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.

This microscale LEGO Notre Dame is much easier to display than the oifficial set

Whenever a new large LEGO Architecture set comes out, it is only a matter of time until someone builds a microscale version. This miniature version of the Notre Dame cathedral by -Brixe is truly a masterpiece worthy of display, capturing iconic details while at the same time conveying the scale and majesty of this famous landmark. The builder uses many newer bar elements and versatile “espresso handles” (a round plate with a bar sticking out the side) to represent the repetitive structures along the side and curving front of the cathedral.

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Small victory on the LEGO shores of Dunkirk

Remembered as one of the great turning points of World War II, the evacuation of allied forces from the beaches of Dunkirk would not have been possible without a flotilla of small private craft. In this dynamic LEGO diorama by Nicholas Goodman we see one of the hundreds such civilian craft lending a hand, plucking waiting Tommies out of the tumults of the North Atlantic and the European Theatre. The wooden pleasure-craft model is lovely by itself, evoking the period’s brightwork and elegant lines. I can almost feel it bobbing on waves of varying size and shape that capture the Channel’s distinct color and character. A standout detail of the somber scene is the way Nicholas beautifully contours the sand, slumping rough-to-smooth into the surf.

A look through the history of Nicholas’ featured builds is like a look through history itself. (Or into a galaxy far far away. If it was “a long time ago” that counts as history, right?) Click here to see more of Nicholas’ work, and watch this builder with an eye for detail go from strength to strength with each installation.

A first-CLAAS future forestry machine

It’s surely only a matter of time before we get walkers everywhere, right? Not the militarised type that you might be familiar with from other LEGO sci-fi builds. I’m talking about the more day-to-day tasks that they would be helpful with – like logging. David Roberts knows what I mean. He’s given us a neat brick-built vision of the future of forestry. Despite its clear futuristic tech, there’s plenty here for us mere present-dwellers to latch on to. There’s the Claas livery, of course, but that arm is also inspired by real-life manipulators (and is a great likeness for them, too). The shaping of the machine is also reminiscent of some modern heavy machinery. You know, apart from the legs.

Don’t look at this clever LEGO build if you have aibohphobia!

What’s aibohphobia, you ask? Well, it’s an unofficial fear of palindromes – words that read the same once they are reversed. If you’ve read this far, I’m assuming you don’t suffer from it, as the observant among will have noticed that aibohphobia is itself a palindrome. Therefore, it’s safe to show you this LEGO Taco-cat built by TBB favourite Nathan Don! As well as being adorable, it’s a build that’s absolutely chockablock with clever parts use — and some very niche ones at that. The lettuce and taco itself are made from Scala parts, while the minifig hair for minced beef is inspired, too. And the cherry on the cake? This build is made of a very palindromic 101 parts!

Istanbul’s Blue Mosque looks magnificent in LEGO microscale

Completed in 1617, the Sultan Ahmet Mosque, commonly known as the Blue Mosque, is one of Istanbul’s most iconic structures and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Scott Wilhelm gives this masterpiece of Ottoman architecture the LEGO microscale treatment in a sprawling build that includes Sultan Ahmet’s mausoleum, gardens, and a madrasa. For the mosque’s six minarets, Scott uses white Technic axle extenders broken up by bevel gears and bushes topped with a drill bit. The many small domes are represented with knit caps. If you’re wondering why the mosque rooftops are grey when it’s called the Blue Mosque, the nickname comes from the decorative tiles inside.

Continue for additional photos of Scott’s magnificent miniature mosque

The world’s smallest LEGO castle? [Building Techniques]

I’ve seen some small castles in my time, heck, I’ve even built some, but this island castle by Nikita Filatov has got to be one of the smallest. The minifigure binoculars are great as tiny towers, but my favorite part is the rounded white tile balanced on the back of an ingot. But the great techniques don’t stop there. The water base is made with studs-not-on-top connections which adds a bit of visual weight to this microscale build.

