Yearly Archives: 2020

Is Unikitty a Disney Princess?

Sure, you might recognize this build by Koen Zwanenburg as a mini version of the Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland Paris. But if you imprinted on The LEGO Movie like I did, this looks like Unikitty bought and redecorated Cinderella’s castle. And that’s not a bad thing. (Well, maybe for Cinderella.) Built on a 32 x 32 baseplate, Koen has crammed an enormous amount of detail and creativity into a compact footprint. There are little rewards all over for taking a close look, like spotting a Gungan shield as decoration, or recognizing bunches of golden ski poles as turret toppers.

There are even more building Easter eggs on rear of the castle. Can you spot the hot dogs and unprinted minifigure heads?

All in all, it’s a masterful effort, and an impressive display piece. But we’ve come to expect that level of “wow” from Koen, as a trip into our archives will show.

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TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for September 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 September 2020.

Baby Yoda is back and bigger than ever in our review of the new 1,000-piece set that will launch with The Mandalorian Season 2.

TBB NEWS, REVIEWS AND FEATURES: Over the past week we reviewed the newly announced Baby Yoda and got to go a hands-on with two new Christmas sets: the Elf Club House and the Seasonal Wreath. We also got a first look at the upcoming UCS-style 1989 Batwing.

LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian 75318 The Child Review – There’s no denying the popularity of Baby Yoda, but when we saw the box for this giant buildable figure we weren’t too sure about it. But after building it we’re completely won over.
LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian 75318 The Child Press Release – Check out LEGO’s official images and press release, along with release dates and more
LEGO Winter Village Collection 10275 Elf Club House Review – What are Santa’s elves getting up to when they’re not wrapping presents? Find out in our review of this lovely cottage club house!
LEGO Winter Village Collection 10275 Elf Club House Press Release – Check out LEGO’s official images and press release, along with release dates and more
LEGO Holiday 40426 Seasonal Wreath Review – The decorative set doesn’t just build a standard Christmas wreath, but it can also become an Advent wreath adorned with candles.
LEGO Batman 76161 1989 Batwing Press Release – Check out LEGO’s official images and press release, along with release dates and more

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:

Continue reading →

Shazam’s Mister Mind

Tim Lydy surprises us with his LEGO Mister Mind build. Not being familiar with the source material, I thought at first it was just a cute little caterpillar. But I was sadly misinformed, this is none other than DC’s most evil and devious villain Mister Mind, an alien worm and the nemesis to Shazam. I was drawn to this creation because I really enjoy it when something really small gets turned into an upscaled LEGO model. (Keep in mind, I still thought this was just a mere caterpillar.) The body is made of a bunch of projectile disks on what I presume is a piece of flex tubing. The head is made of the insect cap headgear and the butt is a sport helmet with vent holes. The eyes are quite cleverly made of two minidoll necklaces. Did you spot the paperclip on the floor?

You may feel a slight prick

Have you ever had the feeling that your mind and body has been taken over by time-traveling extraterrestrial beings for the purpose of one day inheriting the Earth? No? Wow, I don’t even know how to respond to that other than you people are a bunch of weirdos! A LEGO builder who surely knows the gentle mind-touch of a Yithian is Ivan Martynov, which definitely isn’t weird so don’t get that idea in your heads. To be clear, this is a computer render as evidenced by a few of these parts in non-production colors but to the likes of Ivan and me, this is instantly recognizable. He tells us that “there lies upon this world of man a mocking and incredible shadow out of time.” Indeed, Ivan. Indeed. Still not attuned to our wavelength? Then just let Ivan and I have our knowing nods. Remember, you people are the weirdos, not us.

But if you’re totally jibing with what we’re into, then you may want to submit your delicious minds and check out some of Ivan’s other creations.

A trio of South American birds [Instructions]

You don’t have to be a birdwatcher to appreciate this collection of South American birds by Luis Peña. Each South American bird is built from between 35-55 LEGO pieces and would look great on your display shelf, desk, or bookshelf.

First is the Black-necked swan, which swims on a small stand of water.

Check out more instructions from Luis

Not the first rodeo for this Bronco

There is a golden rule of vehicles: If it exists in real life, then it exists as someone’s LEGO creation. This medium-sized Technic off-roader by Anton Kablash is a model of a car that does not exist… yet. A recently announced next-generation Ford Bronco, set to release in 2021, is a modern take on a classic SUV. While retaining its iconic boxy shape, the new model has a futuristic take on the front grille and headlights of the original vehicle. Anton captures the design with pinpoint accuracy using mostly Technic parts with a few of the usual plates, slopes, and tiles thrown in between.

As with the real vehicle, I am drawn to the simple, minimalist design of this vehicle. The clean lines form a box that is aesthetically pleasing rather than boring. The only curves are where it matters – the wheel arches and the frame around the headlights. My favourite is the hood, which Anton constructed from tiles and curved slopes rather than Technic parts. The windows and roof in black offer a nice contrast from the white body, and I particularly like the inclusion of mounted spotlights.

