Yearly Archives: 2019

Now you’re playing with portable power

As a slightly sentimental fool, sitting on the shelf directly above my workspace is an original Nintendo Game Boy that fills me with moments of reminisce. LEGO sculptor Chungpo Cheng has created a smashing rendition that would not look out of place in my hands or alongside any of his other life-size models of Minifig utensils. The iconic “three rounded and one sharp angle” corners of the Game Boy have been captured nicely, and the spacing between the buttons brings brick-built gaming to the streets.

What really gets me, though, is the power light. Quite a few LEGO Game Boy’s have been made over the years, but this is one of the first I have seen that has such a realistic looking screen. My guess is the light was made out of a red mechanical claw pushed through the back of the ever popular headlight brick.

For a quick look at a maxi-solution to never loosing your keys again, check out Chungpo Cheng’s giant Santa minifigure key chain.

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Who’s a good boy?

It turns out Fabuland has a good boy in charge of fire safety. Markus Rollbühler presents Barty and his shiny red Fire Brigade Bulldog Mech. This is part of Markus’ ongoing campaign to build one mech a week for a year, which is what we call job security at the Brothers Brick. So long as he keeps cranking out quality builds, we’ll have something to write about. No blazing fire (and incidentally no rug either) is safe from Barty’s watchful patrol. Even if he does ruin your one-of-a-kind Persian Fine Serapi Handmade Wool Area Rug, how can you stay mad at Barty when he has a face like that? With him it’s either nice rugs or unwavering fire safety. Make your choice.

Time-travelling assassins are busting out all over

Messing with the timeline? You’d better watch out — the Commission are bound to send their best agents after you. Jonas Kramm takes inspiration from Netflix’s dramatisation of Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá’s Umbrella Academy, putting together this cool pair of busts depicting Cha-Cha and Hazel, a pair of professional time-travelling assassins. For those who haven’t seen the show, the pair of killers arrive in our time wearing huge carnival costume heads. Jonas has perfectly captured their sinister yet cartoon-like appearance, and the use of umbrellas as neckties works well for the suits but also acts as a nice little nod to the show’s title. If only we could use Cha-Cha and Hazel’s time-travelling abilities to make season 2 arrive a little sooner.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for September 28, 2019

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 fourth week of September 2019.

We take a an in-depth look at the massive Imperial Star Destroyer. Does it measure up? Keep reading our Brick Report to get all the details.

TBB NEWS, REVIEWS AND GIVEAWAYS: This week we saw the announcement of three new LEGO Ideas sets, reviewed the Imperial Star Destroyer and saw a slew of new Star Wars sets revealed. Meanwhile, there’s still time to participate in the TBB Banquet project coming up next week at BrickCon 2019!

The Pirate Bay, 123 Sesame Street, and Playable LEGO Piano projects are the new LEGO Ideas sets – The Pirate Bay project by Bricky_Brick, 123 Sesame Street project by bulldoozer21, and Playable LEGO Piano project by SleepyCow have all been announced to become the next official LEGO Ideas sets.
New LEGO Star Wars sets announced for Rise of Skywalker and The Mandalorian – LEGO announces 8 new sets from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and Star Wars: The Mandalorian.
Free tickets to BrickCon 2019 LEGO Exhibition in Seattle [Giveaway] – BrickCon will be in full swing next weekend, so we are giving away some tickets to the LEGO exhibition.
Announcing the TBB Banquet brick-built food collab for BrickCon 2019 – Do you like brick-built brunches? Studded snacks? How about AFOL appetizers and MOC munchies? Then you’ll want to attend the TBB Banquet!
LEGO and Amazon launch a Mindstorms voice-powered robotics challenge – LEGO and Amazon are giving away some serious prizes in their Mindstorms voice challenge.
LEGO Star Wars 75252 Ultimate Collector Series Imperial Star Destroyer [Review] – We take a hard look at the new LEGO Star Wars 75252 UCS Imperial Star Destroyer. Is it more than a big gray wedge?

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:

A new exhibition features classic art masterpieces recreated with Lego bricks, TimeOut – If you’ve ever wanted to see some of art history’s greatest masterpieces re-imagined in LEGO blocks, now’s your chance: Starting September 28, the New York Hall of Science.
Interview with Jamie Berard, Design Manager for 10267 Gingerbread House, Brickset – Brickset had an opportunity to speak with Jamie Berard at the Fan Media Days in Billund earlier this year, discussing several Creator Expert sets from 2019.
The LEGO Group is ranked first place in Corporate Responsibility Study, The LEGO Group – The LEGO Group is ranked first place in Reputation Institute’s 2019 Global Corporate Responsibility Study
‘Haunted’ Lego and Fortnite blaster tipped as top Christmas toys, The Guardian UK – Hamleys unveils 10 expected bestsellers amid efforts to mix physical play and internet

Dam, that’s a nice build

I like me some dam good LEGO building; or is that good LEGO dam building? I don’t know, but set in the not-too-distant future, this battle scene by Thomas depicts a grim future in which the forces of the European Union (EU) battle some Eurasian attackers in Germany, all to determine who will control the dam. If I understand the action correctly, the EU forces are trying to destroy the dam in order to fight back against the Eurasian invaders. It would a real shame if they succeeded, as it would ruin some perfectly good LEGO structures.

