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.

Chinese dragon is ahead of all others

The key to many LEGO creations is the model’s “face” — be it the head on a mecha, the front grille of a truck, or the pointy end of a starfighter — often when you crack that part of the build, the rest flows into place. And sometimes, if you get the face right, you don’t need anything else at all, as with this wonderful Chinese Dragon by Pol Mac. The dragon’s head is excellent, with smart parts use offering excellent shaping. Don’t miss the intimidating frown from two pearl gold bananas, the use of Chima armour to create the pug-nosed snout, and the spot-on curved jaw created from red flame parts. Yes, sometimes it’s great to see large-scale creatures rendered in their entirety, but sometimes the full model is simply not required.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

R2-B2, the lost cousin of Artoo that didn’t make the cut

Meet R2-B2, Artoo’s long-lost cousin that didn’t get to play a scene in the Star Wars movie franchise, rebuilt by Luc Byard. It was said in recently recovered interviews that “Betoo” was simply too overwhelming and would overshadow Threepio as his droid buddy. We think George Lucas made a good call on this one, but wish he had a cameo, perhaps as an Easter Egg buried in the background. R2-B2 has never been seen again since then. Some say he’s just been overly depressed from Artoo’s success over the years and went into hiding.

Besides just being a color accurate, it’s nice to see how Luc used all the right elements, designs, and curves to reflect the familiar parts of Artoo’s signature look. I’m still a little concerned about boarding a 3 wheeler bus, so I’m definitely going to question the issue of stability.

Trying to build a balance

Finnish builder Eero Okkonen shows master-class LEGO character creation with the Herald of Scales, imagined in ancient Egyptian styling. The inspirational seed part for Eero here was the mini-doll skirt used as, well, segments of the Herald’s skirt! Equally notable is his use of chains as both embellishment and supports on her staff, and again as beautiful braided hair.

Eero details the artistic and building processes on his blog, which you can read here.

The plastic always shines above the clouds

Who needs an island in the sea when you can have your own private enclave in the sky? This splendid floating homestead was built by -Littlejohn and his brother Isaac for InnovaLUG’s collaborative display at Brickworld. While this size of the islands may be small, the builders packed a lot of detail into each one. I love the idea of subsistence farming above the clouds, which is made even more exciting through the use of bright and cheery colors. The little house completes the scene quite nicely; it looks so quaint and inviting that I wouldn’t mind living there!

Don’t let out a sound, and run for your life

Builder Heikki M. is known for creating very realistic settings of rooms paired with clever photography angles. However, this blood-chilling scene sent a tingle down my spine after one look. A door slightly ajar and a trail of splatter across the floor tiles leaves room for anyone’s imagination to run wild. The visual cues of the grandfather clock past midnight which seems to be missing a pendulum gives it an eerie timestamp of the event taking place.

Heikki reassures us that the fake blood is leftover from the last Halloween’s party, but I’m more concerned if the stains are going to come off!

Like a fish outta water

Mammals aren’t the only creatures that want to explore environments that are clearly designed to kill them, and this bold fish adventurer is going where no fish has gone before, with the help of a shiny brass mech suit. Built by Andrew Lee, this clawed fish suit is basically an exercise in using the available inventory of pearl gold elements, which is a pretty limited offering, pulling from Hero Factory, the few basic elements that are available, and a variety of minifigure accessories.

Drop in and set Frontier worlds ablaze

The fun, fast-paced action of Titanfall 2 multiplayer is what hooks me in, but with my latest LEGO Titan I wanted to show appreciation for its well crafted single player campaign. To make a Titan build unique to campaign styling, I chose to build Kane’s Scorch Titan, the first boss Jack Cooper and BT-7274 fight in the campaign. Kane was like a stereotypical multiplayer gamer: overconfident, calling his opponents “scrub,” and easily defeated.

See more of Nick’s awesome Titanfall mech

LEGO Nexo Knights meets Warhammer 40k

Although I have never played the tabletop games, I have always admired the aesthetic of the Warhammer 40k universe, particularly the vibrantly colored hardsuits and tanks. Simon Crocker has created an excellent Warhammer-Nexo Knights mashup with his razorback tank, which is based on a heavily armored variant of the Rhino APC from the Warhammer games.

Although the build may initially appear straightforward, closer inspection reveals the complex shaping and techniques used to make the front and back of the APC look so smooth, and to achieve the light bluish gray accents in just the perfect places. Although I overlooked it at first, the use of dark bluish gray panel pieces sticking out by 1/2 plates distance on the front viewports of the tank is particularly clever. As a finishing touch, custom stickers are used to add the fine details and make it especially accurate to the source material.

Tiny castle wins the prize

This tiny castle by -soccerkid6 was built as a prize for a castle building contest but stands on its own merits as a great microscale model. Many different red elements make great roofs, and I love the ice-cream cones inverted under that long hall. The rockwork is also interesting, with lots of techniques normally found on much larger builds, such as the uneven base and sideways bricks.

And in case you are wondering what it looks like from the back–I know I was.

Sculpting an elegant monochrome unicorn

As we all know, building with LEGO isn’t just about creating cool things, it’s also a fantastic art medium. Not only that, it’s a wonderful outlet for self-expression. One builder and incredible artist, Ekow Nimako, is a master of gorgeous monochrome sculptures. This white unicorn is just one of his many creations.

It turns out that he has built a similar piece in almost all black. Also, it sounds like he is considering building a large-scale version of this creation, with a child on its back. If he does, I’m sure it will be incredible! Ekow has many amazing builds, so keep an eye out for future coverage!

Clean and simple microscale castle is packed with charm

When it comes to building a great microscale castle, there is something beautiful in the simple choices, color, angled walls, round or square towers, a bridge. This lovely castle scene by Henjin_Quilones has many of these simple choices that add up to an enchanting build.

One of my favorite features is the use of inverted 2×2 round bricks, with windows at the top made with the gaps on the underside of the bricks and plates. A few well-placed gears are another nice detail. The grooved bricks used as stairs was a surprising feature. I also really love the smooth walls topped with slopes, and the very few windows placed very thoughtfully.

Besides the castle itself, there are other areas of the scene worth noticing, like the small village and docks, the watchtower on the far side of the bridge, and the detailed landscaping.

Daisy daisy, give me some LEGO do

LEGO, with its cuboid forms, can be a tricky medium in which to attempt organic shapes. Ольга Родионова has done a lovely job with these daisies though — beautiful white petals surrounding a glorious sun-yellow core. Nice work with the green clamshells underneath too. The depth of focus on the photography is excellent, creating a nice sense of scale, and adding immensely to the model’s presentation.