Underneath a clean white livery with openable doors, hood, and trunk, there are as many functions as a large-scale supercar. The working steering connects to both a steering wheel and a “hand of god” gear on the roof. The rear wheel connects to an inline four-cylinder engine in the front, and all the wheels have high-clearance suspension. On top of it all, the chassis and exterior are separate modules.

You kids and your TikTok!

I fancy myself as too old and too unhip for TikTok. With that said, LEGO meme builder and Brothers Brick alumni Iain Heath is a few years older than me and probably already on the AARP mailing list. Yet somehow he has his middle-aged finger on the up-to-the-minute pulse of what the crazy kids are into on TikTok. You may have heard that the Tweeter in Chief nearly banned TikTok for new American subscribers as recently as last Sunday but apparently has since struck up a lucrative business deal that’ll maybe put the ban on hold and thus somehow TikTok is no longer a national threat. Thank giblets for progress, right? Thankfully Iain already has an account and can clue the rest of us in on what we’re missing. Presenting TikTok sensation Bella Poarch whose schtick is apparently making faces to the beat of Techno tunes. Check out Iain’s 10-second video to get in on all the fun. Your lives will most certainly be enriched.

Dearly departed...

Call me weird, but given the money and space I’d make a classic hearse as my daily driver. I already have the somber disposition down pat, and when not sweating gravy during the summer I can pull off a black suit with some semblance of charm and poise. I’m no expert on the matter but by the looks of the fins and taillights I’d say this LEGO creation by Plastic Pauper is representative of a ’58 or ’59 Cadillac. That is some automotive excellence right there! The coffin is also well-built. The neat thing about hearses is that, for some of us, it marks the first and only time we get to ride in a fancy car. What, too soon? I’ll just let myself out now.

Look at this stuff. Isn’t it neat? Wouldn’t you think my collection’s complete?

If you don’t recognise it, the title is a small excerpt of Part of Your World from Disney’s The Little Mermaid. (It’s also something I’ve never heard an adult fan of LEGO say when describing their collection.) Builder Konoyaro used the Disney movie as an inspiration for this creation and it looks stunning! The best part about this has to absolutely be the vibrant colours. Konoyaro used a lot of parts introduced in the Friends and Elves sets for the coral reef. Look how cute Sebastian and Flounder are on this scale. Small but still very recognisable. The award for best part used goes to the knit caps used as a shell bikini top. And I am really curious to how posable this figure is. It looks like it has joints in all the right places.

LEGO car crash? Just rebuild it!

LEGO builder Matthew Terentev built an amazing Technic replica of a 70s-era Russian station wagon, the GAZ-24, and then he crashed it. The result is this fascinating depiction of a crashed LEGO car, which is something that even after years of featuring LEGO models here on The Brothers Brick I haven’t seen done well more than a few times. Rather than just being a partially disassembled pile of bricks, you can tell exactly how the front-right impact crumpled the hood and bumper of this racer.

What’s even more unusual is for a LEGO car to have a story. But Matthew didn’t just build the crashed Gaz-24. Instead, he gives us its whole life as a car, starting with the original, factory spec wagon.

Click to see more of the LEGO Gaz-24

This harp plucks at our heartstrings

Ten minutes ago if you would have told me a LEGO baroque harp would have been the best thing I’ve seen all day, I’d respond with “you must be hitting the nipperkin”, or some other clever 17th-century phrase denoting my disbelief. Now ten minutes have passed and here we are. This is pretty much the best thing I’ve seen all day. It comes from a builder aptly named Vincent’s LEGO Creation. I’m in awe of the intricate detailing, the filigree, which is nearly entirely monochromatic. To see this in person would certainly be a sight to behold. It conjures up images of fancy lords in pantaloons and powdered wigs, ladies in hoop skirts and heaving bosoms, and both with questionable grooming practices. No, it’s true! I’ve read books on the matter. You don’t want to know! Anyway, this is a thing of beauty.

If only we had more photos, we’d feature multiple shots of this from every angle. But for now, we have but this one image and the hope that we’ll see more creations from this builder again soon.

Rescue from the Merpeople

Rescue from the Merpeople was released in 2005, that’s right, 15 years ago! It was a small build but it contained 5 unique figures. It was the first set, and still one of the only sets, containing sleepy faced minifigurs. On top of that LEGO gave us their first mermaid minifigure. Whether or not you think the mermaid is pretty is a matter of taste. In 15 years a lot has changed in the world of LEGO and Caleb Schilling shows us a peek of what the set might look like if LEGO would ever decide to redesign it. I am really fond of the demure use of colour in this creation. The only vibrant colour comes from the vegetation and some of the characters’ outfits. The base is especially well made, showing little to no studs. The skirts on Hermoine and Cho further add to the flowing underwater feel of this creation.