The Brothers Brick

…gently down the stream to the Fabuland Riverbank. SlyOwl’s newest creation is an incredible piece of eye candy. From the flowing river to the autumnal tree, from the exotic cheeses to the lightup fireplace, this creation is bursting with whimsical details.

Smod showcases a survivor repairing a really great four-treaded mech in a snowy landscape — his entry in the Picking up the Pieces contest:

Ask and you shall receive. Jesus Diaz has worked with LEGO to put together answers to all the great questions LEGO fans threw his way earlier this month.

A few favorites:

I want you to ask the Lego gang for the definitive answer on the plural for Lego bricks. Is it, as we Brits say, simply Lego, or is it, as some Americans insist, Legos?

Actually both the Brits and the Americans are wrong—but are all forgiven! “Lego” is an adjective and is not meant to be a standalone name. It should always be Lego bricks, Lego building, Lego products, etc.

Why do Lego look so delicious but taste so bad?

As your parents probably told you when you were young, there are some things that shouldn’t be eaten. Lego bricks are one of them. Please keep them away from your mouth.

Read Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Lego on Gizmodo.

Oh yes. There are many trifectas, but this is certainly one of them. When Mike “Count Blockula” Crowley combines Apple + LEGO + Star Wars, you get 100% awesome.

Red. Sleek. Fast. This lovely fighter by Niels Bugge (Flickr) veritably roars off the screen with speed and power:

Don’t miss the 80 Z-Fighter 3 page on Niels’ website for discussion of the inspiration and building techniques he used, including the great curved wings.

Nick Dean has included lots of realistic details in this scene illustrating the life of a sniper:

Check out Nick’s photoset on Flickr and see if you can spot them all.

Boing Boing Gadgets contributor Joel Johnson recently visited futurist Syd Mead‘s house. Mead is of course renowned for the designs he’s contributed to many of our favorite movies, including the Spinner from Blade Runner.

Joel reports that LEGO presented a special LEGO Technic Spinner to Mead when the legendary designer visited the company. The Technic Spinner now occupies a place of prominence in Mead’s house:

Joel — who got to swoosh this beauty around — has a couple more pictures on BB Gadgets. I wonder if LEGO has built many other one-of-a-kind creations for geeky luminaries…

LEGO Spinners featured previously on The Brothers Brick:

• It’s too bad she won’t live! But then again, who does?
• Do minifigs dream of plastic sheep?

Here’s some interesting news from Billund:

LEGO® Collector`s Guide Publishing date: 26.06.08 / LEGO Collector – Premium Edition beginning of August 2008

We are happy to announce that the LEGO Collector’s Guide is about to be launched by Fantasia Verlag GmbH. The confirmed launch date will be the 26.06.08. This bilingual (English/German) catalogue is for the fan and collector alike. It is a high quality product full of details. It comprises around 800 pages presenting nearly all sets produced by the LEGO Group since 1958.

Further, there will be a LEGO Collector – Premium Edition which will be very limited to 3.333 continuously numbered copies. The Premium Edition will be published at the beginning of August 2008 for a price of 39,90€. This high quality catalogue has a hardcover and is presented in a very decorative packaging with exclusive LEGO gimmicks.

As I said a couple weeks ago, I really enjoy the little descriptions Teikjoon includes with his LEGO photos.

Click the picture to read Teikjoon’s description of the high-powered “Skyscraper” on Flickr:

Most people probably know Xueren for his amazing collection of custom minifigs, but he’s also an accomplished builder, as he demonstrates with buildings like this one.

On the street level, a vendor sells roasted chestnuts:

Naturally, the resident of the second floor, a certain Mr. Holmes, has a secret identity:

The “geological research and exploration vehicle” Jehkay posted recently sports more play features than you can throw a brick at.

It has manipulator arms on the front and a motorbike on the back:

Aaron Andrews presents a French castle on a river, titled (appropriately enough) “Château sur la Rivière”:

My favorite detail is the tiles on the crenellations. Check out the full gallery on Brickshelf.

YouTuber Mar Delgado has posted an intriguing trailer for a LEGO CGI movie he’s working on, inspired by the game God of War:

Very cool.

(And no, this isn’t an “official” trailer. Sadly, there will be no LEGO God of War after LEGO Batman. Nor Grand Theft LEGO.)

We certainly love the airplanes that Ralph Savelsberg builds, but he’s recently on a Town kick.

His most recent buildings include iconic British buildings — a corner shop and a pub:

Here they are together with the rest of Ralph’s buildings and vehicles:

I’m loving Gizmodo contributor Jesus Diaz‘s coverage of his recent trip to Billund. His latest post includes a great video of his visit to LEGO’s Secret Vault, where the company stores all of the products ever released, in their original packages.

Click through to Gizmodo for the video and the full gallery.

Jesus’ coverage of his trip so far:

• Lego Secret Vault Contains All Sets in History
• 750,000-Brick Kennedy Space Center Is the Mother of All Lego Models
• Lego Airbus A380 Is Biggest Lego Airplane in the World
• Lego Employees Have Minifigs as Business Cards (and a Great Sense of Humor)
• Galactic Empire Cloning Stormtroopers in Lego Factory
• Can Command + Legoland + 1 Brick Your Mac?
• What Do You Want to Ask LEGO?
• In Denmark Even the Cops Are Made Out of LEGO