Yearly Archives: 2019

Chugging along toward the future of the past

The retro future of LEGO transport has a lot of options available to experience, including this cloud skimming, Dieselpunk Boat by builder Mark van der Maarel. His use of curved slopes and modified plates to form the smooth shaping of the hull is simple but exemplary, as is the chosen colour scheme. The rusted and worn look of such a craft, along with the eccentric crew, screams of adventures aplenty.

The deck crane brings the functionality needed for this sky trawler, though the highlight for me is another simple addition for the sake of detail: the boat hook. This necessary piece of equipment adds a nice touch of realism despite only being constructed from two pieces, a pirate hook hand and a rigid hose. It makes me kind of curious to know what he is puling in at such a height.

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Christmas themed BrickHeadz LEGO 40353 Reindeer, Elf and Elfie revealed [News]

Another Brickheadz set has been revealed by retailer mir-kubikov. It will be released in the near future for the upcoming holiday season. Mr. and Mrs. Claus will be joined by LEGO set 40353 featuring a Reindeer, Elf, and Elfie. The set comes with add-on builds to complement seasonal scenes.

Click to see the details up close

A rat bastard of two cultures

To be sure, there is a motorcycle culture and as anti-establishment as they seem to be, they follow a certain set of rules. The trike is sort of a fringe entity, a head-scratcher, among a group who are already on the fringes themselves. Similarly, there is also a car culture. They may appear to be counterculture but a car enthusiast putting boatloads of time and money into a showstopping “trailer queen” has sort of become “The Establishment.” Enter the rat rod. This is a growling, filthy punk of a car born to flip the proverbial bird at the established norms. You’d want a tetanus shot just to look at one in person, let alone sit in one. What’s great is, with very little money and found parts, they also steal attention, and often top prizes away from the expensive showstoppers. With this in mind, here’s Pat Lacroix’s Rat Trike.

See more of this gnarly rat rod.

You are not prepared! (for this LEGO Illidan Stormrage from World of Warcraft)

A cornerstone of gaming, the role-playing online game World of Warcraft, has recently had a resurgence. The re-release of its original form (before seven expansions) has had millions hooked, me including. I guess that explains my lack of activity in the LEGO world… But while everybody else is busy killing boars and growing out their hair, Chi Hsin Wei has been building. The result is Illidan Stormrage, one of the central characters in the Warcraft storyline.

The character is obviously instantly recognizable, with the torn wings, green demonic tattoos and his weapons, the warglaives of Azzinoth built using lime green dragon wings. The muscles of the upper body are quite impressive, as is the construction of the character’s pants that look like they have not been changed for ten thousand years…

Bicycles and dreams ain’t damaged out here

Crazy swingin’ cool are the cats in the city
over the fence and down the ally, walking kitty.
Ol’ Dane Erland blows into a dented saxophone
a sweet melody under a bright lonesome moon
and conspires with a hep BrickNerd named Tommy.
In the back alley we share our hopes and dreams
with anyone who’ll listen, even a rat if you please,
if it’s not much trouble to spare some cheese.
Bicycles and dreams ain’t damaged out here,
they just got more character, more stories to tell.
In the ally, a fire escape doubles as a patio
where we lay down beat poems, can you dig it, Daddy-O?

LEGO Collectible Minifigures 71025 Series 19 Feel Guide [Review]

We recently brought you our in-depth review of the LEGO Collectible Minifigures Series 19 (71025), and that may have helped you decide if you want to pick up a set of the characters. But as always, the 16 unique figures are randomly packed in blind bags. So how to ensure you a full set, short of buying a full case or paying a premium to have someone else do the searching? The key, of course, is to feel the bags before you purchase, and we’ve got our Feel Guide to help you do just that.

71025 Collectible Minifigures Series 19 are available from Sept. 1 at LEGO.com for USA $3.99 | CAN $4.99 | UK £2.99, as well as from third-party sellers on Amazon and eBay.

Continue reading →

Yes, she knows it’s a multipass. Anyway, we’re in love.

When you’re having a bad day, sometimes it’s nice to just sit down and watch a fun science fiction movie like The Fifth Element. There are great characters, an engaging story, and a universe that is willing to give us flying cars. Davdup brings that love of the vehicles into LEGO form with renditions of a police cruiser and Korben Dallas’ taxi. Slightly bigger than minifgure scale, these beauties feature smooth curves, complex angles, custom stickers, and build details straight from the movie.

