Tag Archives: BrickArms

BrickArms makes custom weapons and accessories compatible with LEGO minifigs. LEGO purists might balk at the tiny AK-47s and realistic bazookas, but BrickArms products are ingrained in the LEGO building community at this point and we hope they’re here to stay.

New BrickArms prototypes: Bazooka, MGL, MG42, Colt, and more [Preview]

Will Chapman from BrickArms took the summer off from work to try focusing exclusively on custom minifig accessories.

Starting with BrickWorld 2008 in June, each LEGO convention has revealed more and more new products and prototypes.

Thanks to the extra time he has now, Will has been churning out more prototypes in his garage than we can count — particularly for those of you eager for World War II accessories.

For your Allied minifigs, the Bazooka M9 (with M6 rocket) will pack a serious punch:

On the Axis side, the German Panzerfaust 30 anti-tank weapon and MG42 machine gun will complement the MP40 SMG and C96 Mauser:

One of the most intriguing new prototypes is the U-clip (“U” for universal). The U-clip can connect any two objects that can fit into a minifig hand.

The potential applications seem infinite, such as attaching a bayonet (also a new BrickArms prototype) to your Lee-Enfield SMLE, a Combat Knife (again, new) to your M4 Carbine, or simulating an M203 grenade launcher with a black LEGO lightsaber handle:

Between our earlier coverage and the Zombie Apocafest, readers should already be familiar with the Lewis gun and Combat Shotgun:

The current Lewis gun prototype solves a minor issue with the earlier version (the drum tended to pop off fairly easily) by attaching the drum to the gun with a clip-like stud. This does make the drum more secure, but it resembles T-21 blaster from Star Wars a bit less with the drum removed.

A couple of the more unique new weapons include a game-inspired gunblade and a Derringer:

The MGL (multiple grenade launcher) will enable your minifigs to take on Decepticons and Predators alike with ease:

Finally, fans of Western movies get two iconic pistols — the Colt Navy 1861 revolver and the M1917 revolver (which looks a lot like the Colt Single Action Army “Peacemaker”):

For those of you wondering when we’ll see all this great stuff in production, here’s the final word from Will:

The next mold (in black and/or bley) will include the Combat Knife and Combat Shotgun for sure, and most likely the MGL, Lewis Gun, and Paintball Gun, but the lineup is still being decided. Look for that mold in early 2009, perhaps even by BrickFest 2009 in Portland!

The swords and Colt Navy will most likely be added to a silver mold, sometime soon as well. I’m still coordinating the layout for it. The other items may be limited-edition “garage releases”, as time permits. All will eventually see production.

Did he just say swords and paintball guns? Yes indeed. Look for a preview of those in the next few days from Josh. ;-)

New BrickArms M21 Sniper Rifle, Lee-Enfield SMLE, and Baseball Bat [Review]

We mentioned the new accessories from BrickArms during BrickCon, and picked them up at their booth the moment they opened.

The newly released M21 Sniper Rifle isn’t substantially different from the hand-molded prototype we previewed a few months ago, but it’s great to see the final version in production.

My M21 is being put to good use against zombies by Sgt. Doyle from 28 Weeks Later:

BrickArms M21 Sniper Rifle

What came as a bit more of a surprise for me at BrickCon, though, was the new Lee-Enfield SMLE rifle. The Lee-Enfield was the official rifle of British Commonwealth forces from 1895 to 1957, seeing action in both world wars.

I’d been making soldiers with BrickArms prototypes all day, so I gave my shiny new SMLE to a member of the British Home Guard:

BrickArms Lee-Enfield SMLE

I’d also used prototypes of the new BrickArms Baseball Bat in the hands of my zombie-hunters, so I forgot to take pictures of the production version. Thankfully, Zack Newright saves the day:

BrickArms Baseball Bat

Speaking of prototypes, in the next couple of days we’ll have a full preview of the cool stuff Will’s been cooking up in his garage. Stay tuned…

Zombie Apocafest 2008: Children, avert your eyes!

Zombie Apocafest 2008 just wrapped up at BrickCon, and I spent about an hour taking pictures.

