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.

Tiny LEGO model of Hagrid’s hut is truly magical

Nestled at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, this iconic dwelling from Harry Potter by Jonas Kramm is instantly recognizable. There are so many great details to talk about that make this model come alive, starting with the landscaped base, using sloped parts and tiles at alternating angles. And don’t miss the new wand sprues planted in the ground to form the perfect fence. Aragog lurks on the left corner below some trees made with this shoulder armor element. Another surprising technique is the way the 1×1 plate with clip nestled in the anti-stud gap in the cone used for the hut’s roof.

This LEGO model was built as an entry for TBB’s Microscale Magic contest. Coverage on TBB of an entry will not be taken into consideration during judging, and will have no effect on its ability to win, either positively or negatively.

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Now you see it. Now you don’t. Voltron’s green lion is in its element.

If you are a huge fan of the Voltron LEGO set, you might also be interested in the “Form Your Most Imaginative Voltron Scene!” contest on LEGO Ideas. The contest has produced some excellent entries, such as aido k’s breathtaking tribute to the green lion, “In its Element.” The entire scene is comprised of an excellent likeness of the lion’s head, which is split into mechanical and organic halves.

See more of this custom LEGO Voltron model

Make like a tree, and root out the zombies!

Strategy game Plants vs. Zombies became an international hit after its 2009 release, and it has been going strong ever since. A portion of the game’s success can be attributed to its colorful cast of characters, like Torchwood. Torchwood is a mean, green, shooting machine and this LEGO version built by chubbybots is a great character build. His model offers a nice balance of function and form, with articulated joints and expressive facial features.

The mouth opens and closes, which allows for some fun poses like this one. Together, the tilted eyes, open mouth, and outstretched weaponized arm all scream attitude.

He’s even ready to go head-to-head with the game’s namesake zombies.

Monorail, monorail, monorail [Video]

Hearkening back to the 80s LEGO Monorail with its centre-engine car and retro look, Jason Allemann has come up with another fantastic kinetic powered creation. This time he has built a motorised train for the new LEGO rollercoaster system.

Jason is using an ingenious design with Technic half bushes and rubber tyres to attach and propel the mini monorail. Watch the video to find out more about the challenges he faced and overcame to create this cute little piece of LEGO nostalgia.

The two staves — awesome life-size LEGO prop replicas from The Lord of the Rings

Staves may be little more than glorified sticks, but they have managed to work their way into the very heart of fantasy symbols. Some of the most famous examples are found in The Lord of the Rings, wielded by some of literature’s most famous wizards. Jon & Catherine Stead have recreated in 1:1 scale a pair of the wizard staves seen in The Lord of the Rings films.

The staff of Saruman the White is a remarkably clean model built around the Star Wars planet elements for the orb. Unless you zoom in, it might be hard to recognize the staff is actually LEGO. This is even more impressive if its mere five hours of build time are taken into account. The builders also share the exact piece count, which is 831 for this particular model, and it measures 91 inches in length.

The staff of Gandalf the Grey is an impressive creation in a completely different way. It is not quite as accurate to its movie representation as Saruman’s staff, but the complexity of the source material makes its recreation a much more impressive achievement. The spiraled headpiece is created using multiple arch elements wrapping around the shaft. The build was completed in an impressive four hours using 938 bricks. It measures 61 inches in length.

A different kind of cloud city

With all the clamour online surrounding LEGO’s new Betrayal at Cloud City set, it’s great to see a builder with a very different take on life in the sky. Marcel V has taken inspiration from the super-talented anime illustrator Chong Fei Giap, famed for his sprawling cityscapes. Wonderfully photographed with the nimbus mist swirling around the towers’ stilts and only a cable car system to get around, the model really captures an other-worldly quality. Still, the mind boggles as to how the inhabitants pin their clothes to the precariously hung washing line–I hope they have a good pulley system! Marcel plans to take the model to the Skaerbaek LEGO fan weekend in Denmark next month; for those of us who are not lucky enough to attend, you can still check out detailed images of each of the balanced abodes on his Flickr stream.

