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.

There’s room for all at Space Base H17

Growing up, my brother and I used to pull out all our gray and blue LEGO and build sprawling space bases on our bedroom floor. We couldn’t imagine more than thirty years ago how much bigger and better future LEGO creations would be, like this amazing diorama by ZCerberus. The base has landing pads for ten ships and incorporates over a hundred lights.

The ships and vehicles are also excellent, and the builder spares no detail — just take a look at that gorgeous brick-built Classic Space logo on the side of the main building! My favorite vehicle is the large gray vehicle on the right, pumping some kind of mineral from a great big hole in the planet’s surface.

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.

Technic Pneumatic V8 Hot Rod, 1/8 scale

Consider, for a moment, if you will, the not-so-humble hot rod chassis. Builder Green Gecko Lego Technic Workshop certainly did with their “Lego Technic Pneumatic HOT ROD Chassis.” This Technic model features independent front suspension, precision pneumatic steering, solid axle rear suspension, and even a working V8 engine with realistic sound and revving.

Green Gecko has posted a video of the complete hot rod that includes body panels, a mean-looking front grille, opening doors, and chromed pipes. This video also shows the custom controller for the full remote control car, which includes a pair of cylinders that control the steering and a pneumatic switch to control the engine.

Take a look at Green Gecko’s YouTube channel for more detailed custom Technic models.

Flip the One Ring into Mt. Doom with this LEGO Lord of the Rings playable pinball machine [Video]

Dutch builder Vladimir van Hoek has created a fully functional pinball machine from LEGO, inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The table includes scenes from all three books and movies, from Hobbiton above the ball shooter to Mount Doom in the opposite corner. Every element of the pinball machine is built from LEGO, including the targets, lanes, and flippers. Official minifigures from the Lord of the Rings sets add character to the scenes, but the microscale buildings and landscaping are excellent in their own right.

See more photos and the LEGO Lord of the Rings pinball machine in action

King of the forest stands proud

The stag is a majestic creature, possibly even the European equivalent of the lion as the “animal king”. The majesty of its magnitude is hard to capture, but Joe Perez has managed to recreate it very well in LEGO form. The original intent was to give an impression of motion, but the builder was still quite happy with how the stag turned out static, but proud – and I believe no motion suits a stag better than pride.

Joe has created a great mix of textures by using studs only around the neck and breast, while hiding them nearly everywhere else – the result of which is a dynamic impression of fur. The horns are realistic and legs look just about perfect (possibly even with some room for poseability!). Simply inspired!

Point and shoot camera from the days of film

Some of our younger readers will not remember the experience of scrolling the camera film forward after taking a photograph. Indeed, before the automatic whirring that signalled the end of the film, cameras had little turning levers to manually winding the film back into its protective housing. This LEGO version of an old camera in 1:1 scale was built by Andreas Lenander as a gift for his dad. While it is not a specific model, I did think it was reminiscent of the old Leica cameras with their black and silver bodies, and a selection of turning knobs and switches on top.

The king of awesome little LEGO camera’s must be Chris McVeigh, who also generously shares instructions for his builds on his own website. If you like the camera we highlighted above, you will definitely enjoy Chris’ LEGO Polaroid camera.

Are you sure we have to go to Mars..?

Human imagination can create both incredible and terrifying things. And the latest creation by Japanese builder Moko perfectly illustrates this thesis. This absolutely bizarre creature from Mars is odd in so many ways. Not only does its overall design gives me shivers, but also the choice of pieces and their combinations are simply outlandish. Can you guess what piece is used for the martian’s snout?

Little nipper

Watch your toes when you take a paddle on ForlornEmpire‘s brick-built beach — there are crabs about! The little red beastie looks great as he emerges from the water. Mixel-eye tiles mounted on minifigure buckets make effective eye stalks and add a heap of character — something that can be tough to achieve in single-colour models. The surrounding shoreline is perfect — simple and clean, with just enough detail to create a clear context without distracting attention from the crab itself.

What lurks within?

Back in the 80s, it wasn’t a proper thriller or horror movie without someone, or something, hiding in a louvred door closet. Heikki Matilla perfectly captures the peculiarly sinister aspect of this kind of cupboard in this excellent LEGO scene. Heikki is a master of LEGO interior design, but it’s nice to see an interiors scene which evokes something beyond an appreciation of brick-built furniture. What makes these doors so creepy? I think it’s the thought that whoever, or whatever, can see you through the slats, but you can’t see in until you’re foolish enough to open the door…

The light blossoms from darkness

Some LEGO fans expect lots of fancy techniques and a wide range of parts used in a creation. While this White flower by Jaroslaw Walter has some of that, it focuses on other areas that are just as important, like composition and contrasts.

The shadows give a very mysterious impression, somehow the white flower actually blends with the black background. Different textures are distributed concentrically around the contrasting red gynoecium. The branches reaching out towards the camera emphasize the image’s depth, which could easily be neglected in a build that seems to be very specialized for photography.

Truckin’ can be lonesome in a minifigure scale truck

Building vehicles in minifigure scale is not always an easy task. Minifigures themselves are an odd shape – short and wide. In the LEGO world, adaptations have to be made, especially when it comes to vehicles that need minifigures to side side-by-side. This truck by Calin solves the problem by giving the impression of the correct height but only fitting one minifigure in the front seat. Frank seems content to drive his old tan truck on his own, he prefers it that way.

Calin says he was inspired in some ways by de-marco’s collection of vehicles. We highlighted a few, and their instructions if you take a peek on our free instructions for custom models area, just select de-marco under the builder tab.

Inspektor Dogge brings order to the Fabuland galaxy (far, far away)

Of all the awesome and hilarious mashups LEGO builders have brought us over the years, my favorite just might be the Fabuland/Star Wars mashup by Terovision, whose Fabuland Millennium Falcon we featured last year. In this latest scene, police bulldog flies a blue and yellow TIE fighter Inspektor Dogge chases down Clive Crocodile, who looks to be making a worthy escape on a jet-powered hover-board of some sort. The icing on the cake of this brightly hued treat is the hand-drawn backdrop.

1:50-scale LEGO U-Boat VIIc is ready to hunt Allied shipping

The destruction of Allied shipping by German U-boats was a spectacular and tragic feature of both World Wars I and II. Luis Peña has recreated the much-dreaded underwater menace and scourge of Allied sailors at 1:50 scale with U-Boat VIIc, the most common class of German submarine.

See more photos of this incredible U-boat model in LEGO