Posts by Ryan Wood

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for November 23, 2019 [News]

In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the third week of November 2019.

Dozens of 2020 LEGO Sets revealed! Keep reading our Brick Report to get all the details.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS: It’s been a busy couple of days of set reveals, but before we get into the gigantic list check out our review of Star Wars 75250 Pasaana Speeder Chase:

The aforementioned huge slate of January 2020 product reveals came fast and furious this week. Check them all out below including the premieres of two new partnerships: BBC’s Top Gear and next year’s Trolls: World Tour movie.

Read the rest of this week’s LEGO news

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LEGO EVA Unit 02 has activated

Mathijs Dubbeldam had a goal: to build the world’s most accurate EVA Unit 02 from the anime, Neon Genesis Evangelion. The head in particular reads strikingly accurate to me, but I am also impressed with the iconic long limbs, lanky frame, and spot-on details right down to the fingernails.

EVA Unit 02 in Tokyo-3

See more of this intricate model, including one of the building’s interiors.

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Naturally chiseled features

Builder Carter Witz has a strong back catalog of interesting LEGO dioramas that we’ve always found notable for their natural elements competing with the man-made creations for the eye’s attention. Whether it’s the gates of Menegroth or a steam-powered mechanical walker prowling the landscape there’s always a pleasing contrast throughline that continues with his newest creation, the Forgotten Door.

The Forgotten Door

This creation also shows Carter’s growth as a LEGO builder with rock formations significantly more complex than his prior work. This time-consuming texturing perfectly complements the finely-chiseled stone doorway, and the entire diorama is framed with lush vegetation.

As an aside, I found this photo to be a great game of I SPY. Can you find the shovel, the large pickaxe, two small ice picks, a dismembered minifig hand, or the moon stick?

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Which is the space pirate’s favorite letter? The C!

Frequent The Brothers Brick readers will be familiar with Dave Kaleta’s ongoing Alphabet Squadron of letter-based starship designs. The saga continues, as it is wont to do, and another ship is zipping through the stars this week!

Comet, cosmic, …coral? These words all have something in common and this latest starfighter is shaped just like it.

C-Wing front

This is one of my favorite of Dave’s series because I love the new coral color (that splat gear!) and that he managed to make a ship durable enough for his young son to play with while still maintaining that challenging hinged crescent shape.

C-Wing Back

A generation ago some of us marveled at and hopelessly tried to emulate the great Jon Palmer Alphabet fighter project. Dave gets to be that torch-bearer for today’s generation of LEGO fans.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

The Xiantong Temple Tribute

Chinese builder Qian Yj has been producing beautiful architectural models for a few years now, many of which can be found in the TBB archives, including the hexagonal Tianfeng Pagoda and the Sichuan home. The builder’s latest creation is a mammoth tribute to the Wuliang Hall of the sprawling 400-building Xiantong Temple complex in China. “Wuliang” translates to “infinite” or “immeasurable” but we think it measures up quite magnificently.

Wuliang Hall (Xiantong Temple)

Continue reading →

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Robot rumble in microcity Meribia!

Italy’s extremely prolific Marco de Bon is ready to rumble! His latest creation pits two big bots against each other with an entire LEGO microscale city playing backdrop to their battle.

Meribia under attack

The black and gray bot is clearly the aggressor, roughing up the skyscrapers while the dark blue Midnight Ranger seems to be avoiding toppling any buildings, planting its feet carefully along the streets. There’s a great energy and enormity of scale on display.

Meribia under attack

The battle continues below!

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The Encroaching Empire

Order 66 has been executed. The Clone Wars have ended. Sith Lord Darth Vader has become Emperor Sheev Palpatine’s trusted enforcer, bringing Imperial order to an unruly galaxy. Tim Lydy has put his stamp on this era of turmoil with his first-ever Star Wars creation, and it is most excellent.

For the Empire!

I really love how cramped and chaotic the trench feels. However the highlight for me is the giant statue of Palpatine constructed out of Light Aqua which doesn’t really have a very extensive parts selection yet.

