Category Archives: LEGO

You’d probably expect a lot of the posts on a LEGO website like The Brothers Brick to be about LEGO, and you’d be right. If you’re browsing this page, you might want to consider narrowing what you’re looking for by checking out categories like “Space” and “Castle.” We’re sure there’s something here that’ll fascinate and amaze you.

LEGO x F1 Academy: thoughts on brands, tie-ins and progress [Editorial]

Here’s a pop-trivia question for you. Who is the biggest tyre manufacturer in the world – i.e., who makes the most? I’ll give you a second to think about it. No doubt many of you know the answer already, if you’re reading this. The answer is, of course, LEGO. And after so long at the top of the tyre tree, they are finally getting involved in the real-world automotive sphere with a surprise partnership with F1 Academy, as announced the other day.

This represents the culmination of a big year for LEGO and Formula One. 20 sets have so far been released across five themes, including an entire wave of Speed Champions sets. LEGO has been a major presence at F1 races, most notably the Miami, British and Las Vegas Grands Prix. But even then, this latest announcement surprised many, including me. It got me thinking about LEGO’s relationship with IP partners, bringing in new fans, driving positive change in both motorsport and the world at large, and how to do a brand tie-in properly. And I got a bit carried away – so enjoy this long, rambly read!

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Chicken Dreams – a peck of clucking good LEGO hens (and instructions to make your own!)

It started with a dream – the dream of AFOLSs Carson Lacey and Syrdarian who dared prompt a new building challenge for the community: NovHENber. Frogs and crabs have had their time. Now let the chickens rise to the top of the pecking order! One builder who answered the call and has been strutting her stuff all month is Kristel Whitaker, who just finished her series of ten hens, starting with this plucky lady. This is an extraordinary build of a totally ordinary bird, living her modest egg-laying life on a bed of cozy ~~chopsticks~~ straw.

Only at the end of the series does Kristel reveal the nine fanciful fowl that followed were actually the first chicken’s dreams, with each microbuild becoming a piece of an impressive MOC with a brickbuilt dream bubble housing the peculiar and prodigious poultry. Each of these hens deserves a moment of appreciation.

Fly the coop with us as we meet all of Kristel’s amazing hens!

Do you have the Guts to build Berserk in LEGO?

Elden Ring and other From Software games have been a major influence on LEGO builds in recent years, but long before Dark Souls, another Japanese series wore the Dark Fantasy crown – the manga and anime series Berserk. Vietnamese builder Liivii forges anime characters and mecha from bricks and for their latest creation, they turned to Guts, Berserk’s violent antihero. As built by Livii, Guts is wearing the evolution of his armor infused with the Beast of Darkness. The builder recreates the Berserker armor with its many jet black ridges using all System elements, and most importantly, captures Guts’ bestial slouch as he lurches towards his next battle.

Build your own LEGO Enterprise D & Shuttlepod with these free instructions

On November 28th, LEGO ~~boldy~~ boldly goes to the final frontier with Star Trek 10356 U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D. We found this Black Friday release to be a stellar build, albeit one that asks a lot of your wallet and shelf space. During this year of big sets and big price tags, “the one I can afford” memes have flourished, with builders sharing their microscale spins on premium releases, and the Enterprise has spawned a few impressive fan builds. We were especially taken by this version from 2Bricks, which includes the Enterprise D, shuttlepod GWP, and minifigures. 2Bricks was kind enough to share the instructions so that you can build your own mini Enterprise!

With the holidays approaching, if you’re looking to Trek the Halls with Borg and Holodecks, 2Bricks has created instructions for a full Advent Calendar of Star Trek microbuild instructions that you can order here.

But first, start with the free instructions for the Enterprise D and shuttlepod. As Picard sings so merrily, make it so!

Click to view the instructions for the microscale Enterprise D and Shuttlepod

Get up-close and personal with this these Blacktron bruisers

Conventional wisdom would suggest that when you’re engaged in a dog fight in space, you want to keep your distance and let your laser guns do your enemy in. But Steve Marsh isn’t worried about convention. He’s begun a series of Blacktron ships that are built for combat, without using guns. The first is the SnubBuzzard, a brutal-looking battering ram of a ship that busts through its targets with ease.

The second is the Buzzsaw and, well, I probably don’t need to tell you how it attacks. It can be a challenge to bring new life to old concepts, and the idea of weaponless combat ships is an inspired approach. The resulting ships look swooshable and exactly like something I would have eaten up as a child. And, the best part is, when Blacktron reduces a Space Police cruiser to bits, you get to rebuilt it!

Are you a fan of Seve “Rubblemaker” Marsh’s distinctive spaceship designs? We’ll be back in a few days with an in-depth interview with this LEGO Space legend.

