Yearly Archives: 2018

CoRob: An ingenius construction aid, or a creepy robot menace?

Sheo, the master of beautiful, organic, strange, and sometimes creepy LEGO art, is back with yet another bizarre creation. While it may not be quite as creepy at first glance, imagine the slow turn of the ever-smiling head. Or maybe take a look at that smaller pair of hands, with their evil-looking claws. Yep, terrifying. Freakiness aside, CoRob the construction robot is actually pretty cool.

This automaton can transform into a variety of helpful job-site equipment. I’m a big fan of the crane… and that drone! Just look how happy he is! Do you like Sheo’s style? Like construction? Check out his motorized Bucyrus mining shovel replica. How about weird builds? Perhaps his dapper dragon or giant space fish is right up your alley.

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Come with me and you’ll be in a rainbow world of pure imagination

Advice suggests avoiding eating heavy meals before bed. Nick Sweetman, the builder of this crazy rainbow nightmare, appears to have thrown caution to the wind. His bedroom scene is littered with treats and snacks galore. That Wonka bar hinting at the seriously psychedelic side effects of consuming too much sugar before sleep. It’s a premise that has allowed Nick to unleash every colour in the LEGO palette – in fact there is an artist’s brush and palette suggestively tucked away on one of the shelves – in aide of creating the most marvellous, hallucinatory, maelstrom. It’s a vibrant, queasy, spectacle of a build that celebrates colour and chaos with little regard for sensible modelling conventions… and I love it!

A tribute to the Courageous

My 22-year-old cousin, Cody, has wanted to be a firefighter his entire life. He’s never even entertained the idea of anything else. This summer he was gone for weeks at a time, working 14-17 hours a day, through the night, battling horrendous wildfires along the West Coast of the US. In addition to the fires, he and his companions faced rattlesnakes, hornets, dangerous terrain, and heat waves beyond those from the flames. They put their lives on the line. These custom minifigs created by Brick Police are a tribute to Wildland Firefighters everywhere. So this one’s for the heroes. It’s for the selfless men and women who do everything they can to save lives and homes. We thank you for your service.

Where the mountains meet the sea

A medieval town, nestling between the foot of the mountains and the shores of the sea — that’s the setting of John Tooker‘s latest LEGO creation. There’s a wealth of detail on display for a microscale model. The crenellations on the central keep are a nice touch, the rockwork is well done, and those tiny ships are lovely. I particularly like the autumnal shades amongst the foliage, and the tiny offsets on the green tiles creating the angled line between greenery and the beach. It’s the touches like that which elevate the best microscale modelling.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for November 18, 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 third week of November 2018.

TBB NEWS: Black Friday is off to an early start, and today is the last day to submit a custom design to potentially be a set made by Bricklink.

Early Black Friday sales include LEGO holiday exclusives and double VIP points – LEGO has double points and two exclusive gifts with purchase until stocks run out.
LEGO Wind Turbine designer video: A Vestas for the rest of us – LEGO designer Carl Merriam shares some of the behind-the-scenes work that went into creating the set.
Today is the last day to submit designs to Bricklink’s AFOL Designer Program – Could your custom LEGO design become a set produced by Bricklink? Time is running out.

TBB REVIEWS: It is getting a little windy in here! And check out our review of an amazing jet.

Review of LEGO 10268 Vestas Wind Turbine – The set has 826 pieces, is priced at $199.99 USD, and will be available beginning on Black Friday (Nov. 23).
Review of Brickmania 1031 F-4C Phantom Supersonic Jet Interceptor – Brickmania’s F-4C Phantom II custom kit costs $625.00 for 1,290 pieces and two custom-printed minifigs.

TBB FEATURES: We have a new version of an old meme, plus an interview and instructions too.

The face that launched a thousand memes – TBB Builder-in-Residence Iain Heath is at it again, MOC-ing memes with this brick-built distracted boyfriend.
Interview about a sweeping LEGO diorama tells the story of Welsh privateer Henry Morgan – Hear from Brick to the Past about their newest naval collaboration.
Instructions to build four birds of character – Builder Tammo S shares instructions on how to make a few feathery friends.

