About Chris Doyle

Chris has been involved in many parts of the LEGO community for over twenty years, and has been building most of his life. A love of transparent bricks and pop culture combine in most of his creations, which tend to be pretty large scale. His website, Reasonably Clever, featured one of the longest running brick-based webcomics, as well as one of the first LEGO-themed avatar creators. His photographs and creations have appeared in several books.

Posts by Chris Doyle

Rollin’, rollin’, rollin’. Keep them doggies rollin’.

Classic Space the Next Generation returns in the AT-TCC – All Terrain Troop and Cargo Crawler by Boba-1980. The color and shapes of this fan theme harken back to the days of Mars Mission, but the with all the upgrades you expect from a sequel. I really enjoy the utility of this vehicle – the tires and treads should take you just about anywhere you need to go. There’s room for six passengers, and there’s plenty of cargo space in the two removable pods. My favorite feature, though, is the clever nose design made from two 6×10 windscreens.

Even if the orange and black of CS.NextGen isn’t for you, there’s a chance you’d be interested in the blue and yellow of Neo-Classic Space. There’s room for everyone out in the vastness of the universe, after all.

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Will budget cutbacks lead to more small-scale warfare?

The governments of the world spend a lot of money on military hardware. Maybe they should look to Aaron Newman for ways to save some funds. I mean, LEGO is expensive, but it’s not THAT expensive. And these micro-machines look pretty capable to me. Aaron has shared three quality builds, each with clever scale reductions. Standout details include the guns on the battleship made from modified 1×1 round plate, the curved sand-green slopes on the wings of the plane, and the modified cone in the tank’s barrel. If you’d like to build your own, Aaron has made the instructions available for free.

LEGO may not produce official military sets, but that hasn’t stopped the fan community from building their own. Our military archives feature some great builds ranging from the historic to the fantastic. (As well as reviewing the sets that LEGO sort-of-but-not-quite let slip through the cracks.)

Back to the future, sort of.

Usually when LEGO fans think of Vic Vipers, they think of NoVVember – but this new design by The Brick Artisan shows that a good theme isn’t confined to a singe month. The LL-551 Viper is full of sweet sci-fi details like twin laser cannons and integrated shielding. On the building side of things, there are all sorts of clever choices like using minifigure metal detectors as part of the hull. There’s also a wealth of quality greebling and great details like using the gap between arched bricks to house some tubing. This is one sweet ride that can help carry us over until next November.

The colors and logos also identify the LL-551 as part of the NeoClassic Space theme. Isn’t it nice when the future is clearly such a bright and shining place?

LEGO Chinese Festival 80106 Story of Nian [Review]

In Chinese mythology, the Nian is a monster who emerges at the end of the year to terrorize villages. Luckily, it’s a cowardly beast. Red lanterns and robes, combined with a healthy dose of explosive fireworks, are enough to drive it away for another year. LEGO brings this myth to life in LEGO 80106 Story of Nian, part of their Chinese Spring Festival theme. This set was announced back in November at the 3rd China International Import Exhibition, and will be available to buy on January 10th, 2021. Containing 1067 pieces and retailing for US $79.99 | CAN $109.99 | UK £59.99, this set has six minifigures, a village playset, and the Nian itself. That sounds pretty cool, but can it appeal to a wide audience? Let’s take close look and see just what all the fuss is about!

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.

Click to read the full hands-on review

LEGO Chinese Festival 80107 Spring Lantern Festival [Review]

I think we can all agree that 2020 was a rough year. Here at the tail end of things, it feels like I’m constantly on the lookout for cheerful things. Luckily, there are few distractions sweeter to me than looking over a brand new LEGO set. And when that set ties into a fresh and hopeful outlook for 2021? So much the better! LEGO 80107 Spring Lantern Festival was announced at the 3rd China International Import Exhibition, and will be available to buy on January 10th, 2021. It’s not technically a New Years themed set, as the Spring Lantern Festival occurs, oddly enough, in the spring. (But just work with me, here.) This set set is part of the Chinese Festival theme, includes 1793 pieces, and will retail for US $119.99 | CAN $159.99 | UK £89.99. It has eight minifigures, two modular Festival areas, and even a light up Ox Lantern statue. Sound fun? Read on and see for yourself!

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.

Click to read the full hands-on review

Feeling blue? So are these monkeys.

The Temple of Twin Monkeys by Caleb Saw has nice part usage, but also a hefty dollop of mystery. For example, just what are these twin guardians protecting? (My guess is the legendary great lost shipment of Blue Food Dye #2.) The use of grill tiles for fingers works really well, and I like how their use as toes melds into the pedestals. The repeated use of 2×2 dome-bottom bricks for mouth adds uniformity and a touch of sculptural feel to idols, too, while the eyes are some excellently used train wheels. The temple itself has some great details in the curved stonework at the base, and the lines and leafy overgrowth give things a sense of age and neglect. If you came across this temple, would you explore it? Or would it be better not to monkey around?

