Yearly Archives: 2016

The best creations are those that tell a story

Building with LEGO is all about self-expression and exercising one’s imagination, but creations that tell real-life stories have always compelled my attention. Jeffrey Kong‘s stationery holder and drawer unit is not just a nice decoration for an office desk. In fact it is a tiny copy of the Old National Library of Singapore, which was demolished in 2004. According to the build’s description, the National Library building was one of the symbols of the city, especially popular among students. I love the symbolism of this work, and its neat clean style makes it a brilliant remembrance.

Artisan Bricks by Jeffrey Kong - LEGO Old National Library Building Singapore - Stationery Stand Card Holder Drawer Unit

What you build now, you will harvest later

The end of December is a time when people reflect on the year just passed. And if your year wasn’t as fruitful as you expected it to be, don’t be upset — you simply need to upgrade you harvesting machinery. Just have a look at what Michał Skorupka has recently added to his service yard. This LEGO CLAAS Lexion 760 is capable of anything the original is. What makes this 4500-bricks monster stand out from other scale replicas is its mind-blowing innards: 13 LEGO motors are responsible for almost a dozen remotely controlled functions.

OFFCIAL

The video below contains a detailed review of the vehicle, while more pictures can be found in the Michał’s Flickr stream.

Two lane brick top

Getting the beautiful curves for the Porsche Carrera accurate with LEGO bricks seems like an impossible task, but Senator Chinchilla has accomplished it with their stunning 2016 series. The builder has bravely chosen to sculpt in black, one of the more complicated of colors to photograph. Although in this case, it helps illustrate the serious brickwork and intricate construction that has gone in to the creation of the Carrera’s fine lines and shapely panels.

Porsche 911 Carrera

The builder has also included a fully detailed stylish interior featuring bucket seats, air vents, gear stick and working glove compartment. This stunning machine looks like it could be Gone in Brixty Seconds.

Porsche 911 Carrera

The Little Match Girl

This digital build by Bert Van Raemdonck uses many pieces in colors that LEGO doesn’t actually produce, but does anyone even care? This recreation of Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Match Girl captures all the emotions of the fairytale, as deep as they are. It reminds us not to take the good in our lives for granted, and also gives us hope even in the most hopeless times.

The Little Match Girl

The build focuses on presentation and composition to carry its message, rather than complicated techniques. The combination of light and shadows in a snowy setting work in harmony with the emotions of the original story.

Santa versus dragon

A while ago, I was involved in a conversation that led to the phrase “Santa Claus fighting a dragon”. Something so ridiculous and insane just has to be built, so I did. I used some of my established techniques and here is the result. There is really not much more to be said about a build like this: what you see is what you get. Merry dungeon Christmas!

Santa versus dragon

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful

Jonas Obermaier has left milk and cookies out for Santa in his lovely little sign-off piece for the year. A nicely decorated warm fire place with plenty of logs stacked next to it, a beautifully decorated tree loaded with presents, a cozy living room with plenty of character. In Jonas’ words “I wish you all a merry christmas, happy holidays with your family and a happy new year :)”

Merry Christmas everyone!

And for anyone curious, yes that rug is a legitimate LEGO piece. It’s from the DUPLO set 5598 Dino Valley.

That’s Christmas just about wrapped up

With global population growth is seems obvious that Santa Claus has had to introduce automated processes to the North Pole workshops. How else could he and his team cope with the sheer volume of gifts needing wrapped? However, at some point the Elves will surely begin to question the introduction of new machinery — it’s putting Elvish jobs at risk. What’s next in Santa’s never-ending quest for efficiency and cost-reduction? Outsourcing to cheap Penguin labour at the South Pole?

Northside Wrapper Posse

Every year I build a small LEGO display model as part of our decorations. This is 2016’s effort. I hope you enjoy it, and I hope you have a very happy Christmas.

Announcing winners of the TBB Create-a-calendar contest [News]

Merry Christmas, dear readers! Here at the Brothers Brick compound, all the little doors on our three LEGO Advent calendars have now been opened, their bricky contents sit resplendent upon the mantelpiece, while the empty boxes burn in the fireplace, creating a warm glow upon our faces …or maybe that’s just the eggnog.

