Thanks to the US retailer Barnes and Noble, the official pictures of the newest LEGO Super Heroes set, 76182 Batman Cowl, are finally here. A 410-piece set, designed in the style and format similar to the recently announced 76199 Carnage bust, will retail for US $60. Regional prices and precise availability dates are yet to be confirmed, but we expect the set to go on sale as soon as late April.
Our readers of Greek descent can rejoice. Talented LEGO builder George Panteleon is celebrating the 200th anniversary of the 1821 Greek Revolution against the Ottoman Empire in style.
Theodoros Kolokotronis was a prominent military leader and one of the key figures of the Greek Revolution. Frankly, I had to Google him but once I did I had learned that George’s rendition is spot on! The mustache, long gray hair, and helmet are particularly inspiring but my favorite detail is the gold filigree on his jacket. He tackles the gentle slope of the shoulders; not an easy feat in LEGO. Even his epaulets accurately depict the gold lion crest that the real revolutionist wore. George is well-versed as a builder and no stranger to our pages. Check out our archives to see for yourself.
LEGO Ideas blog has just published the results of the most recent building competition. The Out of this World Space Builds contest was all about spaceships and space exploration, with entries between 150 and 250-piece large. First, the panel of judges evaluated all the entries based on their originality, use of elements, and other criteria. The 15 entries selected by the judges proceeded to the fan vote stage. The winning entry will be turned into the next LEGO Ideas gift-with-purchase set, so today, we learned what to expect in LEGO stores next.
There are very few things that are more “Classic 80’s” than the WALKMAN. When it came out, it was the birth of compact tech that allowed you to easily bring your music with you anywhere. We take it for granted today, but it was fairly novel at the time. Along with it came a new era of music. Digital recording allowed for electronic effects, which has shaped the majority of popular music today. LEGO builder Jarek Książczyk (Jerac) pays homage to one of the icons that started it all, with this excellent scale model of the Sony WALKMAN.
What makes this retro build most awesome is the fact that the player opens up to hold a “cassette.” Additionally, he snuck in some electronics to make it seem like it actually is functional.
While you’re here, check out some of Jerac’s other great builds, including Mando’s Razor Crest!
Most people who have spent much time around the LEGO fan community have at some point encountered the phenomenon known as SHIPtember, that crazy building challenge every September to construct a spaceship that is at least 100 studs in some dimension (a SHIP being a seriously huge investment in parts). But what if it isn’t September, and you only want to build a spaceship that’s exactly 99 studs in length, featuring copious amounts of teal? Well, then you must be Markus Rollbühler. And then you build something like the Liu’s Inspiration to celebrate your new challenge month, MARCHtember.
Yes, I know, MARCHtember doesn’t make sense. Markus knows it, too. But it gets the point across, I suppose. And speaking of points, the large disassembled lime catamaran hulls make for some great greebly forward bits. And then there’s the teal: teal hot air balloons, and teal 3×3 dice, and just too many other teal elements for Mark Stafford’s peace of mind. But it couldn’t be inspired by Simon Liu without teal.
In the beginning, there were just troubling shades of grey. But then there was an industrial accident of some sort. And then OSHA came along. And then the company had some heavy fines levied against it as they refused to install adequate safety railings. At least, I think that’s the story this scene by Mark van der Maarel is telling us. There’s probably more to it. But whatever happened, LEGO minifigures were never quite the same ever again. There are lots of fun details here, but my favorite has to be the X-Pod lid that forms the base of the yellow pool. That splash is pretty sweet, too.
This creation uses only 51 elements, easily qualifying it for the 101-max requirement of the RogueOlympics. There have been a lot of great builds coming out of that contest, so be sure to check out our archives for even more quality minimal-part creations!
