Yearly Archives: 2016

Rovin’ other planets LEGO-style

Getting off earth and somewhere else is tricky enough, but how do you cruise around when you get there? A rover, that’s how! Luis Baixinho has given us this adorable little rover, and I love it. The tires are a great solution, and it’s very “real world” space to me.

This little rover seems to fit the bill: it’s small, compact, and is probably easy to disassemble for transport! Because, you know…LEGO. The build features the Series 15 Astronaut, which I absolutely love. It’s my favorite spaceman LEGO has done for quite some time.

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A walking garden

IGU from Japan has created the cutest garden ever! But it’s not the sort of garden you would expect. Look closely, and you’ll see that this garden is atop an old and huge turtle. He may look a little bit exhausted, but don’t let it mislead you. He is so full of happiness that all sorts of flowers keep popping off his back. All the animals rush to his shelter. Hayao Miyazaki would totally approve this creation!

Make sure you check out the flickr album for more close-up photos which reveal lovely details.

Find your destiny with this LEGO Arcadia-class jumpship

Fans of the video game Destiny will immediately recognise this creation by Paul Jeong. For the uninitiated, Destiny is a first-person shooter that incorporates role-playing and multiplayer online styles. Jumpships, such as the Arcadia-class model, are a means of transportation in the game and help you in your quest to save the last safe city of Earth from naughty aliens.

The ship has some lovely shaping thanks to some clever Technic use and plenty of curved slopes. The design is very accurate to the game, as you can see from Paul’s comparison shot.

I love the colors; orange and blue are opposing colors and work so well in this model due to the varied LEGO palatte. There are more images of Paul’s ship in his Flickr album, and it’s worth taking the time to check out the close-up views.

LEGO Ideas 21305 Maze by Jason Allemann finally unveiled [News]

It’s been nearly four years since we first highlighted Jason Allemann’s LEGO marble maze, and nearly a year since the LEGO Ideas team announced that Jason’s project had been approved as a future LEGO set. Jason Allemann and his kinetic sculptures will be familiar to regular readers of TBB — it seems like not a week goes by when we don’t highlight one of Jason’s amazing LEGO creations, so we’ve been excited about this set for some time. But good things come to those who wait, and LEGO has finally unveiled LEGO Ideas 21305 Maze.

The set will include 769 pieces and retail for $69.99 in the US and $89.99 in Canada, due out on April 1st. We’ll have a pre-release review of the set to share with our readers in a couple of weeks.

Click through to see more photos of this new LEGO set

Rebel attack on the Empire’s deflector shield generator

Check out this iconic scene from Return of the Jedi where the rebels attack the secret back entrance of the Imperial bunker on Endor. Dunedain98‘s build packs a ton of action and detail into a small space. The various plants, particularly those spot-on Redwood tress, are impressive. But why is Chewie with the ground crew instead of inside a stolen AT-ST? Han will never be able hot-wire that door! Oh wait, nevermind. The doors are already open. Phew, that was a close one.

Fear the space rebels

The human race has always been looking for new horizons to conquer. New continents, deep seas, high mountains and even space… but every occupation comes with a challenge. Humans must now face unwelcoming aliens. They will not let go, they will resist.

Sad Brick depicts this little space scenery in a retro manner and with an attractive color palette. The portable lab and the sampling drill offer many play functions, and tracked vehicles are always a favorite of mine! Smooth rock formations, distinguished vegetation and self-controlling drones should not be missed. Also notice the anxious alien observing the drilling activity. He is definitely not happy. Fear the space rebels!

LEGO Ideas 21302 Big Bang Theory 20% off [News]

LEGO is clearing out some of its older sets, presumably to make room for all the March 2016 LEGO sets released yesterday. While the selection isn’t huge, one highlight is 21302 Big Bang Theory.

21302 Big Bang Theory was one of our best-reviewed sets of 2015, and you can pick it up for $47.98 rather than the quite spendy $59.99.