Before the Lemur began distributing our Secret Santa gifts (they’re all socks, they’re always socks) he reminded us to vote on the 46 entries in our Create-a-calendar building contest. As always, we were blown away by your ingenuity and skill. But there can only be three winners, and here they are…

FIRST PLACE
Indiana Jones by Charis Stella

SECOND PLACE
Futurama by Sam Beattie

THIRD PLACE
Classic Space by Andreas Lenander

Thank you again to everyone who took part. And to the winners, congratulations! We’ll be sending you your holiday-themed prize sets soon. We’re just sorry they can’t be sitting there under your tree already. And happy holidays to you all. (…bah, humbug!)

Very woof, such dog, so holidays ...wow!

I am not here to debate whether animals understand the concept of holidays, let alone christmas, but from the expression on this puppy’s face it appears this one does. James Zhan has used seemingly simple techniques in the body, building mostly with regular bricks, to give a very realistic impression of fur. On the other hand, the head is much more complex, but still similar in texture with its staggered slopes. My favourite part must be the sense of character presented by the cute little costume and expressive face wishing all who celebrate it, a verry merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas

LEGO Ideas 21308 Adventure Time [Review]

Unless you’re just tragically unhip or have been living under a rock, on Mars, then you’ll no doubt have heard of the critically acclaimed, Emmy winning, noodly limbed, gender stereotype breaking, cult followed, totally mathematical, pop culture phenomenon that is Adventure Time.

It’s now been 10 years since the original pilot aired, and with almost 250 episodes under its belt (including a new 8-part special Islands coming next month) the show remains as popular as ever, thanks to its groundbreaking style, the diversity of its characters, and massive merchandising empire. And now it is finally a LEGO set, 21308 Adventure Time. Not bad for a cartoon inspired by D&D and videogames!

Read our full review of this set

There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor

SEBASTIAN-Z  has created a series of vignettes inspired by Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol and they are beautiful. Sadly missing the Ghost of Christmas Past, the builder says “I haven’t decided what to do for that one yet but wanted to upload these before Christmas”. The series starts with a glimpse into Scrooge’s office with it’s fine wooden furnishings, gold accented books and coins littering the floor:

Lego Christmas Carol 1 - Scrooge's Office

Next, Marley’s ghost appears to Scrooge before whisking him away. The walls of the drawing room are cleverly constructed from LEGO wooden crates, giving them a lovely paneled effect:

Lego Christmas Carol 2 - Marley's Ghost

Then we have Bob Cratchit’s family feast in his kitchen, shortly before Marley’s ghost tells Scrooge about Tiny Tim’s grave fate:

Lego Christmas Carol 3 - The Ghost of Christmas Present

In the next image, we have Tiny Tim and the Cratchit’s with a clearer view of the kitchen. I like how the builder has created the wooden floors and mis-shapen walls:

Lego Christmas Carol 3b - The Cratchits

Finally, we have The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come showing Scrooge his own fate if he does not change his wicked ways. I was delighted when I stumbled upon this wonderful series. It reminds me of Dickens’ “Carol Philosophy”, and there is nothing like this story to remind me of the true nature of Christmas, and I look forward to the conclusion.

Lego Christmas Carol 4 - The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come

Sashimi supper

Samurai, geisha, bonsai and futons can only mean one thing: Japan. A fishmonger’s cart with a samurai’s house is the latest fantastic entry by jsnyder002 for the Traveling Salesman category of the Classic Castle Competition. A bit of a frequent flyer here at The Brothers Brick, two of his most recent contributions Birds of a Feather and Jewel are excellent.

Fresh Fish!

People line up on the colorfully cobbled street for a sample of fresh fish from the small cart in front of the beautifully crafted samurai home with the bonsai-like tree. The black and white walls, the red and grey tiled roof and the beautiful accents of gold and black trim, including the lovely tessellated path, all add to the texture of this wonderful little scene.

Fresh Fish!

No house would be complete without an interior, and this one is no exception: a sword rack, table, chairs and armor stand comprise the furniture downstairs, while upstairs is a simple futon.

Fresh Fish!