Yearly Archives: 2017

Only some secrets are well-kept on Coruscant.

The beautiful XB-5 Speeder looks like it could appear on the cover of a copy of “What’s my Speeder?” magazine in any doctor’s waiting room in Coruscant. At first glance, it almost looks like a beautiful render, but rest assured Ordo (Fabian B.) has sculpted this Narglatch AirTech-produced speeder out of genuine ABS. A bit bulkier and heavier than a racing model, it is meant for folks wanting a bit more comfort while flying across the city-planet’s skyline. The fantastic azure blues accent the dark grey well. With seats made from Batha-leather, controls designed by the finest artists of Naboo and state of the art holographic displays – this high-class speeder must be worth a small fortune.

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Love is what makes a house a home ...but a fully furnished one helps too!

If this is home, I’m sure it’s always going to be where I’m going to spend most of my time. A three-storey modular with a single color tone of tan bricks, but with excellent build features bring out the best in this grand looking architectural build. The beauty of this home does not end there, as builder Vincent Kiew invites you to explore the heart of what makes a building a home. While most modular builds may feature the external facade, I have a soft spot for builds that take the extra effort to imagine what life would have been like for a minifigure family.

Click to see more of the inside of the home

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for July 2, 2017 [News]

In addition to the best LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick also brings you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the first week of July 2017.

TBB NEWS: This was the week of the British invasion with the new London Bus alongside a few sets revealed from another summer blockbuster.

LEGO Creator Expert 10258 London Bus revealed — This 1,686 piece set will be an awesome addition to the LEGO Creator vehicle lineup, taking its place right next to another British icon, the 10242 Mini Cooper, and the spectacular 10253 Big Ben.
3 LEGO sets from DC’s upcoming Justice League movie revealed — This year is finally the year for all the big DC superheroes to get together, and LEGO has announced the first three sets from the theme.
New Elementary LEGO typography competition results — Back in May we told you about the LEGO typography competition taking place over on the LEGO-elements-and-colors-obsessed blog New Elementary. The stunningly creative results are in!
LEGO Space: ICE Titan – exclusive free download and interview — The Brothers Brick enjoyed the book LEGO Space: Building The Future, and now we have some exclusive content and an interview with the creators.

OTHER LEGO NEWS: This week had a few other interesting LEGO-related news articles, so here are the best of the rest.

Spider-Man and Venom LEGO BrickHeadz Swinging in to Comic-Con, Hollywood Reporter — Behold the latest exclusive Comic-con sets you’ll have a very hard time getting!
Building a Statue of Liberty out of LEGO, USA Today — After a mere 292 hours and 125 pounds of plastic bricks, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., has a new Statue of Liberty in its lobby.
‘They Love Freedom’: Ai Weiwei On His LEGO Portraits Of Fellow Activists, NPR — Listen to this interview with Chinese artist Ai Weiwei about his LEGO portraits of activism now on display at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C.
A Brief History of LEGO Hair, Racked — Read how the term “LEGO hair” has affected popular culture and became an entry on the Urban Dictionary.
20 Years After the Great Lego Spill, They’re Still Washing Ashore, Inverse — Twenty years later and millions of LEGO pieces are still washing ashore in England.

The knight’s triumphant return

Summer is a wonderful time of no obligations and worries for a school-age young adult such as myself. The past two years it has also meant entering the Summer Joust contest, which has just concluded. Last year I went small and built a microscale castle being attacked by a dragon, but with the addition of the “Immersive LEGO Scene” category this year (possibly my favorite type of LEGO creation) I knew I had give it a go. My first idea was to build a knight returning from battle, like we see in so many medieval movies and books, so I went with it, and this was the result:

Click through to see a behind the scenes shot (no pun intended)

Statistical data says the Internet is 50% cats

And yet the LEGO side of the Internet seems to have a lower percentage of cats than average – not surprisingly, as the characteristic cat’s head and legs offer a significant challenge for builders and can be done wrong very quickly. The latest builder to pick up the challenge is that Russian jack-o- all-trades Timofey Tkachev.

