of Ninjas disrupting the peace and quiet with all their martial arts nonsense.

And of course, this model would fit right into the huge Ninjago City collaborative layout that we’re organizing with our readers at the BrickCon LEGO convention in Seattle over the first weekend in October.

This little LEGO moody Groot is on the move

In Avengers: Infinity War, cute little Groot has grown up — at least, a bit. Now he’s moody Groot, a treenager with his nose deep in his games. TBB’s Builder in Residence Iain Heath is getting Groot out of the house, but good luck getting his headphones off. In a series of photos over the next few days, Iain will be showcasing this adorably grumpy Groot around the city — not that Groot is likely to notice anything. The little LEGO Groot is remarkably poseable, and has the perfect squinting scowl befitting a petulant youngster.

Be sure to watch Iain’s Flickr album, where he’ll be sharing more of Groot’s adventures in coming days, or follow him on Instagram.

Frigates of mass destruction never looked so good

As September looms nearer by the day, seems like builder noblebun is already flexing his muscles for the upcoming SHIPtember event where fans of LEGO battle to outdo one another creating huge ships. Sounds simple? The challenge rules just say the SHIP needs to be 100 studs or longer (also known as a Seriously Huge Investment in Parts). This digital build is outstanding for the seriously smooth texture that makes it feel like the lines are all actually part of a futuristic design and not the signs of LEGO elements pieced together. I seriously love how the microfigures were used as part of the centerline texture and greebling effects.

A Demiguise on the loose spells trouble

This Demiguise character from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them is one hard little beast to capture if ever on the loose. First of all, invisibility is one of their magical powers and on top of that, being precognitive insight which really makes it difficult even if you are able to see them. They can only be captured by Wizards and Witches that are skilled and trained with the right techniques including making unpredictable moves to counter the foresight of the little creatures. It is fortunate that we indeed can see this Demiguise built by yu chris and its wide-eyed stare made up of the bright light orange 4×4 inverted radar dish and a round 2×2 boat stud for its dark pupils to stare into the abyss.

A bit of summer haunting

It’s already that time of year when stores begin their months-early preparations for Halloween, filling aisles with spooky themed decorations and sweet treats. But whatever your feelings on the imposition of this decidedly autumnal holiday intruding on the coattails of summer, you can certainly agree that it’s not too early for this haunted Victorian LEGO house by Anton Kushnir. Complete with knarled trees and an ominous carriage, the scene is just the thing to bring a bit of chill to the air. The mansion’s facade employs the less-used side of the masonry brick as wooden siding, and the medium nougat makes a lovely contrast with the light grey highlights and black roof.

LEGO Frozen BrickHeadz 41617: Elsa and 41618: Anna and Olaf [Review]

Disney’s Frozen joins the growing ranks of pop-culture BrickHeadz now available from LEGO. 41617 Elsa is available by herself, along with 41618 Anna and Olaf, who come in a buddy pack. Elsa comes with 130 pieces, and retails for $9.99, while her sister Anna and her childhood friend Olaf come with 201 pieces, and retail for $14.99. They are numbered 52, 53 and 54 in the BrickHeadz series and both sets are available now.

Read on for our full review of these two sets

Mimic Mishap: a Dungeons and Dragons LEGO adventure!

Taylor, of the Brandon and Taylor Walker building duo, has put out another entry in his Dungeons & Dragons series. As a newly-minted D&D player in the middle of his first adventure (I’m a half-elf Ranger with a sailor background who always follows orders, even if they’re wrong), I’m probably paying more attention to this one than I normally would have! There are five unique figures representing a range of the official character classes all facing off against a monstrous mimic treasure chest. The standout figure for me is the demonic tiefling with his mustache-for-horns. The floor and walls are also extremely well done, adding a patterned texture to offset the chaotic battle.

And if you’re as hungry for more D&D LEGO content as I currently am, check out our archives for cool models featured previously!

Bricks for Glory I: so you want to build a hero

Back in the 1980s and 1990s, Sierra was one of the biggest names in PC gaming, and high-quality adventure games were one of their specialties. One of their most beloved franchises was the Quest for Glory series, developed by Lori Ann and Corey Cole. Of the five games in the series, Letranger Absurde chose to recreate the opening scene of Quest for Glory I: So You Want to be a Hero. As the hero enters the picturesque town of Spielberg for the first time, he is greeted by Sheriff Schultz Meistersson and his massive right-hand-man, Otto Von Goon. Going by the colors used, Letranger appears to have based his representation on the VGA remake. He makes a great use of various angles to form the buildings in front of the town square, and forced perspective is cleverly used to suggest there is another area to explore. The characters are instantly recognizable, including a brick-built version of Otto pulling off a yo-yo trick like he often does in the game.

Designed the Blacktron way

When revisiting a classic LEGO theme such as the first wave of Blacktron sets, as CK-MCMLXXXI does here with his Ravenwing Fighter, you have to really get your head around the original design principles. It seems obvious when pointed out, but the black- and yellow-accented Blacktron fleet references the danger markings of the animal kingdom. The insect quality of this nifty spacecraft draws on this, bringing to mind an angry hornet. Best of all, it takes the triangular Blacktron insignia and uses its angles to form a distinctive bug-wing shape. Marrying this with an abdomen-like cylindrical body completes a near perfect Blacktron vehicle.