Yearly Archives: 2021

Advocating for the devil

Mecha maven Marco De Bon wows us once again with the FA-18 “Lucifer.” This human-operated battle bot stands 230 mm tall (about 9 inches) and boasts an impressive range of movement, thanks in part to multiple Mixel joints in each knee. Although, you’d barely know they were there at first glance. Marco has done a fantastic job of shaping the arms and legs in such a way that the major joints remain hidden from view. And the few joints that are exposed blend pretty seamlessly into the robot’s black and silver color scheme. The result is a robot that strikes some very human poses and puts many similarly sized action figures to shame.

Be sure to check out our archives for more of Marco’s marvelous mechs.

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LEGO teases the new Camp Nou Stadium set [News]

The release of the new ultimate stadium building set is coming, as LEGO is teasing the model on social feeds. The first look at the brick-built Camp Nou Stadium confirms that the new build will be on the same scale and size as the last year’s 10272 Old Trafford-Manchester United, so we should expect approximately the same number of pieces and the price tag.

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Leaving LEGO Masters S2: We sit down with the eighth team to leave [Feature]

The ninth episode of LEGO Masters Season 2 has aired. A new episode means another winning build and unfortunately, another team elimination. After each episode, we’ll be meeting these teams as they continue on their LEGO journey with the show behind them. This week the teams were split apart and one built a sea creature and the other built a land creature. After 5 hours, the teams were reunited and tasked with not only combining their creatures into one, but creating an environment for it as well.

We sat down for a talk with the seventh team to leave this season along with our friends from Brickset, BZPower and True North Bricks. We chatted about artistic interpretation, the weight of LEGO bricks and what it’s like to destroy your models.

Read on, but beware… Spoilers lie ahead!

Albus Dumbledore and the Office of Secrets

After years of rereading, rewatching, and relistening to the series, Dumbledore’s Office evokes a certain brand of nostalgia for me. It’s an emotion somewhere between being in the Principle’s office and sitting down for tea with my quirky grandmother. Seeing it built with such detail at this scale makes me think of how I felt at twelve years old when the Chamber of Secrets was released, and I watched Harry enter the office for the first time. Even as an adult, rewatching the series on repeat with my brother during quarantine, the stories told and secrets shared in this office are plastered on the walls of my mind. Builder Stefan Johansson uses some magical techniques to create this massive model of Dumbledore’s office.

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Gundam Hazel is ready to hop into action

The Hazel mobile suit from Gundam is a fantastic design, as it portrays a chunky variant of the classic mecha design. It seems fitting that this build is by Two Rabbits, as the name of the Hazel was inspired by a character from Watership Down, which heavily features rabbits. The model captures of elements the original design, such as its broad shoulders and bulbous legs, which have translated perfectly into LEGO form. Covered in vents for manoeuvres in space, the most interesting interpretation, of the mech, is at the legs, where plate handle pieces have been used to represent different segments of the vents.

The version of the Hazel on the left has a booster pack on its back allowing it to blast through space. The rendition on the right features bulky arms which are nicely constructed and attached to the backpack. You can tell Two Rabbits has carefully studied the Hazel, as even the smallest of details have been recreated in this marvelous build.

Check out more articles on Gundam related builds here.

Journey to the bottom of the baseplate bin

Maybe it’s just the bourbon talking, but baseplates can be hit or miss with us LEGO builders. I have boxes full of them, but they reside in the most inaccessible corners of my LEGO room because (again, this might be the bourbon) I perceive them as “greasy kid stuff.” However Walter Whiteside Jr. just might have me digging out my old plates and rethinking my greasy kid strategy. Everything about this particular shot, from the bright yellow submersible to the way he uses the pattern on the baseplates, is phenomenal. The round bits come from this Fabuland set from 1985. In fact, most of these parts take us to about the mid-eighties to the early nineties.

We may have other things to look forward to from this builder. While this shot is remarkable enough to warrant its own write-up, the bit of monorail track clues us in that this may be part of a larger layout. In fact, here’s another denizen of Walter’s amazing underwater world!

A floating castle under glass

This microscale castle by Jaap Bijl (jaapxaap) is a miniature version of their full-scale build from 2018. Fitting snugly under a glass dome, this tiny wonder is full of fun details like golden unicorn spire-toppers and an icy base. There’s also complex building going on with the inversion of part orientations and somehow supporting the castle’s weight on just a couple of tiny minifigure ski poles. This creation is a great display piece, a tiny moment of wonder preserved for all time.

If miniaturization is your jam, check out our microscale tag for more tiny goodness!

Fiendishly fearsome fantasy figure

Beyond Japan, Yōkai are often assumed to be demons, but the word actually translates as “strange apparition” and these mystical spirits are not always malevolent. Having said that, Rockmonster2000‘s LEGO yōkai figure looks pretty mean! The stance, the stare, that weapon — they all strongly suggest this beastie is about to unleash some diabolical mayhem. There’s quite the mix of parts involved in this character — I spy regular System bricks, Technic panels, and Bionicle and Knights Kingdom pieces. That braided piece of clothing around the midriff looks like a shoelace to me — I do hope it’s an official LEGO one from 10282! My favourite detail though, that has to be use of the bucket-handles as clasps on the sandal buckles. Lovely stuff.

A Classic Space Paraflyer is a fun way to travel

LEGO builder David Roberts tells us the Classic Space Paraflyer is a fun way to travel over planets with any form of atmosphere. I’m inclined to agree, not based on my own experience, but based on the expression of the little space minifigure’s face. I mean, look how happy he is! You can’t be melancholy with a face like that. In fact, every last minifigure produced from 1978 to 1989 had this same exact smiley face. Whether they were robbing banks or laying up in a hospital bed they were damned happy to do it! While we may feature massive spaceships and elaborate castles, sometimes it is the little things that speak to us the most.

David’s fun little builds have spoken to us on several occasions. Here are all the times that we listened.

A really cool tree next to a nice house

Yes, the building is a work of art but have you seen this incredible tree? LEGO builder Ayrlego shared a recent creation with us, the Villa. Plant life, thy name is beauty. Just look at that tree! It might take the cake as the most realistic LEGO deciduous tree I’ve ever seen. The vine work is also fantastic with the way it crawls across the roof. I also admire the small potted plants and the garden shrubbery. It’s all a testament to Ayrlego’s skill with bricks.

Of course, where would this creation be without the villa itself? I mentioned that it’s a work of art because it truly is, incorporating styles from American Colonial to Spanish Mission. Though the lore behind Ayrlego’s creation is fantasy, one could easily see such a villa existing somewhere in the early days of North American settlement.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for August 28, 2021 [News]

In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the fourth week of August 2021.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS This past week was a bit light on LEGO news, but we did get a new Technic set revealed, along with new sets from The Eternals. We also sat down with two different teams leaving the hit series on Fox: LEGO Masters.

[INSTRUCTIONS] An alternate build for LEGO 31203 World Map — Use nothing but the parts in LEGO’s biggest set ever to build yourself an octopus.
[NEWS] LEGO Technic 42131 Cat D11 Bulldozer officially unveiled — We got a bit of a teaser for the new yellow beast of a bulldozer.
[FEATURE] Leaving LEGO Masters S2: We sit down with the seventh team to leave — SPOILER ALERT – Another interview with the latest team to get sent home.
[FEATURE] Leaving LEGO Masters S2: We sit down with the sixth team to leave — SPOILER ALERT – We talk to another departing team from the hit reality show.
[NEWS] LEGO Marvel Eternals sets revealed — Check out our reveal of the first wave of sets from the upcoming movie The Eternals.

Click through to read more LEGO news from around the world