The dam itself is nicely constructed, with a clever brick-built “5” in the corner. A sense of action is also clearly conveyed, with the dark green EU forces against the grey Eurasians. I especially like the EU trooper battling some sort of insect-like robot at the base of the dam. The rough construction of the building gives it a post-apocalyptic feel, too, which is always a treat.

Something for the space-racing fans

And here at turn 16, space-racing fans we have Brendan Mauro taking the lead! Mauro followed by Nice Part Usage! Coming up in third by a narrow margin we have Classic Space Nerd followed closely by Train Guys Are Jerks, A Wee Nip of the Good Stuff and Vintage 1×5! Why Is My Mom Using The Eggplant Emoji? is coming up in seventh place followed closely by Dad Probably Doesn’t Read This Stuff Anyway! This could still be anyone’s race, ladies and gents! What an exciting day at the races!

This groovy exterior will make you dance

When building with LEGO, one of the more frustrating things is when the bricks just don’t seem to line up right. Oh, sure, LEGO has amazing interlocking technology built in, and that helps. But when you’re trying to do something fancy with half-stud offsets or SNOT, sometimes those joins are a little less than static. El Barto has taken this pain point and turned it into something lovely with their rendition of the David E. and Stacey L. Goel Center for Theater and Dance at Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, NH. Built with meticulous attention to detail, the walls use a repetitive mis-alignment to create a zig-zag pattern that matches the textures of the real building. Even better, the whole build sits askew on the display stand, mirroring those interesting angles.

The sides and back of the building also have that great texturing. The rest of the landscaping is also well executed, with brick-built trees and curving walkways.

If you’d like to see it in person, this creation will be on display in the lobby of the Goel Center for the remainder of the academic year. I just wonder if the display table is also at an angle…

Where we’re going we only needs wings, engines, and propellers

When was the last time you raised your eyes to the sky? There could be so much hidden above the clouds, for example, a community of brave aviators hopping between mountain peaks in their agile airplanes. A breathtaking collaboration project by amazingly talented German LEGO builders, Vaionaut, Ben Tritschler, Marcel V., Mark van der Maarel, Markus Rollbühler, Sylon-tw, and Willem (Steinchen), called Skytopia, is full of steam- and dieselpunk vibes, including huge propellers, flying boats and tons of wood and metal.

Click here to take a closer look at some models…

I am Northstar Titan. I come to do Northstar Titan stuff

What has Brothers Brick alumnus Nick Jensen been up to lately? At last check, he was cradling a fat-bottomed old lady in his arms. We’ve all been there, right? Now he has built Viper’s Northstar Titan from Titanfall 2. Viper is one of the bosses fought in the Titanfall 2 campaign and pilots this Northstar Titan, which has the ability to fly, hover and carry a Plasma Railgun. Transparent Technic beams give the illusion that this model is hovering while also offering it stability.

Big things really do come in small packages

This charming little cargo hauler by Inthert has so many great parts I’m not sure where to start. Actually, I know exactly where to start. Take a look at the pilot, sitting in the perfect cradle made from two of these shoulder pieces from LEGO 75973 D.Va & Reinhardt from the Overwatch theme put together. Genius! There are also a few of these Technic hinge parts, used on either side of the thruster intakes. Now, moving to the back, the black cargo rig makes perfect use of the little holes at the center of the red turntable bases to secure your deliveries.

New LEGO Star Wars sets announced for Rise of Skywalker and The Mandalorian [News]

The LEGO Group today announced eight new building sets inspired by the Star WarsTM galaxy, which will become available on Triple Force Friday, October 4. The toys range from $19.99 to $159.99 and are based on the upcoming film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, the highly anticipated Disney+ live-action series The Mandalorian, and classic characters and scenes from the first eight chapters of the Skywalker saga. These sets add to the LEGO Group’s continued celebration of the 20th anniversary of the much-loved LEGO® Star Wars range that continues to unite fans of all ages all around the globe.

“This year marks the 20th anniversary of our first partnership with Lucasfilm to bring the Star Wars galaxy to life, and together we have engaged millions of fans of all ages in exciting building opportunities,” said Michael McNally, senior director, brand relations, LEGO Systems, Inc. “As the final chapter of the Skywalker saga nears premiere, we are excited about what it inspires for new building adventures, and to help shepherd more new and familiar stories from a galaxy far, far away to brick form with the launch of our building sets based on The Mandalorian and other classic Star Wars scenes.” Continue reading →

A fully operational Star Wars display

Now, witness the awesomeness that is the creation of Rui Miguel Anacleto. Taking inspiration from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, this build is a display of the climactic Battle of Endor, where the Rebel Alliance faced off against the Empire in a do-or-die attempt to destroy a second planet killer.

I can’t help but fawn over the cinematic experience contained in this build. From the Alliance’s Medical Frigate battling Star Destroyers to the Executor crashing into the Death Star, nearly every scene is here. Even Luke, Lando and Wedge flying away from the Death Star is visible, with an excellent use of flame pieces to simulate internal explosions.