Yearly Archives: 2019

The grind of updating the Ground Machine

The MRGM 3 Multi Role Ground Machine by builder Marco Marozzi is a complex example of mechanical evolution. While the initial version felt sleek and light, this third generation is a much beefier model. Some core elements remain the same; a Bionicle Rahkshi back cover forms the spine, and Knights Kingdom armor protects the arms and legs. But you can see the shine of a new model in the shins and lower body. There, the armor has been updated to have a much more textured feel. And that giant gun is also a brand new accessory.

MRGM 3 Multi Role Ground Machine

We’ve featured several of Marco’s other mechs in the past, and I’m confident we’ll see even more in the future. I’m looking forward to seeing what the Mark 4 has in store for us…

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What happened to the reindeer?

Santa Claus, despite his media persona and the products he is implied to endorse, is not the consumerist type. Sure, he brings presents on Christmas to children, but not the max-out-the-credit-cards-and-refinance-the-house pile of presents that parents are somehow expected to provide. He lives a life of humble solitude, somewhere up in the frozen north (though not the North Pole; what responsible person would build a house on seasonally variant ice?), where he prepares for his annual journey of beneficence. At least, that is what this build by Andrea Lattanzio (Norton74) seems to imply. A delightful cabin, similar to Walden but much redder, rests in a peaceful snow-covered clearing, with deep snow on the roof and a sled ready to go (even though the sled is pulled by huskies, rather than reindeer).

It's time for Santa Claus to go!

The most impressive part of the display might be the collection of parts used to create the snow-covered foliage, from levers and megaphones to minifig hands and everything else white. However, I love the cannon as a chimney — topped by pots, even more. Unicorn horns make for lovely icicles on the eaves (if only they were available in transparent colors!). My one quibble is that the woodpile looks far too sparse to make it through the winter in conditions like that. Santa will freeze to death. Unless he isn’t watching out for the polar bear lurking behind the cabin, in which case he’ll be devoured before freezing. And before bringing me LEGO for my stocking.

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Eye don’t know about this one.

(With apologies to Prince)

I was dreamin’ when I wrote this, so forgive me if it goes astray. When I saw this MOC I could have sworn it was judgment day. The guy was all golden, there was LEGO lightning everywhere. Transparent yellow radar dishes, you know Matt Goldberg really cared.

Um.

Something something……Tonight we’re gonna party with the creepy Eye?

Okay, so maybe the lyrics don’t exactly scan, but being just a little off-kilter seems very appropriate for a review of this creation. The Eye is a mysterious figure that really grabs your attention. A skillful mix of Bionicle, Hero Factory, and System parts combine in way that meshes well, while at the same time feeling like things don’t exactly align correctly for this reality.

The Eye

Matt built this as a Secret Santa gift. You have to hope the recipient was impressed. Maybe a little frightened. Maybe a bit of both.

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Skull Island, when is the soonest I can move in?

I was a kid in the ’70s and ’80s with above average drawing skills but typically childish tastes in what I liked to draw. With the Hardy Boys, Johnny Quest and Treasure Island well within my wheelhouse of influence, it was a sure bet that many of my childhood drawings included some kind of skull island. Whether it be a Dino-Skull Island, Rhino-Skull Island or Bat-Skull island, I was totally into it and would imagine a whole slew of baddies who inhabited these remote, exotic islands hellbent on ruling the world. You probably wouldn’t be surprised to learn that…not much has changed in my adulthood; my art still boasts similar themes from childhood, including a skull island lair or another from time to time. This is why I was so thrilled to find a kindred spirit in Bob DeQuarte.

Skull Island

In one fell swoop, this builder rekindled so many childhood dreams and sparked, let’s be frank, more than a few recent ones. For this, I am thankful for builders like Bob. Anyway, I just wanted to say my piece about this awesome island. I hope you can all be as thrilled about it as I am. Just in case we’re tracking on a similar wavelength, here is another time Bob opened a magic door into childhood dreams.

Skull Island

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2019 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 13

Welcome to Day 13 of our LEGO Advent Calendar countdown. Each day, we’ll reveal the four mini-builds from the LEGO Harry Potter, LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Friends, and LEGO City 2019 advent calendars along with commentary from The Brothers Brick team.

If you’re opening one (or more) of these advent calendars along with us, we’ve made sure the pictures and commentary on each day’s models will be behind a jump so we don’t accidentally ruin the surprise. Will Day 13 be routine?

Click to reveal today’s LEGO advent calendar builds!

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Easy? YOU try squeezing out a polyp minion!

Roll call at The Brothers Brick Headquarters goes a little something like this: Alright ladies and gents, we have lots of great LEGO creations to cover today. We have a Star Wars one, who wants it? Ohh, I’ll take it! OK good, we have an elaborate castle, anyone? Yes, I’ll take it. OK, you got it. We have a Christmas one, very important this time of year, who wants it? Me! Alright, next we have…uh…giant mech caterpillar thingy oozing slime out its butt….OH! OH! Pick me! Pick me! For the love of God, PICK MEEEE! -Fine, Lino take it, you weirdo!

