Station yourself here to get back on track

One of the buildings that most large cities have is a railway station, and LEGO cities are no different in this respect. morimorilego has built this rather traditional looking railway station with its bell tower and pleasing arched design, using a complimentary combination of greys, reddish brown, and tan. Every station needs a clock at the entrance to help passengers decide if they are late and require a last minute dash to the platform.

Module Station

There are plenty of nice architectural details and interest with the main façade.  The Mansard-esque roof and floral displays bring a touch of class to this building but those light stone steps will definitely be high maintenance on rainy days when muddy footprints strike.

Module Station

Who’s a pretty boy, then!

I’ve always wondered about birds of the same family and their natural talents. A distinct difference between a parrot and a cockatoo are their capabilities of speech – cockatoos aren’t as skilled in that department as their colorful cousins. This brick-built perched cockatoo by Alanboar Cheung looks deceptively simple, but with the added twist of using LEGO brick separators for its feathery crest. It just goes to show that as long as there’s a stud exposed, a connection will find its way. I really like how they can also be raised as a surprised cockatoo would react.

LEGO Cockatoo - Brick Separator MOC LEGO Cockatoo - Brick Separator MOC

Racing for the best lap times around the block

While today’s kids have rad smartphone-controlled quadrotors to play with, there’s something nostalgic about a simple, old school R/C car. Arran Hearn induces such nostalgia with a LEGO R/C racing buggy and radio transmitter pair. Bright colors, excellent proportions, a clever parts usage for the antenna, and just the right amount of detail in the body and shock absorbers makes Arran’s R/C buggy pop.

R/C Racing Buggy

The detail on the bulky radio transmitter is incredibly lifelike. A quick glance and one would think it could control the buggy above.

R/C Radio Transmitter

My friends all drive Porsches, I must make a LEGO Porsche 911 Targa

When it comes to designing jaw-dropping models engineered from LEGO parts with an insane level of detail, then the Arvo Brothers should be one of the first names that comes to mind. Spanish brothers Ramon and Almador have brought us iconic LEGO models like Kaneda’s Bike, the Alien Xenomorph, and their Vespa P200, and they have just taken their latest model for a spin. The Porsche 911 Targa drives on the line between a coupé and a convertible, and this model is a fantastic LEGO rendition of the luxury sports car. The smooth curves are beautifully captured with the usual high standard we have come to expect from the Arvo Brothers.

911 Targa

Not content with engineering a beautifully shaped model, the Arvo Brothers have also added some functionality with doors and a rear boot that open. Check the tan leather interior, its just calling you to jump in and go for a ride.

911 Targa

This is not the first Porsche 911 that the brothers have built; back in 2009 we covered their version of the Porsche 911 Carrera. It is interesting to see how the introduction of new parts and techniques have allowed that earlier Porsche model to evolve into something far more beautiful. If you want to build your own copy of the Arvo Brothers’ Targa, they are making the instructions available for purchase as a PDF.

Get tactical with a LEGO Black Ops II M8A1

Recently, my favorite entry in the Call of Duty franchise — Black Ops II — was added to Xbox One backwards compatibility. I picked up Treyarch Studios’s 2012 vision of combat in 2025 again, and felt inspired to build my favorite rifle in the game: the M8A1, a rifle based on the real H&K XM8.

M8A1 - Call of Duty: Black Ops II

In addition to being inspired by the design of the gun itself, I was motivated to build by the color scheme. Most of the rifle in game is tan, but its carry handle has a subtle bronze color. I showed this color difference with two LEGO colors: tan, and medium dark flesh. The latter color is fairly limited in parts selection, which made its implementation a fun challenge.

M8A1 - Call of Duty: Black Ops II

Working features on the LEGO M8A1 include a moving trigger, removable curved magazine, and a sliding ambidextrous charging handle. The tactical rail on the carry handle can attach a LEGO reflex sight that projects a red aiming dot onto a window piece. I show and discuss these functions, as well as a few techniques used to achieve the detail on the weapon, in this four minute video.

See more photos of the M8A1 on my Flickr, or check out other LEGO Black Ops weapons we have featured, such as the PDW-57 SMG and KRM-262 shotgun.

