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.

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.

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Vortexx, the beckoning Bionicle nightmare

Vortexx 2.0 is a stunning display of craftsmanship by Andrew Steele. It follows his amazing mighty Talos we featured recently. I get major Transformers Beast Wars Waspinator vibes from this model, but with a deadly serious twist instead of comedic incompetence.

Thanks to a beautiful blend of minifigure blasters, horns, robot arms, armor, chains, and a prize trophy stash of Atlantis treasure keys, this model jumps off the screen. This is actually my favorite shot of the model; the dim lighting and beckoning pose add to the feeling of emotion dripping off this hyper-detailed Bionicle/System creation.

A magical little windmill

This innovative building technique for windmill sails is simply magic! Magic wands that is. Andreas Lenander leaves some of the new wand pieces from the Harry Potter Collectible Minifigures attached to their plastic sprue and takes full advantage of their interesting shape. Beyond the smart parts-usage for the sails, the mill itself has a decent level of texture for such a small model, and is set within a nice little landscape — suggestive of a wider world around the building. This wouldn’t look out of place in a medieval real-time strategy game. And anything which reminds me of The Settlers is a good thing in my book.

An explosion of complex life in the early Paleozoic

Great museums like the American Museum of Natural History in New York City include educational displays that span the entire history of life on earth, from samples of banded iron (chemical evidence of early lifeforms such as stromatolites) to dioramas of creatures from the Cambrian half a billion years ago to the Holocene today. But you don’t have to travel to a museum in a far-off city to see great tableaus that illustrate early life on our planet — just check out this colorful scene built in LEGO by Luis Peña. Luis’s scene features an ammonite and sea jelly bobbing along in the warm current above a trilobite scrabbling along the ocean floor. Luis has included pearl-gold pieces in the ammonite’s shell, capturing the pearlescent look of the extinct creature’s nacre.

And the forecast for Jedha city this week is...gray...light bluish gray to be exact.

The scene from Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in which an Imperial Star Destroyer menacingly hovers over Jedha City certainly makes for a striking LEGO diorama, and it seems to entice some of the best Star Wars builders. Although we’ve seen Jedha City with a Star Destroyer expertly recreated once before by Hannes Tscharner, this time 0necase has made a much larger version of the scene, and the result is breathtaking.

The Star Destroyer is superb, and the shaping on the front and back of the bridge is particularly well done. However, the real star of the show is the mountainous base and city itself. I love the amount of colors and different greebles the builder has incorporated into the city, which serve to make it pop against the beautiful layering accomplished with various brown and earth orange wedge plates. Even the Imperial cargo shuttles transporting kyber crystals to the Star Destroyer are present, represented by minifigure roller skates — a particularly inventive parts usage.

In the City of the Dead, you will find the Claw Viper Temple

Diablo 2 is a game that is almost two decades old now, yet still holds a sizable following, including myself and, judging by some of his creations, Tammo S. Taking the game’s age into consideration, the photography angle of the creation makes much more sense, as it reflects the top-down view of the game. If you’re familiar with the game, you’ll love this creation for all its accurate details like the Paladin character in the middle sporting a Holy Fire aura and a Bone Shield. But even if this is the first time you’ve heard of this game, there is a lot to see.

Combinations of different tan colours to create an impression of stone bricks and all the textures and architectural elements really facilitate the Egyptian style of this part of the game. The creation was undoubtedly built for the top-down view characteristic for the Diablo videogame series, but this alternate angle still shows a some details that would otherwise remain hidden.

LEGO GAT-X105 Strike Gundam with AQM/E-X04 Gunbarrel Striker

The LEGO Ideas Voltron set has made me nostalgic for all the Giant Robot TV shows I watched as a kid back in Japan, not least of which was the fantastic Gundam. Two Rabbits shares my love of all things big and stompy, and demonstrates that passion with a series of really excellent Mobile Suits, kitted out with extra gear like the AQM/E-X04 Gunbarrel Striker pack with Strike Gundam from the SEED series. Beyond the rocket engines and weapons pods, the highly detailed frame itself is worth a closer look, with great shaping on the legs and torso, topped with the iconic Gundam head.

From the Wing series, the XXXG-00W0 Wing Gundam Zero features gorgeous angel wings and completely different detail on the mecha frame.

These classic hot rods are totally tubular

Throughout America, a trip to the beach can often go hand-in-hand with a classic car show. People love the warm summer sun, the smell of the surf, and feeling the breeze blowing through their hair as they drive down coastal roadways. Taking this as inspiration, Norton74 has created a beautiful beach setting for two equally gorgeous hot rods. Early Fords are popular with hot rod enthusiasts, which is probably why Norton74 went with modified versions of a 1930s Ford V8 (left) and 1920s Model T (right). Thanks to the combination of curves and exposed engine details, the cars look both sophisticated and mean. They’re like the classic bad boy with the soft heart. A sign warns surfers to watch out for sharks, but I would probably be more worried about that sand washing up on the tile-built boardwalk. Scratch attack!

Niffler hits the jackpot

We’ve hunted out our own treasure in the form of DOGOD Brick Design’s charming niffler build. Superbly modelled, with a selection of curved elements used to represent its furry belly and a snout shaped from modified hinge plates, it captures the mischievous spirit of the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them creature. The fun doesn’t stop there, with Newt Scamander’s case doubling as display stand. An upturned ring box with its ice skate element clasp adds further detail to the scene.

Could this niffler be bigger on the inside? Click through to find out!

Honey, I shrunk the Exo Suit!

If you take the time to reflect on LEGO news in 2014, you might remember the hotly anticipated LEGO Ideas release of Peter Reid’s Classic Space-themed set 21109 Exo Suit. Builder [E]ddy Plu took his shrink ray and cranked out this pint-sized version of a modern classic, and the icing on the cake is that it seats a microfigure from the discontinued LEGO games series. These particular figures originally appeared in the game 3842 Lunar Command. His build is instantly recognizable and incredibly cute.

This LEGO Technic RC Porsche 917K will really get your motor running [Video]

When the Porsche 917K hit the racing circuit, it made waves with victories at Le Mans in 1970 and 1971. This historic race car achieved further fame when it was driven by actor Steve McQueen in the classic film Le Mans (1971). McQueen’s 917K sported the Gulf racing team’s bold but beautiful light blue and orange livery. This particular version of the car holds a special place in Pawel Kmieć’s heart, so he painstakingly scaled it down into a terrific remote-controlled Technic model.

See more photos and a video of this LEGO Technic Porsche in action

Just another day on the olive farm

This pastoral farm scene by Jonatan Svenning packs a lot of great details into a small space. One of my favorite features is the simple roof, which uses 2×4 tiles connected on the underside and resting on the sloped wall with no apparent stud connection.

The narrow door and the textured walls provide a cozy vibe, while the low rock wall looks sturdy and weather-worn. I also love the multiple colors for both the landscaping and the path, that go so well together.