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.

Who shot first?

Was it Greedo, or was it Han? How about Markus Rollbühler? Markus wanted to gear up for the new Solo: A Star Wars Story movie coming out next week by building Solo’s DL-44 Heavy Blaster for a contest hosted by theRogueBricks Flickr group. He has done such a wonderful job recreating this Star Wars that I’m almost convinced he personally presented the gun to the space cowboy himself. I enjoy Markus’ attention to detail, including the textured leather grip. From a distance, it almost looks like the real deal!

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Born to build on the bayou

In the U.S., Louisiana is sometimes known as “bayou country” thanks to its marshy, crocodile-laced swamps. Life on the bayou can be rough and tough, as Sebastian Bachórzewski shows us in one of his latest models. By mixing various earthy colors and greens, Sebastian captures the combination of muddy swampland with wild overgrowth. His rustic cabin shows signs of weathering within a harsh environment, and the way the bright green algae meets the dark and murky water is sublimely beautiful.

That armor’s too strong for blasters!

Building a Technic mechanism to make a LEGO model actually move can be daunting for those who mainly build static models, but perhaps this excellent Star Wars kinetic sculpture by Josh DaVid will inspire you (and me) to give it a try.

The model features a circling snowspeeder, and moving legs on the AT-AT, which can be powered by hand or with a Power Functions motor. The builder has done an excellent job compacting and simplifying a seemingly complex mechanism into such a small space. Check out the video below to see the model in action!

Apollo–Soyuz Test Project ushers in a new era of détente

In July 1975, American Astronauts and Soviet Cosmonauts met in low Earth orbit, shook hands, exchanged gifts, and conducted joint scientific experiments as they docked their spacecraft together for over 40 hours. Luis Peña has recreated this historic spaceflight in LEGO, complete with an Astronaut conducted an EVA (Extra-Vehicular Activity). Like the designers of the wonderful LEGO Saturn V set, Luis has overcome the inherent challenges of building conical and spherical shapes in LEGO, with the Apollo Command/Service Module in gray and the Soyuz 7K-TM in iconic sand green.

Take a closer look at these amazing LEGO spacecraft

Take time to smell the orchids

I guess there aren’t many orchids in space, but the ones out there would probably look like the StarOrkyD by F@bz. Its floral inspiration with thin, curved surfaces is highly visible, and the spaceship seems to have a bit of a Star Wars’ B-wing fighter look to it.

There is a lot of detail to love here, from obvious things like the bulbous cockpit and nicely flowing curves, but there are some more subtle ones too. Light gray antenna pieces have their tips hidden within the bottom side of a brick to look like very thin tubes. The use of flag pieces at the transition into the large engine makes the shape flow very smoothly.

An exercise in microscale

What I particularly love about building in microscale is that it makes you value every single piece and every spare stud of space. When a tiny 1×2 slope becomes a very huge section of the building’s roof you become very careful with planning your creation. And Marco De Bon‘s tiny quarter is a brilliant example of careful planning and very nice execution. Despite a very limited variety of pieces and colors, this neighbourhood looks both elegant and surprisingly diverse. My favourite part would be those small balconies of the white apartment building; the use ofplate 2 x 4 wedge‘s shape is just stunning.

It’s a K-wing... It’s a Y-wing... It’s a Y-18R Ragnarok Starfighter!

SweStar‘s latest starfighter is so sweet and cool, I don’t not what should I start with — an outstanding cockpit design or amazing textural detailing of the rear part of the ship; it’s just yet another example of the design so perfect, it’s hard to find a single thing to criticise the creation for. The build’s color scheme gives some very nice retro vibes, and I can’t help mentioning the Retro Spaceman as seen in the Series 17 of the Collectible Minifigures. I would love to see this guys piloting the spaceship!

And it would be a crime not to share one more picture of the starfighter showing its very cool shape.

Around the world in 80 studs

These mosaic sculptures by ZiO Chao have so much depth, they’re bordering on bas-relief. We’ve shared ZiO Chao’s landmark sculptures before, and he is back at it again and is ready to take us on a trip around the world with a series of 3D mosaics.

Click to continue touring the world with the rest of the mosaics

Hulkbusting out and I’m breaking ground

Hot on the heels of a LEGO Brickheadz-styled Back To The Future DeLorean, we get another “vehicle” for the blocky figures — a chunky chibi Hulkbuster Armour designed to fit Brickheadz Iron Man. This digital creation by ORION_brick is nicely done, with suitably beefy proportions and LEGO’s own Iron Man nestling comfortably inside.

We don’t feature a lot of digital renders on the Brothers Brick, generally preferring our LEGO models to be constructed in actual bricks. However, this is a cool idea and, unlike many digital creations, it doesn’t employ too many non-existent part/colour combinations.

An Italian restaurant built from Danish bricks

Mediteranean aesthetic, both architectural and otherwise, is not very often portrayed in LEGO, but when it is, builders tend to capture it very well. Mouseketeer111 has done one of these renditions as a modular-style building, and I can say from first-hand experience that this scene reproduces the spirit of an old Italian town perfectly.

There are some simple elements that are important to conjure up the Mediterranean feeling, namely a barrel-tiled roof and Italian flags, but other details like bright colours, overgrown walls and the ice cream shop are what make this creation stand out. My favourite part, however, is the balcony. Not only is it well built, but it is photographed so that the shade looks even more inviting!

There’s more to them than meets the eye

If you are looking for a striking vision of leadership, look no further than the indomitable Optimus Prime! Beautifully Lego-ized by builder Anakin Skywalker, this stunning rendition of the fearless leader of the Autobots captures the shaping of his head and torso superbly. I love the limb articulation and the poseable fingers, as well as the little details like the windscreen wipers. Optimus is posing Roosevelt-like with his “big stick”. Like any true commander, his philosophy was, “There’s a thin line between being a hero and being a memory.”

Field of LEGO dreams

Here’s a pretty LEGO view — a daisy-strewn meadow with a brick-built backdrop. Hans Demol built this mosaic for a display with his local LEGO group. Mosaics are not usually my favourite kind of LEGO building, but the addition of the strip at the front with the daisies elevated this into something more interesting than a simple rendition of a pixelated image. It would be even better if some of the varied green shades in the backdrop’s “grass” had continued forward over the base, but that’s nitpicking at an otherwise lovely design.