Spawned from the loins of mold-breaking show Adventure Time, and apparently destined for a similar kind of cult following, Steven Universe is a critically acclaimed American animation about a boy and his troop of supernatural friends, the Crystal Gems. It’s on frequently in my house, although I’ll admit I haven’t been bitten by the bug yet. But Danish builder Ilia must have, judging by his superb sculpture of the show’s titular character:
Asking (and answering) that question is space_e. The classic Y-Wing has been redesigned to have a walking ground mode and again proving my theory that turning anything into a robot makes it infinitely better. Like the evolved B-wing Andrew highlighted earlier this week, this is an entry in FBTB’s current contest, which ends in two days.
Here’s hoping that someone working on Star Wars: Episode VIII catches a glimpse of this and takes inspiration. Also: hey LEGO, could we get another official Y-Wing set? it’s been too long.
Contrary to the resource-strapped organization in The Force Awakens, the First Order in the LEGO Star Wars universe certainly doesn’t lack stormtroopers, helped along by new releases like the 75132 First Order Battle Pack, which accompanies the 75131 Resistance Trooper Battle Pack we also reviewed recently. This battle pack has 88 pieces, the usual 4 minifigs, and retails for the normal $12.99.
Click through for the full review
When Iain blogged Alanboar Cheung‘s timely sculpture of Alan Rickman earlier today, I was reminded that I’d also been intending to highlight his excellent LEGO mosaic of 19th-century Japanese woodblock artist Hokusai’s famous print of “The Great Wave off Kanagawa.” For several years when I lived in Yokohama, I had a similarly distant but much less dramatic view of Mount Fuji, which I particularly enjoyed during the winter when the mountain’s peak was capped with snow. Alanboar’s mosaic uses a “studs up” technique, stacking LEGO plates rather than attaching them “studs out” on a baseplate.
In November, we blogged Dennis Qiu‘s terrifying mecha beasts and his fierce Chinese lion. Now, give it up for the mythical hound of Hades, Cerberus. This pup comes equipped with one very muscular body and three mouthfuls of razor-sharp chompers. Check out how Dennis sculpted vicious snarls on each dog’s face, cleverly exposing blood-red gums. And those flexible barbs make perfect Doberman-like ears. I like to imagine that whenever Cerberus isn’t busy guarding the gates of Hell, he’s either curled up by the fire or begging his master for treats.
Nick Runia’s Bridge of Lost Souls is exactly what you get when you can’t decide on the final design of your brick-built medieval tower; you just build both of them! This diorama, on the one hand, is a massive tower with sturdy walls buried in verdure. On the other hand, it’s a gloomy evil tower surrounded by inanimate rocks.
But what really deserves attention is the bridge itself. It might not be that noticiable considering huge towers on the both sides, but it is the point of smooth transition between good and evil. And the way warm sandy colors flow into cold ones is truly great. Finally, let me point to astounding roofing of knight’s tower and leave you tete-a-tete with the author’s photostream.
…not the catchphrase of Dr. Lazarus, Hans Gruber, the Sheriff of Nottingham or Severus Snape, but words spoken by the singular actor with the nasal tone and sardonic expression who portrayed all of them over the course of his stellar 25 year movie career. Beloved British actor Alan Rickman passed away today at the age of 69 (strangely mirroring the very recent passing of British music icon David Bowie). Hong Kong builder Alanboar Cheung whipped together this quick tribute to one of the more recent – and arguably most popular – of Rickman’s characters, the complicated Professor of Potions from the Harry Potter film series.
We’ve been so focused on LEGO Star Wars sets from The Force Awakens that you’d think we’d forgotten there was an Original Trilogy thirty-odd years ago (I deny the existence of any Prequel Trilogy). For their January 2016 assortment, LEGO hasn’t neglected Episodes IV, V, and VI though. Although still a challenge to find here in North America, LEGO sent us a copy of 75137 Carbon Freezing Chamber from The Empire Strikes Back and I’m pleased to bring you this review.
The set includes 231 pieces and three minifigs. Once available, we expect this set to retail for around $30 in the US (it’s £19.99/29.99€ in Europe).
As we noted when the first official pictures of January 2016 LEGO Star Wars sets appeared back in December, the interior of Cloud City on Bespin hasn’t been depicted in a LEGO set since the rare 10123 Cloud City was released in 2003.
Click through for the full review
I recently picked up Wolfenstein: The New Order in the Steam Winter Sale — partly because it was very cheap, and mostly because it promised cool alternate history robots. While the game didn’t win me over, the promise of robots was fulfilled and now I’m seeking more vaguely German machines. Djordje delivers with this “Höllenhund”. My favourite part use here must be the single armour part angled in such a way to create a dome helmet, and the red eyes peeking out below.
A gallery of the model is available on Brickshelf.
Guillermo del Toro’s latest film, Crimson Peak, is hauntingly beautiful and more than a bit freaky. The movie is awash in bold contrasting tones of black, white, and red, and none moreso than the palpably creepy specter of Lady Sharp. Tyler Halliwell’s terrific bust stays true to the apparition’s viscerally gruesome crimson visage.
Although there still seems to be a supply chain issue here in North America, where new 2016 LEGO sets are rather hard to come by, our friends in Billund have sent us another batch of sets that we’ll be reviewing here on The Brothers Brick over the next week or two. LEGO continues to expand its range of minifig-centric Battle Pack sets with 75133 Rebel Alliance Battle Pack, alongside the 75131 Resistance Trooper Battle Pack I reviewed over the weekend. The set has 101 pieces, including 4 minifigs, with a price of $12.99.
Click through to read the full review
Art in all its forms is a means of expression, be that joy, sadness, humour, grief, love. In the LEGO community it is not surprising that we turn to our bricks as a method of processing and dealing with emotions. This touching build by Chris Maddison is his tribute to a friend who sadly passed away too young. Sometimes it is best to just let a build speak for itself.
For those of us who choose to build with small plastic bricks, the actual act of carefully placing bricks together becomes therapeutic.
The final creation often expresses far more than words could ever say.