This Octonauts Octoray is Octonuts

The LEGO fan community goes in deep with giant space vehicles in SHIPtember.  Adam Dodge, however, has taken a couple of interesting twists on the theme by going with a ship that’s not only super-wide rather than super-long, but also super-underwater. Based on the adorable animated adventures of the  Octonauts, this is one studly tribute to the Octoray craft. The lines are crisp and clean, the wing-based turbines are spot-on, and the transparent cylinders used for the front windows are a really nifty solution. Even better, this Adam build this vehicle as treat for his son. That adds a big dollop of “awww” on top of the “wow”.

Octonauts Octoray

Are you looking for more undersea adventures? Check out other featured submarines!

Falling for these autumnal flowers

This bunch of autumnal LEGO flowers by Barbara Hoel is a beauty — one of those creations which at first you scroll past assuming it cannot possibly be made of bricks and has made it into your feed due to some glitch in the algorithm. But then you look again and realise the pot is brick-built, oh… and the stalks, and the flower petals, oh and EVERY LAST PIECE OF THE THING, including those wonderful puffballs to the rear. The parts use on show here are delightful, well worth a closer look, particularly the use of pearl gold crowns for the impressive puffballs. We’ve seen more LEGO flowers since the release of the official LEGO flower sets, and when they look as good as this, long may this horticultural building trend continue.

LEGO bunch of flowers

Three versions of Bag End made from three different LEGO sets.

As a child, one of my favorite things about holding a new LEGO set in hand was turning the box over and looking at all the alternate builds that the set could be reconfigured into. These weren’t official models. There weren’t included instructions for them, like you see in the Creator 3-in-1 sets of today. The pictures were just springboards for your imagination. While the LEGO Group might not market the versatility of their sets in the same way anymore, that doesn’t mean modern sets are any less customizable. And if you need proof of that, legoapprentice has got you covered. He’s built three different versions of Bilbo Baggin’s home, Bag End, made from only the pieces available in three different LEGO sets.

The first version of Bag End is probably closest to the one you’re familiar with. Made from the 21325 Medieval Blacksmith set, this build draws heavily on the medieval roots of Tolkien’s fantasy world. Bilbo looks right at home next to a pair of knights and a blacksmith. And the large chimney up top is no doubt evidence of a kitchen that’s serving up tons of delicious Hobbit meals. Perhaps a pie made from the apples grown on the tree up top.

Click here to see the other alternate versions of Bag End

TBB Cover Photo for October 2021: Gladiator mechs

“Are you not entertained?” Former LEGO Masters contestant Aaron Newman presents his latest creation: gladiator mechs. While similar in style, each mech is unique and distinguishable. The yellow winged “Bugbite” has insect like features and reminds me of the iconic Bumblebee. The dual wielding “Whiplash” stands tall and majestic like some of LEGO’s larger mech sets. “Pinhead” is capable of delivering heavy blows with a second set of arms. These builds may be on the smaller size, they are meant to represent massive battle bots piloted by a “trophyfig.”

Gladiator Mechs

With this scale established, we now have to look up at them, as Aaron’s photography and editing gets us to do. The lighting of the actual build is interesting and allows them to blend in with the custom background of a futuristic stadium that Aaron carefully crafted. This unconventional composition gives the impression of a render, or even a shot from a high budget film. Aaron has really gone above and beyond to present his amazing builds in outstanding ways.

You can see more of Aaron’s build’s here

Submit your LEGO creations for a chance to be featured across TBB social media for a month! Tag your submission with #TBBme. We will be watching this tag and look forward to seeing the submissions for next month. Check out the submission guidelines and share your builds today.

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TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for October 16, 2021

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 second full week of October 2021.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS We reviewed the latest DOTS offering, and the gargantuan first LEGO Ideas Review of 2021 revealed which of the record-breaking FIFTY-SEVEN qualifying set candidates would proceed to the product development phase!

Click through to read more LEGO news from around the world

This LEGO Star Wars mosaic is far from child’s play

LEGO’s foray into the art world, with its various mosaic sets, has inspired fans to create their own fantastic art. There’s even a Mosaic Maker which allows you to upload your own image and create a custom set. I’ve had friends order a few and they always turn out great. But I think builder Brent Waller invested a lot more thought into this textured mosaic of the Child from the Mandalorian. This absolute work of art was created as a gift for his son’s birthday and I have to say that this guy definitely deserves a Great Dad award. Measuring 1 meter wide by 60 centimeters high, this massive mosaic features tons of different pieces and colors masterfully placed and blended to render a close-up image of Grogu in his floating bassinet. But this portrait also has a secret: the Child and the Mandalorian are hidden within all that greebly goodness. Can you spot them? I’m not giving any hints so good luck!

