Youtube movie-spoofers/critics How It Should Have Ended have enlisted LEGO animators Brotherhood Workshop to create an amusing recap of all seven Harry Potter films in just 90 seconds, running Harry through all the various trials in record time. It’s perfect timing, as moviegoers prepare for today’s opening of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, the first new film set in the Wizarding World since 2011 (spoilers: I saw it last night and loved it). The new Dimensions packs based on Fantastic Beasts are also available today, featuring Newt Scamander and Niffler in a Story Pack, and Tina Goldstein and the Swooping Evil in a Fun Pack.
Yearly Archives: 2016
Crafting war for 12 years
World of Warcraft (WOW) is celebrating its 12-year anniversary this month and there’s no better way to celebrate than by building chibi-versions of the game’s most iconic characters with LEGO. Mike Dung built a downright cute Illidan Stormrage and an even more adorable Lich King.
These little guys are chock-full of amazingly accurate details, from the Lich King’s iconic helmet to Illidan’s rockin’ bod. I also love the simple, yet effect way Mike build these guy’s weapons (Arthas’ Frostmourne and Illidan’s warglaives). I think I better log in now and run a few daily quests.
“Evacuate? In our moment of triumph? I think you overestimate their chances.”
Don’t lie. We’ve all dreamed of owning a portrait of Grand Moff Tarkin made entirely out of levers. Well, now you can finally have one! Caleb I built this glorious piece of LEGO art for the annual Creations for Charity event over on Bricklink. The portrait also comes with Tarkin’s insignia bars, a kickstand frame, and a wall hanger. See for yourself how good it will look on your wall.
Money may not buy happiness, but I’d rather cry in a Ferrari than on a bus
Everything I know about expensive sports cars can fit into a single Duplo treasure chest (with a bit of room to spare). But I can appreciate the beauty of these two Ferraris, especially since they have been transformed into stunning LEGO mosaics by Ryan Link.
The mosaic above features the Enzo Ferrari and is 60 studs wide and 27 bricks tall, while the mosaic below is the Ferrari 625 TRC which is 50 studs wide and 16 bricks tall. Ryan used a “studs not on top” (SNOT) building technique with both horizontal and vertical plates to achieve these high-resolution mosaics. The end result is so beautiful that I may become a classic sports car fan after all (Just don’t try to make me drive stick shift).
Issue 26 of Blocks magazine now available [News]
Blocks magazine Issue 26 is already on the coffee tables of subscribers and goes on-sale today at all fine magazine emporiums. To celebrate the return to the wizarding world of Harry Potter as Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them hits cinema screens, Blocks indulges in a trip down memory lane to re-visit every LEGO version of Hogwarts Castle ever released – and combine them into one mega display. In the LEGO Book of Harry Potter, some of the finest LEGO fan builders around work their magic on representing each tale in a series of exclusive vignettes.
LEGO Dimensions producer Mark Warburton talks about bringing the new movie Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them into the gaming multiverse. In “Fantastic Beasts and How to Build Them”, Blocks presents another impressive selection of bespoke LEGO builds, inspired by the various creatures documented by Newt Scamander.
Elsewhere in this issue, LEGO designer Samuel Johnson talks about working on the Ultimate NEXO KNIGHTS range and developing this app-linked theme. The Mod Squad take on CITY and NEXO KNIGHTS volcano sets, to show just what can be achieved when bringing two sets together. The interior design lessons continue in Technique. LEGO Dimensions packs get scrutinised in Review. And there’s a look back at BrickFair Virginia in Month in LEGO.
There’s a hole in your plan
This UCS-scale Buzz Droid is ready to sabotage thanks to its creator Takamichi Irie. Once it catches on to your ship, there’s no escape from its whirling saw and disruptive claws, unless you have a clever R2 droid to zap it in the eye. The technique for the hemisphere shells is spot on. Check out the work-in-progress shots to see the breakdown of the build.
