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.

Volvo – they’re blocky but they’re good

70s Sweden. What do you think of? If you didn’t say ABBA, there’s something wrong with you. But here’s a fabulous LEGO diorama from LegoJalex which manages to capture the era perfectly without a hint of the Scandi-SuperTroupers. We’ve got an excellent orange Volvo 242 in the driveway, but for me, it’s the surrounding scenery and attention to detail which make this model pop. I love the textures of the different walls, the use of forced perspective to create the buildings and factories in the distance, and the little touches like the pail and the abandoned football in the grass.

The car itself is a smart model in its own right, well worth a closer look…

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No time to waste – the garbage is piling up [Instructions]

Nobody likes to talk about waste/trash/rubbish/garbage — but it’s part of our lives as consumers. Call it what you like, but somebody still has to collect and transport it. de-marco has stepped up to help out our minifigures, building this adorable little waste container transporter. The garbage transporter will happily pick up any used and discarded LEGO bricks for disposal. de-marco has kindly provided instructions to help you build your own version. Just make sure you have the necessary training to work those hydraulics…

Here is an instructional video. Soon your LEGO town will no longer have rubbish piling up in the streets…

Down and dirty swivel-frame truck

If you have played any GTA V then you may well recognise this delightful scene by Pixel Fox. It’s a Dodge Power Wagon W300 with Swivel-Frame. The base is a LEGO box filled with real dirt and rocks — an unusual touch which elevates the model out of the ordinary. My favorite little detail is the Collectible Minifigure Spy rope piece used on the telephone pole.

The Cadillac of big trucks rolls into town

Nothing says man machine like a huge truck, and the thoroughbred stallions of the truckin’ world come from US brand Peterbilt. Affectionately known as a “Pete”, these long haul trucks are often referred to as “The Cadillacs of big trucks”. Jarek Wally has built a LEGO model of a Peterbilt truck that is anything but pocket-sized — 61cm long, 15cm wide, 21cm high, and weighing in at nearly 3kg. The model contains 1 XL motor, 1 servo motor, 5 sets of lights, a few engraved bricks, and a whole lot of chrome. I’m going to stick my chick neck out here and say this is a 379. I’m sure some of you guys out there had posters of trucks like this hanging up in your teenage bedroom.

Sometimes still images alone aren’t enough to showcase the wondrous stature and manly muscle behind these trucks. Just as well Jarek has made a short movie to show off all the shiny details. Sit back and enjoy the ride…

Motorised LEGO version of Ken Block’s Gymkhana 7

Custom car enthusiasts will surely recognize this LEGO scene by Primož Mlakar from Ken Block’s Gymkhana 7: Wild in the Streets of Los Angeles. The diorama has 20,000 bricks, almost half of which are the grille tiles on the walls and roof of the workshop. I was privileged enough to see this creation in person at my local LEGO club’s display, Kockefest, a few weeks ago and can confirm it looks even more impressive “in the brick”.

The cars were built in LEGO’s Speed Racers style and the diorama scaled accordingly. Primož has polished the model to perfection, despite having to meet the deadline — a feeling well known amongst convention-going LEGO fans. The buildings look realistic with just enough details to hold your attention, but not to be overwhelming. The cars themselves are excellent, with all the right curves and proportions, allowed by their slightly larger scale, as opposed to the more limiting minifig scale.

Best of all, the scene integrates Power Functions motorised elements, allowing the vehicles to spin some donuts…

Tintin’s tiny adventures

A mysterious meteorite floating in the Arctic, a giant mushroom, a massive spider, and… a seaplane made of bananas? All these elements feature in Sad Brick‘s brilliant LEGO microscale version of a classic Tintin comic book cover. The stormy sea looks great, the iconic mushroom is immediately recognisable, and be sure you don’t miss the tiny Tintin and Snowy figures on the shore. But the star of this show is surely that little seaplane — beautifully put together from a handful of well-chosen pieces.

