Japanese builder akiyuki applies the concept of strain wave gearing to Great Ball Contraptions, a popular LEGO fan convention theme in which hundreds of balls are passed through complex machinery. From both an engineering and a visual standpoint, the module is mesmerizing to watch. See the module in action in the following 2 minute video.
A fascinating read detailing the design process and engineering challenges faced by the builder can be found on akiyuki’s blog.
UK retailer John Lewis have teamed up with the UK’s only LEGO Certified Professional Bright Bricks to recreate 5 years of classic John Lewis Christmas adverts. Something of a UK Christmas tradition for the past 10 years, the John Lewis’ adverts are eagerly awaited at the beginning of each festive season, ready to tug on heart-strings, bring a smile, and generally start the festive snowball rolling. The brick-built creations took a team of seven expert LEGO builders 116 hours to construct and comprise a staggering 9,400 bricks in total.
The 5 John Lewis adverts were shown between 2012 – 2016 and Bright Bricks captures the iconic moment from each advert. In 2012, the advert depicted a snowman’s epic journey across mountain, highway and manic shoppers to return to his waiting ‘snow-woman’ on Christmas morning. The Journey has 1,800 bricks and took 18 hours to build.
Welcome to Day 2 of your digital LEGO Advent Calendar! Each day, we’re revealing the day’s calendar model for the LEGO Friends, City, and Star Wars Advent Calendars. We know some of you want to be spoiler free, so you’ll need to “open” the day’s post to see the models by clicking below!
While you wait patiently for each day’s post, check out our Create a Calendar contest, going on now!
Jordanian builder Firas Abu-Jaber presents a 1:16 replica of a Lamborghini Aventador Superveloce worthy of his stunning lineup of LEGO supercars. The lines and subtle angles and slopes throughout are faithful to the real thing. Custom decals over the rear wheels, on the hood, and as the license plates are fine touches that I believe enhance the model.
The doors open to reveal a detailed interior. The seats may be my favorite detail in Firas’s excellent model; they appear comfortable for a LEGO man behind the wheel.
What sane person would ask themselves this question? Deus Otiosus and Letranger Absurde would, that’s who! To be fair, both of these builders were forced to come to terms with the LEGO underworld thanks to the 2016 MOC Olympics contest. Deus and Letranger recently faced off in the semi-finals. Their task? To go to H. E. double hockey sticks, literally.
Deus’s scene depicts Satan’s throne room, complete with a throne of bones and plenty of gore. The lava even lights up! My favorite detail is the bone pentagram on the back of the Devil’s throne. You’ll want to check out all the other angles on this gruesome build as a single image doesn’t do it justice.
Letranger’s hellish creation is equally impressive, though perhaps a little too cute (it’s hard to truly fear anything with Mixel eyes). Sitting on his throne in all his glory is Baphomet, the diabolical Sabbatic goat supposedly worshiped by early Knights Templar. If you’re feeling brave, take a look at what sits beneath his throne.
If you have seen the 2010 movie The Tourist with Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp, you may have already recognised this scene. This LEGO version by LEGO Fjotten depicts the fish market scene, but can be enjoyed as a vignette without any knowledge of the movie. It is set in Venice and there are definitely Venetian vibes coming through with the gondola, some impeccably dressed minifigures, and the mix of Gothic windows and stone archways. This is a lovely vignette that all comes together nicely with the checked canopy over the fish market making for an eye-catching central focal point.
Expelliarmus! Riddikulus! Stupefy! Come on, even if you’re not a Harry Potter fan, you’ve probably been impressed by the amazing HP vignette series that a group of talented LEGO builders have been compiling. Most recently Vaionaut finished building Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and the results are fabulous!
Vaionaut’s vignettes are a little wacky and a little dark, just like the book. Throughout his builds there are some tremendous details. I especially love the detailed floors and quirky headwear. (Tonks’ hair is perfect!) For those that missed the LEGO vignettes from the prior four books, check them out here:
Click below for more amazing Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix vignettes from Vaionaut.