Front and center in the display was Ryan Wood‘s beautiful watchtower:

Josh, Nannan, and I awarded “Best Zombified Building” to Paul Hetherington‘s “Casa Baron”:

Paul’s building has a full interior, including comfy chairs and a working elevator. We loved the art deco details, many of which incorporate organic shapes:

The similarly unanimous choice for “Best Zombified Vehicle” was Andrew Lee‘s awesome truck:

In addition to the Zombie Defense Weapons Packs donated by BrickArms, the good people at Valve (the studio that brought us Half-Life and Portal) sent along a bunch of Left 4 Dead T-shirts and a great billboard:

Valve even invited a bunch of people to tour the Valve office on Friday night, where Lonnon Foster posed with Gordan Freeman (photo by Don Solo):

The LEGO zombie display wouldn’t have been possible without the organizational genius of LEGOLAND California model maker Gary McIntire — who even spent the plane ride up to Seattle creating custom zombie heads.

At least 35 participants contributed nearly 30 original buildings, dozens of vehicles, and hundreds of minifig zombies and survivors.

LEGO Certified Professional Dan Parker contributed a super-detailed mall, complete with a LEGO Store, baby store, Spencer’s Gifts, and food court:

Will there be a Zombie Apocafest 2009? Undoubtedly.

In the meantime, check out the full Zombie Apocafest 2008 photoset on Flickr.

BrickArms.com relaunches with M21, baseball bat, and Lee-Enfield [News]

Recent visitors to the BrickArms Web site will have noticed the intriguing message that they’ll be back soon with new products.

Just in time for BrickCon 2008, the site is now back online with all-new items, including:

We’ll of course have full coverage of other new BrickArms products announced at BrickCon in the coming days.

BrickCon 2008: Last-minute logistics (and more free stuff)

Apologies for boring 99% of our readers, but this is still the fastest way to communicate with the fairly large number of TBB readers who are attending BrickCon later this week.

Fill out your MOC cards now

MOC (My Own Creation) cards identify your LEGO creations for fellow attendees and the general public. They also help theme organizers like Josh and me plan for how much space is needed (more on how that relates to the zombie display later in this post).

Fill out your MOC cards on BrickCon.org. A couple quick points:

  • Unless you want to spend the public hours explaining what “SNOT” and “MOC” are to kids and their parents, avoid “AFOL-speak” in your descriptions.
  • Zombie creations go in “Other,” not “Train/Town” (whose organizers I suspect think they’re being invaded at this point; that doesn’t actually happen until Sunday).

Remember, only “registered” LEGO creations (ones with MOC cards) will be eligible for the various awards given out by BrickCon.

Pack your LEGO creations for travel or shipping

Before you stuff your LEGO into your carry-on luggage, consider reading the LUGNET post by Duane Hess and the Classic-Castle.com article by Lenny Hoffman about packing and shipping LEGO.

Wouldn’t you rather spend your time socializing and integrating your pristine creations into the display instead of rebuilding them?

Unload your LEGO at the venue

By now, you should’ve received a message from Daniel Brown with details on when, where, and how to unload your LEGO creations at Seattle Center. The loading dock is only available during the following times:

  • Thursday 8am – noon
  • Thursday 5pm – 9pm
  • Friday 8am – noon
  • Sunday 5pm – midnight

Please only use the loading dock if you have massive amounts to unload. For more details, please see Daniel’s e-mail. If you didn’t get that e-mail, let us know and we’ll post more information here.

(CC-licensed photo of the Space Needle by Chris Blakely.)

Get to and from the airport

I know several of you are looking to share rides between Sea-Tac Airport and the BrickCon venue at Seattle Center (301 Mercer St., Seattle, WA 98109). Transportation options include Shuttle Express, taxis, and rental cars — all available near baggage claim.

If you’d like to share a ride with someone to cut costs, post a comment here with your arrival time, and when two or more of you are interesting in connecting, I’ll put you in touch through e-mail.

Bringing stuff for the draft and Dirty Brickster

Drafting a LEGO set allows you to get parts in large quantities that you might otherwise have to buy individually (from, say, Bricklink). Read more about how the draft works on SEALUG.org. If you want to participate, the draft set for BrickCon 2008 is 7626 Jungle Cutter.

Dirty Brickster is a LEGO “white elephant” gift exchange. Bring something that would be worth $10-20 to the recipient, wrapped.

Help bring some order to the Great Chaos of the Zombie Apocafest

With so many last-minute, “Oh, I’m so there!” contributions (thanks in no small part to BrickArms’ generosity, I’m sure), we don’t have a very good sense of how many zombified LEGO creations to expect for the Zombie Apocafest.

