Tag Archives: Retro

LEGO Icons 10323 PAC-MAN Arcade – Reinventing a beloved classic [Review]

In 1980, Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. released a little arcade game revolving around a pizza-shaped character eating his way through a maze, being chased by ghosts. They knew they had a good thing going, but they probably didn’t realize it would be one of the most beloved games of all time and a pop-culture icon. Now, over 40 years later, they teamed up with The LEGO Group to bring us an epic tribute to the original game. Join us as we chomp our way through the 2651-piece LEGO Icons 10323 PAC-MAN Arcade, which will be available June 4th and retail for US $269.99 | CAN $349.99 | UK £229.99.

The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Click to WAKA WAKA WAKA!

Two friends and some past gas

Life changes quickly and there could come a time when even a modern gas pump may become a thing of the past. But thankfully Eloi Parizeau and his friend Martin Chauvette teamed up to preserve a blast from the past in LEGO.They’ve built this very retro gas pump in striking red and yellow. The replica stands twenty six inches high and is constructed from over 4000 pieces. I particularly like the golden shell with wings emblem and the Captain America shield as a centralized emblem on the light face up top. Eloi tells us this isn’t a theme he would normally build for but as a car enthusiast and a lover of all things retro, I’m pretty glad they did.

001

Man of the (Acro)year

This one gets me right in the feels. Growing up, I didn’t have any LEGO to play with…but I did have just about every Micronauts toy ever produced. SPARKART!  has re-created one of the great characters – Acroyear – in LEGO action figure form. Making great use of Mixel ball joints, this warrior is super articulated and ready for battle. Aircraft tail fins match up perfectly with the classic helmet’s shaping, and those big chunky feet are super fashionable and provide some great stability to boot.

Micronauts Acroyear LEGO Action Figure

Be sure to check our archives for more retro goodness!

LEGO VIP 5007331 – Retro Tin Lunchbox: Vintage 1965 sandwich not included, thankfully [Review]

The LEGO VIP program’s reward center continues to be a roller coaster of ups and downs. We still had a few points left on our account, so we picked up the latest bit of non-brick swag up for offer – the VIP 5007331 Retro Tin Lunchbox. This blast from the past is available now, one-per-account, for 2500 points (US | CAN | UK). Is it worth the equivalent of a $20 US discount? Read on and see what we thought!

Have we developed a tin allergy?

Now that’s what I call sci-fi

Although I didn’t grow up during their heyday, I’m a bit of a sucker for that retro, 70s sci-fi aesthetic. You know, original-series Star Trek, Silent Running, Alien, that sort of thing. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, Keith Goldman has perfectly encapsulated that (as he so often does) in his latest creation. The build itself is impressive, but the composition is particularly stellar. Keith says the off-kilter angle was deliberately chosen to evoke the unsettling intrigue of a comic book cover. In fact, all it needs is a title in a dramatic font, some catchy quotes, and a little ’50c’ sticker to make it look exactly like that.

The Other Gods

The sense of scale and position is quite deceptive: initially, I thought we were looking up at some massive space cathedral, but the little white trophy ‘nanofigures’ give us our reference. This means that that skeleton in the glowing green cell, tank, pod, or whatever it’s in must be enormous. That’s what I love about this piece. No backstory, but by poring over the details you start asking questions which quickly set the imagination running. What facility is this, and where do all those tunnels go? What’s in the yellow pods? What (or who) was that skeleton? Who are the figures gathered around it? Most importantly, why is it there? Somehow, I don’t get the impression this is a zoo…

What the world needs is a shiny, green COE

You may look at that title and think; well that’s just stupid. And believe you me, this wouldn’t be the first time I drop a rock stupid article on y’all. But then when you check out this sick slammed LEGO 1948 COE (Cab Over Engine) Car Hauler built by Sérgio Batista you’re like; OK, that’s pretty dope! Right? At least that’s how it all goes down in my mind, anyway. But seriously, with copious chrome, dropped stance, mean green color, and sexy curves, this COE has probably earned a dope status from you the readers. And that rat rod you see it hauling? It turns out we featured it before as that one was penned by yours truly. I guess I’m just into rat rods and COE haulers. Check it out and another creation by this same builder in our dope archives.

