Yearly Archives: 2016

Join the famous 800 feet club

Did you know there are no more than 40 people in New York city living higher than 800 feet? Obviously, the view from above is the main perk of choosing such a dwelling. Finnish builder Heikki Mattila – who definitely has an eye for classy hi-tech interiors – invites us to have a look from inside one of those apartments. I can’t tell you why, but the purple background goes extremely well with skyline made of sky-high towers. The interior is exactly what you expect to see in such a luxurious residence: a comfy chair near a fashionable glass coffee table completed with a cut-glass chandelier.

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Stunning scale model of Mi-24 attack helicopter

Daniel Siskind, creator of many advanced military scale models, has revealed his latest Mi-24 helicopter. Just look at this beauty!

There are so many awesome features of this helicopter, but the best of all is its perfectly balanced design. No matter which part you’re examining, every single piece, slope, or tile was meticulously chosen and placed. Canopies of rather peculiar shape work perfectly for the Mi-24’s cockpits, while a smooth row of tan and dark-green slopes along the body of the helicopter is aesthetically pleasing. Of course, the presentation wouldn’t be complete without a close-up shot of the rocket launchers — a perfect use of the most common of LEGO parts.

And yes, this particular LEGO model — unlike nearly everything else we feature here on The Brothers Brick — is available for sale, from Brickmania (at least until it sells out).

Mount Rushmore, not of stone, but of LEGO

There’s an election going on — but you don’t want to hear about that. Instead, how about some famous Presidents from the past? Better yet, how about making them out of LEGO? The faces of Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Roosevelt are carved in stone on Mount Rushmore, and this sculpture by Dave Guedes captures remarkable likenesses in brick form of the heads of state.

LEGO Tow Truck gets an upgrade

What’s not to love about a big American tow truck? EROL‘s latest vehicle is a beefy behemoth of a truck, inspired by the official LEGO Tow Truck set 60056. The shift to “7-studs-wide” rather than the “6-wide” standard gives the builder plenty of space to play with, adding smart detailing and shapes whilst preserving the interesting color scheme of the original set.

I really enjoy when builders take on this sort of challenge. Getting the balance right is tricky — using your fan building tricks and wide brick collection, but not straying so far from the source material that it becomes unrecognisable. The air horns on the cab roof, the addition of chrome exhausts, the functional-looking chunkiness of the tow bar itself — this is a great reimagination of a set.

Winging it

David Roberts mashes together two great LEGO building styles in his latest spaceship. GARC (Galactic Asteroid Racing Circuit) and the Vic Viper standard collide here to eyecatching effect. Whilst the twin cockpits are smart, for me this model is all about those stunning wings. This is surely another example of a LEGO spaceship influenced by Chris Foss.

Contemplation

Mr. Unknown has created an incredibly well-constructed face in this study of contemplation. I especially like the shaping around the eyes, the forehead and the tousled hair. The hand leaves a bit to be desired but it doesn’t detract from the overall build. Nicely done!

Every space habitat needs an Augmented Robotic Companion

Rob has been putting together a great little series of LEGO robots, each with a different designation and function. The building techniques are good, with some smart connections and solid color choices, but it’s the presentation of the models which really sets these creations apart — detailed technical spec sheets accompany shots of the bots in action.

Click to see more of the A.R.C. Bot

New LEGO Batman Trailer released, new sets revealed [News]

I hope you have kept February 2017 clear on your calendar. We got a new trailer today for The LEGO Batman Movie, and it does not disappoint. The LEGO Batman Movie stars Will Arnett as Batman, Ralph Fiennes as Alfred, and Michael Cera as Robin. You can catch it in theaters February 10, 2017.

In case you missed it, LEGO will be releasing sets along with the movie, many of which were revealed at New York Comicon.
[Update] LEGO has also announced two new LEGO Batman Movie sets this morning. They will be available in January.

70900 The Joker Balloon Escape, 124 pieces, $14.99 USD

70908 The Scuttler, 775 pieces, $79.99 USD

Everything is just an illusion

These fantastic LEGO optical illusion sculptures come from Marion. Each one is a visual delight. You may recognize a number of these sculptures as mind-benders and thought puzzles, each using fantastic technique to get the shaping just so, and it’s quite effective.

Click to see more mind-bending sculptures

A Wizened Dragon to Bring You Victory

Aaron Newman‘s latest dragon is this beautiful sand-green and and gold beast. As we discussed in our interview with Aaron earlier this year, he builds in the style of official sets, so the dragon is completely poseable and quite sturdy unlike many fan-built LEGO dragons we highlight. I’d love to have this creature sitting on my desk, perhaps leaping into battle.

A handy way to build the Eiffel Tower

The official LEGO Eiffel Tower 10181 set is one of the largest sets released, with 3428 parts. For those with less room for such a monster set or fewer pennies to afford such a sizeable price-tag, have a look at LegoJale‘s latest creation, which users a single part depicting the Eiffel Tower: A minifig hand. This microscale build manages to capture the essence of the Eiffel Tower, the skyline in the background, and the fountains in the foreground (as per the image that the build is based upon) with just a handful of parts.

The set-up for this shot shows how distancing parts of the build can give a very good foreground and background feel to the final shot without requiring any scaling. I always enjoy seeing set-up shots and this one is great because there is no fancy equipment — just LEGO, a book, and a camera.

The Adventures of Captain Underpants in LEGO

Builder Deus Otiosus used LEGO to bring characters from the classic children’s book The Adventures of Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey to life. Everyone’s favorite fourth graders, George Beard and Harold Hutchins, along with the Captain himself are off to fight evil. But which villain will they face today? Wedgie Woman? The Bionic Booger Boy? Maybe Professor Pippy Pee-Pee Poopypants?

I love the sense of motion in this build. The fabric of the cape and flag really look fluid, even though they are built from brick. And of course, the characters look great (if not a little terrified to be flying out the window).