Filling out a MOC card will help, but could we also get a quick roll-call from readers planning on bringing a building? (Vehicles will be easy enough to incorporate into the display.) I’ll be at the venue nearly all day Thursday to help with setup — Castle and the zombie display in particular.

Build your GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest entries

GO MINIMAN GOIf you haven’t entered our GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest yet, you can do so right there at BrickCon.

Just swing by The LEGO Group’s table, dig through the bricks, build a vig or dio, have it photographed, and fill out the entry form. Oh, and you get to keep what you build.

Get your Brothers Brick LEGO brick

Last but not least, the first 100 people who come up to Josh, Nannan, or me and say “It’s a brick-built world out there” will get a custom-engraved brick — your choice of “The Brothers Brick” or “Brothers-Brick.com”.

Oh yes, this is gonna be the best BrickCon yet! See everybody in a couple of days!

New BrickArms Zombie Defense Weapons Pack at BrickCon 2008 [News]

BrickCon 2008 begins this Thursday! When I announced prizes and giveaways for the Zombie Apocafest, I realized we needed a good way to repel the zombie menace.

What better way to fend of that flesh-eating horde than with a special set of weapons designed for just that purpose from BrickArms?

In addition to the other prizes and giveaways, BrickArms and The Brothers Brick will be handing out new Zombie Defense Weapons Packs to everyone who contributes a building or vehicle to the Zombie Apocafest display. That’s right: BrickArms for free!

The weapons pack is full of the tools of the zombie-hunting trade:

  • SW500 Magnum Revolver (for stopping power; x2)
  • M21 Sniper Rifle (for keeping your distance)
  • Mk48 Mod 0 Machine Gun
  • AK Assault Rifle (doesn’t jam as easily as the M4/M16)
  • Uzi Submachine Gun (x2)
  • Bipod (x2) and Monopod (x3)
  • Combat Shotgun (brand-new prototype)
  • M1 Garand Rifle (in black)
  • M1 1911 .45 Pistol (backup weapon #1)
  • Baseball Bat (backup weapon #2)
  • Glow-in-the-dark Zombie Head

If you don’t have time to build something for the display, you’ll be able to buy your very own Zombie Defense Weapons Pack at the BrickArms table. And if you can’t make it in person, BrickArms will be making these available through the re-launched BrickArms.com.

Well, I’m off to finish up my final building for the display and begin creating the horde itself… :D

First look at future BrickArms prototypes [News]

Will Chapman of BrickArms was at BrickWorld 2008 the weekend before last, and Nannan scored a selection of custom items and prototypes for future BrickArms products. Since this isn’t a review (like my recent BrickForge review), I’ll mainly just show you pictures.

My favorite BrickArms prototype is the unique Lewis gun from World War I:

BrickArms Lewis gun on Flickr

In addition to historical accuracy — the round magazine is removable — I think this gun has the most potential beyond military applications. In fact, the real-life Lewis gun inspired the T-21 light repeating blaster from the Star Wars universe.

The BrickArms machete and KA-BAR (“survival knife”) add sharp edges to the BrickArms inventory:

Military builders have already expressed excitement over the M21 Sniper Weapon System:

BrickArms M21 prototype on Flickr

The baseball bat and “cleaver” improve minifig odds against the zombie horde:

The “Spy Carbine” and “Golden Gun” evoke the world of Ian Fleming’s James Bond:

See more in my BrickArms photoset on Flickr.

I know lots of you want to know when these are going to be released and whether these prototypes represent the final design. To save you some confusion, here’s the official word from the BrickArms spokesbadger:

  • Cleaver – Prototype only. Design is finalized. Will eventually see mass production.
  • Machete – Prototypes only. Two versions were distributed in a variety of colors: one with a lip on the handle and one without. The design is still being finalized. Will eventually see mass production.
  • KA-BAR – Prototype and included in a special BA custom Commando fig. Existed in a variety of colors including trans-colors. Will eventually see mass production.
  • Golden Gun – Prototypes only. Existed in a variety of colors including trans-colors. Unlikely to ever see mass production, but may be available beyond the Spy Contest prizes at some point in the future. Design is final.
  • Spy Carbine – Prototypes and included with a special BA custom White Tuxedo Bond figure. Decision regarding mass production still in flux as is the design of the accessory.
  • Needler-inspired accessory – Only included with a special BA custom Marine fig. Will never see mass production due to the complexity of the process to produce the item (multiple molds and over-injecting).
  • Baseball Bat – Available for purchase in a variety of colors. Design is finalized. Will eventually see mass production.
  • Lewis Gun – Prototypes only. Design still in flux. Will eventually see mass production.
  • Brodie Helmet – Prototypes only. Design is final. Will eventually see mass production.
  • MGL – Prototype only. Design still in flux. May or may not see mass production given certain design difficulties.
  • M21 Sniper rifle – Prototype only. Design still in flux. May or may not see mass production.

