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.

Ghostly X-wing & TIE Fighter haunt us from a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

Alternate X-wings and TIE Fighters certainly aren’t unusual among custom LEGO Star Wars creations, but this pair of starfighters by Christian Lintan looks like it could have been built from the all-white LEGO Architecture Studio set, though of course many of the parts don’t come in that set. Despite the parts limitations, Christian has achieved great shaping, particularly on the X-wing — the sides of the nose, the engines, and even the flash suppressors on the S-foil laser cannons are all unique design solutions, not just a recolor of an official set.

Christian builds almost exclusively in white, and while that might sound boring on paper, I was mesmerized by his photostream on Flickr (and he also has an Instagram). Check it out!

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Great art cannot exist without great suffering

This creation of a flayed crucified person by Leonid An is inspired by the eerie works of the Polish surrealist artist, Zdzisław Beksiński. The symbolism is strong in this image, but still leaves everything up to interpretation. Who is this? Does it matter who it is? What happened?

The lines and curves of rotting flesh and sinew are captured very well with the use of minifig whip pieces, horns and more. There is a nice balance of simplicity and complexity in the build, too.

I am the (LEGO) law!

The stern scowl and helmet of Judge Dredd is an instantly recognizable combination, and Grantmasters has captured it well in this flat build inspired by the portraits of Chris McVeigh. This build makes great use of the space with the background behind Dredd simulating the sprawling, dense city in the film. And the use of gold LEGO wings to simulate the pauldron is a master stroke. I am the law!

Sublime cafe racer

In the world of LEGO motorcycles, it can be difficult to create a model that stands out from the pack. André Pinto has managed to do it not only through a superb technical build, but also a striking colour scheme employing lime green as a dazzling highlight.

Make sure that you zoom in on this model to not miss any of the terrific details in the engine. A favourite part of mine here is the older black ladder elements André has used to give the distinctive slatted detail around the pistons.

If you want to fly far, fly alone

Dart Flyby by Jeremy Williams is a dream spaceship. It has neither huge laser barrels, nor a spacious cargo section, nor an annoying astromech. The best thing about this ship is that it has only one seat. Only you, a massive ion engine behind your back and the endless beauty of the universe before your eyes. Sounds good, doesn’t it?

Jeremy’s Neo-Classic Space fighters are way too good to choose just one, so you’d better check out his photostream and enjoy each of his builds.

Breaking your way through the polar ice of Canada

For Canada’s 150th birthday, Adam Dodge built a Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker diorama, and it’s surprisingly satisfying to look at. There’s a nice contrast between the clean surfaces of the ice and sea and the intense, broken up ice and the very industrial-looking ship. The icebreaker just pops out with its bright, high-visibility colour scheme. The whole diorama has a sense of motion about it, with the thick ice stacked up in the front and the broken-up ice at the back, which is achieved by carefully arranged translucent window panes and cheese slopes.

The first of the new Iron Lords wields the LEGO Destiny Young Wolf’s Howl

Canadian builder Nick Della Mora shows his love for Destiny with his life size LEGO replica of the Young Wolf’s Howl, an exotic tier sword first appearing in the Rise of Iron expansion. It would have been difficult to construct the engraved Iron Lords crest on the blade and still have the blade hold together when wielded, but it would also look inaccurate to skip that detail altogether. Nick’s choice to instead focus on the red-orange glow of the crest was a creative idea, and led to a neat light-up effect.

In the video below, Nick shows the light-up crest and the techniques used in the blade to maintain stability.

If you enjoy LEGO Destiny, you may also like Nick’s Cosmodrome diorama, or other exotic weapons such as the Khvostov 7G-0X and No Land Beyond.

LEGO sign language

Some hand gestures transcend spoken language. Most likely, the meaning behind these five LEGO hand gestures by Jimmy Fortel are fairly recognizable for most people. (Though different cultures around the world may attribute different meanings to a few of them).

The design of Jimmy’s LEGO hands is simple, yet masterful. The fingers curl gracefully. The palms and wrists are substantial enough to look real at first glance. And the accessory choices for these five hand signs are terrific. Each bracelet invokes a unique identity and accurately depicts the stereotypical person that would use these hand signs.

He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother

There’s no closer BFFs than Grizz, Panda and Ice Bear in Cartoon Network’s show We Bare Bears. They live together, eat together, and even navigate the human world together. They also enjoy all the things that we do like social media, giant burritos and tiger jean jackets – all while traveling together in one “bear stack”. Brandon Griffith has recreated this cuddly column of creatures perfectly in LEGO:

You really don’t want these neighbours to knock on your door

Neighbours can be a mixed bunch; some can be horrid if they play their music loudly at night, while others will mow your lawn while you’re on holiday. I think it is safe to say that the neighbours in this inspired microscale scene by Cecilie Fritzvold are more of the silent type. There are a few ingenious parts used in this scene, with a “sunken” technique used to give certain parts a new lease of life at this scale.

The grave stones are a mix of ingots, 1×1 plates with teeth, and blaster trigger mechanisms surrounded by a fence made from grille tiles. I love the nearby church whose structure includes a pair of 2×3 pentagonal tiles sitting at different heights to add depth. The white houses all have roofs made from minifigure laptops; so simple and yet so effective.

Building in microscale is a great way to utilise LEGO parts in different ways, even when a part may seem to have a very specific purpose when first encountered. For example, did you spot the minifigure rollerskates posing as microscale cars? And can you work out how Cecilie has made the trunk of the tree to the left of the church?

Fly above the blue yonder in this LEGO UH-2A Seasprite

Rotary-winged aircraft are probably not the first thing to come to mind when contemplating the excitement of naval aviation (who remembers seeing a helicopter in Top Gun?). But these whirlybirds are the unsung heros of navies across the globe. The UH-2 Seasprite is a perfect example, painstakingly detailed here in LEGO form by TBB’s own Ralph Savelsberg.

The Seasprite entered service with the United States Navy in the early 1960s and played a vital role rescuing downed pilots during the Vietnam War. This particular model, Ralph explains, is an early model UH-2A which served aboard the USS Forrestal in 1965. After a complete rebuild, this helicopter was delivered 50 years later to the Royal New Zealand Navy.

Ralph is no stranger to building military aircraft, particularly naval models — check out how he does it and his recent LEGO Sikorsky HH–60G Pave Hawk. His newest creation is no less accurate or well-built than his others. Every angle and shape of the Seasprite has been captured. The coloration and markings also help bring this beauty to life. In fact, it’s so realistic it looks late for an important mission. After all, naval planes may get the glory, but its naval helicopters which get the work orders.

Dark Knight training regime redefined for the LEGO Batman Movie

Builder David Liu redefines Batman training with this humorous scene. The story goes that Alfred was shocked to learn that Master Bruce accepted a role in a new LEGO movie. And since then, Batman has been doing some alternative training in his new secret “creativity” training room, supposedly building miniatures of his own vehicles and various other related themes.

What I appreciated about David’s build is actually the tiny representation of nano-sized vehicles and the tiny “The Bat” aircraft has got to be my favourite of them all.