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.

UNSC Mantis proves that LEGO always does it better

While the Halo license for building bricks is, unfortunately, in the hands of Mega Bloks at the moment, that doesn’t mean that Halo and LEGO fans haven’t been building iconic creations from the series in the superior brand. Proving that point today is Velocites with the HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark IX Armor Defense System… or UNSC Mantis to save time. While it uses only official pieces (save for the bullet chain), this isn’t a purist build as the military olive colour here is done with paint.

In the interest of comparison, here is the Mega Bloks Mantis. For a $33 set, we must admit that Mega Bloks actually did a good job, but this LEGO version blows it out of the water.

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Stunning LEGO spaceship is a new classic

Michał Kaźmierczak has built a stunning spaceship — the Spectre. Whilst the model is decked out in Classic Space blue and gray, it’s anything but a retro throwback, making use of new parts and modern building techniques to deliver a creation so packed full of detail it’s a delight to zoom in on the photo and look around. Kudos for the opening hatches and the packed interior — excellent stuff.

And if the model itself isn’t cool enough for you, Michał has used his photo-editing skills to fantastic effect on this hero-shot of the Spectre touching down on an asteroid. Cracking photography and editing show off the ship in all its glory. I’m getting a total Chris Foss vibe off this picture, and that’s about the highest praise I can offer on a creation like this. Beautiful.

Genie’s lamps from Aladdin in LEGO

If you’re going to be stuck in a lamp for a millennium, you might as well make it a nice lamp. LEGO 7 understands this, and has designed his version of the Genie’s lamp from Aladdin with an elegant twist — it’s now a high flying magical machine!

On the flip side however, you might just rue the day until you can escape from your lamp to get revenge on all your enemies. Cid Hsiao has built a depiction of just that, the scene in which the evil genie Jafar, set free from his lamp-imprisonment, tries to destroy Aladdin once again.

The minions of Nurgle are here, and you can fight or join them

The Deathly Halliwell isn’t just bringing you great LEGO renditions of Warhammer 40K models, but also an invitation to join in on the fun — the builder is working with Conner Lill to build a Warhammer 40K layout for BrickWorld Chicago. If your 40K knowledge isn’t up to scrap, what you’re looking at here is a Great Unclean One (which looks like Scabeiathrax), Plague Drones, and a Herald of Nurgle.

Absolutely super Piper Super Cub

Check out this fantastic Piper Super Cub by Norweasel. The overall shaping is lovely, and there’s some smart parts usage going on—particularly the use of “useless” rubber spike pieces for the tail of the floats. I’m not 100% convinced by the swords as props, but that’s a small grumble at an otherwise excellent model.

And to top it all, the builder has posted a detailed breakdown of how the model is built so you can have a go yourself.

Crusading through the Vaygr Reaches

The asymmetrical ships and bold colors of Homeworld continue to inspire LEGO builders year after year, and Tim Schwalfenberg is no exception. Tim is working on another large fleet for BrickWorld Chicago in a couple of weeks, but teased us with this Corvette from the Vaygr faction (duplicated on a cool deep space backdrop). While I certainly love seeing (and building) large fleets of microscale spaceships, it’s often easy to overlook the great building techniques that go into the smaller vessels, overshadowed as they often are by the large capital ship at the center of the fleet. Despite their relatively small size, the Corvette is packed full of detail, from the greebly sensors to the cannon.

Tim says he included a number of custom pieces that he 3D-printed himself. Can you spot them? What do you think about 3D printing pieces to include in LEGO creations?

Go forth and conquer

Otto Blees built a follow-up to his LRV3 Javelin with Birth of History, another Guardian jumpship from Destiny. His LEGO rendition of this chunky craft looks fantastic and accurate to the in-game ship, but with a more vibrant color scheme. The subtle angles on the fuselage and detailing inside and outside of the massive thrusters are the standout features to me here.

Raining adorable death from above

Whether it’s from dropping pesky Spiny Eggs to slow your progress on World 4-1, fishing your kart out of the water on Banshee Boardwalk, or carrying the third-person camera though Peach’s Castle, Super Mario Bros players will recognize this LEGO Lakitu built by Cecilie Fritzvold. Some clever use of parts make Cecilie’s Lakitu come to life, like the mudguard piece for the cloud’s smile and a rubber band around Lakitu’s eyes for his goggles.

Pop into the Top Slice Bakery for a delicious pastry

There’s a longstanding tradition — especially here on the West Coast of the U.S. — of novelty architecture that often reflects the specific purpose of the building, from teapots to root beer barrels. Andrew Tate has built a lovely bakery in the shape of a toaster, complete with slices of bread popping up. And the coffee stand next door is, naturally, in the shape of a coffee mug. Andrew makes great use of rounded bricks and slopes throughout his scene, which even includes a brick-built street.

Captain America & Red Skull race around on their speeders

What if Captain America and Red Skull were characters in Star Wars instead of the Marvel universe? Hey, it’s not inconceivable… And what vehicles would they ride? tankm answers these questions with a great pair of speeders. The Cap sits astride what would be more properly called a “swoop,” while Red Skull scoots around in an utterly fantastic retro-futuristic air speeder. As much as I love Captain America (or at least I did…), I’m rooting for Red Skull today due to the sheer awesomeness of his ride.

Incidentally, our friends over at FBTB are hosting a Themed Speeder Bikes contest, which runs through the end of the day tomorrow. Given how small speeder bikes are, there’s still time to enter.

This LEGO excavator is right on track

Sometimes LEGO construction workers need to move large amounts of soil and dirt during the early stages of a new project, but fear not, Devid VII has built a lovely yellow excavator to do the job. This tracked vehicle is well shaped and sized for it’s minifigure operators. I particularly like the fact that it is completely built in bricks rather than utilising one of the ‘scoop’ moulds from the LEGO construction sets.

Those strings and pulleys on the excavator arm are not just for show — Devid has made his excavator functional. It just needs to find some soil to excavate now.

The human element

No doubt, World War II has had an enormous impact on modern society and culture, from cinema, books, art and even LEGO creations. Behind dozens of amazingly precise scale models of aircraft, tanks and ships there still hide just a handful of touching scenes telling stories of ordinary people who had to fight for our freedom. One of them is this powerful work by Dmitriy and Anna.

Builder Olga Rodionova also contributes with her heartwarming scene of a young girl meeting her beloved as he is returning home from the war. I don’t think this scene needs any description; the poses created by Olga say more than any words can. Also, the birch in the background is something I have never seen before – such a brilliant texture!