Monthly Archives: March 2021

Only the worthy can build this LEGO Thor’s Hammer

Truly, LEGO builder car_mp must be worthy, because this life-size version of Mjolnir, Thor’s Hammer, looks ready to demolish some dark elves or maybe just pin Thanos to the ground. Although it’s not a complex technique, the stacked brown and grey elements look great for the banded leather handle, while the smoothly tiled hammerhead itself seems to have the proper heft. Indeed, no doubt most of the 765-piece model’s complex building techniques are hidden deep within because it’s no small feat to get such a large weight to stay on the handle like that and not immediately fall off. The builder notes that it can be hefted, but does require some care.

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Diamonds on the water are falling from the sun

Those are lyrics from a song by Enya that I was listening to when I saw this diamond-shaped spaceship build by Roanoke Handybuck. This build is very fitting to Enya’s music, as both are beautiful, ethereal, and simultaneously dark and light. The spaceship is bright, smooth, with just enough greebling, and is adorned with gold cannons, antennae, and engines. The shaping is definitely alien; not scary and menacing, but rather welcoming and beautiful. With a small yellow frog as the pilot, I doubt this poses a threat. I like to imagine the frog is also listening to Enya inside the cockpit.

The builder packed this small ship full of interesting techniques to give it a unique look. The end connections of croissants form 45º angles with rounded edges, so that the diamond shape of the ship isn’t too sharp. A smooth windscreen that sits flush on top of the ship, and blends well with the smooth surface. The bright ship hovers above a dark maze, which provides a contrast between vehicle and the environment. The end result is truly a work of art. It makes me want to listen to Enya’s music, hoping the spaceship I build will be just as beautiful.

A cozy ski chalet with a working lift [Video]

Jason Allemann typically builds kinetic sculptures without minifigures in mind. But this time, he’s decided to come at it from the little guys’ perspective! The most recent addition to the JK Brickworks collection is a cute little LEGO ski chalet. Now it’s time to hit the slopes, so come with us as we take a tour!

In general, it has lots of character and fun details, but the most prominent feature is, of course, the lift. When the skier is placed at the bottom, the mechanism effortlessly carries the figure to the top of the slope. It’s a slick mechanism, and the only thing that would make it better would be if the skier came back around on his own to be picked up again.

Click to see more of this build and watch the whole video.

LEGO Gift With Purchase – 40449 Easter Bunny’s Carrot House [Review]

For the past several years around this time, LEGO has offered an Easter-themed Gift with Purchase. This year proves no different. Well, maybe a little different. It is a new set, after all. This year’s perk is 40449 Easter Bunny’s Carrot House, a 231-piece set featuring a cute little bunny and a single-room carrot-based home. It will be available with purchases over $60 from March 15th until April 5th, or while a supplies last. Is it worth potentially filling your cart with a few extra items to hit the required total? Let’s take a look and see!

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

Who needs a hawk or falcon when you have a dragon?

Falconry – the practice of training birds of prey to hunt with/for humans – is an ancient tradition. For centuries, we’ve revered raptors. And in popular culture, movies captivate us with images of both medieval and tribal figures sharing relationships with these fierce birds. But perhaps in another, more magical world, dragons fill the role. Ever-talented LEGO builder Joss Woodyard has brought the chief of some distant culture to life, along with his small, fiery beast. Who said dragons have to be giant?

As always, with Jayfa’s builds, the character is clad in awesome elements (love those dark red spikes!) and stands in a commanding pose. Of course, the best part is the ode to the original LEGO Castle dragons with the red and green motif. While you’re here, check out more of Jayfa’s recent builds, and see if you can find the common element between them.

Baby Greedo shot first

I have felt a disturbance in the force. As if millions of voices cried out “that’s so cute!”, “did Baby Greedo shoot first?”, and “Baby Han is better than Baby Yoda!” It is certainly an adorable homage to a classic scene from Star Wars, as built by Ross Fisher. Here, Baby Greedo confronts Baby Han at blaster-point about a very serious space baby matter, probably something about baby Han stealing Baby Jabba’s favourite sweets.