OTHER NEWS: There were quite 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

Tax collection by the river bank

If there is a place where even medieval tax collection would look picturesque, it would be Arylego‘s latest scene, depicting a wooden water mill. This unpleasant task is quite often depicted escalating into violence, so Arylego’s creation comes as a breath of fresh air, showing a civil conversation.

The colour scheme is muted, but quite realistic, with a tree in autumn red colours as a contrast to lighten up the scene. My favourite parts have to be the textures and mixing of colours on the roof and timber walls of the building. Welcome uses of parts are the hinge plates with fingers used in the wheel, which makes the shape much more flowing than any other hinge system.

One cute monster prince

This adorable creation by Anthony Wilson is Ralsei, the monster prince who teams up with the player in the recently released game Deltarune. The stand-out design of his simple white-rimmed glasses is probably one of the best uses of Technic rubber bands usually reserved for providing tension in the moving play features of official sets. There is another great part used in the black boots, a car tire. The wind-swept scarf is also a very nice touch.

Sculpting the sculptor

An artist’s work is never done, but even when the stone block is still half rough from the quarry, there’s room to marvel. Gabriel Thomson‘s rugged craftsman may be working with a harder medium than Gabriel himself, but it’s nonetheless a reflection of the skill involved in art, be it made of marble or LEGO. And speaking of skill, the horse head is fantastically sculpted, but no less so than the workman with his thick beard and toned arms.

LEGO Wind Turbine designer video: A Vestas for the rest of us [News]

The LEGO vault is opening again soon with the release of 10268 Creator Expert Vestas Wind Turbine on Black Friday. From the designer video included below, LEGO designer Carl Merriam shares some of the behind-the-scenes work that went into transforming the set from a limited exclusive released in 2008 to a product that will soon be available to everyone. Carl shows off some of the set’s stand out features (including the company’s new plant-based tree elements and a minifigure that looks surprisingly like himself) as well as the story of how he became a LEGO designer.

Check our review of the Vestas Wind Turbine for an even closer look. The set contains 826 pieces, three minifigures and a dog. It will sell for $199.99 US, $249.99 CAN, and £159.99 UK starting on Black Friday. Nov. 23.

The most important room in the house

Here’s one of those LEGO creations which initially looks simple, but on closer inspection reveals a wealth of clever parts use amongst the details. This bathroom by alego alego is a lovely piece of work, all tied together with an attractive cohesive colour scheme. Don’t miss the upside-down R2D2 leg used for the sink, the minifigure hands and arm which make up the shower fittings, and that orange scarf used perfectly as a towel hanging from the rail. The masterstroke has to be the Imperial Scout Trooper helmet turned upside-down as a toilet bowl! Excellent part selection right there.

Sweeping LEGO diorama tells the story of Welsh privateer Henry Morgan [Interview]

Collective Brick to the Past are a team of expert builders who have been wowing crowds at LEGO shows and conventions in the U.K. with their vast historically researched dioramas. They’ve built massive LEGO displays about the Battle of Hastings, Viking raids on Anglo-Saxon Britain, and the Jacobite Rising. Their latest monumental project is the work of Dan Harris, James Pegrum, Colin Parry and Simon Pickard, and depicts Henry Morgan: Welsh Raider of the Spanish Main. It is their first project to be set outside the U.K. and is based on the buccaneer or pirate – that’s for you to decide – Henry Morgan’s raid on Lake Maracaibo.

The layout features some amazing 17th Century Colonial buildings, a sea fort based on Carlos de la Barra and an array of beautiful period-perfect ships. As always, the diorama has been meticulously researched and filled with all manner of details and surprises.

Dan Harris from the Brick to the Past team kindly agreed to tell us a bit more about the history that inspired the model, the research and building challenges faced in its construction and highlights some of his favourite parts of the layout.

See more photos and read our interview about this huge LEGO diorama

You could have the whole world in your hands

Just the other day I was looking at a handful of Nexo hexagons, wondering what fun things I could do with them. It appears that JD Keller beat me to the punch! This cartographer (maker of maps) by trade, has found a unique way to turn them into a globe. His build incorporates yield signs and some interesting techniques with rubber bands to hold it all together.

Click here to see the inside and continue reading!