Come on, stop trying to hit me and hit me!

Do you ever get the feeling we are living in a simulation? One of the greatest cinema moments of the nineties has been brought to life in LEGO by Douglas Hughes in this scene from The Matrix where Neo asks, puzzled, “I know Kung Fu?” Morpheus looks at him quizzically and challenges, “Show me.” Douglas has captured the simple complexity of the dojo beautifully, adding special lighting for the sword racks. With its stark lines and contrasting colours, Neo deftly dodges one of Morpheus’s relentless attacks.

The castle is small, but it’s perfectly formed

There are a bunch of classy LEGO microscale building techniques on display in this island castle put together by Henjin_Quilones. The island’s rockwork and sparse greenery are neatly-done, but don’t miss the sandwiched grille tiles creating tiny windows in the rock face, the Technic “weapon barrel” wheels to give texture to the larger round towers, and the clever use of half-plate gaps to create arrow slit style openings. The highlight for me is the use of angled grille bricks to provide the steps up from the little jetty — it’s a microscale technique we’ve seen before, but placing it front and centre adds a touch of detail at a scale which makes the whole creation feel much bigger than it really is.

One Stellar LEGO SHIP

As the month of September draws closer to an end, so too, the month-long annual epic that is SHIPtember. The challenge of building a spacecraft that measures at least 100 studs in any direction (AKA a SHIP) in a single month is no easy accomplishment. One of the most critical aspects of a good SHIP is its structural frame, requiring careful crafting to keep the vessel from falling apart under its own weight without looking too bulky or boxy. This ship by Chris Perron is a great example of this balance, combining form with industrial function. Another hallmark of the SHIPtember shipyard comes from making use of parts not typically thought of as spaceship parts, like the trapezoidal orange dump truck ends so expertly used by Chris to form the hexagonal sections along the fuselage. Another great detail are the flat gold flanges in front formed by angled tiles.

Chun Li – Queen of Fighters

Chun Li was the first female character to appear in a beat-em-up, bursting onto arcade and console screens in Street Fighter II in 1991. John Cheng has built a cool chibi-styled LEGO version of the character. The outfit and stance make the model immediately recognisable, with all the signature elements present and correct — the white boots, the split skirt, the gold embroidery on the bodice, and the buns in the hair. Put that attention to detail together with a supercute big-headed anime styling and you’ve got a cracking LEGO creation. Spinning helicopter kick for the win — KO!

Build your own LEGO Jehuty from Zone of the Enders [Instructions]

Prominent video game-inspired LEGO builder Marius Herrmann from Germany is back with another remarkable brick bot, this time in collaboration with developer/publisher Konami. Say hello to Jehuty, a mechanical Orbital Frame suit piloted by the protagonists of the Zone of the Enders video game saga.

There is an amazing amount of articulation to be found across multiple joints and accessories. Newer parts like the bar w/ round plate hollow stud make an appearance in the wingtips and hands, and some larger, sleek “constraction” pieces in key positions on the arms and inner thighs provide a nice contrast to the more piece-intensive torso and limbs.

For comparison, here’s some art of the original Jehuty:

This model comes with the added bonus of instructions and a parts list and you can see a timelapse video of the build as well!

A fellowship of LEGO builders takes us on an epic journey through Middle-earth with 13 amazing creations

J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy world of Middle-earth, best known from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit books and films, has shaped much of modern fantasy. Indeed, LEGO builders have been finding inspiration there for a very long time, in the recent years even more so with the support of the official LEGO themes based on the movies. Over the years, we’ve seen multiple collaborative projects appear both as online galleries and convention displays; however, we think this latest initiative is among the most impressive. The massive collaborative project includes 10 builders and 13 creations depicting different locations and events of the Third Age of the Sun.

The project consists of dioramas of varying sizes and styles, although modern castle-themed builds tend to have moderately standardized techniques and styles in the fan community. This makes for a very consistent group project, while still letting each builder’s individual style shine through, and making each creation a great stand-alone build. Continue reading →