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.

Is it a bird, a plane or a butterfly?

You would be forgiven for thinking that this was a huge LEGO butterfly. It certainly seems to have the key features of one; four wings, clubbed antennae and a segmented body. In fact, Milan Sekiz has called this beastie a Leption, the combination of the Serbian words ‘leptir’ meaning butterfly and ‘avion’ meaning airplane. I love those shapely wings, Milan must have used some LEGO mathematics to work out how best to fill their centres with decorative, coloured parts.

You will notice that there is a pilot at the helm, holding on to some handlebars – is he steering or just along for the ride?

Fans of butterflies may enjoy revisiting these two previous butterflies we have highlighted; a colourful glass-like butterfly and a larger, realistic butterfly.

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Nasty green water, gangsters, crime in the streets! Sounds cool doesn’t it? Because it sure looks like it.

Cyperpunk is one of my favorite themes to build in LEGO, so naturally I love this cyberpunk diorama by Letranger Absurde, and I have no doubt you will too. Although the diorama is not as run-down and dilapidated as we are used to seeing in the genre, it serves as a perfect example of the distinction between cyberpunk and cyberpoc, the latter of which is much more ugly looking. The build is packed with tons of interesting details, including a guitar player who has set out a hat for donations, a sushi stand on the docks, and an unfortunate fellow who’s being pulled into the storm drain by a monster.

The colorful pollution in the water was accomplished using Ninjago dragon wings, a truly ingenious usage of the part.

Click here to see more pictures of this amazing cyberpunk diorama

An enchanting lake castle

Many LEGO castle creations are built into a rocky or wooded landscape, possibly inspired by real-life castle locations found all over the world. It’s one of the reasons that this castle by Isaac Snyder stood out to me, situated in a tranquil lake setting.

The round transparent blue dots used for the water surface and the bricks made from tiles in the foundation are simple but elegant. I also appreciate the dark blue slopes used in a variety of ways to form the many roof sections.

And I thought... they smelled bad...

But thanks God brick-built LEGO tauntaun smells of nothing but the finest ABS plastic. Robert Lundmark surprises us with this bodacious statuette of one of the most famous creatures of the Star Wars universe, and there’s so much awesome about it.

Click here to get a closer look at the build

An unconventional LEGO vehicle: The URB-E electric bike

Browsing through our archive of LEGO vehicles you’re sure to see a lot of sports cars, super bikes and hotrods, not to mention the science fiction stuff. It’s what you’d expect to see people recreate with bricks. What I didn’t expect to see in LEGO, however, is this foldable electric bike created by Paul Lee.

Take a look at some promotional pictures of the URB-E to see how well this build imitates it. Good use is made of Technic liftarms to imitate the drilled metal, and it even folds up like the real thing.

Say hello to my belly button blaster

LEGO mecha-building master Moko has done it again with his AM-01 alien mecha. The build features seamless integration of System pieces with parts from the Stormtrooper constraction figure to give the build curves and shapes not possible with normal bricks.

Although I wasn’t sure of the choice at first glance, I like the pearl brown accents under the arms, as it makes for a more original color combination. And yes, it does appear to have some sort of cannon for a belly button.

Who watches the (LEGO) Watchmen?

Timofey Tkachev has not only created a LEGO version of Rorschach from Watchmen, but he’s also done so at a large scale. Make sure you zoom in on this build to see how big it really is and how the large plates have been cleverly shaped to make the coat that forms the majority of Rorschach. The large, layered bricks used for the tree give it a lot of depth despite it being essentially flat, and the sign being has some nice lettering work.

Aside from those large details, there’s a lot of clever little inclusions too. Some constructible character or “constraction” parts are used to create the texture around Rorschach’s neck, the thin clock numbers are actually cleverly positioned lever pieces, and the familiar face pattern uses dragon arm pieces in an intricate build.

A fine fortification

One of the challenges facing any castle builder is how to make a big gray wall interesting. Maxim Baybakov has risen to the challenge with this wonderfully detailed castle. Maxim uses textured bricks, and the occasional side-facing stud to create visual interest, along with some well-placed plates of an alternate color. The same technique on the white walls provides a nice weathered look. Another great detail is the curved windows of the upper towers. But the most interesting design choice — which caught me by surprise — was using window elements turned backward, with the screens on the inside. This simple choice makes the windows seem much more natural in a castle wall.

Protect Naboo with a microscale Naboo Starfighter [Instructions]

Naboo is an idyllic world close to the border of the Outer Rim Territories in the fictional Star Wars world. It is a peaceful place inhabited by humans, called the Naboo, and an indigenous amphibian species called the Gungans. Protecting their home is essential, and the Naboo Starfighter is the sleek craft that patrols the sky and space above Naboo. Thanks to these instructions by Justin Chua, you can build your own microscale Naboo Starfighter, resplendent in its classic yellow and grey colours.

Continue reading →

The Y axis is an important dimension of space

If you think about it, it is absurd that spaceship designs are very long 99% of the time and in the worst case, not very high or wide. It is logical that people have associations with naval ships and aeroplanes, even contemporary spacecraft – but even the latter are designed as they are because they need to launch into space through atmosphere. It is 2018 and it is about time we start living in the future and open our minds to more ways to think of a spaceship – like this vertical design by Daniel Church.

Besides the obvious main feature of the unique vertical design, I love the translucent sections, from the gently curved lines spanning across the whole spacecraft. to the three hollow hexagonal constructions. The blue is balanced by larger less detailed sections of gray and black. If you do not look at it closely enough, you just might miss the grilled ends at the top and bottom, which look great and finish off the creation beautifully. The builder also reveals that photography was a great challenge; so great in fact, that even though the spaceship was built and completed for the SHIPtember project four months ago, but the pictures were only done recently. Well worth the wait, if you ask me!

Hazardous river crossing ahead

The Oregon Trail is a classic videogame, originally released way back in 1974, and designed as an educational tool to teach American kids about the hazards faced by the pioneer settlers of the 1840s. It is notoriously tough to complete, featuring many unpleasant ways for your brave settlers to meet their end. Brickwebster has built a great little LEGO version of the wagon approaching a river — one of the obstacles faced in the game. The brick-built canopy on the wagon is nicely-done, but the river water spilling over the side of the base which caught my eye. It injects a real sense of dynamism and movement into the scene. Here’s hoping these cute minifigure settlers make it across safely. I’m just glad the builder didn’t attempt to depict the infamous “You have died of dysentery” ending…

Spacesuit! Spacesuit! SPACESUIT!

Well, okay, strictly-speaking it’s an Exo-Suit, but I’m sure Benny the Spaceman would still love this Neo Classic Space-styled exoskeleton by Devid VII. There’s an obvious nod to the Pete Reid’s original LEGO Ideas Exo-Suit set, but the frame is much tighter and more compact, and the mechanical-looking greebley detailing is altogether different. Normally I’m not a fan of models set against broader backdrops of the same colour, however the photography and image processing here is excellent, using depth of focus to ensure the central model doesn’t get lost. And all that work allows the use of the detailed space hangar backdrop — lovely sci-fi goodness.