LEGO Architecture 21034 London city skyline [Review]
LEGO’s city skylines series continues with LEGO Architecture set 21034 London, one of 3 new city skylines announced yesterday. Released at the grand opening of the new London flagship LEGO store in Leicester Square today, this set captures 5 iconic landmarks from Great Britain’s capital city and is exclusive to the new London store until wider release in Jan 2017. London skyline retails at £44.99, contains 468 parts and features the National Gallery, Nelson’s Column, Big Ben, the London Eye and Tower Bridge.
I was intrigued to know which iconic landmarks would be chosen as London is a city full of grand architecture, iconic buildings and landmarks. Indeed LEGO have already captured Buckingham Palace, Big Ben (twice) and a London Bus across the Architecture and Creator series. The 5 chosen landmarks are all well known and perhaps more historical than other potential buildings such as the Shard or the Gherkin.
World’s largest LEGO store opens in London’s Leicester Square [News]
Today the world’s largest LEGO store opens in Leicester Square, within the bustling heart of London. The Brothers Brick were invited to an exclusive pre-opening event to take a tour of the new store, preview the exclusive London skyline set, and talk to Glenn Abell (LEGO’s Vice President of Direct To Consumer) about the future of LEGO’s retailing.
The London flagship store is the largest in the world, covering 914 sqm over two floors, and features a number of signature brick sculptures — all themed to the City of London. The doors open onto an archway with the classic London Underground sign stating “Leicester Square” and a map of the London Underground lights up one wall.
A one-banana speeder
Actually, Karf Oohlu has used three banana parts — one minifig-scale fruit on each side of the racer and a larger one in the center, which is the new banana mask from the Series 16 collectible minifigures. Assuming this poor monkey pilot has to maintain its position above some huge blast, then the racer reminds me of those good old cave racers that were flying around Flickr about 8 years ago. Hold on tight, reckless monkey!
3 new city skylines grace the LEGO Architecture theme for 2017 [News]
LEGO is adding 3 more cities to its popular skylines branch of the Architecture theme. This time around we’ll get the iconic structures of Sydney, Chicago, and London. These will nicely complement last year’s New York City skyline, which we reviewed, as well as the Berlin and Venice skyline sets (all 3 of which are on sale for 25-30% off on Amazon). We’re pleased to say that we’ve got a hands-on review of the London Skyline set for you, so you won’t have to wait to see more.
21032 Sydney, 361 pieces
Check out more brand new sets:
2017 LEGO City sets
2017 LEGO Nexo Knights sets
2017 LEGO Technic sets
LEGO Technic BMW R 1200 GS set
2017 LEGO Friends sets
2017 LEGO Creator sets, part 1
2017 LEGO Creator sets, part 2
2017 LEGO Ninjago sets
2017 LEGO Batman Movie sets
Click to see the other new skyline sets
Amazing LEGO braiding machine weaves 5 strands into rope [Video]
Ingenious LEGO builders are always creating amazingly complex machines to do cool tasks — just check out this automated Christmas cookie decorating machine! Braiding rope is a fairly straightforward task for a human, but it’s complex for a machine because it requires strands to be passed underneath each other. It’s mesmerizing to watch Nico71‘s braiding machine pass three of the shuttles back and forth between the rotating spindles to interweave the 5 strands.
50% off all LEGO books from No Starch Press [News]
Now through Friday, Nov. 18, No Starch Press is having a massive sale on LEGO books, offering them at 50% off. No Starch Press is the publisher of many great fan-authored books, including ones we’ve reviewed such as The LEGO Neighborhood Book, Beautiful LEGO, The LEGO Build-It Book: Amazing Vehicles, and The Cult of LEGO. Use the code BRICKSGALORE at checkout to get the sale price. Each physical book comes with a digitally downloadable version as well. And if you’d prefer to have just the digital version, the current pay-what-you-want Humble Book Bundle features 16 No Starch Press LEGO books.
Full disclosure: The Brothers Brick staff are featured in a number of No Starch Press books, including Beautiful LEGO, The Cult of LEGO, and Steampunk LEGO.