I remember reading and enjoying The Shooting Star as a child, but it’s worth pointing out that it hasn’t aged as well as some of Herge’s other works. The book is now regarded as something of a blot on Herge’s reputation with its questionable anti-Semitic depiction of the main villain.

If one could only capture a little time

Whilst we tend to like our LEGO purist here at Brothers Brick, who doesn’t like to see a bell jar put to imaginative use? Peter Ilmrud does exactly that with a lovely steampunk chronograph packed into a small footprint inside a glass display cabinet. The clock’s design fits perfectly with the jar — both in size and shape, and in its neo-Victorian aesthetic.

Whilst the model is remarkable for the integration of the glass jar, the resulting reflections in the photo do get a little in the way of seeing the details within. Don’t miss this shot of the beautiful brass-effect scrollwork Peter has included around the clock face…

Acquired immunity – the only way to be sure

Once again, Grantmasters has created something outside the box — and to think it all started with a bulk lot of LEGO Belville purchased online. Wanting to make something reminiscent of an old toy catalogue with all characters posing for the photograph, he has included an array of various doctoring devices. I love how the X-ray seems the perfect scale, and the discarded plaster cast boot on the floor by the bin.

Grant started with the computer screen – constructed by miniaturising Chris McVeigh‘s designs – he says the biggest challenge was getting the black part of the screen to hold the correct angled curve. He solved it by pivoting it and attaching it to an angled pin protruding through a hole in the middle of the screen.

Smell the adventure in the jungle air!

There are many LEGO fans who grew up in the late nineties and at the start of the new millenium, a time marked by one very unique LEGO theme: Adventurers. To me (and I believe many share this opinion), Adventurers seemed like one of those broad themes like space, castle or pirates, that just seems natural and should be present in one way or another. With this in mind, there seems to be a strange lack of Adventurers creations online. Recently, this silence was momentarily broken by Joshua Brooks with his Diamond Falls diorama.

I was drawn to the diorama’s theme and the official Adventurers logo in the top right corner of the picture. More experienced builders will notice that the waterfall and the cliffs, which represents a large portion of the build, are somewhat simple in their design, but that is more than made up for by the boat, the overgrowth and the ruins hidden beneath it. The build has a story written in the description, which more curious and adventurous readers might be interested in.

Just hauling some cargo, supplies, and Xenomorphs around

AL13N163NA draws inspiration from Alien: Covenant concept art with a minifigure scale LEGO rendition of the Lifter. The utilitarian aesthetic is captured well with great texturing on the deck and angles to the cockpit frame.

More photos of the Lifter, including progress shots, are on the builder’s Flickr.

Living in a giant candle, winking at God

Lighthouses are surely the most romantic of buildings — often remote, surrounded by bleak rocks and crashing waves, and dedicated to seeing mariners safely home. Tim Schwalfenberg captures the haunting, desolate beauty of a lonely lighthouse in this fabulous LEGO creation. The almost monochrome colour-scheme creates a melancholy tone, only enhanced by the singular figure on the observation deck, staring out into the night. The subtle splash of yellow in the lamp, and the suggestion of a beam lancing out into the fog are lovely touches. The construction of the lighthouse itself is excellent, with a sense of textured brickwork not often achieved in a single colour, and a beautifully tapered cone.

A fine study in fine study furniture

Well here’s a fine collection of vintage furniture, perfect for adorning the study of any LEGO professor. I’m assuming spacecolonel intended these for an academic’s office because of the crystal skull on display atop the bookcase — seems like the sort of thing a historian or antiquarian might have lying around. Whilst the models are fairly simple, there’s a couple of nice techniques on show here — I particularly liked the window shutter at the base of the grandfather clock, and the depth of detail provided by the brown ice-cream scoop parts used in the coat stand.

If you fancy getting your hands on these fine pieces of furniture, and helping a good cause at the same time, they’re for sale as part of this year’s Creations For Charity event.