Canadian brick artist Chris McVeigh is one of our favorite builders, and No Starch Press is one of our favorite LEGO-friendly book publishers, so their new book The LEGO Christmas Ornaments Book: 15 Designs to Spread Holiday Cheer is a match made in holiday heaven.
No Starch released the book back in September, but between a lengthy overseas trip for work followed by BrickCon, I simply dropped the ball — my sincerest apologies to Chris and our friends at No Starch for the delay. But the good news is that it’s now officially the Christmas season, so I guess this is even more timely? Enough excuses. On to the interview!
The Brothers Brick: We first featured you here on The Brothers Brick way back in 2008, when you were taking pictures of chipmunks with action figures. When did you start focusing more exclusively on LEGO?
Chris McVeigh: It happened rather quickly! Pairing Star Wars action figures and chipmunks was a fun challenge, and it motivated me to do more photography of action figures and other toys. Unfortunately, Hasbro wasn’t producing any play sets (aside from large ships), so it fell to me to create my own sets and backdrops for action figure photos. This was a rather time-consuming task that ultimately prevented me from getting on with toy photography.
Click through for our full interview with Chris McVeigh
It’s that time of year again! Time to break out the heavy winter coats (if you’re in the northern hemisphere), fire up the ovens for many, many delicious baked things, and prepare for the holidays. To help you celebrate, The Brothers Brick is giving you a digital Advent Calendar, where we’ll reveal each day’s mini-build for each the LEGO Friends, LEGO Star Wars, and LEGO City 2016 calendars along with commentary from our team of Contributors and Editors. To help you remain unspoiled, if you wish, the pictures and commentary on the day’s models will be behind a jump.
While you wait patiently for each day’s post, check out our Create a Calendar contest, going on now!
Let’s get started!
Today LEGO officially revealed a number of additional sets in the January lineup of The LEGO Batman Movie theme. We’ve already seen a lot of the line, but now we’re able to bring you solid, high-resolution shots of the whole theme’s first wave.
LEGO sent us early copies of all of these sets, so we’ve already begun our reviews, starting with The Joker Notorious Lowrider, The Batmobile, and The Penguin Arctic Roller. You can expect the rest soon, including the fantastically hilarious 20 minifigures of the The LEGO Batman Movie Collectible Minifigures line.
Check out our coverage of other brand new 2017 sets in the links below, and see the rest of the new Batman sets after the jump.
The LEGO Batman Movie Collectible Minifigures
2017 LEGO Star Wars original trilogy sets
2017 LEGO Star Wars Rogue One sets
2017 LEGO Star Wars Rebels sets
2017 Ford Le Mans Victories set
2017 LEGO Disney Frozen sets
2017 LEGO Disney Moana sets
2017 LEGO Architecture sets
2017 LEGO Batman Movie sets
2017 LEGO City sets
2017 LEGO Creator sets, part 1
2017 LEGO Creator sets, part 2
2017 LEGO Elves sets
2017 LEGO Friends sets
2017 LEGO Nexo Knights sets
2017 LEGO Ninjago sets
2017 LEGO Technic sets, part 1
2017 LEGO Technic sets, part 2
LEGO Technic BMW R 1200 GS set Continue reading
There are many beautiful places in the world, and it’s always a delight to see one well executed in LEGO. pérula‘s Patio de los Leones certainly falls into that category. I like the composition of the photo; the central fountain the plaza is quite recognizable. The micro-scale lion sculptures are excellent, especially considering their size!
We don’t yet know how good The LEGO Batman Movie will be when it hits theaters Feb. 10, 2017, but if we can judge by the sets and trailers, it will definitely be a memorable take on the dark knight and his many nemeses. The sets based on the film are awash in villains both famous and obscure, including most of the mainstays of Gotham lore. The Penguin is one such iconic villain who hasn’t seen much screen time in recent years; in fact, the Penguin hasn’t made a big-screen appearance since 1992’s Batman Returns. Ever the dapper madman however, the Gentleman of Crime is back in The LEGO Batman Movie with a posh cruiser befitting his illicit opulence.
70911 The Penguin Arctic Roller contains 305 pieces and 2 minifigures. It will be available Jan. 1, 2017. We don’t yet have word on the price, but expect around $30 USD.
