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.

New LEGO Star Wars 75192 UCS Millennium Falcon unveiled as largest LEGO set ever [News]

The new 75192 UCS Millennium Falcon has been one of the worst-kept secrets in LEGO’s history, with numerous teasers and leaks over the past several months. However, while the set’s existence may not be a surprise, we finally have all of the official details straight from LEGO HQ. The new UCS Falcon will include 10 minifigs, and clocks in at a whopping 7,541 pieces, comparable to the massive 7,500-piece LEGO Falcon built by Swiss LEGO fan Hannes Tscharner. This makes the new Falcon the largest LEGO set ever released. The set will hit stores on October 1st for $799.99, and will be available early for VIP members beginning Sept. 14.

LEGO is sending The Brothers Brick an early copy of the set to review, so check back soon for our full review of this enormous new set.

Back in 2007, I attended BrickFest PDX in Portland, Oregon, where LEGO Master Builder Erik Varszegi unveiled the original 10179 UCS Millennium Falcon. The original UCS Falcon was built from 5,197 pieces. So, where do those extra 2,500 pieces go? First, the exterior is considerably more detailed, with a lot more tiles taking the place of plates, along with many more rounded pieces that weren’t available in 2007, including a new 4×4 quarter circle tile.

Second, confirming the speculation among LEGO Star Wars fans, the set also has several interior sections.

And finally, another reason the part count is higher is that several details can be swapped out to turn the Classic Trilogy Falcon into the Episode VII/Episode VIII Falcon, with a square sensor dish and different details on the front of the mandibles.

The designer video with set designer Hans and graphic designer Maddy showcases many of the set’s play features and design details, and is definitely worth a watch.

Click through for the full gallery and details about 75192 UCS Millennium Falcon

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Around the World in 26 LEGO scenes

It’s time to go on a journey around the World with Denmark-based builder Lasse Vestergård, who has built a huge scenic sculpture complete with handy globe to help keep you on the right track. Around the central globe are two circular stages each showing scenes from different countries. There are 26 countries in total, including Denmark, Greenland, UK, Italy, Spain, Israel, Australia and lots more in between. Each country has a few minifigures that represent part of the history, heritage and culture. There are lots of fun minifigures to spot, such as a mermaid in Denmark, footballer in Germany, Leprechaun in Ireland, Medusa in Greece, Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus in Israel, Shakespeare in the UK, and so on.

See more details of this geographic sculpture

A massive wooden roller coast built entirely out of LEGO

Don’t let the random furniture and cardboard boxes in the background fool you, this LEGO roller coaster by Chairudo is one impressively beautiful creation. The meticulous “wooden” beamwork makes this LEGO creation look like the real thing (only in miniature). And of course, just like a real a coaster, this beauty delivers thrills using only a chain lift and good old gravity.

Chairudo says that his roller coaster is made out of 100% LEGO and that the design was inspired by El Toro at Six Flags New Jersey. Altogether, this behemoth uses nearly 90,000 LEGO pieces and took Chairudo over 800 hours to build. It’s 6.5 meters long, 1.2 meters wide, 1.4 meters tall, and has a track length of 26 meters. (Given the sheer size of this thing, it’s impressive that Chairudo was able to take any photographs of it in his home).

In addition to the coaster, Chairudo also built two spinning rides and flowery walkways for the amusement park patrons. I particularly like the tree design with the large leaves and vines creeping up the coaster’s support beams. So how exactly did the builder make a working roller coaster using only LEGO parts? Honestly, I’m not entirely sure. Though I’d wager there was a lot of trial and error. Hopefully, Chairudo had a few volunteers to help him.

Best of all, there’s a video showing the coaster in action. Check it out below:

Chihiro’s journey: A LEGO tribute to Spirited Away

They say that Disney movies touch the heart, but Studio Ghibli films touch the soul. None more so than the Miyazaki classic Spirited Away. I’ve modelled the works of this legendary Japanese animator in LEGO before, but on the 15th anniversary of its US release I figured it was time to take a deeper dive into this particular masterpiece:

Spirited Away remains unrivalled for its blend of the spiritual, realistic, fantastic, and human. In balancing all of those realms, Miyazaki was the master. No surprise then that this movie won the Oscar for best animated film and remains Japan’s highest grossing movie to date.

Click to see more Spirited Away scenes

A perfect pod for those who travel light across the universe

According to a popular “scientific” theory mentioned by Mark Russell, the rings of Saturn are composed entirely of lost airline luggage. So why travel heavily laden with suitcases when all you need is the second set of underwear and an interstellar road map? Inthert has built a lovely compact spacecraft — what a perfect pod for carefree travellers!

