Yearly Archives: 2020

Unique castle details leave nothing wanting

Move over, 1980’s LEGO yellow castle. There’s a new fortress in town: Jako of Nerogue has become my new favorite castle constructor.

At first glance, the thing that jumps out at me most is the curvature of the gate. That’s not something you usually see on medieval fortifications. It’s almost like a Moorish-Spain look. From the gate, my eyes are drawn to the teeny-tiny details of the walls and windows, with LEGO bricks having the exact appearance of stone. I really like the style Jako chose to use on the gate columns and the main keep windows.

Does anyone know how he did that? Just incredible! This is how I want all my castles to look like.

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Art imitates marketing with this stellar Monkie Kid logo

I am a HUGE fan of the new Monkie Kid LEGO theme, with its bright colors and a marvelous mix of traditional and sci-fi elements. It looks like I’m not the only fan, based on this free-standing Monkie Kid logo by Noel Mallet which perfectly re-creates the vertical logo on the side of the packaging, and includes both a large version of the Monkey King’s staff and a place for the Monkie Kid Minifig… all built onto a black and red base. Check out our Monkie Kid archives for more.

Here comes the sun (flowers)

It takes a certain sort of madness to take something like a 9V Train track switch element and turn it into something organic like a bunch of sunflowers. But that’s just what Eli Willsea has done. Somehow. I mean, sure, you could start with 40 or so of those train switches. Add some 1×1 round brick in light green. A couple of round plates in brown. But then you have to get really creative: Check out that perfume bottle. Who even knew those 1×1 pyramid slopes came in transparent-clear? They form the perfect texture, making the full image for Eau du Soleil seem like an advertisement in a high-end fashion magazine. It’s just…*chef’s kiss*

This creation is just one of Eli’s entries in the Iron Builder competition. Check our archives for more from the contest.

Batman busts creativity for charity

Batman movies are synonymous with being blockbusters, but rarely ever a “bust.” Now Tim Lydy makes that uncommon instance all the rage through the reveal of The Batman bust. Tim’s creation displays the cold stone-faced expression of Robert Pattinson, who is the latest actor to portray Batman in the forthcoming film. Since the film’s announcement this year, details around Batman’s cowl and suit have been a hot topic of conversation on social media.

The long ears are back after their short stint on the caped crusader in Justice League and Batman vs. Superman. Tim also uses two pairs of elements on each side of the chest’s silhouette. The medium barrel automatic pistol and the black pistol revolver both reflect how firearms shape the new logo in The Batman. Around the base, the placement of the black cat, question mark and umbrella reference the film’s villains: Catwoman, Riddler and Penguin, respectively.

Starting today through November 30, Tim’s The Batman bust is for sale to benefit 2020’s Creations for Charity event. Four copies of the bust will be available for purchase, and all of the sales fund LEGO sets for underprivileged kids this Christmas.

Greebles galore

There are very few LEGO builders whose creations give me the chills, but Bart De Dobbelaer is definitely one of them. Intruder Alert is where we see all of Bart’s photography, editing, and building skills combine into one work of art and the result is haunting… and gorgeous. My eye is immediately drawn to the silhouettes of the unidentified intruders, poised and ready. The walls are decked out with greebles and ominous neon lights have been cast to really set the atmosphere. The ribbed hoses running across the length of the floor, several of which are slightly bent, add to the realism of this scene. According to Bart, we’re looking at his entire light bluish gray collection greebled on the walls of this passageway. The spikes on the armed intruders, the textures on the floor and walls, and the curvature of the entrance all work in harmony.

Got your favorite sci-fi soundtrack playing in your head? Then you’re ready to check out some more of Bart’s creations.

The Lost Boys found a home in Neverland [Video]

LEGO builder and former LEGO Masters contestant Aaron Newman is no stranger to The Brothers Brick, and his latest creation earns him another mention for good reason. Aaron designed the Lost Boys hideout, the iconic location from the 1953 Disney adaptation of Peter Pan. In typical fashion for Aaron, the model is designed as a playset. So it has lots of action features throughout the model: the tree opens up in several places by pulling a string, and there is a secret rock passageway, a basket elevator and a light-up fireplace.

The lineup of minifigures is great as well, combining a few official Peter Pan characters from the Disney Collectible Minifigure series with a handful of custom figs that are excellently put together. Especially the Darling family is spot on. Beyond the figs, don’t miss the curved tapered panel used as hammocks. If this was an official set, I’d buy it!

