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.

Pays to be the strong, silent type

Sean Cassidy induces nostalgia for the often overlooked Halo 3: ODST with his diorama of the final stand at the entrance to Uplift Nature Reserve, New Mombasa. Having fought many campaign playthroughs and firefights on this particular area, it seems Sean’s layout is near perfect. His choice of colors and techniques for the entrance, overlook, and planters fit the New Mombasa style of a believable yet futuristic city.

There are all kinds of vignettes within the overall massive diorama to find, shown on Sean’s Flickr. My favorite is the face-off between gravity hammer wielding Brute Chieftain and rocket launcher wielding ODST. Yes, that much firepower is necessary against a Chieftain.

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New LEGO 10252 Volkswagen Beetle is totally radical, man! [Review]

Announced just last month and out on August 1st, The Brothers Brick is pleased to bring you a full review of the new 10252 Volkswagen Beetle, thanks to a special delivery from LEGO headquarters in Denmark. This new Beetle in stunning dark azure joins the dark green 10242 Mini Cooper and classic 10220 Volkswagen Camper Van in what I’m hoping is a permanent fixture in LEGO Creator sets. The set includes 1,167 pieces, and will retail for $99.99.

The build

We’ve come to expect some solid techniques and clever tricks in the “Expert” LEGO Creator series sets, many of which are very obviously designed by the numerous builders who have disappeared from the face of the Internet only to turn up in Billund. And that’s the case here — the set was designed by the very talented Mike Psiaki, whose LEGO creations we’ve featured many, many times here on The Brothers Brick over the years — most notably one of the best LEGO X-wings ever made.

Mike’s Beetle doesn’t disappoint. The 211 steps span an instruction booklet 124 pages thick. I recently also built the new LEGO Ghostbusters (2016) Ecto 1, and it had far more complicated techniques than this larger vehicle does, but the Beetle is still full of half-stud-offset, SNOT, complex headlight and bracket geometry, and other techniques you’ll rarely if ever see in a LEGO City set.

Click through for the complete review!

Custom LEGO Hatsune Miku minifigure

Having already delighted us last summer with his mosaic of everyone’s favorite holographic vocalist Hatsune Miku, Chris Rozek does it again with this cute minifigure version – well, Friends “minidoll” version to be precise. We’ve featured customized LEGO Friends before but it’s always nice to see more customizers using them to recreate well-known screen characters.

This was Chris’ first try at custom sculpting hair pieces. The hair is made from 6 pieces of carved and sculpted resin. The entire figure took around a week to complete.

A medieval triptych: from affluence to affliction

Sometimes, life may be different than it appears, and comfort and fear may arise from the same space. Jonas depicts such a contradiction in the Middle Ages. His small but effective build is filled with many details and master craftmanship. The top level is occupied by a Medieval beauty enjoying her hot tub. She possesses some luxury items such as a mirror, perfumes and books which were rare for her time. She seems completely unaware of the horrifying truth happening far below. The middle floor seems to be furnished to brew homemade beers, and the arched ceiling makes the room dark and cramped. Even with the presence of mice, the room may be enjoyable for a certain type of person who wishes to craft a beverage in silence. But the big barrel hides a secret trap door which leads to misery in the lowest level. A poor man is tied to a big wheel and his screams only echo in his spinning head, which is filled with the laughter of this masochistic band. Considering the torture tools scattered around, he will suffer a lot.

King of Walt’s castle in a small, small world

Since I first visited Walt Disney World 25 years ago, I’ve been a total Disney geek. As a result, I’m very excited about the recent announcement of the Cinderella’s Castle set. However, it’s not out for a while, and I needed to scratch my Disney castle-building itch…

I figure this one might work out a little cheaper than the official set!

Enormous LEGO Battle of Hastings display [Interview]

Brick To The Past is a collective of UK builders who specialise in large-scale collaborative historical displays at LEGO shows. Their latest model is this thoroughly-impressive layout of the Battle Of Hastings, a key moment in British history…

I was lucky enough to see this display “in the brick” at Bricktastic in Manchester recently. The layout is a monster, with stark yet impressive terrain, and a wonderful collection of minifigs arrayed in battle formation ready to fight.

Brothers Brick got in touch with James Pegrum, one of Brick To The Past’s leading lights, to discuss this display and get more details on the challenges of collaborative building.

Click to read the interview and see more of Brick To The Past’s creations

This bird shoe fits the bill

This angry-looking bird isn’t the star of a mobile game or summer movie, but is actually an ingenious interpretation of one of nature’s bigger-billed birds, the African-native shoebill. The real bird stands a remarkable 4 feet tall with an enormous bill for catching fish. Builder Moko has done a great job using the shin guards from the large General Grievous figure to portray the bill, but my favorite part is the expressive eyes. Be sure to check out Moko’s blog for a cool breakdown of the construction techniques employed.

Giant problems for LEGO knights

There’s always a pesky ogre, dragon or giant hanging around waiting for intrepid knights to ply their trade. In this magical scene by Paddy Bricksplitter, it’s not going so well for the armor-clad heroes though as they fight to defend a suddenly very short castle against an enormous giant. Even the wizard for extra firepower may not be enough.

A medieval market in Ainsford

Ayrlego has been working on some medieval creations and has united them to come up with a larger diorama. The crowded display mainly depicts a market place, but a tavern and a royal building delicately occupy the background. The masonry and roof tiling on the buildings are quite elaborate. A band of pikemen, a small pen for pigs, an eastern caravan, a monument and a nice collection of flags add more detail to the scenery. And a cobblestone pavement perfectly matches the entrance of the angled royal building. Take a closer look and enjoy the special brew of fine apple cider that Ainesford is famous for!

Gotham brick-figures, part 2

The second half (see part 1 here) of my Forms of Gotham collection includes many of the staple Batman characters. The dark knight himself finally makes an appearance, as does his arch-nemesis the Joker. Building such a large group with wide-ranging styles and colors was particularly fun, as was bringing to life some of the most famous faces in comic book history.

The Batman

Click to see the rest of the characters

Watch the Autumn leaves change from Stonecreek Lookout

Sergeant Chipmunk is the master of texture. First, it was insanely beautiful, jagged rockwork. Then, a sleek and stylish castle of ice. Now, it’s a deceptively simple castle with extra-blocky crenellation surrounded by autumn-time trees. The new texture? Well, Chipmunk put a handful of 1×1 round tiles to great use by carefully stacking them into dragonscale-like textured walls for his castle. I can’t imagine the zen-like patience this man must have.

The vastness of LEGO Space awaits beyond this door

A good solid door. On any space station, it’s the only thing standing between you and the dark, dangerous, cold of hard vacuum. Sad Brick‘s latest model focuses in on this essential part of any space facility — and this door certainly looks like it can take the pressure.

The vehicle and the little droid are cool, and I like the details and texture on the walls. But the door itself is the undoubted star of this show, with huge hinges and the use of slope bricks suggesting an appropriate heft. This is clearly a serious portal — not for casual opening.