Bonus shot comes directly from the maintenance bay. Under the outer cover of the ship hides a couple of small neat ion engines:

Join John D. Brickefeller for a ride in his LEGO 1935 Duesenberg SJ Dual Cowl Phaeton

The Duesenberg Motors Company was founded in 1913 by two German-born American brothers in Minnesota. They specialized in race cars and ultra-luxery cars — when a Ford Model A Town Car cost just $1,200, a Duesenberg might cost $15,000 (over $270,000 today). These cars were not for the average Depression era family! Dennis Glaasker has successfully captured the luxury and craftsmanship of these amazing cars with another stellar LEGO vehicle, full of custom chrome details and working features.

See more of this classic LEGO automobile

Up, up and away!

Pixar fans — or parents of Pixar fans — will no doubt recognise Karl Fredrickson’s beautiful colourful house from the heartwarming animated movie Up! (…if you haven’t see the movie I thoroughly recommend it). Jonas Kramm loved the movie and loved the image of the flying house getting carried away only by balloons. However his supply of colourful bricks was limited so he went with a scaled-down version of the famous airborne cottage, and it looks superb!

I love the azure trim around the eaves and the well-constructed railing around the front porch. Jonas has even managed to capture the detail of the sidings at this scale, and employed some great techniques to recreate that chaotic cluster of balloons. Oh, and if we happen to get separated, don’t forget to use the wilderness explorer call: “CA-CA! RAWRRR!”

Tokyo’s Sensō-ji Thunder Gate and Beijing’s Hall of Supreme Harmony in LEGO

The oldest Buddhist temple in Tokyo is Sensō-ji, founded in 645 AD and dedicated to the bodhisattva Kannon. Taiwanese builder ZiO Chao, whose massive SHIELD Helicarrier we featured last year, has been building travel themed LEGO mosaics over the last few months, and his latest is the iconic “Thunder Gate” at Sensō-ji. Beyond the gate, a street of shops leads up to the temple itself, and ZiO has captured the roofs of the shops using forced perspective.

While not quite as intricate a LEGO build, ZiO has also built the Hall of Supreme Harmony in Beijing. I love the beautiful simplicity of the yellow roof and red columns against a clear, blue sky.

A heavenly alignment

The great American eclipse of 2017 may have passed, but this microscale build by “why.not?” still casts a cool shadow. The backdrop uses dark blue tiles to create the effect of the eclipsed area. It goes to show that a simple concept is sometimes all it takes to make a wonderful creation.

Nya, the dragon slaying warrior

In the world of LEGO Ninjago, Nya is the current Elemental Master and Ninja of Water, as well as Kai’s younger sister. Daniel Huang has crafted a large figure version of her using a mixture of Bionicle, System and Technic elements. Daniel has posed Nya slaying the Green Dragon, with her samurai sword plunged deep into the head. The clever use of tyres and tracks within her leg structure contrasts with cloth robes and some ample CCBS assets for a unique blend of styles.

Contrasting with her dragon-slaying pose, Nya also has a clear feminine side, albeit with a few weapons in tow. I particularly like her head, as it’s well constructed with her helmet, and she gives off a ton of attitude in ABS.

A slice of Medieval coastal life

We go back in time to experience Medieval life in this diorama of a coastal village by goilive. To describe this as a village seems an understatement to me as there are a lot of buildings and infrastructure, even a port with a ship moored up. I love the changing colour gradient of the sea as it reaches the sand and the host of details little wooden jetty located centrally or the market stalls in front of the large castle.

From a slightly different angle, it is easier to see some of the activities going on in this busy scene. There’s a fisherman trying to catch lunch down on the beach, a cargo load being transferred onto the ship, while a jester and unicorn entertain some onlookers in the central park. This diorama is going on display at a couple of locations in France later this month and the next; it’s definitely well worth a close-up look in person to enjoy the full scene.

Post-apocalyptic friendships are the best

It’s not often we re-visit a LEGO model, especially after only a few days. But when we shared an atmospheric post-apocalyptic scene from Adam Sochorec earlier this week we didn’t realise there was more to come. It turns out Adam’s build was only part of a larger collaborative build with Jan T. I love the way the rough terrain has crept over to cover the road, and how the two builds have been united with lovely rock work and landscaping. Jan’s harbour with its little fish market and decrepit building really adds to the whole scene. Clearly, even after the apocalypse, life goes on despite the struggles.

Collaborative builds are not unusual but what makes this one special is the story behind it. As Jan puts it…

“We started planning it about two months ago. Adam is from Czech Republic, so he had to convince his parents to let him go to Poland. Luckily, he made it and his 5.5 hours of travel were worth it. He stayed in my house for 4 days. We traded some parts and minifigs and spent two days and one night building the collab. We shared the bricks, Polish food, and a bottle of Becherovka with each other.”

Two builders are clearly better than one and the resulting collaborative build is a great scene. What a perfect reminder of how LEGO can be a source of fun, learning, community and life-long friendship.