Yearly Archives: 2013

Beautiful LEGO Book [Review]

A new fan-written Lego book called Beautiful LEGO recently hit the shelves. It’s author, Mike Doyle, is no stranger to the Lego community, having built the masterpiece seen on its cover. This is a book that shows pictures from most genres of Lego building and includes only scant text, serving the role of a coffee table book highlighting the inspiring creations by fans.

Here is my summary of the highlights of the book, which are elaborated in the review video below.


Pros:

  • Professionally re-touched photos by the author himself
  • Each creation is labeled with its title, builder, and year. Links to the builders’ galleries are included in the back of the book
  • The first of its kind book illustrating the wide variety of what fans are capable of building


Cons:

  • No coverage of trains and military creations!
  • Not many features on minifig-focused creations, greater emphasis placed on creatures, characters, and microscale instead.

This is a highly recommended Lego book for any builder or fan. For new builders, this will serve as a compilation of inspiring models at your fingertips, and for experienced builders, this is a perfect way to show friends what you do. A book like this doesn’t need words to explain itself, the creations will do all the talking and delight all who’s curious to open its covers. Despite a major flaw of overlooking trains and military builds, Mike still does a great job of covering most aspects of the diverse styles and themes. His professional re-editing of the backgrounds of many photos gives the book a consistent style. You can buy it now from Amazon.

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Green Dragon

I just got back from BrickCon and this beauty, from Tim Goddard (AKA RogueBantha), was waiting for me. Lovely, lovely work. The flexible neck and tail are nice, tight work and I’m very happy that he filled the wings in with actual plate rather than the paper or cloth solution that some people have used.

Dragon2

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Gigantic Lego Helm’s Deep built with 150,000 bricks and featuring 2,000 minifigs.

I’ve seen some pretty impressive renditions of Helm’s Deep in Lego, but this gigantic layout by Goel Kim and Big J captures the scale of the epic battlescene like no other. The diorama took 6 months to build and over a year to plan. Check out more pictures on MOCpages and Flickr or you might miss a detail like this.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

10243 Parisian Restaurant unveiled by Jamie Berard at BrickCon [News]

This evening at BrickCon in Seattle, LEGO Designer Jamie Berard unveiled the latest set in the modular building series, 10243 Parisian Restaurant. The set includes 2,469 pieces — with lots of the new olive green everyone is obsessed with — and will be released in January 2014.

10243 Parisian Restaurant

10243 Parisian Restaurant 10243 Parisian Restaurant

10243 Parisian Restaurant

See more photos in The Brothers Brick photostream on Flickr.

Here’s the complete press release from LEGO:

10243 Parisian Restaurant

Ages 16+. 2,469 pieces.
Have an unforgettable evening at the amazing Parisian Restaurant!
US $159.99 – CA $189.99 – DE 149.99 € – UK 132.99 £ – DK 1299.00 DKK

It’s very busy in the Parisian Restaurant. As a scooter zips by, inside the waiter rushes between the tables as the nervous young man gets ready to propose with the ring! It’s just as hectic behind the scenes, with the chef busily preparing the food. This beautifully detailed building is the setting for so many stories and is a great addition to the modular building series. The Parisian Restaurant has a fully-stocked, blue and white tiled kitchen with tableware as well as a cozy apartment with pull-down bed, kitchenette and fireplace. On the top floor is the artist’s room with a studio that includes a cast iron heater, easel, paintbrush and two works of art by the aspiring artist. Outside, stairs lead down to the roof terrace lined with hanging lanterns and flowers where the diners eat alfresco-style. This amazing Parisian Restaurant model even includes a facade with croissants, clams and feather details that recapture the feel of Paris. Includes 5 minifigures: chef, waiter, girl and a romantic couple.

  • Includes 5 minifigures: chef, waiter, girl and a romantic couple
  • Also includes a rat, seagull and 2 clams
  • Kitchen features blue and white tiled floor, lots of kitchen units and a variety of utensils
  • Second-floor apartment features a pull-down bed, kitchenette and fireplace
  • Top floor features an opening roof revealing an artist’s studio with heater, easel, paintbrush, palette and artwork
  • Includes lots of food items for the customers including croissants, a pie, 2 cupcakes, 2 grapes, 2 hotdogs, turkey, cheese wedges, milk carton and colored bottles
  • Also includes hard-to-find white croissants and bricks in olive green, dark blue and dark red
  • Intricate exterior details include facade with croissant detailing, bus stop, sidewalk, scooter and even a dumpster and trash can at the back
  • Put up the printed restaurant sign and menu to entice the customers in
  • Collect and build an entire town with the LEGO® Modular Buildings collection: 10224 Town Hall and 10232 Palace Cinema!
  • Measures over 11” (30cm) high, 9” (25cm) long and 9” (25cm) wide

Available for sale directly through LEGO® beginning
January 2014 via shop.LEGO.com, LEGO® Stores or via phone:

Here’s the designer video featuring Jamie Berard

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Salt on a wound

Those of you lucky enough to be at BrickCon will be seeing a sci-fi collaboration known as HUB 14. I have only seen a few teaser images on flickr but judging by who is involved I know it will be of epic proportions. For those of us unlucky enough to not be at BrickCon, Evan (Lego Junkie) was nice enough to rub it in and show us this brilliant little TurtleDove Spacecraft ahead of time. So thanks Evan for reminding us of all the cool stuff we are missing.

