Yearly Archives: 2019

Going full throttle with LEGO Creator Expert 10269 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy [Review]

When it comes to motorcycles, few manufacturers are as internationally recognizable as Harley-Davidson. Since 1903, their bikes have proven themselves on the battlefields of World War I and II, dusty roads around the world, and in countless racing events. This rich legacy now includes LEGO set 10269 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy, the 2nd Creator Expert set to feature a U.S. vehicle (the first being this year’s Ford Mustang). Harley-Davidson first unveiled the Fat Boy for the 1990 model year, and the line has been in production ever since. Revealed for the first time today, LEGO’s version of the Fat Boy depicts the 2019 model with Milwaukee-Eight 107 engine. The set consists of 1023 pieces and will be available to LEGO VIPs beginning July 17th and to the general public worldwide on August 1st for $99.99 USD | $139.99 CAD | £84.99 GBP

Click to read the full hands-on review

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A village with a bit of everything

Oftentimes castle builds focus on the impenetrable keep with its solid grey walls, or else they depict a single building, like an inn or a blacksmith shop. Then there are the occasional massive dioramas that have everything, but also require five tables to display and several vans to haul. In a comfortable middle place, Peter Ilmrud brings us a charming village with enough shops to be believable and a footprint that is reasonable. There is a blacksmith, an armorer, a baker, a cheesemaker, stables, a cooper, and even a mage-astronomer’s tower. Add in some nice trees and architectural details around Wyvernstone Village, and this makes for a fine build that does not even take up all of one table.

See more of Wyvernstone Village here

This constellation leads straight to Uranus

Uranus stinks. No, seriously, it does. According to scientists, the ice giant’s atmosphere is comprised mostly of hydrogen and helium but also large quantities of ammonia and methane, which are highly volatile in terms of “those who smelt it dealt it” schoolyard logic. If you’d like to head there anyway, you might want to take a gander (or a whiff) at this Night Sky Colossus built by the mysteriously named [VB]. It is a depiction of the dubious sky-god Uranus as an avatar of the night sky. His black form is augmented with a constellation design that utilizes these claw bits in white as well as 1×1 tiles in azure. His head reverses the color scheme for a truly stellar effect. The only other bit of info this builder offers is this; “And Heaven rejoiced in his evil doing.” In other words, this is probably why we can’t have nice things.

This builder is fairly new to us but surely one to be on the lookout for. Be sure to check out this heart that we previously featured.

Fabulous Fabuland friends take Billy Goat’s Steamboat for a ride

Fabuland holds a beautiful place of reminisce for me and somehow Pete Strege seems to have encompassed that feeling in an incredible new LEGO creation. Billy Goat’s Steamboat is an incredible display of fine colour choice, confined motorisation and great shaping without compromising stability. The dark blue of the cabin walls and hull are framed nicely with white, while the rest of the colour wheel comes to life with a combination of dark azure and yellow. Though please don’t be fooled, take a closer look. Weaved throughout the yellow are trace amounts of bright light orange, which adds some real warmth to the model, as subtle as it may be. There is also a sublime amount of blue pinstriping, which tops off the build high up, with two blue half barrel containers.

Come and check out more of this beautiful steamboat

Zebra Batman revealed as Diego Comic-Con 2019 LEGO DC Exclusive Minifigure [News]

LEGO just revealed the Zebra Batman minifigure as the DC Exclusive Minifigure that will be available at San Diego 2019 Comic Con. Zebra Batman was introduced in 1960 fighting against Zebra-Man as the villain. The minifigure can be obtained as part of a randomized draw on July 20th at the LEGO both in San Diego Comic-Con.

Remember to check out the other SDCC 2019 Exclusives Announced

LEGO 77902 Captain Marvel and the Asis revealed as San Diego Comic-Con 2019 LEGO exclusive

LEGO 77903 The Dark Knight of Gotham City revealed as San Diego Comic-con 2019 LEGO Exclusive

Spiderman Advanced Suit revealed as Diego Comic-con 2019 LEGO Marvel Exclusive

LEGO reveals two new Star Wars sets from Tatooine at San Diego Comic-Con

Beautiful rendition gives new twist to LEGO Architecture

Constructed in 2016 on the Coconut Grove in Miami, the Grove at Grand Bay brought a new twist to architecture. This is just what creative builder Lego Fjotten has done for LEGO Architecture. This fantastic rendition of the dual twenty storey towers, is spot on. The multi-teared garden beds weave perfectly throughout the base. Built predominantly from 2×2 and 4×4 macaroni bricks topped with correlating tiles, their shaping is near identical to the real coastal complex. Their pattern gives the pathways and pool quite an amount of character by itself.

Designed to follow the consistent twist from the ground to the top six or so floors, Lego Fjotten has handled this challenge incredibly well. Though if my calculations are correct, he would have been building with a touch over three thousand trans-clear 1x2x3 panels, an impressive feet by itself. The constructed twist allows practically every condo a slightly different view of the horizon, which makes me wonder what the tiny figs would think living there? I can only begin to imagine the views from the top.

LEGO Star Wars fan builds animated Death Star trench run & Death Star II destruction scenes with 50,000 LEGO pieces [Video]

LEGO Star Wars builder Anthony Ducre recently shared a massive diorama featuring scenes from both A New Hope and Return of the Jedi. Built from over 50,000 LEGO bricks, the diorama includes Darth Vader chasing Luke Skywalker down the trench of the first Death Star, animated by placing the starfighters on classic LEGO 9-volt train tracks.