I love the smell of LEGO in the morning...

Smells like…creativity!

Robert Duvall as Bill Kilgore on Flickr

(Custom torso and M4/M16 rifle by BrickArms.)

New 2008 BrickArms weapons [Review]

At BrickCon in October, I learned about the Halo-inspired weapons and the M1 Garand rifle that Will Chapman of BrickArms was working on at the time (see First look at new BrickArms weapons).

Last week, I received my shipment of new 2008 BrickArms weapons, and I’ve been eagerly building and waiting for a break in the snow (!) to take pictures.

Aside from much improved polish, the BA-M5 rifles and BA-M6 pistols aren’t substantially different from the prototypes I highlighted in October, as seen here with a trio of UNSC Marines from Halo:

UNSC Marines with BrickArms on Flickr

In addition to the BA-M5 and BA-M6, the latest batch of BrickArms weapons includes two more weapons inspired by science fiction. The PKD2019 Replicant Blaster takes its inspiration from Blade Runner, so I whipped up a custom Rick Deckard to “retire” my minifig androids:

Rick Deckard on Flickr

The final M1 Garand rifle is slightly larger than the prototype. Regardless, a minifig can hold the rifle at several points, as demonstrated below by a custom WW2 US Army Sergeant minifig you can also buy from BrickArms:

US Army Sergeant with M1 Garand on Flickr US Army Sergeant with M1 Garand on Flickr

My favorite new BrickArms weapon is the Mk48 Machine Gun. Bundled with a bipod and monopod, the Mk48 resembles the M240 and M249 families of modern machine guns (at least at minifig scale). Other additions to the contemporary arsenal are the MP7 PDW and M84 Stun Grenade (aka “flashbang”):

SOCOM with BrickArms on Flickr

The Bipod from the Mk48 can attach wherever a minifig hand can attach, including other BrickArms weapons, such as the PSG1 Sniper Rifle (with S.W.A.T. sniper below). A Monopod can convert your M1 Garand into an M14 (with Marine, circa 1965):

S.W.A.T. Operator on Flickr Vietnam Marine on Flickr

The other sci-fi-inspired weapon is the Auto-9, from RoboCop (below):

RoboCop with Auto-9 on Flickr

The priciest thing I picked up this time from BrickArms was the Medkit ($8). The Medkit includes a syringe, scalpel, and bag. Although BrickArms sold a limited run of 30 World War II medic minifigs a while back, I missed them when they were $25, and the final minifig went for $162.50 (!) on eBay.

So I made my own (mostly), using the new Medkit, an Indiana Jones bag, and bits of the Sergeant:

Medic with BrickArms Medkit on Flickr

As I said last February in my first BrickArms review, BrickArms weapons compare well to official LEGO elements on both price (on the secondary market) and quality. This certainly holds true for the 2008 weapons, which continue to extend the building possibilities provided by our favorite little plastic bricks.

For more photos of the new weapons and accessories, see my BrickArms photoset on Flickr.

Also check out our previous coverage of BrickArms here on The Brothers Brick:

New Brickarms accessories available [News]

Brickarms, the popular provider of quality custom minifig guns has recently released new designs available for purchase.

In addition:

-New weapons are available in silver.
-The BrickArms Medkit is also available
-Check out new BrickArms t-shirts

Via BrickJournal for more detailed descriptions.

Gizmodo interviews BrickArms’ Will Chapman

For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of attending a presentation by BrickArms founder Will Chapman, Gizmodo has a great interview you should go read now.

A brief excerpt:

Jesús Diaz: I think the simplification of the real world weapons is amazing. How is the creative process? How do you decide on one weapon or another?
Will Chapman: Mostly, Ian (my youngest son) finds a weapon interesting and asks if we could make it. It is that simple. Once he finds one he likes, I study it and I abstract the design into minifig-scale.

LAML Radio covers Brickarms

The latest episode of LAML Radio hosts an interview including content about Brickarms. Learn more about this great customs minifig weapons shop and listen to the podcast.