This LEGO microscale city is guarded by the power of arts and crafts

Among many other things, Athena is the patron Greek goddess of handicrafts. That makes Loic Gilbert‘s microscale LEGO statue the perfect tribute to her! It would be a fine figure taken on its own; add some colour and you have a flesh-and-blood Athena. But with that monochrome palette, and in the context of a well-crafted microscale settlement, it becomes absolutely massive! She’s a good choice of guardian too, seeing as one of her other patronages is warfare. Do gods and goddesses get to choose their patronages? Those two make an odd mix on the face of it. Maybe after a long day of warmongering, sitting down with some knitting or a LEGO set is the perfect way to unwind. Seeing as Athena is also the goddess of wisdom, I won’t question it.

Hawkins, are you ready to rock?

We’re still a few days away from the premiere of Stranger Things season 5, but it seems like the WSQK van is already everywhere. I’ve seen it on t-shirts, in toy aisles, it has an upcoming Transformers Crossover figure…and most impressively it’s the subject of a new build by Alex Jones. While we haven’t seen the mobile radio station in action on TV, yet, there’s already plenty of merch out there to judge by. So, it’s safe to say that Alex has delivered a stunning take. Not only is this model packed with plenty of playset-style features, like opening doors, but Alex recreated the van’s wild paint job almost entirely through bricks. Even the eagle shaped lightning bolts on the side.

Even more impressive? He built it twice, and gave it a dark and dreary redeco for scenes in the Upside Down.

Color us impressed by this Middle Eastern medieval library masterpiece

When you think of medieval LEGO builds, you probably picture a lot of grey bricks (or yellow, if you’re feeling extra nostalgic). In this spectacular scene from German builder Marcel Veit, there’s nary a grey brick to be found. Instead, we’re treated to carpets, mosaics, and bookshelves popping with rich colors. The build was created for the Arabian Knights category in this year’s Brickscalibur competition, but with all those hues, it’s clear Marcel also has his eyes on the “Cerulean Count” prize – a bonus award for builders who get creative with color.

While Marcel has collaborated on RogueBricks projects, it’s been a full year since he’s shared a personal MOC, making this immersive build all the more exciting. Marcel is a builder whose clean designs, ingenious use of elements, and command with color have influenced many other builders. And while Middle Eastern settings have become more common in the Castle community, Marcel was an early advocate of exploring that setting in MOCs.

What I love about Marcel’s builds, and especially this one, is how dense with detail they are. Furniture, potted plants, lamps, and fixtures are both innovative and cohesive. The raised mosaic carpet looks so plush. Like a good book, I want to curl up and lose myself in Marcel’s world.

Aren’t you a little short for a Mûmakil?

War elephants were a staple of combat in North Africa, but what makes them legendary in the battle against the Romans is Hannibal’s march across the Alps. Builder Tylar pays tribute in LEGO to Hannibal’s last standing elephant, Surus, at the battle of the Trebia. Cloaked in red with a howda on its back, Surus might look a little small by Oliphaunt standards, but he is surprisingly close to scale for the now-extinct North African elephants used by the Carthaginians. Tylar completes the scene with wintery terrain on the Trebia banks and a fun mix of historical minifigs, including some Roman soldiers with wolf hoods.

A six-wide Alfa Romeo with a storied history

Car fans know that the love of an Alfa can haunt you, and Sam Andreas knows they can haunt LEGO fans too. Sam had to put this build aside before coming back to get it right. This specific iteration of the Alfa GTV 2000 comes with the storied history of a pristine car that fell off a flat-bed tow truck, only to be redeemed as an off-road vehicle, then totaled on an infamous video. Cars, whether in metal or LEGO, can break our hearts – or lift them!

She sees the flowers and she wants them painted black

The LEGO Botanicals sets have offered a steady source of bright colors and inspired plenty of builders to arrange their own bright bouquets. For Taylor (@bricksandchaos), whose builds explore “elegant unease,” flowers became a way to express feelings ranging from elation to anxiety. Her blooms don’t blossom – they writhe. Taylor’s monochrome flower series riffs on Botanicals designs using all black parts, supplemented with spines and tentacles that fuse beauty with seething unrest.

Taylor’s latest MOCs add red eyes to each flower and hand-like prongs at the end of the tendrils to chilling effect. Do these roses stop to smell the humans?

More of Taylor’s flower series follows

An alabaster fortress on the brick sea

Alex (bryckland) leaves no part wasted as this fortress protects the coast. Built for the French Feodalis roleplay campaign, every part selection by Alex is a joy. From a door handle to a ballista, from mushrooms to window bars, every piece has been placed with intention. And don’t miss the color selection either from top to bottom. The fortress’s dome gives a beautiful flair of faded copper, while the base shows its wear against the battering waves.

Alex also uses an approach for a classic castle feature that I had not seen before. Using the newer Brick 1×3 Half Arch back-to-back, Alex tops the fortress with great crenelation (word of the day!).