Yearly Archives: 2020

The Mandalorian Mudhorn Showdown

With new LEGO Star Wars Mandalorian goodies finally making their way to store shelves this season, scenes from the popular streaming series are becoming easier to recreate. Builder Kevin on the other hand recreates an iconic and perhaps more difficult scene to remake out of some unusual LEGO elements.

While Kevin renders the terrain of the planet Arvala-7 pretty simply using plates and tiles, the most eye-catching components of this build are the creatures included; the Mudhorn as well as the child. The body of the mudhorn can be broken down into two segments: the brick-built head and the rest of the body which creatively makes use of the LEGO mammoth element. The most striking parts utilized in the mudhorn head build would be the 1×1 round tiles with eye prints and the grey claw shaft used for the horn.

Read on to see the brilliant model of The Child in more detail

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TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for September 12, 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 second week of September 2020.

The massive Star Wars Mos Eisley Cantina set is the latest in the LEGO Star Wars Master Builder Series. Keep reading our Brick Report to get all the details.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS: This week we got to see LEGO’s collaborations with Adidas and Levi’s come to fruition, got a feel for the new Harry Potter CMFs, took a peek at the new group of qualifying builds for LEGO Ideas, went on a Haunted Hayride and more!

- LEGO 40423 Halloween Hayride [Review] – The days are getting colder, and longer, the leaves are starting to turn, and that means it’s time to go on a Haunted Hayride!
- LEGO’s new collaboration with Levi’s uses Dots for customizable clothing – Soon you’ll be able to wear your LEGO on your sleeve thanks to LEGO’s new collaboration with Levi’s, which brings a line of customizable clothing utilizing the Dots theme.
- LEGO Collectible Minifigures 71028 Harry Potter Series 2 Feel Guide [Review] – Hunting for Harry Potter Series 2? Download our handy cheat sheet to help you find exactly the figures you want!

First Look: Unboxing of the LEGO and Adidas ZX 8000 sneaker collaboration – We get a first look at the unboxing of the LEGO Adidas ZX 8000 sneakers.
Will the rules of LEGO Ideas change with a large number of projects achieving 10,000 votes? – LEGO attributes the large number of submission and support votes to the current effect of the pandemic but may consider future changes.
This 3,000+ piece 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina is the next LEGO Star Wars Master Builder Series set – This place can be a little rough – LEGO announces the new 3,187-piece 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina set with a full set of images, including all 21 minifigures!

MORE TBB NEWS:

LEGO Ideas second 2020 Results breaks record with 35 fan submissions qualifying for productisation review – The LEGO Ideas second 2020 Review period has ended and a total of 35 amazing submissions had the votes to qualify for review.
Earn 150 LEGO VIP store points by answering a Harry Potter online quiz. – LEGO is giving away 150 VIP online points for simply answering a Harry Potter quiz correctly.

Colorful and delightful LEGO merchandise from Chronicle Books – Chronical Books has a range of LEGO merchandise ranging from journals, to puzzles and postcards that are well designed and eye-catching.
Free registration for LEGO House Fan Day event to be held on 24 September – LEGO House is back with a day of live sessions catered for the fan community to be held in September.

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:

Could your vintage Lego set pay the college fees?, Financial Times – The Brothers Brick’s own Chris Malloy contributed to this article about vintage LEGO prices.
Coolest Lego Set Ever? The Story Behind The 3,662-Piece Grand Piano, Forbes – Forbes interviews the designer of the Grand Piano Ideas Set.
Chinese ‘copycats’ of LEGO sentenced for copyright infringement, Global Times – Nine people in Shanghai were sentenced up to six years in prison on Wednesday for infringing on the copyright of Danish toymaker LEGO, as China looks to take strict measures to protect intellectual property.
Disguise Announces LEGO ‘Star Wars’ Costumes,License Global – The first-ever LEGO “Star Wars” costumes are officially launching.
The LEGO Group’s Samuel Johnson on Seinfeld, Voltron and LEGO Art , Play Creator’s Conference – How do you become a LEGO designer? What goes into turning classic TV shows like Seinfeld into a LEGO set? And what inspired LEGO Art range, the firm’s new line of sets that allow fans to create LEGO pop art masterpieces?

A very stable genius

A builder who goes by the name of Ayrlego has constructed a LEGO scene depicting a peaceful stable. He tells us that Lacryma, with its rolling plains and temperate climate, has become famous for the quality of the horses bred there. In the settlement of Elizabethville, many stables such as this one were built to house both the equines and their human companions. I would love to live in this world for a little while and maybe brush the horses and banter with the townsfolk. The word for how I feel about this is anemoia, a nostalgia for a time and a place I’ve never known. Are you feeling a bit of anemoia too? It turns out this builder is quite good at evoking feelings for a time and a place we’ve never been to. I hope you can check out the archives to see what I mean.

Could Bellatrix be a Disney Princess?

To me, the scene where Bellatrix Lestrange escapes from the Azkaban prison always looked like it was filmed in black and white. Everything looks grey, dark and gloomy. Even Helena Bonham Carter looked a bit grey. To me, it depicts what a wretched place it is. Most of the prisoners there die of despair, having lost the will to live. This is due to the presence of the Dementors guarding the island, draining people of all happiness, and leaving them with their worst memories. Long-term exposure usually leads to insanity and even death. Kale Frost depicts Bellatrix in her LEGO prison and everything is a different shade of grey. The only splash of ‘colour’ is the brown mouse and the white bedsheets. Although only grey bricks were used for the walls of the prison Kale managed to make them look interesting and intricate thanks to all the different bricks he used to add texture. However, the Bellatrix figure looks perfectly happy between her four prison walls.

