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.

Space squirrels take to the slopes

So this LEGO scene by Miro Dudas apparently depicts Space Squirrels competing in a bobsleigh event on the Neptunian moon of Triton. Nope, me neither. Genuinely no idea what’s going on here. But it’s still a fun little creation. Those Olympic rings are nicely done, and the surrounding scenery creates a good sense of a wider landscape. This isn’t the most complex model we’ve ever featured, but it made me smile. Swooshing down an ice track in a tin can at 70 kilometres an hour? Those squirrels must be nuts.

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A new take on the old Samus Aran

There have been been many attempts to recreate Metroid‘s Samus Aran in LEGO before, with each one bringing something new to the table. This version by Logey Bear forgoes System bricks for a combination of Technic and “constraction” figure pieces. The obvious standouts here are the comically oversized pauldrons built with Duplo pieces, and the striking teal arm cannon which is built up on a Robo Riders wheel piece.

The day when Anakin turned into Darth Vader

There are a few epic scenes in the Star Wars prequels, and Darth Vader’s transformation is certainly one of them. LEGO has featured it twice, firstly back in 2005 in set 7251, and then more recent 75183; the later was a huge step up in terms of parts and playability. Then there’s the fan-made version by Korean builder Korion which has 1900 parts and a model I’d classify as UCS (Ultimate Collectors Series). The amount of detailing is breath-taking and features a transformation chamber that Palpatine would approve of.

Click to see more details

Find your link to nature

How do you create a tree using chains? It seems an unlikely element to form the organic branches of a bonsai tree, but in this creation by Tim Schwalfenberg, each of the connected links forms a knot on the gnarled bark. The result is highly original and undeniably striking. Tim doesn’t say how many chains he used, but it’s certainly more than you might expect, if my own experiences with LEGO chains are anything by which to judge.

Tim hasn’t stopped with just this one tree, though. He’s actually created a series, each explore different techniques.

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Swan Lake ballet automaton built from LEGO

Automata built from LEGO always amaze and inspire me. Growing up, my favorite ballet was Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, which I had the privilege to see performed by the Bolshoi Ballet at the height of their skill in the late 70’s when they toured Japan. Pixeljunkie has built a LEGO automata with a music box inside that plays the theme from the ballet while a minifigure dancer twirls around the top.

The video showcases the music box feature, as well as the way a group of dancers can also be attached to the mechanism to dance on the stage.

Ascending from the plains into the foothills

Master microscale landscaper Full Plate brings us another lovely LEGO scene that captures the moment on a roadtrip when he finally reached rolling hills and winding roads instead of the boring plains he’d been driving on. I often feel the same way when returning to the green of western Washington State from the barren wastelands east of the Cascade Mountains. While many of the builder’s previous microscale masterpieces have featured a wide variety of trees, this build is at a smaller scale, and uses varying heights in the underlying terrain to add variety to the forest of evergreens.

Huge LEGO Star Wars carbon-freezing chamber from The Empire Strikes Back

One of the most moving scenes in The Empire Strikes Back is when Darth Vader freezes Han Solo in carbonite and hands him over to Boba Fett. Leia tells Han, “I love you.” Han of course replies, “I know.” Joshua Morris has recreated this key scene in LEGO, at a monumental scale that dwarfs 75137 Carbon Freezing Chamber (which I thought was a rather terrible set anyway). The entire platform lights up, giving it a very atmospheric look.

The platform is surrounded by tanks and pipes, with a catwalk where stormtroopers can ensure the Rebel prisoners remain compliant. “He’s alive. And in perfect hibernation,” Lando reassures Vader.

Achieve new heights in comedy with the stair car from Arrested Development

” Watch out for bridges and hop-ons. You’re going to get some hop-ons.”

TBB’s own Ralph Savelsberg continues adding to his collection of iconic vehicles with the airport stair car from the TV series Arrested Development. Ralph’s vehicles, built at a larger scale than the minifig-scale we typically feature, has a distinctive style that doesn’t shy away from showing the studs that LEGO is so famous for. With the stair car owned by the dysfunctional Bluth family, Ralph incorporates brick-built stripes as well as custom signage.

Naturally, the stairs actually extend, and the outriggers flip down to stabilize the vehicle.

The coziest hole you ever did see

Last month we featured Patrick B.‘s lovely version of Bag End, Bilbo’s house in the Hobbit and later Frodo’s in The Lord of the Rings. It turns out Patrick wasn’t done making cheery hobbit holes, though, as now he’s followed up with Samwise Gamgee’s home on Bagshot End, which is just as welcoming and snug.

It’s loaded with details, including lots of clever uses for unusual elements, such as the unusual Scala flower pot and vase paired together along with mini-doll Belle’s light yellow dress as large garden jars. Each section of this homely dwelling bears close scrutiny to tease out all the shrewd techniques. Continue reading →

Take to the skies in your own little helicopter [Instructions]

Perhaps this helicopter is actually a better size for ants rather than people, but it is definitely a fun little LEGO build. GolPlaysWithLego has built this great microscale helicopter out of 30 LEGO parts. The fuselage is built using some of the newer 1×2 curved slopes with notch and the tail rotor is a boomerang. Clever use of parts for a small build!

Click here for Instructions

A whimsical world with a waterfall

Whether in person or through the tubes and pipes of the internet, looking at a LEGO castle diorama has always been somewhat akin to viewing a renaissance painting in an art gallery for me. Like many great medieval artworks, there’s always so many things happening, and so many visually foreign and intriguing things occuring all at once — so much to take in. Brickwielder‘s latest build is filled to the brim with fun details and nifty building techniques. From the waterfall to the winding staircase, the bridge, or even all the foliage, there’s enough here to get lost.

To the moon and back again

Giving a fresh new twist on the classic LEGO grey-and-blue space theme, this shuttle by Horcik Designs is a perfect example of what fans like to call Neo-Classic Space. Despite its relatively small size, the shuttle seats two minifigures abreast in the trans-yellow clad cockpit, and the addition of lots of stickers adds a bit of extra flair that makes this spacecraft feel more industrial.

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