Yearly Archives: 2021

More than twice the power of traditional Grayskull

The original Masters of the Universe figures stood about 5 and ½ inches tall. Robert Lundmark’s take on four of the series’ major characters measures more than twice as high. Standing at 32 cm (a little more than a foot), these brick-built versions of Man-At-Arms, He-Man and Battle Cat, Skeletor, and Beast Man would take the power of Grayskull to new heights if they found themselves transferred to Eternia. Robert’s done an amazing job at capturing these warriors in LEGO form. Every detail from Battle Cat’s armor to Skeletor’s havoc staff is instantly recognizable. Plus, the use of the Bionicle shin guard on Man-At-Arms’ neck armor is so close to the actual thing that it made me do a double-take.

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This variant-based Loki variant is very antagonistic

There’s no doubt that one of the stand-out characters from Disney+’s hit show Loki was the adorable Lokigator, a reptile-based variant of the mischievous title character. Although he was only in one episode, Lokigator obviously struck a chord with builder Claudio Tavella, who drew inspiration from both the show and LEGO set 76190 to give us a Mech Lokigator. As a digital adaption of the Iron Monger set, this mean machine is loaded with tons of weaponry, as well a chest-based cockpit for any additional Lokis to pilot. He Who Remains might think he knows everything that’s going to happen, but I’d love to see how he handles this beast coming through the door of the Citadel at the End of Time.

Don’t miss more of the LEGO Loki cast that we featured recently, too!

Bold colors and some fresh beats

Virva Staccato is ready to tear the house down! Inspired by the drum kit from LEGO Friends set 41449 Andrea’s Family House, this exceptional drummer can only be the work of uber-talented artist, Eero Okkonen. The funky color scheme gives the character a ton of flair and attitude, but it’s the parts usage that gives it the wow factor. Details from the house, like the window shutters on her top and 1x2x2 trans opalescent window panes for the glasses. I’m also a big fan of the pigtails from tires and Hero Factory robot legs for earings.

This has to be one of my all-time favorites, but it’s hard to choose from all of Eero’s other great LEGO characters we featured! Stick around and check out a few more!

LEGO 40487 Ideas Sailboat Adventure will be available as a Gift with Purchase promotion in August [News]

The winning entry of a contest titled Build that holiday into that holiday! held on the LEGO ideas platform in May 2020 has been made into an official set – the LEGO 40487 Ideas Sailboat Adventure. This fan-selected entry will only be available as a Gift with Purchase (GWP) item in August with a purchase of $200 USD.

LEGO VIP members will have the opportunity to get an early opportunity to grab this it’s opened to members from the 1st to the 3rd of August 2021. Non-members will have access to it from the 04th of August till the 29th. The standard terms of availability only while stocks last are in the fine print as usual. LEGO VIP Membership is free and a good idea to sign up in advance before the promotion goes live.

The set is designed by YC_SOLO and made into a LEGO official set with design modifications as with any winning LEGO Ideas set released.

LEGO BrickHeadz Pets 40479 Dalmatian dog and 40480 Ginger Tabby cat [Review]

LEGO launched the Pets sub-theme for Brickheadz earlier this year. The sets are similar to a BrickHeadz buddy pack, in that there is one traditional-sized model and an accompanying buddy-size model. The difference is that the Pets line pairs an adult and child of the same species. They started with dogs and cats (40440 German Shepherd and 40441 Shorthair Cat) but quickly branched out to birds and fish (40442 Goldfish and 40443 Budgie). 40479 Dalmatian & Puppy, and 40480 Ginger Tabby & Kitten are the latest to join the German shepherd and Shorthair cat sets in the ongoing battle between dog people and cat people. 40479 includes 252 pieces and is available now for $14.99 US | $19.99 CA| £13.49 UK . 40480 includes 269 pieces and will be available starting August 1 for US $14.99 US | $19.99 CA | £13.49 UK.

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with early copies of these sets for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Read on for the full review

The peaceful garden temple

LEGO builds are often quite small-scale compared to minifigures, with buildings occupying the equivalent space of a car, and castles the size of houses. Here builder Andreas Lenander has flipped that script on its head with a temple gazebo scene in a garden that’s the size of many LEGO castles. Unsurprisingly for Andreas, there are lots of lovely details, too, though one of the best might be the minifigure katana holders that make the hanging lanterns on either side of the gazebo.