A nice armored addition to your caravan

When you are venturing into potentially hostile territory and you don’t want your team to be vulnerable to an ambush, better bring the right tool for the job, like this light armored vehicle by Robson M which sports some heavy plating to keep your crew in one piece. The vehicle has some great details, like the hinge plates used for the forward hatch covers, and dual antennas for calling in reinforcements.

Besides the main canon, there’s also a top-mounted.30 caliber machine gun, judging by the stacked profile bricks on the back, with custom stickers. Plus, there’s even a shovel for digging a grave for your enemies, or a less glorious but still much-needed latrine, for your other business.

Containment breach

There’s been a slew of stunning LEGO builds recently that is based on the work of conceptual artists and I, for one, am thrilled. My case in point; this neat creation by Bart De Dobbelaer is called Containment Breach and is inspired by the work of Francesco Lorenzetti. Here is the specific reference material. Bart makes great use of color and composition to replicate the unsettling feel of Francesco’s piece. The fearsome red creature is nestled in the shadows and stands out in stark contrast against gray, white, and black. As one commenter on his Flickr stream puts it, “This is classic Bart” and well…I have to agree. Here’s another recent creation by Bart to show you what they mean.

On the shores of the sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-Earth

The bittersweet ending of The Lord of the Rings is a scene that impacted many readers and viewers such as myself. It is the last we see of our beloved heroes after so many trials and tribulations in their story. In this scene, our heroes join the elves on a boat departing Middle-Earth to “a far green country under a swift sunrise.” Many see this as an allegory for death and the journey beyond, whether it be heaven or something else. Like Bilbo, I like to think of this in a more optimistic way: a new adventure in an unfamiliar land. JNJ Bricks captured the moment in the Grey Havens right before their departure in a striking, immersive LEGO scene.

The minifigures of Frodo, Gandalf, and the hobbits stand in the foreground, out of focus and facing away. The elves wait by the boat, ready to take them on their journey out of the completely brick-built harbour. LEGO parts make up everything in this scene, from the water to the sunset sky between the cliffs. My favourite detail, the arches, and towers across the water look just like the movie, despite being so small. The boat, being grey, is distinct enough to not blend into the background. The accuracy of this scene invokes the same emotion in me as I experience while reading the book or watching the movie. Now I am in the mood for some of Tolkien’s poetry…

This mosaic is a Wonder (Woman) [Feature]

A little while ago, Alyse Middleton and I (Chris Doyle) shared the process behind our Wonder Woman LEGO Art mosaic. We didn’t have the time (or parts) to finish our vision then, but as promised we’ve returned to share the completed project – a 48 x 144 stud tribute to Lynda Carter. Consuming over 7000 pieces, (6,912 of them 1×1 round plate/tile), this has the same form-factor as the giant Darth Vader and Iron Man “Ultimate” builds.

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A shrine to all raised baseplates

LEGO raised baseplates–some builders love them and some hate them. Personally I love seeing builders innovatively integrate raised baseplates into their creations and Sebastian Arts does just that with his build of an East Asian-styled temple sitting upon the raised baseplate from the LEGO Knights Kingdom theme dating back to the 2000s.

Click to see more of this creation

Werehyena is no laughing matter

What could be more frightening than being chased by a monster that is part human, and part predator? One that tends to laugh maniacally all the while! Yannick Godts has created a wonderfully detailed monster to give any werewolf a run for its money. The use of the dark tan-colored palm leaves makes the perfect ruff on the werehyena’s back, while a red hand is a great way to show the lolling tongue.

Not all Blackbirds are black

Starting in the sixties, the CIA and the US Air Force operated a fleet of Lockheed Blackbird reconnaissance aircraft. At first, the aircraft were top secret, but over the years a lot of information has become unclassified. They were spectacular. Even now many of their speed and altitude records remain unbroken.

The most famous Blackbird is the SR-71 and those indeed were all black, as their name implies. However, some of the SR-71’s older relatives were not black at all or only partially black. My latest model represents one of these: the sole surviving M-21. This was a version intended to launch a ramjet-powered D-21 reconnaissance drone. The model is minifig scale (roughly 1/40), can seat a pilot and launch control officer under two separate cockpit canopies, and carries a model of the D-21 on its back.

Most of the outside of the real jet consists of unpainted metal. I like that it is not actually black; a lot of the details are much more visible that way. The aircraft still exists and is on display at the Museum of Flight, in Seattle, where I saw it during a trip to Washington State back in 2016. I also find the history of this particular version fascinating. To me it was the obvious Blackbird to build for my own LEGO aircraft collection.
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LEGO’s new collaboration with Levi’s uses Dots for customizable clothing [News]

LEGO’s new collaboration with clothing brand Levi’s is the next step for the Dots theme introduced early this year. Teased last week, the new clothing line for adults and kids will feature small patches of material similar to the LEGO Dots bracelets sewn onto a variety of jackets, hats, accessories, and of course, denim jeans. The small patches of studs can then be adorned with LEGO elements drawn from the Dots theme. The brands are being shy about details as yet, though, with no word on the specific pricing or when you can expect to be able to purchase them. LEGO has also recently unveiled a collaboration with athletic brand Adidas.

Click to check out the full press release and more images