Monthly Archives: September 2018

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for September 30, 2018 [News]

In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the last week of September 2018.

TBB NEWS & FEATURES: A new product line from LEGO combined with an old set seeing new life combines to make a pretty big week in LEGO news.

TBB CONTESTS & COLLABORATIONS: We are running a collaboration and contest! Read these articles about how you can get involved.

OTHER NEWS: There were a few other interesting LEGO news articles from around the web this week. Here are the best of the rest:
Check out the other LEGO news of the week

The LEGO Star Wars GR-75 Transport is away

Adding to an impressive line-up of spacecraft for SHIPtember 2018 is Anders Horvath with his LEGO replica of a GR-75 Medium Transport from The Empire Strikes Back. Choosing to build a Star Wars spacecraft so iconic and recognizable is challenging, but Anders nailed it with excellent contrast between the cargo containers, central greebling, and relatively slick hull panels. Best yet, it’s even got an interior.

GR-75 Medium Transport 01

The layered elliptic paneling of the hull is built beautifully. The original seen on screen is segmented unevenly, and this is reflected well in the LEGO rendition. The layering of tiles create the divisions between panels and suggests curvature down the length. Continue reading →

Maintenance mech may move minifig materials

It’s a delight to be in a position where we can watch certain builds (and builders) evolve over time and improve on past designs. Today’s example is from Devid VII who has tinkered with his LEGO Ideas Exo Suit-inspired mini mech.

Mini Exo Suit II

This “maintenance mode” rendition follows Mini Exo-Suit 1 which Devid unveiled back in January. You can compare the variants by checking out our previous coverage of Mini Exo Suit 1, but I also want to zoom in on a couple of points specifically to show how the model has been refined and upgraded over the earlier model. Many studs have been covered up generally across the model, but the chest has seen the most refinement. Take a look at versions 1 and 2 here:

You could say it’s splitting hairs, but I appreciate that even a piece or two can make a difference in the final appearance of a model.

A spellbinding tour of Dumbledore’s office

“It was a large and beautiful circular room, full of funny little noises. A number of curious silver instruments stood on spindle-legged tables, whirring and emitting little puffs of smoke.” That’s how J. K. Rowling’s described Dumbledore’s cluttered office, and it’s the sort of evocative prose that gets the LEGO builder’s creative juices flowing. Jonas Kramm certainly seems inspired, creating this amazing model for TBB’s Microscale Magic contest. It’s a detail-perfect build: there’s the sorting hat on its shelf, and there’s a tellurium that cleverly utilises a microphone element, and over here a magnificent orb represented by a Bionicle Zamor. The crowning accomplishment has to be Fawkes the Phoenix, whose feathers are inspirationally shaped from plume and mechanical claw pieces to great effect.
Dumbledore's Office

This LEGO model was built as an entry for TBB’s Microscale Magic contest. Coverage on TBB of an entry will not be taken into consideration during judging, and will have no effect on its ability to win, either positively or negatively.

The spindly threads of humanity among the stars

Hard science fiction spaceships often conform to a few venerable aesthetics, key among them a predominance of NASA-like white. However, in LEGO builder halfbeak‘s timeline, a group of disgruntled astronauts have broken ties with NASA and formed their own space agency, so it makes sense they’ve inverted the usual colors. This marvelously gangly spacecraft is powered by antimatter, which it captures in huge nets.

Xylethrus AMV-1 Space Scene

It’s rare that a spaceship can rival a sailing ship for rigging, but the wiry electromagnetic nets surrounding the vessel are a truly fantastic bit of LEGO engineering, painstakingly pieced together with string and a variety of thin LEGO elements, such as fishing rods. The repetitious use of LEGO radar dishes throughout the craft brings a unifying motif, and they make for an especially interesting texture along the ribbed twin prongs on the front.

Xylethrus AMV-1 Detail Shots

Star Striker, for when the flying gets rough

LEGO fans are frequently inspired to give life to Star Wars-inspired builds, but even though builder Shawn Snyder may not have had Star Wars front of mind when building this slick ship, we’d like to think it could have happened in an alternate timeline. The robust, industrial design paired with the classic windscreen makes it look a bit like an Incom T-47 that’s been seriously souped up to give it a buffed up, mean and rugged look suited for spaceflight. Of course, it’s different some pretty significant ways, but the color theme certainly strikes a familiar chord with last years 75144 UCS Snowspeeder. There’s no sign of obvious canons but I’m pretty sure there’s some heavy weaponry hidden inside just waiting to take the next AT-AT down, or whatever their equivalent is in the universe where this ship exists.

