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.

Swoosh it – swoosh it real good

“Swooshable” is one of the finest compliments that can be paid to a LEGO aircraft or spacecraft model. Does it make you want to lift it up and swoosh it around the room whilst making engine noises? This cracking air racer from Red Spacecat could serve as some sort of dictionary definition of the term. The smooth lines, the rear-mounted contra-rotating prop, the colour blocking and stickers — all magic.

Couple all that with a folding undercarriage and a touch of Octan sponsorship, and you’ve got an absolute belter of a little LEGO plane…

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Take a spin in this rad, red Chevy

Back in 1957, LEGO was making various plastic and wooden toys, some of which were licensed by Chevrolet. Among LEGO’s Chevy products were an array of 1:43 scale plastic trucks, but the holy grail of this partnership would probably be the 1956 model year Bel Air convertible. Considering the toy was advertised in 1957, it is curious as to why LEGO did not represent the 1957 model year vehicle. It’s a shame because the 1957 Bel Air has become one of the most popular and iconic collector cars of the 1950s, which is probably one of the reasons why Robson M decided to make this sporty red convertible.

See more of this lovely LEGO Chevy Bel Air

A beautiful killer

The Orca is the largest of the dolphin family, one of the planet’s top predators, and a majestic sight. Ken Ito has put together an excellent LEGO model of one of these amazing creatures breaching the surface. The model is nicely shaped, particularly those fins, and I like the restrained use of a custom sticker for the white facial marking. The upsurge of water around the orca’s flanks is well done, as is the spattering of white and trans-clear pieces — it creates a sense of movement, and of the rest of the creature’s bulk just beneath the surface. I’d love to have this oceanic treat on my desk at work.

Disaster at the Daily Bugle

This diorama of Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus or “Doc Ock” in battle by Thorsten Bonsch is quite stunning. The scene takes place smack in the middle of the famous fictional lobby of the Daily Bugle. What stands out is the amazing detail around the circular lobby, which in itself is quite impressive in a block-based world.

See more of this Amazing LEGO Spider-Man diorama

Aggretsuko: Twenty five, single, Scorpio, blood type A

Say hello to Aggretsuko (アグレッシブ烈子), the latest character from the creators of Hello Kitty. By day, this red panda is a gentle and kind accountant, doing the best she can in a job she loathes. But by night, she blows off steam by shedding the cutesy look for that of a raging death-metal karaoke enthusiast!

Originally aired as a series of shorts on Japanese television, the adventures of Retsuko have finally arrived on Western shores in the form of a Netflix original series. Taking inspiration from this unexpectedly kawaii take on the modern condition, I decided to try and capture Retsuko’s struggle using LEGO bricks:

Click here to see LEGO Retsuko with all her accompanying accessories

Seems like it’s a long way from home

Artist AdNorrel creates with his brick-strokes a unique composition of a surreal scene with a character making her way through the mountains. The texture of the bricks both below and above the ledge gives off a scary feeling of great heights to the path of this mysterious traveller. The placement of the distant mountains is a nice play with perspectives giving it a larger than life look. If this was my path home from work every day, I’m pretty much sure I wouldn’t get tired of this picturesque journey.

Stunning AV-22 Sparrowhawk from Halo Wars

Video games are a great source of inspiration when it comes to building LEGO spaceships, especially the Halo franchise, with a wide variety of orbital, deep space, atmosphere, and ground vehicles from many space-faring species. Marius Herrmann, who has built models from Titanfall 2 and Horizon: Zero Dawn has built a stunning version of the AV-22 Sparrowhawk from Halo Wars.

While this might look like a digital render to some, the source for many of the unusual olive green elements is much more analog. The builder used a very careful application of spray paint to produce the needed parts for this wonderfully detailed craft, and the results speak for themselves, if you ask me. On the more traditional side of things, I especially like the propellers, made from a lattice radar dish plus mini-fig hands and hooks.

Here is even an added bonus, a depiction of the craft in action.

Hobbiton is more than just Bag End!

The excellent photography and advanced building techniques may be what drew my attention to this creation by Patrick B., but they are not the most interesting part to me. What is so unique about this creation is the accompanying description, crediting a handful of builders who inspired Patrick’s Sandyman’s Mill, either by building their own versions prior or as Patrick’s sources for some techniques used. It is normal for builders to both reuse previously discovered techniques and credit their sources, but I rarely see it like this particular example. It almost reads like a scientific publication!

Click to see and read more about the build!

Sebulba’s Podracer Revenge

I’ve been a fan of Podracers ever since they made their debut in The Phantom Menace. These strange vehicles have two bulky engines towing a cart that has very little protection if things go wrong. Jon & Catherine Stead take a spin on the iconic scene where Sebulba is defeated. However, unlike the movie, this time the Dug pilot has a souped-up, mean machine ready to take out any other future Jedi wannabes.

I guess one thing Sebulba didn’t quite learn is bigger may not necessarily mean better, as he opted for oversized engines yet again. Probably unseen and hidden are all those illegal mods to take out any other podracers that may be of threat. Continue reading for close-up shots of Subulba’s new podracer.

Sure to be smooth sailing, wind or no

The Esmeralda is an unusual LEGO ship for several reasons. First, it’s a steam corvette from the 1800s, a period when many ships were rigged with sails and outfitted with steam engine-powered screws. Despite the abundance of source material, not many LEGO builders have recreated these ships. And secondly, builder Luis Peña has chosen an interesting size, scaling the ship to the game microfigs.

The finished result looks excellent, with a ship that’s big enough to incorporate lots of details like the anchor pulleys, while still small enough to be manageable with a reasonable number of pieces. Other great details include the Technic panels as sails (a technique LEGO employed on the Sea Cow) and the excellent little Chilean flag.

Star World Wars II : Return of the Dogfights

Hardcore Star Wars fans would know that many of the scenes from the original trilogy were heavily inspired by World War II dogfight scenes, and even some of the ship designs were lifted from aviation bombers of that period. Builder Steve Peterson has reversed this inspiration and transposed the space vehicles back into what they could have looked like if World War II fighters were instead inspired by the vehicles from Star Wars. He took the fan favourites of the X-Wing, the Y-Wing and the TIE fighter and made them look very retro cool. It seemed like they stepped through a time transformation machine. If you’re familiar with the era, tell us what WWII aircraft you think inspired these builds!

Click to check out all 3 vehicles

A bridge beneath the tracks

There is so much about this little scene that stands out as awesome. Regularly featured here on TBB, excellent master builder Tim Schwalfenberg does it again with his River Crossing. He says, “You can’t really have a train without some sort of track to display it on,” so he built one. The textures and colours of the rocks and foliage are impeccable. The intricate detail that has gone into the iron framework of the span across the turbulent rapids is amazing, and the brilliant red engine leaps out from the subtle textures of the natural colours and contours on the cliff face.