Posts by Ryan Wood

Want to know how I got these scars?

Gifted LEGO wizard Timofey Tkachev is a master of character work both large and small. If you’re not familiar, we interviewed him a couple years back. Last summer he shared an 80th anniversary Batman bust and now he’s the delivered the Caped Crusader’s most famous archnemesis, Joker. He even left a calling card.

It’s an arresting model, clearly modeled after Heath Ledger’s take from 2008’s The Dark Knight complete with smudged makeup and that oh-so-striking smile. This particular wicked grin is made up of crowbars and horns. The shocks of hair are, of course, a bounty of olive-colored limb elements.

Need more of the Clown Prince of Crime in your life? Be sure to check out Vincent’s recent Joker film take and George Paneteleon’s animated series-inspired rendition.

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Zip up your fly!

Models don’t get much betta than this. This fintastic creation is by Marcel V who nails the avid fisherman look. Prominently featuring a plaid shirt, with two custom fly lures dangling from the pocket. Sideways treads make a sofishticated zipper. Getting really down into the accurate details, our intrepid fisherman’s chest hair is exposed (horns) and he’s sporting a chain necklace. And what’s a fisherman without a rod? Perfect use of the chakram piece along the length.

Hello there, General Grievous

TBB newcomer VelociJACKtor has built the dastardly leader of the Separatist’s droid army from Star Wars. I dig the textured dark grey legs and ribs juxtaposed against the smooth tan armor plates. The arms also split as appropriate for the General’s main gimmick. As expected for a model depicting one of the most nefarious — if incompetent — villains in the Star Wars films, General Grievous has several fine lightsabers in his collection from hunting Jedi after being trained by Count Dooku. Maybe the next LEGO Grievous will have a new one.

Not getting enough Grievous in your life? Here’s a model from Marcin Otreba from last summer, or check out the official sets from 2008 and 2015.

The real treasure was the LEGO pieces we collected along the way

Caleb Saw digs deep into LEGO lore with Johnny Thunder’s mansion which is filled with more treasure than you can believe. The complete scene is a roomy, comfortable construction filled with custom warm lighting and a literal treasure trove of LEGO mementos and easter eggs from the old Adventurers line and beyond.

Click through to see a list of all Johnny Thunder’s treasures. Can you spot them all?

Did someone order a bowl of ramen?

A frequent staple of the Brothers Brick, LEGO Designer Markus Rollbühler knows his way around the LEGO kitchen. He’s dished up a hearty broth containing soft flex hose noodles, minifig leg mushrooms, some yolky eggs, and a white and pink spiraled narutomaki. Gotta say the photography really helps the model shine as well. I’d order this in a restaurant.

Hungry for more? We’ve got you covered for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Why not have some dessert while you’re at it?

Tiny tank has a leg up on the competition

LEGO Master Tyler Clites, fresh off a nationally televised victory, is already jumping back into battle with a not-so-tiny tank.

With deceptively chunky proportions (hearkening back to Metal Slug, Advance Wars, and other video game renditions) this new offering is impressive for it’s economical use of olive green pieces which aren’t available in as wide a variety of molds as many other LEGO colors.

This beauty is also notable for a unique tread technique made by stacking minifig legs. Besides LEGO’s own tread pieces, there have been a bevy of alternate techniques used by builders in the past including binoculars, coupling plates, and even behemoths so big the treads are entirely original builds.

Torpedo Roadster pedals its wares

Idahoan Jake Sadovich, fan designer of the LEGO Ideas Ship in a Bottle, returns to the pages of The Brothers Brick with a retro throwback pedal car.

Before Power Wheels hit the streets, pedal cars ruled. This one heralds from the early 1950s, a pitch-perfect recreation of the Murray Torpedo roadster’s apple red curves.

Click through to see its kinetic function and a 360 view

You came in that thing? You’re braver than I thought

Thomas Jenkins is the latest in a long line of LEGO builders trying their hand at one of -if not THE– most famous ships of all time. While others go for shocking size with accurate interiors, others like Thomas have opted to go pint-sized and adorable.

We’ve seen Han Solo’s pride and joy in this scale before in 2009’s 7778 Midi-scale Millenium Falcon. But in the 11 years since that release building techniques in the world of LEGO aficionados have evolved.

The way Thomas built the forward mandibles, for example, is a departure from every official rendition of the Falcon we’ve seen to date, and in fact many fan creations. The closest I can recall is Gol’s sleek version from late last year which also used slopes to achieve the acute angles. He’s also smartly used a smaller version of the wedge plate flap techniques of it’s larger siblings, and I also genuinely appreciate the effective choice to simply alternate between two different molds of the jumper plates to achieve The Force Awakens-era rectenna.

This isn’t even the first Falcon we’ve featured in a month or even in a week, but you can trust that as long as savvy builders keep coming up with fun and interesting ways to reinterpret the YT-1300 Light Freighter, we’ll share it with you.

Retrieve Majora’s Mask before the Dawn of the Final Day

German gaming and LEGO enthusiast speedyhead takes us back to the haunting adventure of the Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. This is very, very far from the only LEGO Zelda model we’ve highlighted over the years, but I’ll tell you why this one stands out to me.

First: colors. The in-game mask is certainly colorful, but seeing it in LEGO form is an explosion of hues. The dorsal fin piece featured here in no less than four distinct shades combines with the contrasting dark red and blue of the mask face to create a pop of color.

Second: look into those eyes! The mysterious, evil artifact is a key element of the game, and looks suitably possessed with malice here.

Finally, parts usage. I’ve already commented on the colorful fins, but the perfect use of croissants deserves a shoutout as well.

Blessed brick Jubilee Church is a divine achievement

ARK.builds’ 1:125 scale model of the Jubilee Church in Rome is a stunning facsimile with its accurately recreated curved walls, a supremely technical feat.

I’m just blown away by this model; there’s complexity in representing a very organic real-world building and ARK.builds made it look easy. With such a complicated exterior I didn’t expect to see was any kind of interior, but he’s done it up complete with pews, organ, altar, and cross.

I asked the builder how these stunning curved walls were achieved and he shared the photo below. It looks incredibly fiddly with multiple hinges but it certainly got the job done.

Isn’t it about time?

This orange, perfectly balanced scale by Joe incorporates microscale vignettes representing the effects of time. There are several details to hunt for and appreciate here — check out the teeny tiny tree trunks on the mountain side of the scales, and the really subtle shaping about a third of the way up from the base of the clock achieved with minifig chairs placed top-to-top.

Millennium Falcon concept smuggles its way into our hearts

Based off of Star Wars: The Art of Solo Andrew Miller’s slick Millenium Falcon variant zooms straight out of hyperspace and into LEGO. I have to admit I’m a huge sucker for concept art, and I hold a special affinity for any bit of Star Wars-that-could-have-been.

This black-and-grey version has very few similarities to the white-and-blue edition we got in Solo: A Star Wars Story (and as the Kessel Run Falcon LEGO set.) The small black winglets on either side of the hull are interesting, and I especially like the souped up engine cowling and much longer prow. The builder even worked in an removable escape pod not unlike what we got in the movie. I suppose explaining how this Falcon became the piece of junk we all originally met in A New Hope would have been just a tad more difficult.

Check out the art this is based on:

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