Yearly Archives: 2022

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 76223 Nano Gauntlet available for pre-order [News]

Looking for a snappy new Marvel set to display? Today, LEGO has debuted on their website 76223 Nano Gauntlet, Iron Man’s ultimate, universal remote control from the movie Avengers: Endgame. Coming in at 675 pieces, this maroon mitten bears some resemblance to the existing 76191 Infinity Gauntlet set, but is notably designed for the opposite hand…and possibly for a Hulk. If you’re looking to pick one of these up, they’re available for preorder right now in the US and Canada. The release date is set for August 1st, which is also when it’s available for purchase in the UK. It will retail for US $69.99 | CAN $89.99 | UK £59.99.

Click to see more pictures of the Nano Gauntlet

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Monkey sea, monkey do

Here’s a bit of toy nostalgia for you. Remember the Sea-Monkeys? What, before you time? Well, how about the glorious days of LEGO’s X-Pods? Still no? Well, just work with me here. Brandon Jones has created a wonderful tribute to questionable comic-book marketing with this aquarium made from stacked X-pod containers. It has the look of a water cooler – but you probably don’t want to top off your glass with water from this tank. The quality brick-built castle is offset by just a touch of greenery, with red horn elements serving as the brine shrimp of legend. The craggy rock of the display stand elevates the build in both a literal and physical sense. Too bad the real Sea-Monkey kits weren’t nearly this amazing.

Fishing for more fun? Cast a line into our archives!

Tune up your mech in this miniature hangar

The perfect place to prepare for a battle. Kosmas Santosa has created this wonderful build of a mechanical repair area in a microscale form. The mech has an impressive muscular shape with the nice touch of a skate used for the horn on its head. The hangar floor also has some inventive features such as gear racks representing ladders. Small vehicles use upside-down roller skates as wheels, with the stud connected to the mesh plate underneath.

There is also a great tutorial video, allowing you to build your own mech storage area. It’s definitely worth having a go at building this superb display!

This Bionicle is a big hit on Tinder

It must be tough times on Mata Nui, as this Toa has resorted to getting a day job as a lumberjack. Tempting as it is, I’ll be avoiding the Monty Python jokes when talking about this clever build by Johann Dakitsch. I like the clever details like the rubber tires used to beef up the legs, the Hero Factory armor used for the sleeves, and the row of 1×1 round silver plate that forms the jacket’s zipper. Oh, and that axe is pretty sweet, too.

Check our archives for more Bionicle creations we thought made the cut!

Kandor is cool but R’lyeh is rockin’

We’ve seen ships in a bottle, and decks of cards in a bottle, but Bart De Dobbelaer is the first builder I know to combine glassware with the elder gods. Rise of Cthulhu features not only the great tentacled meanie, but also the city of R’lyeh doing a wicked impression of a lava lamp. The city was built brick-by-brick inside the bottle thanks to a small hole in the back; a process that is certainly madness-inducing.

A Beauty of a Bionicle Bullfinch

Although summer is fast upon us, this lovely Bullfinch by Oscar Cederwall feels like a scene from early spring. The thin, organic shaping of the branch is what first caught my eye, probably because the bird itself instantly read as “bird” and let me appreciate the setting. But the Bullfinch deserves a closer look, too, with range of interesting shapes provided by clever use of Bionicle, Hero Factory, and even an old NHL Sports helmet for the head.

If you like combining your bricks with avian themes, take a nature walk through our bird archives.

Avian Bonsai

Sometimes a LEGO creation just looks so mesmerising you can’t help but stare at it in complete awe. This creation by WoomyWorld looks like it is from out of this world. It reminds me so strongly of magical beings from fairy tales I used to love as a kid. None of them had birds with berry covered branches as tails in them. But it sounds so amazing that it wouldn’t have been out of place. After pondering on it for a little bit longer I realise this reminds me of the creatures that live in the Moors in the Maleficent movies. All of them are vaguely familiar animals but then again with a strange twist to them. All of this leaves me with one question, how do you decide to take a beautiful creation like this back apart?

