The Letter that needed to be delivered to the Cupboard Under the Stairs

I’m always thrilled by tiny vignettes that squeeze in details that tell the story well. This vignette by Zed highlights the memorable scene in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone when the Hogwarts invitation letter is delivered to Harry in the Cupboard Under the Stairs. Though not fully movie accurate — as I do recall the door of the Dursley’s home was at the bottom of the staircase — it makes more sense for this little vignette to have it on the opposite end. I still can’t figure out how LEGO elements were arranged to construct that sturdy-looking entrance door, but it certainly looks good.

A letter from Hogwarts

Double VIP points are back at the LEGO Store, plus a free minifigure frame for rest of October [News]

It is time to celebrate and do a little holiday shopping because double VIP points have returned to the LEGO Store. It has been a long time since the last blanket 2x VIP points event, with LEGO instead opting for double points on select sets the last few months. If you have been waiting for double points to make bigger purchases like the Hogwarts Castle or Betrayal at Cloud City, now is the time.

Along with double VIP points, LEGO is offering a free minifigure collector frame as a gift with any purchase more than $75. The promotion runs through the 31st or while supplies last. To see all the most recent sets released by LEGO, check our list of new October sets as well as all the new sets from the summer.

(As always, when you click through from The Brothers Brick, a portion of each sale goes to support the site, so thank you in advance!)

A consular ship, on a diplomatic mission

For a spaceship whose screen time is brief, the Tantive IV occupies a special place in the hearts of Star Wars fans — probably because everyone remembers that first moment of A New Hope as the ship thunders overhead, pursued by the formidable heft of an Imperial Star Destroyer. Tino Poutiainen has put together a detailed LEGO version of this famous spaceship, with every signature element in place, from the hammerhead barrel-shaped cockpit through to the red striping and the midship comms array.

Tantive IV

The model is half a meter long and apparently separates into two sections for easy transport despite its beefy 2kg. Much of that weight must be in the rear section — an impressive recreation of the corvette’s multiple engines…

Tantive IV engine block

Holy Hot Wheels Batman! Can I take it for a ride?

Batmobiles are a recurring theme in LEGO because they come in many variations featured in all the different franchises, which gives LEGO builders a clean slate to work on. This particular Batmobile by Lucas is his version of the vehicle featured in Arkham Knight. What I find particularly unique about this are the tyres made from Technic chain links and some nice use of Katanas to shape the back of the vehicle. Lucas scaled the build with the wheels as a reference point and everything else came after, and he even made it fit a Batman minifigure comfortably.

Arkham Knight Batmobile

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for October 14, 2018 [News]

In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the second week of October 2018.

TBB NEWS & FEATURES: The first Overwatch set has been revealed and we have a feature on cute little turtles in LEGO wheelchairs.

TBB REVIEWS & INSTRUCTIONS: These Harry Potter figures are hard to find, and we have a review of them and some seasonal BrickHeadz just for you.

OTHER NEWS: There were a few other interesting LEGO news articles from around the web this week. Here are the best of the rest:
Check out the other LEGO news of the week

Reverse engineering the LEGO Forma shark with a brick-built “skin”

Last month LEGO revealed Forma, an experimental kinetic sculpture set designed to target the adult market. The product was launched via crowdsourcing platform Indiegogo but is currently only available to buyers in the U.S. and U.K. The product was of interest to Jason Allemann since he enjoys building LEGO kinetic sculptures. Because Jason lives in Canada and is unable to order the Forma set, he decided to reverse-engineer the design well-before its official release!

Swimming Shark

Jason’s shark is more than a direct copy, as it contains his own personal touch. Since the Forma skins are not currently available, Jason created a stunning brick-built skin. The brick-built shark body doesn’t interfere with the model’s functionality and will likely appeal to LEGO fans who were not impressed by Forma’s plastic skins. Jason modified the mechanism to achieve a more realistic swimming motion, and the lower level consists of a small school of fish swimming beneath the shark. Finishing off the entire model is an attractive coral reef base, which offers a nice splash of color.

He scare. He stomp. But most importantly, he chop.

I’ve always loved how a single LEGO piece has the power to inspire an entire build, as was the case with this awesome mech by Chris Perron. The building of this marvelous monstrosity was motivated by the yellow Fabuland ladle part, which Chris wanted to incorporate into a sci-fi creation after seeing it used in a someone’s castle-themed creation. Finding a spot for such a strange piece likely proved challenging, but the builder managed to find a perfect spot for them on either side of the mech’s head, to form what looks like a respirator or perhaps like rounded cheeks.

Mr. Stompy-Chop-Chop

Ladles aside, the build overall looks like a wonderful mashup of Nexo-Knights LEGO universe, Warhammer 40k, and a beefed-up Bionicle Rahkshi. While the builder could have called it a day after the mech was completed, he went the extra mile and made a simple but effective alien environment base, which perfectly completes the final display.

Blacktron design takes a giant step forward

Following on from the Blacktron Ravenwing Fighter that TBB has featured last month, builder CK-MCMLXXXI continues the theme with this ferocious looking LEGO Blacktron mech. This digital creation brings to life a brutal looking machine, armed to the teeth with a rail gun and what looks like a trans-yellow plasma rifle. I particularly like the way the printed Blacktron element is set at an angle so as to suggest a beak like maw. Another clever technique uses clipped tiles attached to Technic flex tube to create a realistic ammo belt. The result is an intimidating monster of a vehicle, worthy of the Blacktron moniker.

Blacktron Behemoth

Where there is light, there is life, or perhaps death?

Builder why.not? is an enigmatic LEGO artist. Every build is of his makes you think and wonder what inspired the creation. This particular scene was cleverly crafted with an assortment of tubes and technic pins to give an organic shape to a lifeless tree. Bringing hope to a desolate and dry world is a bright coloured green apple – a sign of life and hope when it looks like everything else is without hope. The provoking mystery is the light behind sharp-edged rocks. Is that hope by the light of a rising sun, or is that an explosion of  weapon of wars threatening all life?

untitled

Retro lookin’ Volkswagen T1 Camper [Instructions]

The VW T1 Camper Van has been released by LEGO both as a Creator Expert set and as a polibag set. This particular build by hachiroku24 stands out for a closer and more accurate look with the new triangle pieces introduced not very long ago and clever use of the vertical tooth pieces. You can now build your very own thanks to the instructions and parts provided in the YouTube Video below.

Click here to watch a video guide!

I ain’t afraid of no colds!

The exploration of the alien worlds is often tightly connected with military conquests. Italian builder Norton74 takes a rather peaceful approach to the idea and creates a Mobile Research Laboratory inspired by the good old Ice Planet 2002 LEGO space theme from 1993. His design features significantly fewer pieces in white compared to the official LEGO sets, however a heavily armoured vehicle’s body looks absolutely stunning in plain blue. The retro vibe of the build is achieved through a very peculiar choice of pieces; note that there are almost no modern LEGO pieces and absolutely no curved slopes.

Ice Planet 2002 | Mobile Research Laboratory

The fastest ship in the rebel flight streaks into action

According to concept art, the RZ-1 A-wing interceptor is the fastest ship in the rebel fleet. It is certainly one of the sleekest fighters in the Star Wars universe. This model by Thomas Jenkins is high on my list of fan creations. The off-set tiles down the front of the ship lend a realistic look, without detracting from the clean lines. I also really like the angled detail on either side of the front fuselage that smoothes out an otherwise sharp edge.

The slight angle of the engine pods is quite accurate to its on-screen inspiration, and there are some excellent details along the back of the fighter as well, including an asymmetrical ingot on one side, and a very nice rear thruster detail using 2 spoilers in white.