For what it’s worth, there is an animal called a blue monkey, but they’re not quite this vibrant. Personally, I’d like to see more creative takes like this so we can buff up our LEGO monkey archives. So go get to building!

This tiny spaceship has your back(pack)

The use of minifigure accessories in spaceship builds is nothing new, but LEGO designer Chris Perron takes it to a new meta level by building a snazzy micro-fighter that uses retro Blacktron 2 jetpacks as key elements. The nice part usage doesn’t stop there, though. Check out the droid leg as a tail fin, and the white ingot and classic solar panel in the nose.

If you like this little guy, be sure to check out Chris’ other spotlighted builds. My personal favorite is the giant Aquanauts Shark. What’s yours?

I’ll never be your beast of burden. Well, okay, maybe just this once.

Here at The Brothers Brick, we love a good Bantha build. Luis Peña shares a really cool one – rife with plenty of clever techniques. The fur is made of a combination of quarter-circle tiles and rock elements, with ribbed 2×2 round brick for the legs. The horns are achieved by stacking tan 1×2 modified rounded plate, covered with more quarter-circle tile and topped with Wampa horns. The best detail, though, has to be the great use of a yellow rubber-band for the mouth. It gives this creature just a hint of a cheery smile, and I like that.

I’d love to see a mash-up of some of the techniques used here (particularly those sweet horns) with some of the other Banthas we’ve spotlighted. Maybe some adventurous soul is already hard at work at a UCS scale version. Well, we can dream, anyway.

This plant is my soil mate

When I look out my window today, there’s snow on the ground. It’s been a long, cold winter already, and I’m starting to really miss the color green. If the drab snows of winter are getting you down, too, here’s some welcome relief. Stilly Bricks collaborated with Jonathan Lopes to create a 45″ inch tall, 18″ diameter topiary wonder. It’s so massive that it required a metal bar through the stem to support the flowers, and even the vine has a metal tube running through it. From the brick-built pot and leaves to the varied flowers in the ball, this is one creation that should make any plastic-loving botanist smile.

If you like LEGO flowers (and really, who doesn’t?) then be sure to check our archives for more leafy goodness!

Minifigures and Mechs – More LEGO Marvel Armor arrives in January [Review]

LEGO recently announced a slew of new Marvel sets that will be available January 1, 2021. Among them are three Mech Armors – smaller sets that feature a minifigure of a popular character and a minimalistic suit of power armor they can stomp around in. This wave includes 76168 Captain America Mech Armor (US $9.99 | CAN $13.99 | UK £8.99), 76169 Thor Mech Armor (US $9.99 | CAN $13.99 | UK £8.99), and 76171 Miles Morales Mech Armor (US $9.99 | CAN $13.99 | UK £8.99). At first glance, these sets look a little spindly and low-quality, but is that actually the case? Could these be tiny toys be big wins for LEGO and Marvel fans? We’ll walk through the highs and lows of each set, so you can judge for yourself!

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.

Click to read the full hands-on review

Arvo brothers bring Robocop to life with LEGO – I’d buy that for a dollar!

If you haven’t heard of the Arvo Brothers before, they’re Ramon and Amador Alfaro Marcilla, a pair of Spanish builders who are known for truly amazing LEGO sculptures. Their latest effort pays tribute to the 1987 classic, RoboCop. Standing around 2 feet tall, this towering figure is a dead-on recreation of Peter Weller’s portrayal of the titular character and is filled with intricate and screen-accurate detailing.

The first thing that becomes apparent is that there’s a level of articulation built into this sculpture. The shoulders, elbow, and head can all be adjusted to create a variety of bad-ass poses. The next thing that you notice is the spectacular part usage. There are just a few LEGO studs exposed, enough to let you know what he’s made of, but so few that you’re still required to really lean in to be sure. Curved tiles and slopes are everywhere, smoothing out the shapes and creating a perfectly streamlined set of armor.

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The future is looking brighter all the time.

The nostalgia brought on by a quality LEGO Back to the Future DeLorean build is always welcome. Joey Klusnick has us looking forward to the future, too, with a version of this iconic vehicle that’s perfectly scaled for minifigure adventures. I’m really digging the use of transparent trapezoid flags and grey spikes to construct the windshield.

This build looks great from every angle, with just the right level of detailing to get key design elements across without falling into a mass of incomprehensible greebling. It’s sleek and smooth, and a stunning example of what you can do with pop culture if you really put your mind to it.

I think this really shows how LEGO creations can evolve over time. Compare this build with the 2013 LEGO CUUSOO DeLorean – both have their merits, but I know which one I’d rather have on display at my house today.