Yearly Archives: 2020

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for December 26, 2020

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 December 2020.

We review the Transfiguration class from the upcoming Hogwarts Moments sets. Keep reading our Brick Report to get all the details.

TBB NEWS & REVIEWS: This week we returned to Hogwarts for a Transfiguration lesson from Professor McGonagall and we have our shortlist together for our annual Brothers Brick Creation of the Year!

TBB ADVENT CALENDAR REVIEWS: Happy holidays to all of our fellow LEGO builders! As is tradition, we at The Brothers Brick will be opening our advent calendars as we count down to Christmas. We’ll also be sharing commentary on each one, which will be both insightful and hilarious!

  • 2020 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 19
  • 2020 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 20
  • 2020 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 21
  • 2020 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 22
  • 2020 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 23
  • 2020 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 24
  • 2020 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 25

    • 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:

    What’s cooler than being cool? Ice cold!

    Dutch LEGO builder Koen Zwanenburg takes us back to 2002 (well, 1993, really) with this ice cool Mini Ice Planet 2002 diorama. All the great sets from the pivotal early nineties theme is represented here. We have the Blizzard Baron Ice-Sat V, the Deep Freeze Defender and finally Ice Station Odyssey. And just when you thought it couldn’t get any cooler, the whole shebang is built into a cohesive diorama reminiscant of the theme’s box art. It’s cooler than being cool and ice cold indeed! Here’s all the other times we were smitten by all things Ice Planet 2002.

    Mini Ice Planet 2002

    LEGO Chinese Festival 80106 Story of Nian [Review]

    In Chinese mythology, the Nian is a monster who emerges at the end of the year to terrorize villages. Luckily, it’s a cowardly beast. Red lanterns and robes, combined with a healthy dose of explosive fireworks, are enough to drive it away for another year.  LEGO brings this myth to life in LEGO 80106 Story of Nian, part of their Chinese Spring Festival theme. This set was announced back in November at the 3rd China International Import Exhibition, and will be available to buy on January 10th, 2021.  Containing 1067 pieces and retailing for US $79.99 | CAN $109.99 | UK £59.99, this set has six minifigures, a village playset, and the Nian itself. That sounds pretty cool, but can it appeal to a wide audience? Let’s take close look and see just what all the fuss is about!

    The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

    Click to read the full hands-on review

    Christmas stories in a galaxy far, far away

    T’was the night before Lifeday and all through the galaxy, not a creature was stirring, except…except…ah heck, nothing rhymes with galaxy! Andreas Lenander re-imagines the storybook scene set with a Star Wars twist, showing Lord Vader reading a heart-warming tale of the treacherous Rebellion, and that fateful night when they destroyed his favorite battle station.

    Merry christmas!

    LEGO Chinese Festival 80107 Spring Lantern Festival [Review]

    I think we can all agree that 2020 was a rough year. Here at the tail end of things, it feels like I’m constantly on the lookout for cheerful things.  Luckily, there are few distractions sweeter to me than looking over a brand new LEGO set. And when that set ties into a fresh and hopeful outlook for 2021? So much the better! LEGO 80107 Spring Lantern Festival was announced at the 3rd China International Import Exhibition, and will be available to buy on January 10th, 2021.  It’s not technically a New Years themed set, as the Spring Lantern Festival occurs, oddly enough, in the spring. (But just work with me, here.) This set set is part of the Chinese Festival theme, includes 1793 pieces, and will retail for US $119.99 | CAN $159.99 | UK £89.99. It has eight minifigures, two modular Festival areas, and even a light up Ox Lantern statue. Sound fun? Read on and see for yourself!

    The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

    Click to read the full hands-on review

    How to build your own LEGO snowman [Instructions]

    Building a convincing minifig-scale snowman is a challenge, even for the pros. We’ve seen a few odd ones in previous LEGO Advent Calendars, that’s for sure. But once we go to a more medium-scale, Tiago Catarino shows us that it only takes a few common pieces to build a snowman perfect as a seasonal decoration, ornament, or something to keep around all year long.

    Click here to view the instructions to Tiago’s snowman build!