Be sure to check out this video with Aaron to see all the details, and take a look at our interviews with Aaron about his build style and being a contestant on LEGO Masters.

Constraction faction, why the detraction?

I’ve got to be honest, I never liked constraction figures from LEGO. Personally, I thought Bionicle was lame and more than a little cheesy, the Knights Kingdom, Ben 10, superheroes, and Legends of Chima big figures even worse, and the Star Wars ones at best mildly interesting. Better than Galidor, certainly, but not by much. I was a System builder, period. Perhaps my position is evolving, however, or else I just love great LEGO building when I see it, because this character from Matt Goldberg is amazing. The color blocking is on-point, with bold, crisp red contrasting with the grey, and that gold visor just pops. The whole head is just perfect, in fact. Add in some superhero power bursts, and you have a dynamic sci-fi hero ready to save me from my anti-constractionist bigotry.

This dragon will string you along.

LEGO is cool. Puppets are cool. Dragons are cool. Put them all together like Jonas Kramm did? You get something so cool it’s icy. And yet…somehow super hot. Built for the Iron Builder contest, this feisty creature was inspired by the 9V Train track switch element, but I think the coolest bit of NPU (“Nice Part Usage”) has to the the Minifigure Headdresses used to form the dragon’s mouth.

You can see the puppetry in action in Jonas’ Flickr post. And when you’re done there, check out some other cool LEGO puppets that we’ve featured. Maybe you’ll be inspired enough to build your own!

Poultry Pinball

2020 being the first year in a long time without a licensed LEGO video game is a disappointing moment for fans. It is yet another faction of business affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to GameRant. While there is still hope for the tentative release of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga in 2021, this might be a good time for The LEGO Group to develop pinball game sets. Sure, this screams old school. But TLG already notched success when they captured the nostalgia for Super Mario and the Nintendo Entertainment System. Let’s also not forget the brick-built retro games, plus 2016’s Ideas Maze (21305). Just one look at the Chicken-Pen-Ball machine, made by Eli Willsea, has us stuck on tilt.

Eli’s fifth creation in the Iron Builder competition used the Track Switch 9V in yellow 19 times. He continues to outdo himself going up against Jonas Kramm, another gifted builder. Eli’s use of the Track Switch 9V balances function and form. They serve as the flippers, the flowers (dandelions?) in front of the barn, the handle on the ball shooter, and even the cabinet’s feet. It’s an egg-citing creation that takes our cheap chicken puns to the next level in this demo video. Check it out.

For any load, any road the 1950 GMC has everything!

I like it when a LEGO creation has me searching retro ads for title inspiration. This retro red slice of pickup truck heaven is brought to you by Dallen Powell. All the shapes and curves of the 1950 GMC are represented nicely with this model. I particularly like the hood and the door handles. That gascan in light gray can only be found in one DUPLO set, the 18808 Little Plane.

The open hood reveals the inline six in blue. The doors and tailgate open and this model seems to have steering capabilities as well. The 1950 GMC pickup is perfect for all your fruit, vegetable, and fishing needs. That last bit was not a line stolen from retro advertising but rather thought up on my own. Brilliant, right? I’ll be expecting mail from GMC soon. Whether it be a check or a cease and desist order at least I’ll be happy to know they’re thinking of me.

Who’s your favorite bounty hunter?

Although he may have started as a secondary role in the trilogy’s middle child, there’s no denying Boba Fett is the king of the Star Wars bounty hunters. LEGO versions of the man in Mandalorian armor abound, whether it’s an official helmet or BrickHeadz, or one of the myriad fan creations, we Star Wars fans can’t seem to get enough of Fett. And here with one more version that’s almost as cool as the caped mercenary himself is Letranger Absurde. This enormous brick-built figure stands more than a foot tall and has all the details right down to the braid over his right shoulder. Sadly, Letranger has released only this single image, so we can’t get a good look at one of Fett’s coolest tools: the jetpack.

Hut on the rocks

In an iconic early scene from the first Harry Potter book, poor uncle Vernon finally cracked when a veritable flood of letters came pouring down the chimney. He had the entire family leave the house to try and prevent contact from Hogwarts. However, upon staying in a gloomy hotel, he was shocked to see letters turn up there even. Eventually, he took his whole family to a hut on a small rock on the sea. This creation by gaylespiller, although not entirely “movie-accurate,” really manages to capture the scene perfectly in LEGO. The hut itself is made out of a brown framework built from bricks with a stud on one side. The gaps in this framework are filled in with brick tiles and plates of all sorts, creating an old, crooked, and weathered look.