The Child Mosaic

The mosaics in the LEGO Art sets make use of a pixel approach to create images of Darth Vader, the Hogwarts crest, or even Andy Warhol’s Marilyn Monroe. While this technique is quite effective at rendering plenty of different images, the grid pattern is difficult to break and some sharp diagonal lines aren’t captured well. That’s my opinion as an artist, at least. But Brent Waller’s use of a plethora of pieces allowed him to create sharper lines and textured surfaces. These draw the eye in new ways, almost tricking it into seeing aspects of the cloth, or the shadows in the bassinet, that aren’t really there. A vast array of pieces and colors on such a large canvas also allowed for better resolution in the image. From a distance, this barely even looks like a LEGO creation.

The Child Mosaic

I’m sure Waller, Jr. was excited to see this once it was complete. It would be an amazing addition to any room but if I were him, I would put it right above my desk. I can’t imagine this will end up in the scrap pile any time soon though. This is nerd-family heirloom material so it will surely make its rounds in their home for years to come.

What’s tiny and cute and stomps around on 3 legs?

What’s tiny and cute and stomps around on 3 legs? The Niffler, of course! Provided he’s piloting this unusual LEGO mech by Andreas Lenander, that is. The adorable little creature from the Wizarding World is surely up to something cute, and when was the last time you saw a 3-legged mech with claw hands? The bit of bright foliage in the background is also the perfect accompaniment to this build. It’s amazing how just adding a touch of scenery like that can give a whole new dimension to a quick build like this mech.

MECHtober - Niffler I

Beelzebub says never mind the bollocks

What happens when you’re a demon from Hades but still love Dead Kennedys, The Buzzcocks, and The Sex Pistols? Well, that makes you a punk rock devil and that is precisely what Steven Wayne Howard has built with LEGO. The eyes are eyeball-printed minifigure heads situated within space helmets and are bricked upsidedown. It makes for some great expressions! This builder has dazzled us before with some neat build techniques including one recently. Check out what I mean in our archives.

Punk Rock Devil

What’s black and white and rad all over?

Sometimes a single piece can cause the imagination to snowball. LEGO designer Robert Heim wanted to build something with the trans-purple canopy that debuted in the Pop-Up Party Bus from The Lego Movie 2. But all he knew for sure was he wanted to make a space rover with it. That led him to design a semi-truck configuration. And the trailer had to haul something, right? Which meant he had to build a rocket…and thus, the “ORCA” rover was complete.

Rocket Transport Rover "ORCA"

Flatbed trailers can understandably sometimes be a little visually uninteresting, but Robert’s combated this by including some great detail on the undercarriage, including ray guns acting as suspension on each wheel. But let’s not overlook the cargo. The angled thrusters nestled between hot air balloon shells make the rocket a stand-out build all on its own. The fact that it can be hauled into launch position by such a cool-looking rover is icing on the cake.

Rocket Transport Rover "ORCA"

LEGO Ideas First 2021 review are in: three new products are coming [News]

Today, LEGO Ideas reveals the results of the most recent review. In case you missed it, the Review Board had to evaluate a whopping 57 projects, including ideas based on sitcoms, fairy tales, and even some unusual concepts. According to the announcement published on the blog, there is great news about three projects, one from each of the mentioned categories.

Continue reading →

Praying Mantis-inspired mech that won’t bite your head off... or will it?

When the apocalypse finally happens, and a new intelligent species rises from the ashes to rebuild the world, this mantis mech load lifter will be an essential part of the re-construction. Built using the HOME DEPOT brand palette by G rammaticul, at least you won’t have any trouble seeing it rolling through the jungle to drop a heavy crate on your foot. Or your head. The legs look super-sturdy using a double ball joint at the abdomen, and that leather seat made from brown ingot pieces looks like it might even cushion your bum, except I don’t think the driver of this mech would need to worry about that.

THDE 2400 M-49 "Mantis"

This spaceship is cool as shaved ice

Sometimes the motivation to build a SHIP (Seriously Huge Investment in Parts) comes from a really cool part, like a Minifig boat, or a tooth-shaped shield. Other times, the inspiration comes from a pile of bright-colored parts. This ice-cream wrapper-looking SHIP by Don Wilson uses a whole bunch of azure and yellow parts that make it really stand out against the inky blackness of space. Like any decent SHIP, there is no shortage of greebly details along the sides of the main body, and the asymmetrical disk thingy (I’m not at all sure as to its purpose) attached to the starboard side has some mind-blowing LEGO geometry at work. One of my favorite parts, though, is the dark gray plate at the front top, which stands out in a ship with very few visible studs.

Hadrian's Blade Mk3