Bring something edible to the picnic or end up being the picnic

This poor little fly is about to end up being the picnic instead of just going to a picnic. Toddrick (B.D.) created a lovely build using a lot of black pieces to create the fly and the Venus flytrap. They also incorporated a lot of theme-specific bricks that all deserve a quick mention. So let’s go! It is very nice to see the Fabuland basket again. I like how detailed it is considering its age. Inside it is a Belville skirt and an apple. For the eyes of the fly Clickits icons have been used.

The Venus flytrap also contains a lot of weird parts. Let’s start with the leaves at the base, which are made out of Hero Factory cocoon petals, the flower petals are made out of Belville flower petals and the Venus flytrap head is made from the Ninjago Overlord dragon jaw and head. All and all the weird parts add the much-needed pops of color in this otherwise very black creation. This build definitely deserves a quick zoom so you can distinguish all the funky black parts used in the fly and the Venus flytrap.

Azure stripes and open skies

Inspired by the colors of the Martini-sponsored Porsche racing team from his childhood, David Roberts created a fantastic racer for a pilot with an inimitable name. Martin Igglesramsworthbottomthwaite, or Martin I, as he’s known by his fans and enemies, brandishes a Bond-like persona when he’s not flying his vibrant speeder. The model features various pieces of mechanical detailing on each side of the multifaceted engine sections, with azure domes capping the inlets. Bright red compliments navy blue and azure stripes along the body, making for a brilliant photo finish for all of Martin I’s victories.

On the rear, the nozzles for the engines are framed by multiple vents with azure bands running the length of the sides. Those rear lights will surely be the only ones his competition will see for most of the race. At least, the ones after that freak storm that flooded his cockpit. Drainage holes can help win races, it seems.

Microscale Wall-e watches the skies waiting for a shooting star to wish upon [Instructions]

When it comes to robots that warm our hearts, it’s hard to think of one more endearing than Wall-e, the hard-working, dedicated hero from the movie that bears his name. Working hard to clean up our mess while we humans cruise the galaxy in comfort and style. If you would like to have a tiny Wall-e to keep you company while you work from home, follow along with KosBrick to assemble one of your own.

Build one of your own with this instructions video

Conquistadors clash with Aztecs in a night of fear and greed

Sometimes, imagined history can be as colorful as the real thing (which I typically find more surprising than fiction). Talented historical builder Josiah Durand is no stranger to the Aztec and early colonial period of history — we’ve featured his ruined pyramid of Tenochtitlan and Mesoamerican ballgame scenes previously. But in his latest scene inspired by Pre-Columbian civilizations, Josiah imagines what might have happened if a smaller group of Spanish Conquistadors had attempted to wrest riches from the Aztecs decades before Columbus sailed the ocean blue. Things do not appear to be going well for the Spaniards…

Josiah incorporates elements from the Aztec Warrior minifig in the Series 21 Collectible Minifigures, mixing the pieces so each warrior is unique. Behind the minifigs, microscale palaces and temples provide a forced-perspective background, with a mountain range behind them. Beneath, transparent bricks arranged on their sides serve as a highly textured water surface. But my favorite detail is the pair of Aztec statues on the lift side of the scene, with distinct noses and feathered crowns. Titled “La Noche Triste” (“the sad night”), I’m personally rooting for the indigenous Aztecs, and won’t be especially sad if the invading Conquistadors meet a sticky end atop those distant pyramids.

Unloading on Scarif with the U-wing that could have been

Star Wars and LEGO have gone hand-in-hand for quite some time now. Uncountable LEGO User Groups are centered around the very concept of building models based on the Star Wars universe. Suffice it to say, there is a wealth of models inspired by the galaxy far, far away. As many ships as there are in George Lucas’ fever dream of a series, a whole can of worms opens up when you look into the concept designs for some of the most iconic vehicles. This ship, built by Jan Südmersen, was inspired by a concept design of the rebel U-wing fighter from Rogue One. Quite different from the movie design on a few fronts, the main difference is the lack of wing-like strike foils. For those that aren’t hip, the s-foils were apparently used more for increasing the shield profile of the ship and less so for aerodynamics in an atmosphere. I doubt this big boy needs much help from some wings, though, as it looks like it can take a few hits without a problem.

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Daft for Dutch DAF trucks

Lately, I’ve been having a lot of fun building minifigure scale trucks, instead of, say, aircraft or larger-scale vehicles. These are three of my latest: Dutch DAF trucks. The first represents an XF105 Super Space Cab, with a trailer carrying a 40ft Maersk refrigerated container. It is similar to thousands that roam European motorways.

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