TurtleDove Spacecraft.

I want two of these on the second day of Christmas…and a partridge in a pear tree.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Fangs vs. Claws

Drill Man can certainly deal with bunnies, but I don’t know if he would fare so well if he came across this snake and scorpion on stroll through the desert. 74louloute builds this epic battle of nature for the ongoing competition with Sweetsha. The use of minifig legs for the snake’s tail is genius, as well as the head/face techniques on the scorpion…well pretty much all of this is genius actually.

Duel in the wild

Keep ’em coming guys.

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An apple a day keeps the Strahl away.

Andy Baumgart (D-Town Cracka) is no stranger to military hardware. But his latest creation has a little sci-fi twist of the Maschinen Krieger variety. And it is rather brilliant.

Mercenary A-793 'Apple Cart'

The rough and tumble detailing coupled with the custom paint job/stickers makes this look right at home in the Ma.K universe. Even the name is perfectly suited for the genre.

And check out this blueprint edit…how cool is this?!

Mercenary A-793 'Apple Cart' Blueprint

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

BrickCon 2013 starts today!

Things might be a little quieter here on Brothers-Brick.com over the next four days, because about half the TBB team will be in Seattle for BrickCon 2013.

BrickCon 2009 panorama by DaddyBen

One thing I’ve learned about BrickCon over the years — this will be my eighth BrickCon since I first attended in 2006 — is that it’s an experience that you just have to be there for. Unfortunately, that means we haven’t been covering every single day of BrickCon like we did back in 2006-2007.

Nevertheless, you can still follow along at home through the photos, tweets, and blog posts by various attendees. First, there’s the BrickCon photo pool on Flickr, where you can follow along as people add photos of setup, events, and the LEGO models everyone comes to see.

Second, here are the Twitter users we’re aware of who are tweeting from BrickCon 2013 (when the awful data connection in the venue permits…):

(I’ll add to this list later as I find out who’s at BrickCon and who’s posting while they’re there.)

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

LEGO Adventure Time BMO powered by Raspberry Pi

Michael Thomas built the adorable BMO (Beemo) from Adventure Time that features a fully functional Raspberry Pi computer. You can see a video showing its features on YouTube.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Some Quality Space

Some really fantastic stuff was built for SHIPtember. I keep coming across more and more! I know we’ve posted about some of these, and about the month as a whole, but I just can’t resist the coolness. The latest is this beauty by Damien Labrouse (legodrome).

At first glance, I thought this was a great bit of micro building, then I spotted the minifigs on an EVA. It’s bigger and more detailed than I thought. I think my favorite detail is the stacks of technic bricks at the front. The repetition of form from the holes looks awesome.

06

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

TT Games is looking for another Model Designer!

Traveler’s Tales Games just contacted us regarding new job openings in their LEGO department. They specifically thought of our readers in regards to the Junior LEGO Model Artist position. As many of you know, TT Games is the powerhouse behind the line of highly successful LEGO video games, including the various Star Wars, Batman, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Indiana Jones games, just to name a few. Whoever ultimately lands the job will have the opportunity to work on upcoming titles. It seems like quite the opportunity for the right person. Below is the information relating to the Model Artist position. Check out this link for details on all the LEGO-related positions, as well as the other job openings currently available. They have hired other Adult Fans of LEGO in past, namely Carl Greatrix and the Arvo brothers…you could be next!

Junior LEGO Model Artist

We are looking for a Model Artist to join our highly skilled and motivated team. The successful candidate will have the opportunity to work on the ever expanding range of acclaimed LEGO titles across all major development platforms. The role available is based at our Knutsford development studio.

Main Responsibilities:

– The design and modeling of LEGO models and vehicles
– The design and creation of 2D texture decals
– Optimization of assets to support each game platform

Skills & Qualifications:

– Good knowledge of LEGO elements, connections and advanced building techniques
– Excellent communication and organization skills
– 3D modeling experience in Autodesk Maya & Photoshop an advantage, however training can be made available
– Practical and methodical approach to both technical and creative problem-solving
– Demonstrates dependability and commitment to projects / tasks
– Flexible approach with the ability to adapt with change
– Ability to work under pressure and to strict deadlines

In return we offer a competitive salary with paid overtime and bonus scheme.
If you’re interested in this role, please contact jobs(AT)t-tales.com using LEGO Model Artist as the Email subject.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Drill Man feels terrible for squishing the bunny!

Drill Man stepped on something ...

I was initially unsure of the story behind this, but had to post it for no other reason than it made me laugh. However, upon further investigation it appears that it’s creator, Sweetsha is in a competition with 74louloute utilizing the brown claw pieces. Then it made it all the more funny because I thought that bunny looked familiar.

I will have to be sure to watch this rivalry as it transpires.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.