A Japanese bento box made with love

While I certainly admired the delicious-looking tempura shrimp and rice bowl by nobu_tary I highlighted a week or so ago, I’m vegetarian and prefer some lovely vegetables with my rice — no homemade Japanese meal feels complete without some umeboshi, or pickled plums. I think I’d enjoy this gorgeous LEGO bento box a bit more, with black sesame seeds and an umeboshi on the rice, with broccoli and a variety of small side dishes packed with care into a lacquer box.

March 2016 LEGO sets now available: Ninjago, Captain America: Civil War, Star Wars & more [News]

While LEGO builders in many other parts of the world have been enjoying the first quarter LEGO sets since January, LEGO is finally releasing about 45 new sets on March 1st in the US. In addition to the Captain America: Civil War and Elves sets we’ve known were planned for release on March 1st, we finally have the official release in the US of the new Ninjago “Skybound” sets, Star Wars battlepacks, and LEGO Super Heroes Mighty Micros.

As always, a portion of everything you purchase by clicking through from TBB goes to support contests like Space Chefs and giveaways like our March LEGO Batcave giveaway (along with the humdrum business of running a high-traffic website).

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Captain America: Civil War

76051 Super Hero Airport Battle includes 6 minifigs and 807 pieces at $79.99. Look for our review here on TBB soon.

76060 Crossbones’ Hazard Heist includes 3 minifigs and 179 pieces at $19.99.

76047 Black Panther Pursuit includes 3 minifigs and 287 pieces at $29.99.

LEGO Star Wars

75137 Carbon-Freezing Chamber includes 231 pieces at $24.99. (Read our review of 75137 Carbon-Freezing Chamber.)

Click through to see more of the March 2016 LEGO sets

Even old machinery can serve long when treated properly [Video]

One of the biggest dilemmas that LEGO builders face is choosing between impressive appearance and complex functionality of their creations. LEGO pieces, although offering an enormous number of combinations, still place huge limits on the functionality and mobility of models. That’s why hitting on a sweet build complete with a video of functions in action excites me like nothing else. One of the best Latvian builders, de-marco, whose works are always especially neat and aesthetically beautiful, has shared a small diorama of an old rusty rail-road crane by the loading area.

Click through to see this crane in action

TBB is giving away the LEGO Batcave, plus a minifig a day! [News]

Did you know that you as a reader of The Brothers Brick are among more than 250,000 people who visit TBB each month? But only 24,000 of you follow us on Facebook. One of the secrets of following TBB on social media is that we do regular giveaways. That means many of you are missing out! In February, we celebrated our 20,000th fan on Facebook by giving away 10251 Brick Bank. Congratulations to TBB reader Gabriel for winning our first big giveaway!

This month, we’re running two giveaways in parallel. First, enter all month long to win the new 76052 Batman Classic TV Series Batcave, along with a snazzy green TBB T-shirt.

And every day, we’ll also be giving away one of the new Series 15 minifigs. We’re starting out today with a giveaway of Left Shark.

To make sure you don’t miss future giveaways, be sure to follow us on Facebook, as well as Twitter, Pinterest, Flickr, and YouTube.

(Prizes for this particular giveaway were provided by LEGO. Other prizes and giveaways are funded by you our readers who support The Brothers Brick by clicking through from TBB to buy stuff on Amazon, the LEGO Shop, eBay, and Target. Check out the different ways you can help support these kinds of giveaways under “Support The Brothers Brick” over to the right.)

TBB cover photo: March 2016

Our latest social media cover photo is this “Solar Rover” built for the recent FebRovery contest by Stuttgart-based builder Kevin Wollert. The dark tan background and use of transparent red elements gives this intricate little rover a Classic Space feel. Although the inclusion of tracks actually makes a lot more sense than all the wheeled vehicles that used to dominate LEGO’s own Space themes!

Want to see your own LEGO creation featured across TBB social media for a month? Then acquaint yourself with the submission guidelines and submit your LANDSCAPE ORIENTED photo today.

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