While being a small and simple build, the choice of baby figures and their positioning is top notch. Baby Greedo’s head placed on a Baby Yoda torso makes him appear small and feisty, which is very in character. Baby Han is just Han’s hairdo placed on a baby-minidoll, and with that minidoll face, Baby Han displays a level of nonchalance evocative of Harrison Ford’s iconic portrayal of the famous scoundrel. The carton of blue milk on the cantina table is definitely the icing on the cake. Not only does it fits the babyfied Mos Eisley Cantina, but it’s also a product of Tatooinian livestock.

And the LEGO Oscar goes to...

This creation byJohn Snyder might reek a little bit of garbage. And that’s just the way we like him! It’s everyone’s favorite grouch, Oscar from Sesame Street. I am so glad to see that this rendition of Oscar in LEGO does the character justice. He looks fuzzy and hairy thanks to the abundance of wire connectors and some leaves. He is sporting his classic brown monobrow which makes him look extra grouchy. John even went as far as to use LEGO packaging to create all the garbage. Most of the non-brick parts in this shot, are produced by or for LEGO. Can you identify where they came from?

Spotlight on Mel Caddick, LEGO designer of the 40450 Amelia Earhart Tribute [Feature]

Melody Caddick or better known in the community as Mel Caddick is a prominent LEGO designer who has worked on or designed creations for a number of sought-after Gift Promotions issued with LEGO purchases. The demand for the Gift-With-Promotions not only has its allure of being a scarcity and something which cannot be purchased off the shelves but also for the unique one-off design concepts and themes that do not need to fit within the current design themes of any given LEGO set in production.

Click to read the full interview

LEGO DOTS 41931 Extra DOTS – Series 4: Making Faces [Review]

It feels like it was just yesterday (Okay, it was January) when we took a look at the Extra DOTS series 3 packs. But LEGO has gone rapid-release on us, and now there’s already a whole new set of unique printed tiles to collect and rare colored elements to stock up on. Packs of 41931 Extra DOTS – Series 4 are available now from the LEGO Shop Online for US $3.99 | CAN $4.99 | UK £3.99. We bought a few to see what this latest not-quite-blind-pack has to offer.

Click to read the full hands-on review

Your studs are showing

While some LEGO builders want to hide the studs on their LEGO as much as possible to create a smooth-looking creation, Luka often has their studs on display to add texture to their creation. The studs are not only facing upwards; they are facing right, left, and center. The effect is quite nice.

One thing I always struggle with when building with LEGO is making trees. Luka reminds us that it doesn’t always have to be a struggle. The trees in his build are quite simple but also quite stunning. There are a lot of droid arms used in this creation for various purposes; for the roof of the house and the base of the trees. Fun thing, in both situations, they are meant to represent wood. It is nice to see that the wood for the roof was probably bought locally, which has to be better for the environment. The foliage of the trees is made by using flower stems with and without leaves upside down.

The making of LEGO ASMR White Noise and the 12 streaming services available for access [News]

Early last month in February, LEGO dropped an interesting soundtrack – an ASMR White Noise album made from LEGO bricks. These white noise types of sounds are known to help listeners relax and get “in the zone” while focussing on other tasks. There’s now a video featuring the behind the scenes and the making of this unique placement by LEGO. We also share the full list of 12 streaming services that you can access the tracks from.

Click for the full list of streaming services and the making of video

The last (tiny) homely house east of the sea

Rivendell – the mention of the name already evokes a feeling of home. A location in J.R.R. Tolkien’s famous books The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, it appears as a sanctuary, a last respite to characters who are on a journey into “the wilderness.” Builder Elias (Brickleas) built the Last Homely House in all its peaceful glory in microscale in just 100 LEGO parts. While the elven buildings are tiny among the large cliffs, they are instantly recognisable thanks to clever parts usage.

I love the way Elias uses books as the angled roofs, and one stickered book is actually very fitting here. It is the Red Book of Westmarch, the book that Bilbo Baggins wrote during his retirement in Rivendell. The battle droid torso also works very well, since its skeletal nature represents the open-air feel of those buildings. I found the small waterfalls very impressive, using Hero Factory claw pieces which perfectly hug the large wedge used as a cliff. Elias perfectly demonstrates that when building something with a small number of parts, use the best parts.