The Brothers Brick

The recent Beijing Olympics — and NBC’s coverage of them here in the U.S. — painted a picture of the People’s Republic of China as a veritable utopia of modernism in harmonious balance with ancient tradition.
In this vignette depicting alleged organ-harvesting of Falun Gong detainees, Rocko suggests that the truth may not be so pleasant:

You [...]

On August 13, LEGO and the Fantasia Verlag publisher officialy released the book called LEGO Collector (aka LEGO® Collector’s Guide), which is a collector’s guide cataloging almost all LEGO sets from 1958-2008 in celebration of the 50th anniversay of the brick. The release features a standard edition and a premium edition (limited 3333 numbered copies) [...]

Working my way further back through Moritz N’s photostream, I encountered this great vignette highlighting the importance of being tolerant:

Moritz says:
Although there are still incurable boneheads in both the dwarf and the troll society, Gnork and Shroeder finally summon up the courage to come out of secrecy.
Living their relationship freely they join the Cristopher [...]

If you’re unfamiliar with Alex Eylar’s works, take a look at his gallery and you’ll soon conclude that his pictures are something else, especially when it comes to lighting. Luckily, Alex has written a nice summary and gave a good example of the role of lighting in transforming an otherwise decent creation into a masterpiece. [...]

Aaron Andrews has been working on a fun series of pirate creations, populated by a hapless band of buccaneers. In his latest, he sends them down a lava tube. I don’t know if they’re going to make it out of this one alive!

Alex Eylar presents “A Brief History of Time Machines,” showing some interesting depictions of these fictional marvels throughout the ages. For example, check out this time machine in working order from the early twentieth century. Click on the photo to see more from his gallery!

Goopy the Troll may not be smart, but he gets the job done and in a hurry. He and his team of down-on-their-luck horses are the fastest in the business. Hence his title of “King of the Gong Farmers“! Next time your castle’s cesspit needs cleaning, call Goopy. He would appreciate [...]

I’ve jumped on the bandwagon, as we prepare for the Zombie ApocaFest at BrickCon in October. While a sniper and his spotter look for more “targets”, Ricky and Leslie make a break for the safety of the second floor! Will they make it or will the undead feast? You decide!

Click through for the punch line to this great little vignette by Moritz N. (nolnet on Flickr), featuring a little gray frog on a table and a rather unhappy princess.
Via VignetteBricks.
EDIT: And, it would seem, via The Brothers Brick. This is what I get for blogging while jetlagged… Thanks Tyler!

Speaking of references to British popular culture that I’m not familiar with, Ronald Vallenduuk (Duq) has posted a great entry for the LUGNuts Sympathy for the underdog challenge inspired by the BBC comedy Only Fools and Horses.
Here’s Del Boy and Rodney of Trotters Independent Traders (in their “Heroes and Villains” Christmas special outfits):

The source of [...]

I’ve been keeping an eye on Simon’s LEGO Boba Fett costume project for a while (and yet somehow missed his great LEGO Star Wars minifigs along the way), so I was very pleased to see the completed armor.
This may be the coolest homage ever to the beloved bounty hunter with only two four lines in [...]

Most builders use the pre-molded ship pieces when building their galleons, schooners, and clippers.
Never one to take the easy way out, Aaron Andrews has used bricks and tiles to build the hull of his pirate ship, The Black Meg:

See more piratey goodness in Aaron’s Brickshelf gallery.

I had the pleasure of hanging out with Thom (aka minifig) on my recent trip to London. Over non-alcoholic drinks at a lovely neighborhood pub far from the tourist crowds, the conversation inevitably turned to LEGO.
Thom apparently decorates his home with great little LEGO scenes. On arrival back in the States, I was pleased [...]

If you’ve been keeping up with LAML Radio, you know that James the host is presenting a podcast interview with a talented builder each day in August. Here’s yet another update of the featured builders in the past few days.
Lee Magpili
Matt Hamann
Eric Harshbarger
Lukas Winklerprins
Mike Psiaki
Chris Doyle
Ralph Savelsberg
Chris Giddens

The LEGO minifigure turns 30 today. The very first minifig I got was in 1978, when I was 3 years old. Mr. Policeman had a stickered torso (right).
Today, minifigs are of course my favorite aspect of playing with LEGO, mainly because minifigs represent infinite possibilities.
Former LEGOLAND Master Model Designer Mariann Asanuma puts [...]

August 25th is the 30th birthday of the LEGO minifigure. Here at The Brothers Brick, the minifig holds a very special place in our hearts — after all, we started out as a tiny little blog highlighting our favorite minifig finds.
To wish the minifig a happy 30th birthday, I’m pleased to announce that The [...]

Josh featured LEGO creations by Florian (demdike) twice while I was away, and I’m so glad to learn of this builder who I hadn’t encountered before!
Florian’s latest creation is a “picture from the Ganymede mission in 2026″:

More pics on Brickshelf.
Via Yonder Splendid Assuagement of Bloviation. (Phew!)

Look away if disturbing LEGO images aren’t your thing.
Still here? Well, there’s a lot to take in in Battledog’s zombie outbreak diorama.

Observe the spilled water, dripping blood, and brave janitor holding off the horde.