YES! (*ahem*) This digital model by Ivan Martynov checks all the boxes of things I’d totally be into: unconventional color scheme, nice parts usage, an organic shape…and it’s a mutant alien beast probably hellbent on interplanetary domination. What’s not to love, really? Here’s another time I was totally enthralled by our alien overlords.

Heavy Tank

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As an alternative, you could build this ‘Stang

When the official LEGO 10265 Ford Mustang set was released a while back, it received high praise as being one of the best LEGO cars ever produced. The strong lines of the classic muscle car translated well into brick form. But what about the more modern Mustangs, which, though they do hearken back to some of the angular aesthetics of the muscle car heyday, are more curvy and seductive? Well, builder Firas Abu-Jaber took it upon himself to create an updated version of the set, and the resultant Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 looks amazing!

Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 10265 Model B MOC

More amazing than the way it looks, though, is the fact that this is made with only the parts contained in set 10265; no outside parts were used, other than the different wheels (though the wheels from the set fit fine, they just don’t match the styling of contemporary cars, so you could make it without updated rims if you wanted to). That means, if you have that set at home, you could build this one, too. The scales are slightly different, with the set being roughly 1:13 and this being about 1:15, but that’s a small difference when it looks this slick. Despite this being a “B model” from the original set, I’d give this an A+.

Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 10265 Model B MOC

Do you love this car? Check out a Bugatti and a Ferrari by the same builder.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

LEGO Creator Expert 10270 Bookshop – new modular building for 2020 [Review]

Over the years, LEGO’s Creator Expert line of modular buildings has alternated back and forth between European-style buildings like the original Cafe Corner and American architecture like 10197 Fire Brigade 10 years ago and the more recent 10260 Downtown Diner and 10264 Corner Garage. The era and location that inspired 10270 Bookshop are less obvious, because this pair of side-by-side buildings could fit right in on streets as far-flung as Boston and Amsterdam.

10270 Bookshop includes 2,504 pieces with five minifigs and will be available on January 1st (US $179.99 | CAN $199.99 | UK £149.99).

Read our hands-on review of the 2020 LEGO Creator Expert 10270 Bookshop

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

2019 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 12

Welcome to Day 12 of our LEGO Advent Calendar countdown. Each day, we’ll reveal the four mini-builds from the LEGO Harry Potter, LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Friends, and LEGO City 2019 advent calendars along with commentary from The Brothers Brick team.

If you’re opening one (or more) of these advent calendars along with us, we’ve made sure the pictures and commentary on each day’s models will be behind a jump so we don’t accidentally ruin the surprise. What did the elves bring on Day 12?

Click to reveal today’s LEGO advent calendar builds!

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

LEGO Piplup will catch your heart

You would have to have a heart colder than Elsa’s Ice palace to not get a serious case of warm feelings from this adorable Pokemon by Mike Nieves. Mike makes great use of a few of the new 1×1 quarter tiles. And the clever construction of so many curved and angled details in the face, collar, and wings left me scratching my head about just how the builder put this cote Piplup together. The gentle curves and slopes used for the ice chunk and the blue water are a very nice touch.

Pokemon Piplup

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

We all live in a yellow submarine-fish-thing

LEGO has explored underwater themes a few times over the years. In particular, I have a fondness for the mid-1990’s Aquazone line. It featured bright yellow colors, exploration-based vehicles, and some pretty cool builds. Finnish builder Tino Poutiainen has also taken the yellow submarine concept to heart with Expedition into the kelp forest. This classy undersea build features a vessel with some very good natural camouflage. That is, assuming fish don’t have a particularly good sense of scale. Based on the image description, the divers are looking for the “incredibly rare yellow-finned bladderwrack fish.” It doesn’t seem like they’re looking too carefully, though, as I think I spotted a couple on my own.

Expedition into the kelp forest

I like how the sub isn’t the usual short-and-flat glider style you often see in craft like this. Instead we have a tall and narrow vessel, complete with impressive vertical fins sloped at interesting angles. The mimicry between the sub and the sea-life makes this little scene one you can quickly tell your own fish stories around. (You should hear about the one that got away.)

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

LEGO reveals 8 new Marvel sets from Avengers and Spider-Man [News]

As we near the year’s end, LEGO is taking the wraps off all its upcoming 2020 lines, and today we’re getting our first look at eight of the new Marvel sets. Spanning both the Avengers and Spider-Man franchises, the sets include several regular film tie-ins, as well as a new line of mini-mechs for the heroes and villains in the same light-hearted vein as LEGO’s Mighty Micros vehicles. The sets should be available on or slightly before January 1.

Check out all the new sets below, and don’t miss the other new LEGO sets for 2020:

Click to see all the new Marvel sets

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.