Watch videos of this huge LEGO Star Wars diorama after the jump

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for July 7, 2019 [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 first week of July 2019.

Aerospace engineer Adam Woodworth modified the LEGO 10266 Lunar Lander to actually fly. Keep reading our Brick Report to see it take flight.

TBB NEWS AND INSTRUCTIONS: This week we launched a strange building contest, took a deep dive into the history of LEGOLAND and learned about two new Star Wars sets.

TBB’s Stranger Things building contest is flipping things upside down – Build your best Stranger Things creation and you could win big. Read about all the details in the article.
LEGO reveals two new Star Wars sets from Tatooine at San Diego Comic-Con – LEGO Star Wars is going back to Tatooine in 2020 with a Landspeeder and Obi-Wan’s Hut.
Feature: LEGOLAND and Merlin Entertainments – The history between these two partners is storied and fascinating. How did they come together and where do they stand today?
LEGO Ideas 21315 Pop-up Book and other popular sets discounted on Amazon US – There are some great LEGO deals on Amazon ahead of PRIME Day.
Instruction to build two iconic Jurassic Park vehicles – Do you think you can outrun a T.rex with these vehicles created by Miro Dudas?

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:

An Aerospace Engineer Figured Out How To Get LEGO’s Apollo 11 Lunar Lander To Fly, Gizmodo – Talented toy hacker Adam Woodworth has managed to upgrade LEGO’s Apollo 11 Lunar Lander set with all the motors and electronics needed to make it actually fly.
LEGO: the invention of the legendary brick, BBC – The son of the inventor, Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen, talks about his family’s extraordinary business.
Nine Product Ideas Qualify for the First 2019 LEGO Ideas Review, LEGO Ideas – Take a look at the sets that achieved 10,000 votes and might become a LEGO set.
LEGO Makes Tiny Tower Just A Little Bit Better, Kotaku – LEGO Tower, out today on iTunes and Google Play, is all that and a bag of bricks.
Legoland Billund in Denmark to expand with The Lego Movie World in 2020, Attractions Magazine – The Lego Movie World is making its way to Legoland Billund, and will be the park’s biggest investment to date as well as include Scandinavia’s first flying theater.
LEGO Let’s Go -Your Invitation to Explore Space, LEGO YouTube – We are ready for lift off. Build rockets, program rovers, and discover your role in helping astronauts reach Mars!

Win the 24 Hours of Le Mans with this 1968 Ford GT40 Mk1 in gorgeous Gulf livery

As much as the LEGO Speed Champions 1966 Ford GT40 remains one of my favorites of the theme, it’s always been disappointing that LEGO has not been able to release one in the iconic Gulf Oil livery, for the very reasonable reason that LEGO does not have a licensing deal with Gulf Oil. But LEGO fans like Jonathan Elliott have stepped into the light blue and orange void with beautiful cars like this one, at about Speed Champions scale. Jonathan’s version uses plates and tiles wedged at all different angles to achieve the unique curves and angles of the original car, structured completely differently from the 1966 GT40 in the official set.

If you like Jonathan’s GT40 in Gulf livery, you’ll also love Joachim Klang’s Ford GT40 in Gulf livery.

Guardian stands at the ready, through rain or shine

If Marius Herrmann hasn’t been a name gracing your feed with his iconic sci-fi and game culture builds, this is an excellent example of what you’re bound to find. Based on a previous design, this Guardian of the Shrine is the lead commander of the 2041 police force. Its imposing stance, strong and at the ready, undeterred by the surrounding rain. This gorgeous Photoshop edit really shows this character off, showing purpose behind his being. Great part use comes naturally to Marius and this pillar of authority is no different. His use of a Scala denim jacket as a short Hakama sets the bar, while the socket wrench found on each limb brings continuity in construction. I feel that the small space blasters on the sides of the head, add to its formidable appearance, leaving me to question if I he would know more about me that I do.

For another view of Marius Herrmann’s atmospheric LEGO creations, have a look at his Alfheim from God of War.

A brief history of LEGOLAND and Merlin Entertainments – how they came together and what it means today [Feature]

Our newsfeeds have been buzzing over the past days about LEGOLAND, Merlin Entertainments, and the privatisation of the theme park company. What this means is that LEGOLAND will be back in private hands after going public as part of Merlin in November 2013. Let’s take a journey through the history of LEGOLAND, reflecting back on the ups, downs, and changes of ownership that have led us to today.

Read our in-depth history and analysis of the Merlin acquisition

Hammer of the Gods

We’re seeing a lot of planetary themed builds lately and I couldn’t be more pleased. This time builder Jayfa takes on Pluto, deemed a planet in 1930, then shunned into the cold abyss of non-planetary status in the early aughts and then (depending on which publications you read) has been recategorized as a planet. Maybe. Wait, is Pluto a planet again this week? No matter what its official status, you can’t help but give some love to the distant little dwarf. Here Pluto has been embodied as a hammer-wielding dwarven cyclopian blacksmith with icy claw bits for a mustache and even his fists are an icy blue. Massive Viking wheels and trans-light blue webbed radar dishes make up the hammer. The photography, with its light and dark elements, is nothing short of magic. The end result is a blacksmith who makes weapons and armor fitting of the gods.

If you enjoyed this tribute to distant Pluto, be sure to check out Jayfa’s haunting huntsman mech and ferocious flower.