Home sweet Orc hut

Over at The Brother’s Brick we know a good LEGO Orc Hut when we see one. And this Orc Hut by Versteinert definitely is a good one. Do you want to know why? It’s because of all the funky parts used in original ways. We get a tree trunk suit disguised as a chimney. Complete with a Ninjago snake used for the smoke. I’ve seen this part used for smoke before and it never stops to amaze me how good this looks. Cake suit guy gets robbed of his party hat because it gets transformed into a bell. I love how the pin of the hat resembles the clapper of the bell. The flower stem pine trees are to die for. Same goes for most of the foliage. There are quite some original parts used there. If you take a closer look you can spot eggs, ice cream scoops, Minion hair and even Marge Simpsons head.

LEGO Harry Potter 76400 Hogwarts Carriage and Thestrals [Review]

The smallest set in the summer 2022 Harry Potter wave is 76400 Hogwarts Carriage and Thestrals. The set name really sums it up here – other than the minifigures and a very small bit of scenery, a carriage and some thestrals is all you get! Is it a good pocket money pickup? Let’s take a quick look at this set, featuring 2 minifigures and 121 pieces, which will be available starting June 19th for US $19.99 | CAN $24.99 | UK £17.99.

This set is based on a license The LEGO Group has with the Warner Brothers films, not J.K. Rowling directly. The transphobic views expressed by Rowling do not reflect the values of The Brothers Brick or, indeed, those of The LEGO Group. The magical world Rowling created, in which many who felt a bit different could see themselves, meant a great deal to so many people, including those that Rowling now demeans. TBB affirms each individual LEGO fan’s choice to claim a piece of the world for themselves, or to reject it entirely.

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.

Read the full review

LEGO Icons to replace Creator Expert as adult-focused sets get rebranding [News]

LEGO moved away from the venerable Creator Expert theme branding in 2020, transitioning to simple black boxes with set names but no theme branding–which fans have sometimes referred to as 18+ sets due to their age labels which denote their intended adult market. Internally, LEGO continued to use the Creator Expert label for most adult-focused sets, and it still appears as a category on LEGO’s website. Now LEGO has decided to formally retire the Creator Expert theme name and rebrand the category as LEGO Icons. The LEGO Icons theme will encompass Creator Expert sets as well as other adult-focused sets that aren’t part of other existing themes such as Technic. The new branding will be rolled out on LEGO’s website starting June 1, and will appear on packaging starting next year.

Here’s the official press release from LEGO:

From June 1st, 2022, we will be uniting many of our adult focused LEGO® sets under the name LEGO® Icons to help our adult consumers easily to find new, immersive builds or models that link to their interests and passions, particularly when shopping or browsing online. The name LEGO Icons will span all of our sets designed for older builders that are not already part of an existing LEGO theme such as LEGO® Technic, LEGO® Ideas or LEGO® Architecture.

A proper TRON cycle

Veteran builder Simon Liu made the most of an opportunity during his latest review for New Elementary. Given the chance to pick the set he wanted to write about, he jumped on the smorgasbord of glow-in-the-dark pieces available in June 2021’s LEGO Monkie Kid 80028 The Bone Demon. Making use of the angles and curves presented by parts selection in the set, Simon was able to finally execute a proper glow-in-the-dark TRON cycle. As a bit of a dream for Simon, he was excited to pull it off, no matter what the scale. Of course, that meant that things got a little more difficult once he got attached to that swoop of White Glow curve in the center of the bike. Sandwiching the two sides together at a scale he liked only left a tile’s thickness for the core of the body. The wheels were almost too easy, the clever curve using rounded 1×2 plates centered with that tile’s thickness to provide an attachment point for the glowing rims made with 3×3 1/4 arch bricks. Black detailing on the body is complemented by 45-degree cut slopes near the base and handlebars, completing that quintessentially TRON light cycle feel.

Just one of a few great builds that Simon worked on for New Elementary, this TRON cycle entices the building community to see what else they can do with a fist full of glow-in-the-dark elements. Clearly, there’s potential for tech and sci-fi models so who knows what use Simon will find for these highly UV-reactive pieces this year. It could make for one interesting SHIPtember if he was feeling adventurous.

We’re shell-shocked by this handy build

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles famously waged battle against the evil Foot Clan. Well, Dan Ko is here to remind us that the best weapon against the foot is a hand. The Iron Builder competition is back underway, with the seed part being the bright light green big fig hands in both left and right. Dan has ingeniously used at least seven of them to build Raphael, and there’s another bunch of them making up the ooze leaking from the sewer. The result is some impressive NPU (Ninja Parts Usage).