Monthly Archives: January 2018

A good dentist never gets on your nerves

The Brothers Brick features many LEGO models created during build challenges like “Iron Builder” and the “ABS Builder Challenge.” Lucky builders get mailed “seed” pieces and are asked to create a series of wonderful, amazing designs in a short period of time. As luck would have it, Brick Samson (aka yours truly) was invited to participate in the ABS Builder Challenge round 2.8.

After an inspirational chat with a friend about the seed part (the dark brown wheel arch fender looking thing) and the narrow leather recliner was born. Add a suitable gaudy tiled floor, sterile white walls and cupboards, appropriate fixtures and a few lethal instruments and you have a squirmy colourful scene to send a shiver down the back of your spine. Enjoy!

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2018 LEGO Speed Champions sets revealed [News]

Fasten your seat belts for the first images of the new 2018 LEGO Speed Champions sets! These sets, unveiled on the website of a major UK retailer, include new cars by Ford, Ferrari and Porsche. Particularly notable are the rally championship cars like the Ford Fiesta M-Sport, as well as Italian classics like the Ferrari 488 GT3 “Ferrari Corsa” supercar.

75888 Speed Champions Porsche 911 RSR & 911 TURBO 3.0
391 pieces, £34.99

Get set to race the LEGO Speed Champions Porsche 911 RSR and 911 Turbo 3.0 cars, with a pit wall, race-position board, lap counter, checkered flag element and 3 minifigures.

See the rest of the awesome vehicles in the 2018 LEGO Speed Champions line

Micro LEGO Technic stepper mechanism [Video]

Elegant, functional mechanical models don’t need to be large. In their “LEGO Technic Micro Stepper Mechanism” video, Lego Technic Mastery demonstrates how to build a simple, manually-operated stepper motor that can attach to any Technic beam. This stepper machine has four 90° stops, allowing for precise quarter turns in both the clockwise and counter-clockwise direction.

At 0:56 in the video, Lego Technic Mastery provides a shot of all the parts needed for this mcahine plus step-by-step instructions. I followed the instructions and built my own “little stepper” with little difficulty (although I did break a LEGO rubber band in the process).

Check out Lego Technic Mastery’s YouTube channel, which includes an awesome pneumatic robot hand!

Burn baby burn, LEGO inferno

Hot on the heels of their last isometric LEGO scene, simply bricking it is at it again. Here’s a hot little number — an erupting volcano spilling lava down the side of a hill, with the deadly streams of boiling rock somehow avoiding all the tiny dwellings. The colour scheme here is wonderful — this feels like a retro 70s-era eruption with all that brown and orange — and the lava flows have a genuine sense of downhill movement. All this volcanic action might be superhot, but this model is supercool.

Mary and the Witch’s Flower

Mary and the Witch’s Flower is the first feature from Studio Ponoc, an anime production house formed from the ashes of the legendary Studio Ghibli. Based on the Mary Stewart book The Little Broomstick and directed by the very accomplished Hiromasa Yonebayashi (including his directorial debut with The Secret World of Arrietty), this movie easily matches the charm of any Miyazaki production. I enjoyed it immensely, and even listened to the soundtrack while building this LEGO version of Mary on her broomstick:

The above layout takes inspiration from the pivotal scene where Mary first takes flight on her broomstick. Observant readers will notice the inclusion of Tib the cat, a few Fly-by-Night seeds, and a background made entirely from LEGO bricks.

Tiny Cinderella lives here

Can’t afford the enormous LEGO Disney Castle set? That’s okay, why not use an entirely smaller selection of bricks to create your own tiny version like minimal-brick has done? This is a lovely microscale model, featuring some excellent detailing, particularly around the gatehouse and turret-tops. Check out the use of cog pieces around the model — adding texture to the turrets and as the clock above the entranceway. The relatively large base is nice and the trees and coloured paving break it up nicely. Disney geeks might quibble about the lack of a couple of the taller towers which sprout from the real castle’s rear, but that’s nitpicking at an otherwise great creation.

LEGO 60th Anniversary Classic limited edition sets revealed [News]

LEGO is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its iconic 2×4 brick this year, and to mark the occasion the company is getting back to the brick by releasing a number of Classic-themed play boxes. These boxes typically include bricks in varying shapes and colors with only a few examples or instructions to allow for building and rebuilding, letting the imagination run wild.

In addition to these five already-available Classic sets, three previously unknown sets celebrating the anniversary have now been revealed, as well as one set that will be getting some new packaging. 10715 Classic Bricks on a Roll will receive a limited edition vintage-style box along with a booklet illustrating the history of LEGO.

Click to see the other limited edition anniversary sets

An idyllic blacksmith shop

The blacksmith shop is surely one of the most frequently built medieval LEGO structures beside castles, of course. And this wonderfully detailed shop by Sebastian Bachórzewski looks so peaceful I like to believe this blacksmith is busily making swords into ploughshares. It’s hard to understand why he looks so grumpy… maybe he just hit his thumb with the hammer.

One of the things I enjoy most about this particular shop is the textured roof with those big beams. The wide variety of green parts, including a longhorn steer’s horn used to create the thick vegetation is also a nice touch.

A bridge that abridges the travel between worlds

While not the most iconic imagery originating from the Stargate universe, Tim Schwalfenberg‘s latest creation still oozes with the aesthetic of the series. Growing up with this show, I have acquired quite the taste for contemporary explorers (and/or soldiers) interacting with alien technology in the shape of ancient artifacts and architecture.

Tim’s cute little build has that in heaps. The geometric shape of the doorways is simultaneously futuristic and ancient in some ways, especially with their edges that look like they are made of stone bricks. The translucent bridge is just inspired, but for those who are wondering, the glowing portals seem to be added digitally.

Join the TT Games team as a LEGO Model Designer and play with LEGO and video games for a living [News]

Over the years, our friends at TT Games have asked us to help them find the best LEGO talent in the world. Based on the job postings we’ve shared, the company has hired several LEGO builders, including Carl Greatrix and the Arvo Brothers, who now design the models in the company’s video games. If you’d like your own shot at building with LEGO for a living, from gameplay puzzles to vehicles and buildings, this is your opportunity to work with the design team in TT Games’ UK office.

While the final product of your work will be digital, you’ll get to work on unique properties like Marvel and DC Super Hero games. This LEGO version of GLaDOS from Portal is a great example of the fantastic designs that LEGO Model Designers at TT Games produce.

Read the full job description for the LEGO Model Designer opening at TT Games

If these castle walls could talk

Nothing says foreboding fortress like a castle’s huge main gate and portcullis. Construction of this particular LEGO castle by Benjamin Calvetti began in July 2016 and, after utilising around 10,000 bricks, it is finally completed. Benjamin’s castle is around 20” inches (50cm) wide and seems to be emerging straight from the rock. The best part of this castle is that despite being freshly built, it has all the hallmarks of an aging building — some moss is growing in places, damage to the stonework and the odd slightly alarming large crack.

Click to see close-up views of the castle

LEGO Collectible Minifigure Series 18 revealed [News]

The 18th series of LEGO Collectible Minifigures has been revealed, and we are in for a party. From cake to balloons and costumes galore, the 17 minifigures in the series are celebrating LEGO’s 60th anniversary this year. The series should be available for purchase in April, and will likely be another highly sought-after collection.

Click to get a closer look at Collectible Minifigure Series 18.