Yearly Archives: 2016

Asymmetrical starfighter is a little classic

Aaron Dayman and Pascal have collaborated on this brilliant little asymmetrical space fighter:

The model is Aaron’s and shows a great approach to variable geometry. The off-centred cockpit and unbalanced wing design are excellent touches amidst the usual conventions and colors of Classic Space building. And Pascal’s trademark photo-editing skills are put to effective use with the background and engine flares. A brilliant little model, presented with style — exactly what we like to see around here.

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Star Wars Rogue One trailer recreated scene for scene with LEGO [Video]

Stop-motion animators BrotherhoodWorkshop have spent the last several weeks since the reveal of the new Star Wars Rogue One trailer painstakingly recreating it scene-for-scene with LEGO, and the result is impressive. The quality of the effects and animation they achieved in just a few short weeks is stunning, and the trailer in brick form makes me just as excited for Rogue One as the official trailer. I can’t wait to see the first Death Star’s construction on screen (and presumably a Star Wars movie where the Death Star doesn’t blow up!).

Be sure to check out their VFX Breakdown and Behind the Scenes videos, too!

This first class lounge is so luxurious, you won’t regret missing your flight

Airport has been one of the coolest subthemes of LEGO Town sets since the 90s. But while planes have become bigger and better, airport buildings have become more crowded and basic. Andrew Tate rectifies the situation with an outstanding luxury lounge right from the 1950s.

Sharp lines and plain colors are the most memorable features of architecture from that golden age of flight, and Andrew recreates that style perfectly with basic and curved lines. Even the minifigures in this scene fit right in: notice two charming flight attendants in their chic uniforms, taking a break before their next flight.

Under a Tatooine sky

Doesn’t this fantastic scene by Chris Maddison instantly make you hear the melancholy french horn solo from Binary Sunset (aka: The Force Theme by John Williams) in your head? With very few pieces and a limited color palette, Chris has perfectly captured the emotion of this iconic scene from Star Wars: A New Hope. I love the clean lines of the sand dunes and two-toned sky. And of course, the double suns of Tatooine and the tiny Luke Skywalker are perfect.

A Jedi constructs his own LEGO lightsaber

Kosmas Santosa continues the Star Wars day celebration with Darth Vader’s lightsaber hilt constructed from LEGO. This replica looks about as screen accurate as one can get with bricks and is presented with an elegant custom stand and title card. I particularly like the use of silver barbell weights and a white rubber band piece for some of the details.

This is what Resistance fighters look like

Well, some of them look like this. Others look different. All kidding aside, these adorable Star Wars: The Force Awakens characters by Tyler Clites are insanely fantastic! Each figure is incredibly detailed. Just look at those clothes! Poe’s flight suit, Rey’s desert outfit, and Finn’s borrowed leather-jacket look phenomenal at this tiny scale. Even the characters’ hair styles are spot on! (Poe’s perfectly coiffed ‘do is my favorite detail.) I have a feeling that these four heroes are bound for trouble of some sort.

Massive LEGO Mos Eisley diorama is a most adorable hive of scum and villainy

The Star Wars saga is an epic tale set in an expansive universe. So when it comes to Star Wars LEGO builds, bigger is almost always better. Which is why we love this 6′ x 4′ Mos Eisley diorama by Australian builder Joshua Morris. The scene includes a variety of buildings that perfectly capture that Tattooine architectural style without ever feeling repetitive, and includes many small details that recreate the chaos of this obscure-but-not-so-obscure Outer Rim outpost. And the best part? This is just one third of the full diorama that Joshua and two other SydLUG builders have been working on! We’ll be sure to keep you posted as the rest of this amazing collaboration is revealed.

Click here to see close-up pictures of the entire diorama

May the 4th be with you!

It’s that time of the year again, and we’ll be celebrating Star Wars day here on The Brothers Brick!

The first Star Wars film was released in 1977 but it wasn’t until 1979 that the pun “may the fourth be with you” was first used, and not until 2011 that this day became the unofficial fan celebration that we now know as Star Wars day. In order to commemorate this important day, builder David Hughes created a mosaic of the beloved Rey from Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens.

The build required 1,400 LEGO bricks, covers an area of 63 x 77 cm (25 x 30 inches), and is based on an actual promotional photograph that you can also buy as life-size cardboard cutout. The limited choice of color palette does not have an adverse effect on such a large scale mosaic, although those eyes are maybe a little too crazed for me. Anyway, this is certainly the perfect day to unveil such a wonderful creation. May the fourth be with you all today!

LEGO Star Wars sales & deals for May the 4th 2016 [News]

The LEGO Shop online has just kicked off their annual “May the 4th” Star Wars celebration.

LEGO is offering the following deals and freebies:

Free shipping on all orders (not just over $75)
Double VIP points on all LEGO Star Wars purchases
Free First Order Stormtrooper minifig polybag
Free The Force Awakens poster (shown above) with all LEGO Star Wars purchases

LEGO sent me the stormtrooper and the poster last week, and both are lovely. The stormtrooper has a unique torso print (which you can see in the image below) with a bracket for the back, to which the printed 1×1 tile from the jetpack stormtrooper is attached (with an extra 1×1 tile in the polybag).

The new 75098 Assault on Hoth was released this week, and a bunch of LEGO Star Wars sets are also on sale, including the lovely 75094 Shuttle Tyderium and the 75140 Resistance Troop Transporter I reviewed before the movie came out.

As always, when you click through from Brothers-Brick.com, a portion of each sale goes to support The Brothers Brick (at no additional cost to you).

Fancy a stay at the Monochrome Motel?

This atmospheric building by Pete Strege is called the Monotone Motel and almost seems like a black and white image until you spot the coloured minifigures near the staircase. The neo-gothic inspired architecture has some great brickwork detail near the base using old dark grey tiles against the dark blueish grey bricks. I particularly love the use of Thor hammers across the central area to add texture and detail to the stonework. The mix of old greys and the newer blueish grey LEGO colours allow some contrast within the grey-scale colour scheme.

It’s worth taking a closer look at the clock to see the details and clever parts used, a foil, a short spear with Pin Hole and a sword blade with bar. The builder mentioned that he searched for weeks for just the right parts, I think it’s a great combination.

Flickr album.

Sugar and spice and all things nice and LEGO

Check out the power of the Powerpuff Girls in this cracking setup from Seattle area builder Michael Kuroda. Blossom, Bubbles, and Buttercup have never looked so good. Bright bold colors, immediately recognisable characters, and a sense of motion and speed. It’s like a still snatched from the opening titles of the cartoon — excellent stuff.

Massive LEGO Avatar diorama imagines Pandora’s future

Jon & Catherine Stead have built an enormous Avatar-themed diorama depicting a future for Pandora where low-impact ore extraction has become a reality, with humans and Na’avi working together in harmony.

The layout is 3m x 1.5m — a huge undertaking, which the builders have managed to stuff full of detailed plant life and mining machinery. Jon says the model took 6 weeks to complete — you can see why!

Sadly there are no separate close-up images, but I’d heartily recommend clicking through to the image here and zooming in to see some of the details.