The police car is a solid build (I love the grille tiles in the window) that accurately captures the utilitarian vehicle. Davdup has chosen to also include a window-delivered to-go order from McDonald’s, giving us a great callback to the movie. The interior is also pretty sweet, using a Technic pilot’s yoke for the steering wheel. Continue reading →

Skulls could use more greebling in general

If you’ve read The Brothers Brick for awhile, you may have seen us reference the word “greebling” or “greebles”. The term was first used by special effects artists working on Star Wars and it describes all of the doodads and doohickeys on the surface of an object to help things like spaceships look more…well, spaceshipy. This effect is used heavily by LEGO builders, in fact, if you search Wikipedia for “greeble” you’ll find a photo of a LEGO creation. (Heck yeah!) Ethen T uses this effect, not for spaceships, but rather in a clever mosaic render of a LEGO skull. Subtle light gray, then dark gray parts rounds out the effect nicely and adds dimension to an otherwise flat-ish surface. This piece acts as a stark reminder that inside each of us is a disgusting skeleton hell-bent on scaring neighborhood kids! This is why I can’t wait for Halloween.

And be sure to check out our LEGO glossary for explanations of greebling and many other bits of LEGO terminology!

This convoy is armed and armored and ready for action

Building a properly scaled motor vehicle can be a challenge, considering the unnatural proportions of the LEGO minifigure. That challenge was undeniably met by Robson M who has not only built a pair of well-proportioned vehicles scaled to fit their LEGO occupants but also meet the additional challenge of making the convoy military armored vehicles. I was thoroughly impressed by the Humvee (on the left), and the Oshkosh M-ATV (on the right) based on the build alone, but when I looked up the reference material, I was even more impressed by so many amazing details captured in plastic.

For the Humvee, I think my favorite detail, besides the front grill, is the round tile for the air intake on the front right fender. The Oshkosh features a roof-mounted armored turret with a gun, and there is plenty of room in the back for any extra gear needed. I bet there is even room for a case or two of MRE rations.

LEGO Star Wars UCS Imperial Star Destroyer and Winter Village Gingerbread House now available for VIPs [News]

Two new exclusive sets are now available for purchase to LEGO VIPs (free to join). The first is the massive Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series 75252 Imperial Star Destroyer which comes with 4,784 pieces and two Imperial minifigures for US $699.99 | CAN $849.99 | UK £649.99. The second is the 2019 Winter Village set, 10267 Gingerbread House, which comes with 1,477 pieces and, two gingerbread minifigures for US $99.99 | CAN $139.99 | UK £84.99.

Purchases of 75252 Imperial Star Destroyer also qualify for double VIP points for a short time through the 22nd, which means you’ll accumulate a hefty amount of points for more LEGO purchases or other swag in the future. These sets will likely go out of stock quickly ahead of the holidays. (Fair warning that the newly overhauled LEGO Shop Online may need a few moments to get both sets listed and available, so make sure you are logged into your LEGO VIP account before attempting to purchase.)

Devour the delicious LEGO 10267 Winter Village Gingerbread House [Review]

The Winter Village series is always highly anticipated, keeping LEGO fans on their toes regarding what the next set will be in the ever-growing storybook town. The series is celebrating eleven years of beloved Christmas scenes, the first of which was introduced in 2009. Now, fans of the theme can build the Winter Village Gingerbread House. Minus the re-release of the very first Winter Village Toy Shop in 2015, this is the tenth set in the series. It consists of 1477 pieces, the second-highest piece count in this series after the Winter Village Cottage (1490 pieces). Set 10267 Gingerbread House is priced at US $99.99 | CAN $139.99 | UK £89.99 and will be available on the 1st of October.

Click here to continue reading…

Sea green boat is full of charm, and fishermen

When you live on a planet where 71% of its surface is covered in water, boats are a pretty common sight and an important part of many of the population’s livelihood. Considering this, it is no surprise that boats are such a popular subject with LEGO builders around the world. This digital model built by Edouard Clo is full of great details familiar to anyone who has spent time on a fishing boat. There are winches for pulling the days catch fore and aft, and a small dingy as well as racks of fishing poles, and car tires used to protect the hull when it comes in to dock. The model also features a very nicely curved hull, which can be almost as challenging as getting your sea-legs.