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.

TBB cover photo: February 2017

This month’s cover photo is this Star Trek inspired bridge scene by Guy Smiley. It’s a miniature symphony in it’s use of lighting, color, texturing, fine details and blank space. The sole figure on his raised plinth, back to us, gazing outward, really conveys a sense of the loneliness of command in the loneliness of space.

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Orange is the happiest color

No kidding! Just look at this drone’s face! Except for M9 Orangehead 5 Drone by Marco Marozzi has no “face” to express its emotions — it was created be fast, smart and efficient, and not to entertain you! But trust us, this drone is very happy to be of use.

Speaking seriously, there is so much remarkable about this drone. Orange panels and slopes go extremely well with a moderate amount of black and light gray greebling. I wish the upper part of its body and hands were black as well, but clearly not all the pieces are available in black at the moment. And I’m particularly impressed by plain yet so suitable custom stickers with number 5 on the drone’s head; a small touch that looks so great!

Who done it?

Even non-LEGO fans recognize the simple LEGO smiley face. Unfortunately, in a hypothetical world full of thousands of identical smiling minifigs (now where have we seen that before?), being instantly recognizable can lead to problems. Illustrating one of the potential hijinks of such a world, Paddy Bricksplitter built an Identity parade (or as we call them here in the United States, a police lineup).

After a crime, police officers will place their main suspect in a lineup along with several “foils” who have a similar weight, height, build, and coloring as the suspect. Then, the police officers will bring in an eyewitness (in this case, a severely injured minifig and presumably, the victim of the crime) to view the lineup through a one-way mirror and “pick out” the criminal. But when everyone looks identical, how can you possibly identify the right person? And who would ever volunteer to stand in as a “foil”?

Vignettes from How I Met Your Mother

How I Met Your Mother, for those of you who don’t know, is a romantic comedy about 6 friends and their everyday stories told from Ted’s viewpoint. The entire premise (surprise!) is Ted telling his kids the story of how he met their mother. It took him 9 seasons finish telling that story! It kept viewers guessing who was Ted’s wife all along. Builder Sascha is clearly a huge fan, and he’s built a series of vignettes from a few key scenes that fans should love and remember.

That famous yellow umbrella in the final episode

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2017 Speeder Bike Racing League Contest sponsored by The Brothers Brick [News]

The LEGO Speeder Bike Group is hosting their annual Racing League Contest. Any minifig-scale speeder bikes are welcome to enter. Check out the group’s photo pool for examples, if you aren’t familiar with the genre.

There are three Grand Prize sets up for grabs, as well as individual category prize sets, donated by The Brothers Brick!

Click here to read all about the prizes!

Architect of style

This architectural gem by o0ger depicts a cultural center you can catch a performace by an indie band or play some giant chess. One of its most captivating features is the clever use of the wing plate for the roof. The builder even took advantage of the cutout in the center of the wing to add a dormer.

The ancient ruins of a forgotten civilization

If the builder of these ancient ruins seems similar, you would be right, because Mark Erickson is one of the best castle builders out there, and very active to boot. There are a bunch of details to see in this with architectural texture being the most important one. I am fascinated how well the builder managed to make all the buildings look similar, even with different techniques used throughout. The palm trees also deserve a closer look, as they get thinner towards the top, an effect achieved by transitioning from palm trunk pieces through brown fez pieces to 1×1 cones.

All aboard the micro Hogwarts Express!

Everyone dreams of heading down to platform nine and three quarters and jumping aboard the magical train waiting there. But for those of us who never received our Hogwarts invitation (Obviously, my owl got lost on the way to my house) however, ForlornEmpire‘s amazing microscale LEGO Hogwarts Express is as close as we are going to get.

Empire’s microscale English countryside scene is quite lovely and the mini Express is spot on. All that’s missing from this adorable little scene is some billowing smoke from the egnine.

Keep Up! Time is running away!

What would a clock say if a clock could talk? (say that three times fast!). Leonid An brings us a very charming character of time and named him Tony the Talking Clock. His expression is familiar to many of us–an exasperated blue-faced look that says, “I ain’t gonna wait for you if you’re more than a second late, buddy!” I’m still in awe at how Tony is able to stand without falling over with that top-heavy build! I suspect the magic behind that is that time does not stop, and if you’re always in motion, you’re not going to fall.

Celebrating the Year of the Rooster with abundance, good fortune, and joy

Builder Samuel Ho celebrates the Year of the Rooster this Chinese New Year with a little table standee featuring none other that this year’s zodiac animal, the Rooster! The build features a few other key elements to highlight the celebration of a new year in many parts of Asia and around the world. Red is the color for the New Year symbolizing joy and fortune. The potted plants featured on both sides are mandarin oranges, which are also symbolic of good fortune and abundance. If you’ve not guessed it yet, the characters translate to “Chicken” in Traditional Chinese characters.

Look at the starfighter, look how it shines for you

The wedge is a classic shape in LEGO starfighter designs, and that can mean a pointy model needs something eyecatching to stand out from the crowd. mrutek‘s Arrow does exactly that, through a combination of beautifully-shaped brickwork, and a retina-dazzling yellow color scheme. I’m a particular fan of the use of “bow” curves down the ship’s sides to create a lovely smooth section.

Sometimes LEGO creations using one predominant colour can see the details get washed-out and lost, ending up a little bland. The builder escapes that trap here through some judicious striping, and depth of texture added through the use of smaller tiles. Personally, I might have gone with blue rather than black for the stripes to create a bit more visual jazz, but that’s nitpicking at an otherwise lovely little spaceship.

A blast from the past with with an Amsterdam tram

Amsterdam trams have been in service for over a century – from the days of horse and buggies, now transitioned to the era of electric powered vehicles. This LEGO model by KMbricklab features a model that was in service from the late 20s to the late 60s, with a distinctive, iconic, and classic look. This build is full of details, and I especially like the detailing of the pantograph and makes me wonder if a truly electric powered LEGO tram car would be possible to be built. It would certainly fit in very nicely into a LEGO City throwback scene!