If you have been around the LEGO fan community for some years, you probably remember The Brick Show, a popular YouTube channel that pioneered LEGO news and review videos a decade ago. The channel is still alive, although with not as much new content as in the past. A side-project of The Brick Show is an online shop called Build Better Bricks, where they sell custom LEGO instructions by creative and talented LEGO fans, as well as custom printed minifigures and accessories.
We discussed the shop a few years back (see links at the end of this post), so today I only wanted to highlight some of the latest cool additions that recently became available.
CUSTOM LEGO TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES INSTRUCTIONS: These halfshell heroes are ready to party! Lots of articulation let you pose them in classic ninja poses. Files have been provided so you can order parts for all four turtles, each separate turtle, or one file that has the parts for one figure and each character’s weapons and bandana colors. This allows you to change the figure to your favorite turtle. The characters are 8″ x 5″ x 4″ and use 350 pieces each. The estimated cost for getting the parts for each turtle is around $35, and the cost for the instructions, parts list, and Stud.io files is $12. (The Stud.io files allow you to easily import the parts list to BrickLink.)
CUSTOM LEGO SPIDER-MAN INSTRUCTIONS: It’s just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man! Spider-Man is known for his agility when swinging from his webs. So for this model, the focus is on capturing all the agile poses of Spider-Man. The model also includes instructions for a stand that allows you to pose him in flight or hanging upside-down from his web. The model is 12″ tall x 4″ wide x 3″ deep without the stand, and 12″ tall x 6″ wide x 7″ deep with the stand. The estimated cost for getting the 389 parts is around $40-$50, and the instructions, parts list, and Stud.io files are $7.
CUSTOM LEGO STAR WARS CHARACTERS INSTRUCTIONS: Some other fantastic brick-built characters are from Star Wars, including a stormtrooper, scout trooper, clone trooper, and even Commander Cody! The instructions, parts list, and Stud.io files are $7 each.
CUSTOM LEGO STAR WARS LIGHTSABER INSTRUCTIONS: There is also a whole selection of highly detailed lightsabers with stands for Darth Vader, Luke Skywalker (two versions), Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Darth Maul. The instructions, parts list, and Stud.io files are also $7 each.
CUSTOM LEGO SERENITY FIREFLY INSTRUCTIONS: This is Build Better Brick’s largest custom model with just over 2,000 pieces. The goal with this model was to have it as accurate as possible while still making it playable. So it’s a great display model but also has many fun play features like opening hatches and panels to give you access to the full interior with cockpit, hallway, dining room, engine room, infirmary, cargo bay, two shuttles, rotating engines, and more. The overall size is 23″ x 16″ x 9″ and the estimated cost for the parts is $200. The instructions, parts list, and Stud.io files are $25.
There are instructions for many other fantastic custom LEGO models in the Build Better Bricks portfolio, and you can check out their website, BuildBetterBricks.com, for the full selection. And if you already have any of the models and would like to share your review, feel free to do so in the comment section below!
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Wow. I love those troopers! Really cool.
I loved the site, but when I tried placing an order from the shop, it wouldn’t let me add it to my cart. Their contact form took me to a page that hasn’t been set up, and my email to them bounced. Are they really in business?
Allister, hm… that’s weird. I have had no problems placing orders from them. And I double-checked again just now, and I don’t see any problems checking out. You could send me the link of an item you’re attempting to purchase, and see if I see anything unusual.
The ninja turtles are a great idea. I wonder who designed these.