Yearly Archives: 2016

Join the cult, and write for The Brothers Brick! [News]

Want to write for The Brothers Brick? We are currently filling positions for new bloggers. We’re looking for people who are passionate about the LEGO hobby and want to share that passion with the world. If you are an active member of the AFOL community, have an eye for cool LEGO creations, and enjoy talking about all things LEGO, then we’d like to hear from you!

As a TBB Contributor, you will be committing to writing 3-4 posts a week, covering a variety of topics such as news, reviews, and awesome fan creations (including ones you build yourself). You’ll also be representing TBB online and at fan events. The TBB team are all unpaid volunteers, who devote their spare time to make this the most widely-read LEGO fan blog on the web.

Fill out the application form today!

All applicants must be 18 years or older.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

STACK LEGO Event in Dubai [News]

When you think of Dubai, you may picture incredibly tall buildings, palm trees, desert and fancy cars. All of those are there, but Dubai also houses LEGO fans and the city’s first public LEGO fan event, called STACK, runs 19-22 October, 2016. Tickets for the event are available now!

There are lots of LEGO activities for children and lots of things to see. Bright Bricks have shipped a number of massive models over from the UK and built a few especially for this event, such as a LEGO souk (a traditional Middle-Eastern market) and a 4m tall LEGO model of the Burj Khalifa. You can see a video of their models here. There is also a special fan zone with models built by adult fans from Dubai, the UK, Japan, Hong Kong, Brazil, Portugal and the Netherlands. I am one of these lucky people.

If you’re in Dubai and a fan of LEGO (or you have children who are), be sure not to miss this. The event ends on Saturday and takes place in a purpose-built pavilion next to Dubai Skydive near the Dubai Marina. Tickets can be bought via ticketmaster.

Love is in the air

Pete Strege reminds us of one of the most powerful things in this world — no, not about the Joker’s sense of humor, but about love. Because what could be more romantic than a breathtaking flight in a hot air balloon above Gotham city?

The balloon’s envelope is something of a masterpiece. Those are just regular plates and wedges, but the shape they form is simply perfect. In case you missed it, the black and red diamonds are an extremely smart combination of LEGO parts, including the newest 2×2 wedges.

Titanfall 2’s hit and run specialist, the Ronin

Following up his excellent Stryder Titan model, Marius Herrmann presents a fantastic LEGO rendition of the Ronin Titan from Titanfall 2. His build of the sword-wielding close quarters Titan frame was built using only the limited angles one sees the Ronin in the various Titanfall 2 trailers as reference, and his research paid off with a highly detailed and intricate model with a spot on color scheme.

The changing seasons in LEGO microscale

Normally there are only four seasons each year, but Emil Lidé has created a series of six microscale landscapes to capture all the changing colours found in nature throughout the year. Each of the six scenes depicts a trio of trees and ground foliage using the LEGO colour palate to full effect, especially those vibrant autumnal tones.

Emil’s trees are fantastic of course – he kindly shared his methods for constructing LEGO trees earlier this month. Interestingly, Emil tells us that the initial starting point for these was this cool technique for a base by o0ger, and the circular bases are a great way to keep each scene compact and contained. My own favourite is definitely late autumn.

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ALERT! Unidentified alien spacecraft approaching!

We get so used to bulky LEGO spaceships, often with realistically muted color palettes, that it can be hard to know what to make of something wholly and totally different. A Plastic Infinity has posted a bright green alien spaceship, with “propulsive flagellum” and claws for weapons. The repeated circular shapes and black spikes give the craft an insectoid feeling, tapping into our darkest fears.

The builder has also created a small group of escort ships that match the design of the mothership. I really don’t want to know what that forward probe does…

A figure study in gray

Great builds don’t need to be large, or complicated. Sometimes sticking with simple connections, good photography, and good composition can do amazing things. This pensive character comes from Milan Sekiz. Our gray friend has a grey bird, cleverly using robot arms and wings. The whole spindly scene uses mostly axle connections, and the result is quite fascinating – and beautiful.

1970’s era Scania LBS 141

We’ve featured numerous Scania trucks over the years, including a British Stobart lorry, 142 wrecker, LT146 dump truck, and more. As ubiquitous on European roads as Peterbilts are in North America, Scania trucks continue to be a popular subject for LEGO builders. Dennis Bosman, whose dump truck I just linked to, has posted a gorgeous LBS 141 from the 70’s, with a clean white color scheme and fantastic details on both the cab and chassis. One of our European readers or contributors will have to explain what the deal is with the terrified puppets strapped to the roof rack…

EDIT: Well-informed readers across the Atlantic from the author have pointed out that the red minifig represents the popular mascot “Tiels Flipje,” while the white minifig is the iconic Michelin Man.

LEGO reveals largest Modular Building yet, 10255 Assembly Square, to celebrate the line’s 10th anniversary [News]

It’s been 10 years since 10182 Cafe Corner released in 2006, and LEGO is celebrating in a big way by revealing the largest Modular Building yet, 10255 Assembly Square. LEGO has gone all-out with this set, fitting in two highly detailed buildings separated by an alley.

With 4,002 pieces, the three-story buildings are packed with detail, housing a bakery, florist’s shop, coffee shop, music store, dentist’s office, photo studio, dance studio, apartment, and a rooftop terrace. As fans of the line have come to expect, clever designs abound, with lots of great architectural details and unusual parts used in ingenious ways, including several brand-new pieces, such as 2×2 and 4×4 quarter circle tiles. See if you can spot Thor’s hammer or the Technic excavator buckets.

The set will retail for $279.99 USD, and will be available Jan. 1, 2017. (LEGO has told us that unlike many other large exclusive sets, there will not be VIP early access for this set.) Check out all the images and read the full press release below.

10255 Assembly Square fits alongside 10251 Brick Bank and 10264 Detective’s Office, the other two Modular Buildings currently available.

Click through to see all the photos of 10255 Assembly Square

LEGO Ideas 21307 Caterham Seven 620R [Review]

Back in March, LEGO announced that the next LEGO Ideas set would be 21307 Caterham Seven 620R, designed by Carl Greatrix. Just released this month, we’re pleased to bring our readers a full hands-on review.

This is quite a lovely set with some great parts — both brand new molds and recolored existing parts. Read our full review, but we think you’ll like this set as much as we do.

Click through to read the full review of the LEGO Caterham Seven

Archimedes: Long-Range Cruiser

When preparing for a long-range mission in deep space, it is essential to have the best ship for the journey. That includes space for crew, supplies, and a lovely color scheme. This eye-catching ship by scottadges has all the right greebles. The color scheme works very well, and really helps all the detail work pop. It manages to be detailed, yet not busy, which is a delicate balance.

When LEGO meets Lite Brite

This pixilated classic space logo by Jonathan Gale is one of the most impressive LEGO creations I have seen in a long time. If you look closely, you’ll see that his build is made up of thousands of LEGO lightsaber blades (5520 of them to be exact). There is an LED light behind the blades, giving the translucent pieces a glowing effect.

Jonathan said he was inspired to try this building technique after a LUG meeting where he realized that 25 LEGO lightsaber blades fit perfectly into a 2×2 stud square. This build took over 10 hours to complete and, according to the builder, came with a constant and serious risk of collapse. I can’t even imagine the amount of patience it took Jonathan to complete this beast.