I also appreciate the effort Tim went to incorporating the writing on the side of the scene in Aurabesh, the Star Wars universe’s standard alphabet.

TBB alumnus Tim has been featured in the past for his work with superhero–themed models. I certainly wouldn’t mind if he dabbled in the Star Wars sandbox some more!

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

This motorhead is monkeying around!

Builder Vincent Kiew presents his latest LEGO creation combining both System and Technic, and it’s an eye-catching racing scene that features a grinning gorilla gear-shifting through the grass!

Technic + Standard Bricks = My latest MOC

There’s a convenient storage crate in back for all the accessories needed for an afternoon joyride around the jungle in the off-road racer. Continue reading →

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Gotta hand it to this brick artist

Hands up if you love this LEGO model! Australian artist Kale Frost is a master at handcrafted LEGO models of varying scales and this time he’s constructed a little scene full of 1:1 scale items. Although this scene was posted as a tease for a future creation, we felt this work stood on its own for the composition of the modeled artist’s hand, paintbrushes with all sorts of neat tips including a cheerleader’s pompom and rare dark green broom, pen and pencil, the spiral-bound notepad using Nakia’s chakram rings.

Brickify

Hands down the biggest mystery to me here is the inclusion of the crayon girl costume collectible minifig. What’s her role? Is she one of the artist’s tools come to life? Maybe Kale’s next creation will lead us by the hand and explain it to us.

If Kale’s name sounds familiar, his handiwork has been featured on TBB several times in the past covering a broad range of styles and subjects. I’m keen on his roadside diner and microscale castle diorama.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Digital Dodge monster truck grabs life by the horns!

Digital model builder Alice Dee recently showed off a monster evolution of their skills as a builder and how far rendering software has come in 7 years. In fact, things have gotten so good that TBB contributors (myself included) are sometimes fooled at first glance! Alice rendered this model using Mecabricks.

Dodge Ram 3500 Crew Cab Monster Truck [main]

Although the original digital model designed 7 years ago in LEGO Digital Designer was not based on any particular truck, the latest version by Alice Dee is described as Dodge Ram 3500 Crew Cab with monster features. With tough tires and suspension for the rocky terrain included in the model, this beast of a truck will certainly “Grab Life.” I really like the small details like the truck leaving muddy tread marks behind it.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Set your sights on this Scandinavian sea house

Certain builders have a distinct flavor running through their models, certain ingredients that make every build a masterpiece. Sarah Beyer is one of those crafty LEGO creators who I’m really starting to enjoy for the tranquility imbued in each of her models. Take a look back at her Lilium eco-house, the Vanilla House, or even the Jungle Cottage: there’s a clean simplicity in the homes she’s built, and a bit of a running theme of how each unique abode is connected to the natural environment it’s been built in. Now, compare her previous models to her latest production, a Scandinavian retreat by the sea.

Scandinavian Sea House MOC. Front.

See more of this beautiful Scandinavian home

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Explore an astronomer’s tower that’s out of this world!

Sergeant Chipmunk is back with another one of his beautifully textured, fantastically displayed LEGO scenes. Some past creations from Sergeant Chipmunk featured here on the Brothers Brick include Hailstone Point, Securing the Seas and my personal favorite is the western-themed From Sunrise to Sunset!

Astronomer's Tower

I have some puzzling thoughts about this picturesque little scene. The titular astronomer has clearly landed already. The boat is tied up, but not unpacked. There are even freshly caught fish and a roaring fire with a pot of fruit boiling away. The telescope is propped up and ready to go. But where’s the astronomer? All of Chipmunk’s other models star minifigures in key roles. Not this time. The easiest answer might be that the astronomer is inside the tower. Or are they underwater spearfishing for more to eat? Did they become the parrot atop the roof? Have they fallen off the bridge with no one to save them? Maybe the intrepid astronomer spotted aliens through the telescope and they arrived to whisk him/her away! Share your theory in the comments!

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.