Return of the Return of the Jedi movie poster- in LEGO

They don’t make movie posters the way they used to. Star Wars and cinema fans of a certain age may have fond memories for Drew Struzan’s hand-painted works of art depicting our favorite characters in breathtaking action sequences. LEGO Jedi Master Builders Les Foutch team up to bring the nostalgic feels to life with their rendition of the original Return of the Jedi poster. The side-by-side composition highlights their talent for the brick. Leia, Wicket the Ewok, Lando, Han, and Luke are all brick-built and nicely replicated within the composition. Darth Vader, flanked by TIE Fighters and X-Wings looms large and blended into the dark background; behind him resides the Death Star under construction. My favorite detail is the large four or five piece Jabba figure familiar to those of us who may own the Jabba’s Palace set. It gives us a feel for how large the poster actually is.

Compact KTM X-Bow promises to get your heart racing

If you are unfamiliar with the Austrian auto manufacturer KTM, it may be because they primarily produce motorcycles. The KTM X-Bow (pronounced “crossbow”), expertly built here in LEGO by Nard Verbong, marks their entry into the road car market. The sporty little X-Bow GT2 has found its fans among connoisseurs, and was even invited to participate in the Bathurst 12-Hour endurance race, starting in 2022. This is one of those models where you aren’t sure how it’s holding together. This is Nard’s second iteration of the ultra-light sportscar. Extra credit to the builder for pressing to remove any studs in this updated version.

Making Primo builds from the most unlikely components [Building Techniques]

From Galidor to Clikits, LEGO has released products over the years that defy use in standard models due to a lack of connection points, unconventional materials, or bespoke colors. While most builders ignore these misfit toys, some, like Nathan Don (Woomy World) take it as a challenge to make even the most oddball LEGO piece shine. Case in point, this Hard-shelled Hen, which is an unusually large creation for using only 96 parts. That head? It comes from LEGO’s Primo line for the littlest “builders.” The beast’s shell is an upscaled hard hat, another pre-school toy never intended for actual construction. The neck and legs are DUPLO tubes, which we’ve definitely seen in some sophisticated MOCs lately. Only two studs are visible in this most unLEGOlike creation on the red arch around the neck. So how does this beast come together? As Nathan shares on his blog, there’s a skeleton of ball joints, Technic axles, flex tubes, and Vidyo straps, with rubber tires for fiction. When life give’s you LEGO hen’s teeth, make a hen monstrosity!

Pirate the galaxy in style with the Typhoon and Tarantula starships

Official Star Wars media runs the gamut from abysmal to sublime, but the best Star Wars stories will always be the ones that exist in our heads. Perhaps no other fictional universe has spawned as many fan works where foundational canon serves as a launchpad for creativity. In the LEGO community, RPGs like Star Wars: Factions are collaborative playgrounds for stories told with visual accompaniment in the form of original builds. Sentinel_Brix is one of the more prolific members of that community, leaning heavily into the “opera” side of space opera with a complex serial story with a sprawling cast. One of the builder’s latest arcs features pirates and includes original designs for a galleon and starfighter.

Per the builder’s lore, the DY-76 “Typhoon” is a starfighter from the Clone Wars era built by Koensayr Manufacturing. If the vessel’s cockpit looks familiar, it’s because it comes from the same company the made the Y-Wing. I especially like the biplane wing design and the color details in sand red and light blue.

Read on to learn more about Sentinel_Brix’s Star Wars pirate faction

Check out this superb sculpture of Star Wars’ modern-day superstar

Ahsoka seems to be in everything these days. She first appeared in the Clone Wars, and has since popped up in Rebels, the Mandalorian, the Book of Boba Fett, her eponymous live-action series… And now, thanks to Daniel Jackson, she’s in our LEGO feeds! It’s certainly a welcome appearance, as this bust is wonderfully sculpted. There’s great use of texture (the studs of her cloak contrasting with the smooth texture of her skin), and some choice part use (the dark blue cones are the perfect part for the tip of the montrals). But the star of the show is surely the patterns on the Togruta’s face. It’s deceptively simple, being achieved mostly thanks to layers of wedge plates. But man, it looks so good!

“No... Your father, I am”

Now, my memory is not what it used to be. Heck, only last week I found a LEGO set I forgot that I stashed in the bathroom (don’t ask). And although I recall Yoda, Dagobah, and “I am your father” from The Empire Strikes Back, I’m not sure Grogu was there… But ABrickDreamer (whom you may recognize from our This Week in Bricks features) has recreated this scene from the movie, and there Grogu is, so I must be misremembering. How did no-one pick up on that at the time? He’s even called Baby Yoda! Come to think of it, wasn’t there a Mandalorian in that movie, too…?

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