When LEGO announced the first wave of Star Wars helmets many of our readers may have been scratching their heads over the 18+ age rating and the fancy black packaging as LEGO had only recently begun building their adult portfolio. Also notably absent from this line of iconic helmets was perhaps the most iconic helmet of all, the Dark Lord of the Sith himself, Darth Vader. Well, LEGO has corrected this with wave 2 of the Helmets Collection. It includes the ominous visage of 75304 Darth Vader, along with 75305 Scout Trooper, the Stormtrooper variant first seen on the forest moon of Endor, the lightly armored Scout Trooper. The new helmets include 834 and 471 piece respectively, and have price tags of US $69.99 | CAN $99.99 | UK £59.99 (Darth Vader) and US $49.99 | CAN $69.99 | UK £44.99 (Scout Trooper). Both sets will be available for pre-order from March 25th, 2021 from LEGO.com and other retailers, and on general sale globally from April 26th.
Don’t miss our review of 75306 Imperial Probe Droid as well!
The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
Following the early view of the spring 2021 LEGO Star Wars sets published on Walmart.com this week, LEGO has now officially unveiled these three new sets targeted at adult builders and collectors. In addition to continuing the Star Wars Helmets series with new 75304 Darth Vader Helmet and 75305 Scout Trooper Helmet sets, LEGO will also be releasing a completely new, large-scale 75306 Imperial Probe Droid sculpture.
Last week, we spoke with the LEGO Star Wars design team about all three of these sets, as well as some upcoming sets that have not yet been fully revealed. Read on for some extra info we heard straight from the design team!
Read all the available details about these new LEGO Star Wars sets
In the Star Wars universe, the bad guys often have the coolest toys. In A New Hope, it was Star Destroyers and the Death Star, and with the release of The Empire Strikes Back it was the AT-AT. But one of the first new characters appears in the movie as the Empire searches the galaxy for signs of the Rebel scum that destroyed the Death Star. I am, of course, talking about the Viper Probe droid, launched from the Imperial fleet and scattered across the stars in their pods. From the moment we first saw the technological terror rising out of the snowbank, turning its multi-eyed head and unfolding its arms like some kind of evil jellyfish, it was clear that the Empire would stop at nothing to find the rebels. Joining the collectible helmets in the new 18+ line of LEGO sets, the Imperial Probe Droid is finally available at a scale that does the source material justice. 75306 Imperial Probe Droid includes 683 pieces and will retail for US $59.99 | CAN $79.99 | UK £59.99. It is available for pre-order now, and will be available starting April 26.
The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
I had a Venus Flytrap once. I bought it when I had an infestation of fruitflies several years back. Or were they mayflies? I don’t know, I didn’t ask. Either my flytrap was fussy or they’re not that into fruitflies (or mayflies) because it really wasn’t the fly kill-fest I hoped for. But this LEGO Mars Flytrap by Linus Bohman is the stuff of B-Movie nightmares. It’s big enough to eat cars and it doesn’t seem fussy at all. The Mars Flytrap is expertly crafted with plant bits and I just love that horrific gaping maw. Oh, and before you flood the comment section with what’s LEGO and what isn’t, it’s all LEGO. Yep, even the cars! They’re from a series of LEGO HO Scale offerings from the ’50s and ’60s and are now worth a mint. Tasty!
If you ever thought to yourself while building a Batman LEGO set, these bat-a-rangs are neat and all, but they’re not much use, Dan Ko has a masterclass lesson for you in thinking about a specific part in a whole new way. This miniature ballerina made from just 30 parts, is a stunning example. The bat-a-rang slots perfectly in-between a grill, and the black gear makes an amazing dress. Considering the base makes up more than half of the parts used, the dancer is a true study in minimalist design.
But that’s not all. Dan includes the parts used, so if you are feeling brave, you can attempt to build your own version.
LEGO’s big cloth pieces are certainly among the odder bits to use in a creation, and it’s always interesting seeing how clever builders can incorporate them. Marius Herrmann says that the cloth was indeed the inspiration behind this techno samurai robot, which uses the cape from the large buildable Chirrut Îmwe figure from Star Wars. Although Marius says the design was cheekily a ploy to see how little LEGO building they could get away with, the exposed arms and head are nevertheless quite fantastic, with a great mix of elements. Altogether, it reminds me of something that Arasaka would have built in Cyberpunk 2077.