    Bearing gifts, we traverse afar

    Many of us know the story of the birth of Jesus. We’ve seen the Nativity scene possibly hundreds of times in our lives, whether it be in storybook illustrations, our own simple scene set up on a fireplace mantle, or an elaborate life-sized diorama adorned in lights. As familiar as this may be to some of us, we still get a kick out of it when someone does the scene justice in LEGO. This year a builder by the name of byMartin dazzles us with this well-detailed rendition featuring The Three Wisemen bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the newborn king. I’m particularly loving the thatched roof of the manger cleverly constructed from tan Technic pins. This scene truly takes us back to over two-thousand years in Bethlehem. I can just about hear the camels braying and the sand rustling gently under their feet.

    2020 Nativity

    Regardless of which religion you may or may not follow, it is nice to be reminded occasionally that goodwill towards others is an important and beautiful thing. From all of us here at The Brothers Brick, we hope you have a joyous holiday season and a festive and fruitful new year.

    2020 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 25

    Merry Christmas, everyone! Hopefully today is one of the best days of 2020 and that you unwrapped several LEGO sets from under the tree.

    We wanted to share a few more insights into this year’s LEGO advent calendars before the holiday season ended. These include leftover parts, minifigure collections and scenic displays that you can make with your advent calendar. Let’s jump in, shall we?

    Continue reading →

    Feeling blue? So are these monkeys.

    The Temple of Twin Monkeys by Caleb Saw has nice part usage, but also a hefty dollop of mystery. For example, just what are these twin guardians protecting? (My guess is the legendary great lost shipment of Blue Food Dye #2.) The use of grill tiles for fingers works really well, and I like how their use as toes melds into the pedestals. The repeated use of 2×2 dome-bottom bricks for mouth adds uniformity and a touch of sculptural feel to idols, too, while the eyes are some excellently used train wheels. The temple itself has some great details in the curved stonework at the base, and the lines and leafy overgrowth give things a sense of age and neglect. If you came across this temple, would you explore it? Or would it be better not to monkey around?

    Temple of Twin Monkeys

    For what it’s worth, there is an animal called a blue monkey, but they’re not quite this vibrant. Personally, I’d like to see more creative takes like this so we can buff up our LEGO monkey archives. So go get to building!

    Shortlist announced for The Brothers Brick LEGO Creation of the Year 2020 [News]

    For fifteen years The Brothers Brick has been highlighting the finest LEGO creations, and while 2020 hasn’t been the year any of us might have expected, it has still seen the global community of builders put together some amazing models. To celebrate ongoing creativity during a challenging period, The Brothers Brick team has taken a look back over the last 12 months and pulled together our selection of the best LEGO creations of 2020 for our fifth annual LEGO Creation of the Year award.

    Take a look at the fantastic models we’ve shortlisted, and stay tuned for the announcement of our LEGO Creation of the Year 2020 on New Year’s Eve!

    Be sure to check out the LEGO Creation of the Year 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016 to see what honourable company this year’s nominations are keeping.

    Click to see all of 2020’s nominees

    The Child is all we want for Christmas, really

    Disney+ has done a phenomenal thing with Star Wars: The Mandalorian. They’ve satisfied seasoned fans while also bringing in younger viewers, a feat that the newest Skywalker saga movies struggled with. The driving force uniting viewers both young and old is sometimes called by the chronologically inaccurate moniker of “Baby Yoda”, though some go with “The Child”, and others go by his newly revealed and more spoiler-y name. Whatever you call him, Pascal Hetzel gives us what we’re all after with his latest LEGO creation. He’s taken the official set, 75318 The Child, and given it a Santa outfit. Add a festively ornamented Christmas tree with presents and you pretty much have the formula for success right there! From all of us at The Brothers Brick, here’s hoping your holiday season is as happy and bright as this little guy here.

    Lego Baby Yoda Christmas ????

    Before you go, be sure to check out Pascal’s other work and our other Christmas posts in our archives.

    2020 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 24

    Happy holidays to all of our fellow LEGO builders! As is tradition, we at The Brothers Brick have been opening our advent calendars as we count down to Christmas, which is tomorrow! Today, we’re opening the final door, but we’ll be back once more when we’ll be showcasing a final roundup of the calendars tomorrow.

    Thank you to all those who have celebrated with us so far. Now, let’s open door 24!

    Continue reading →