1948 COE Car Hauler truck

You should totally Google Googie if you haven’t already

You may not know the word but you know it when you see it; an optimistic, retro-futuristic feel with upswept roofs, curvilinear, geometric shapes, and bold use of glass, steel, and neon. If it reminds you of The Jetsons, then that’s Googie! Famed LEGO artist Paul Hetherington creates the look nicely with this far-out poster depicting a retro-fab Googie eatery aptly named Comet Cafe. They boast that they have charbroiled steaks so you know that it’s going to be good! The standalone cafe would be impressive enough but Paul has integrated it into a 3-D poster. Just behind the cafe, there are hints of an entire Atomic/Space Age world complete with a hotel, a gas station, and apartments similar to what I lived in when I was single. Lest you forget the funny moniker that encompasses this type of design, Paul has built the word Googie in a funky retro-fabulous font.

LEGO Googie Poster

This view takes us to street level where we get to hang out with everyone from this neighborhood. Like, cool Daddy-O! Be sure to click the little blue link to find out why we think Paul is one of the hippest cats around!

LEGO Googie Poster

A retro robot to protect your city

Maybe it’s just the booze talking but the 70s and 80s were the best time to be a kid. I mean, you’ve got Star Wars, Micronauts, Shogun Warriors, and of course LEGO coming out with some freaking awesome themes like Castle and Classic Space. Shannon Sproule knows what I’m talking about. This fabulously retro Metorogādo: City Protector Robo combines the awesomeness of Shogun Warriors, the playability of Micronauts, and maybe even some of the awe of Star Wars. This hits all the nostalgic childhood sweet spots for me. And of course, it’s all LEGO…or mostly LEGO—those shoulder fins are some other brand of brick.

Metorogādo: City Protector Robo

Shannon says it was a miracle to find both a left and a right fin in the loose brick bargain bin. And that’s another cool thing about being a kid; while we likely preferred LEGO, we didn’t care too much if some sweet off-brand parts snuck into our collections now and then. It’s the adults who fret over such things. With childhood wonder intact, (booze references notwithstanding) be sure to check out why Shannon consistently hits all our sweet spots.

Excuse me, sir, your television is leaking

When you look at as many LEGO creations every day as we do here at The Brothers Brick, you see a lot of similar models. But sometimes, something comes along that just makes you smile, like this wonderful model by Kale Frost. Not only is this retro TV well-crafted, but the test pattern adds a bit of whimsy. I’m old enough to remember when there were only 4-5 channels to choose from, and you had to walk over to the set and jiggle the antenna a bit now and then to fix the picture. and that first time you turned on the new color set and saw that technicolor pattern, you knew you were in for a treat.

Retro TV

The soundtrack to a simpler time [Instructions]

While many of us are vaccinated, the Delta variant of the Covid-19 virus is circling the globe faster than a bean burrito through a dachshund. Trust me, you do not want to get in the crosshairs of the virus or a woozy dachshund, so in anticipation of maybe hunkering down indoors again, we have a LEGO model by Kosmas Santosa that should take you back to a simpler time. This brings back fond memories of making mixed tapes for that special someone in high school. It’s like the soundtrack to a time when all we had to worry about was the Cold War, MX missiles, and acid rain. Soothing, right?

LEGO Audio Cassette / Cassette Tape (Tutorial)

If you too would like to be whisked away to a simpler time you can build your own audio cassette tape. Check out the video to see how.

Conversion Van Conversion

Sometimes the best inspiration for a custom LEGO Creation is an official LEGO set. When 1saac W. saw the brown van in the upcoming Avengers: Endgame Final Battle set, he knew he had to have one – but in classic black with stylish pin stripes. In addition to the color swap, there’s some more subtle upgrades that make the model even more accurate to the real 1970s Ford Econoline: a round window in the back, an exhaust pipe just behind the rear wheel, and even door handles made from minifigure roller skates. I bet if we could see inside there’d be some stylish shag carpeting and a rocking 8-track player.

1972 Ford Ecoline street van (76192 mod)

Jammin’ with an 80’s icon

There are very few things that are more “Classic 80’s” than the WALKMAN. When it came out, it was the birth of compact tech that allowed you to easily bring your music with you anywhere. We take it for granted today, but it was fairly novel at the time. Along with it came a new era of music. Digital recording allowed for electronic effects, which has shaped the majority of popular music today. LEGO builder Jarek Książczyk (Jerac) pays homage to one of the icons that started it all, with this excellent scale model of the Sony WALKMAN.

Walkman

What makes this retro build most awesome is the fact that the player opens up to hold a “cassette.” Additionally, he snuck in some electronics to make it seem like it actually is functional.

While you’re here, check out some of Jerac’s other great builds, including Mando’s Razor Crest!