This time Timofey tries a technique of staggered layered plates to achieve complicated natural curves, which has been used to create LEGO cats before, but what appears to be different here is the intensely detailed face, and that the cat seems to be partially poseable. The playful pose adds a lot to the presentation, as do the LEGO basket and ball (which is an official piece, by the way).

Officer responding, really quickly

Near-future police vehicles have a high standard to live up to. Sid Mead’s classic design for the Blade Runner Police Spinner remains a heavy influence on LEGO Cyberpunk builders. This police gyro-car by Angka Utama reminds me of a cross between the spinner and Kaneda’s bike from Akira — and that’s meant as a compliment. I love the simple lines and sharp colours on display here, and those chunky tyres would surely keep any responding officer glued to the mean streets.

Give me a call when you want to start taking things a little more seriously

“Here’s my card…” French builder Jimmy Fortel built a stylish LEGO take on The Joker as portrayed by the late Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight. I can just see the insanity in that face. One of my favorite details is the use of red wedge plates on his smile; the texture from the stud cutouts is perfect.

TBB cover photo: July 2017

Our cover photo for July is one for the petrol heads. André Pinto has crafted a convertible Alfa Romeo Spider in perfect detail using stylish dark red …apparently to the same scale as LEGO’s Ferrari F40 set judging by those wheels. Check out the full album to see some of it’s working features.

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My imagination is a monastery and I am its monk

Here is another beautiful build made for the Guilds of Historica by the always amazing John Snyder. His Katoren Monastery was built “just for fun to mess around with the dark blue / white color scheme”. The rock formation is very organic and the flora accents it beautifully. I love the angled cobbled path, patchwork rock walls, and the staging and design of the minifigs.

As well as another angle of the build showcasing the wonderful interiors and cheese slope mosaic walls, John has also included a little back story: “Located on the Eastern outskirts of Katoren, this monastery survived the Kaliphlin civil war better than most. A natural spring was the reason for the monastery’s location, and the spring continues to provide fresh water for all the inhabitants, as well as make the surrounding area very lush compared to much of the Kaliphlin landscape.”

Ponies are cool, but LEGO ponies are about 20% cooler

If the rain clouds are still hovering overhead then it’s time to call the cavalry, otherwise known as Rainbow Dash. In the world of hit TV show My Little Pony this pugnacious pegasus maintains the weather and clears the skies of Ponyville. British builder Andrew Harvey used around 3700 LEGO bricks to capture Dash’s colourful likeness, even managing to give her a sense of movement in the process. This sculpture is cleverly made using a “studs out” technique for the head, body and wings – but those expressive eyes are my favourite part of this model.

There’s also a view of Rainbow Dash’s swishing tail as she makes her way back to Ponyville to kick away a few rain clouds. And if you’re in the vicinity of Manchester, England this weekend you can even marvel at this model in person at the Bricktastic LEGO show.

Not so soft now, am I?

Simon Liu has not only created an awesome mech that reminds me of ED-209 from Robocop in the best way, but it’s piloted by the cutest creature that has ever been strapped to a robot. The Commander Carrots Exosuit is operated by a DUPLO Rabbit plushie. This adorable ball of trouble even comes kitted out with matching red armor.

Looking past the hilarity of it all, this is an extremely solid build with a lot of great detailing. The liberal use of the Technic gear rack gives a lot of nice texture to the legs, and the little cage/cockpit area is simple but effective. Make sure you also check out this shot of the back of the build, which is full of even more detail. This build is a lot bigger than it seems, with plenty of greebles packed in. Oh – the rabbit has a jetpack too!

Take it to the bridge

Who’s that trip-trapping over my LEGO bridge? Well, according to Andreas Lenander, it’s the King and his Knights — one of whom has taken a tumble into the stream. The hapless swimmer injects some fun detail into the scene, but the undoubted highlight must be the arches on the bridge — fashioned from partly-connected 1×2 plates.