Full_Front

If you like this, check out some true Star Wars-inspired ships that look like they could have been lifted off the pages of a galaxy far far away.

Just 1 week to BrickCon 2018 [News]

There’s just 1 week left to one of our favorite LEGO conventions, BrickCon. Located in the heart of the Northwest at the foot of Seattle’s famous Space Needle in the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, the event is open to the public Oct. 6-7. You can get your tickets here. Last year tickets sold out, so if you plan on going we recommend not delaying any longer.

If you’re an adult builder who would like to attend the full, 4-day convention (which starts Thursday) with panels, prizes, and more, online registration has closed but you can still register at the door.

The Brothers Brick will be there with a large layout of Ninjago City, a collaborative project we’re hosting with our readers. You can read more about the collaboration and even see some of our building progress.

The Brothers Brick is an official sponsor of BrickCon.

A true whale of a spaceship

Called the Celestial Barracuda, this marine-inspired vessel by LEGO designer Niek Van Slagmaat (most recently of 21311 Voltron fame) is one of the more uniquely designed spaceSHIPs of recent memory. Traversing the inky deeps of space and reality as an interdimensional transport ship, the ship takes the form of a sinuous fish. Niek expertly strikes a balance between placing tiles for a smooth exterior and strategically leaving studs exposed to create a textured, weathered hull. He’s also used a sprinkling of dark tan among the orange bricks, highlighting where the orange paint has peeled over eons of space travel.

Celestial Barracuda

The ship’s fish-like features aren’t just for show, though, as they serve a more utilitarian purpose in supporting the small fleet of nimble craft that surrounds it like pilot fish. Continue reading →

Tinker around with this tantalizingly tiny T

In continuous production from 1909 through 1929, the Ford Model T became an automotive industry leader in the U.S. and abroad. Even LEGO’s founding father, Ole Kirk Christiansen, reportedly owned a Model T and used it to transport wooden toys to market. Building a LEGO Model T in minifigure scale can be challenging, in part because of the body’s large number of curves and angular details. These issues have been expertly overcome by builder mmurray, whose 1920 Ford pickup is one of the best renditions of the T that I have seen. The builder makes clever use of the wheelchair wheel elements, which look at home on an early automobile and allow it to be built in such a small scale.

1920 Ford Model T Runabout Pickup

The Model T was available in a wide variety of body styles and, in the spirit of Henry Ford, mmurray has also built a roadster version. I can’t stop drooling over the level of detail in this tiny car. The running boards are simple yet tight, and the thin windshield helps sell the front end. However, it is mmurray’s ability to capture so many subtle angles in such a small model that makes his 1920 Ford feel authentic.

Model T Rear

If these bite-sized Ford’s were to roll off the assembly line, I would be the first in line to buy one!

Model T Side Profile

This shiny LEGO Mercedes Benz W196 is ready to win the race

The Mercedes Benz W196 was built for the Formula 1 circuit in 1954, and famously carried a very simple livery of silver paint with big red and white numeral badges. A tiny car with the narrow, bulbous body of yesteryear’s racecars, the W196 is a difficult car to capture in LEGO at any scale, let alone minifigure scale. And yet that’s exactly what Pixeljunkie has done, and boy does it look great. Featuring a very large percentage of LEGO’s metallic silver pallette (plus some custom chromed wheels), this remarkable little car looks ready to win the world championship one more time.

Mercedes-Benz W196

Big on character, small on parts

It’s amazing how a builder like R197 can take a simple LEGO brick and find a character in it. The  way he uses a boombox element for eyes, and bent knees formed from technic braces, can conjure up the poise and gait of an arthritic robot.

Discovery Mech Type-G

See more adorably tiny robots.

Tiny LEGO model of Hagrid’s hut is truly magical

Nestled at the edge of the Forbidden Forest, this iconic dwelling from Harry Potter by Jonas Kramm is instantly recognizable. There are so many great details to talk about that make this model come alive, starting with the landscaped base, using sloped parts and tiles at alternating angles. And don’t miss the new wand sprues planted in the ground to form the perfect fence. Aragog lurks on the left corner below some trees made with this shoulder armor element. Another surprising technique is the way the 1×1 plate with clip nestled in the anti-stud gap in the cone used for the hut’s roof.

On the Edge of the Forbidden Forest

This LEGO model was built as an entry for TBB’s Microscale Magic contest. Coverage on TBB of an entry will not be taken into consideration during judging, and will have no effect on its ability to win, either positively or negatively.