LEGO Ideas 21310 Old Fishing Store [Review]

While everybody is understandably excited about the massive new Ninjago City set, September 1st also brings us the latest LEGO Ideas set, 21310 Old Fishing Store. The set includes 2,049 pieces and four minifigures for a retail price of $149.99 in the US.

21310 Old Fishing Store

The Brothers Brick interviewed the design team when we visited LEGO headquarters back in May, with the first announcement of the set’s approval last October, so read on to find out if this fan-designed set was worth the wait.

Read the full review of LEGO Ideas 21310 Old Fishing Store

A quaint lakeside village

This little Chinese LEGO village by Toltomeja is adorable. I love the irregular base and the squat buildings. There are some great details like the wavy patterns in the water and flippers-as-tiles roof design. But the real star of Toltomeja’s scene is that beautiful Chinese bridge and winding path.

Hongcun

The main photo doesn’t do nearly enough to show off the sweet curves of the sidewalk, so be sure to check the alternate angles.

Hongcun

Hongcun

Grace and elegance of an orca whale breaching

There are a few things that make a LEGO model stand out if executed particularly well – life in motion, and organic shapes. This build by Timofey Tkachev does both well, with this killer whale in an iconic breaching display. It is strange to know that to date, we have little knowledge on why whales perform this elegant dance of the waves, with only guesses on what it could mean. We still enjoy their majestic maneuvers nevertheless – and find ourselves amazed by it not only in real life but with this cleverly constructed jump that almost seems to be defying gravity.

4 Killer whale

If Banksy started building in LEGO

Graffiti has been a fact of life since the pyramids were built, but you may not have ever seen LEGO graffiti before (unless you’ve been reading The Brothers Brick for a really long time). Roman says he started with the minifig street artist and then came up with the larger build. The backward bandana as a hood is inspired and it’s good to see he takes his respiratory health seriously.

Graffiti Artist

I love the dripping paint from the freshly painted wall and the items chosen to inhabit the scene. It is a concise frame for a cool piece of instantly recognizable graffiti.

The wild west can be a cruel place...

Following up on a previous excellent wild west-themed creation, Brick Surgeon brings a very different, less action-packed view of life on the frontier, while keeping the building and composition style very similar. This latest vignette has a very morbid feel to it, with muted colours, dead trees and a freshly dug grave.

IMG_0484

There are many details to appreciate here — the trees are excellently built of course, as they seem to be the focal point of the build. Other parts of the creation are not lagging behind much, with the cleanly built tent, very interesting rocks, and a brick-built vulture on one of the trees. An apropriate choice for the background colour connects all this into a very cohesive whole.

The LEGO Ninjago Movie 70620 Ninjago City, 3rd largest set of all time, now available for LEGO VIP members [News]

Following fast on the heels of our hands-on review of 70620 Ninjago City, the third-largest LEGO set of all time is now available to order from the LEGO Shop online. The set includes 4,867 pieces and 19 minifigures (by our count), and retails for $299.99 in the United States.

The set will be available more broadly starting on September 1st, but is currently available only to LEGO VIP Program members. Of course, you can just sign up for a VIP membership for free, so that means the set is available to everyone now, assuming you’re ready and able to cough up the three hundred bucks for it. We think it’s totally worth it.

70620 Ninjago City joins 10258 London Bus, LEGO Boost, and the rest of the LEGO Ninjago Movie sets released on August 1st.

Cruising the aquatic streets of Amsterdam

Amsterdam’s 165 canals were created over the centuries to stimulate trade and transport, reclaiming land to expand the city. They continue to define the city’s landscape as a network of ‘water streets’ and in 2010 Amsterdam’s canal ring was recognised as a UNESCO world heritage site. Palixa and the Bricks built a canal corner in LEGO, capturing the essentials of the canal, canal house, and two barges. There’s a busy street scene with a florist, book store and a cheese shop on the ground floors and lots more going on inside the modular buildings.

LEGO Modular Buildings: Amsterdam Canal Houses

See more of this lovely city in the Netherlands