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

Here’s looking at you, kid

This creepy build by Bart De Dobbelaer combines great LEGO part usage with eldritch horror. Or maybe this creature from beyond just wants to borrow a cup of flour. Who are we to judge by appearances? I mean, sure, the mouth full of tentacles ringed by dozens of teeth does seem a bit aggressive. But the multiple claws forming a spiky head of hair might just be a fashion statement. You know, like those DOTs bracelets that ring those not-at-all-evil eyes. The outer frame is pure evil, though. The gold accents may be shiny, but the expert use of brown organic curves of different thicknesses is unsettling in the extreme.

Bart excels at finding just the right balance between craftsmanship and horror. Take a minute to check out some of the other creations that we’ve featured.

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Orange and White as the new Blue and Yellow

Cargo transports don’t always have to look like they stepped out of the set of Aliens, you know. Clean lines and bright colors make this LEGO hangar build by Boba-1980 stand out to me. The focus on white and orange harkens back to the Mars Mission theme, as well as the current City Space designs. (The City influence can been seen in elements like the canopy window from 2019’s 60225: Rover Testing Drive.) I like how having a second cargo pod as part of the scene lets you get a feeling for how the dropship operates. I also like the fact that there’s an exposed outlet and plug on the back wall. That’s a bit of detail I don’t come across very often.

Boba describes the theming as “CS.NextGen” – Classic Space the Next Generation. I’d love to see more builds in this style. I mean, I love classic space and all, but there’s always room for alternate universes that aren’t simply Neo Classic Space.

A Saucerful of Secrets

Mysteries abound in this latest creation by Blake Foster. Turning the Tables features a classic UFO scenario turned on its head. Have the cows had enough? Or is this actually a flashback to how the hostilities between the alien and bovine races began? Either way, there’s a lot to unpack in this vignette. On the building front, check out the clever use of on-the-sprue Harry Potter wands in the fence, the cupcake-tipped under-udder-thrusters, and the perfect use of those 1×1 star plates. The Mixel eyes on the cow-pilot just creep me out, though.

We’ve featured a number of Blake’s other Spacy Creations in the past. Could this be the beginning of a new theme of “Cow-Space”? One can only hope.

Purple Highlighters...In spaaaaaaace!

As much enjoyment as I get out of microscale builds, I find that it’s the really large LEGO creations that get my blood pumping. That’s why I look forward to SHIPtember – that magical time of year when talented builders like Marin Stipkovic deplete their personal brick stock to create SHIPs aplenty. Reaching the goal of 100+ studs in length is no easy task, but Marin accomplishes it in style with the Phunky. I love the unusual color scheme of the mirrored transparent purple windscreens in the command deck, That, combined with the overall shape, reminds me of a giant purple highlighter. If, you know, stationary was more like space-tionary. No, I will not be explaining that terrible logic jump any more than that. Instead, let’s take a moment and admire the other clever part usage like the new goggle rings from the 75551 Brick-built Minions set along the underside.

From the side you can get a better view of the Phunky’s rail gun and beam cannons, as well as the sweet color gradient along the hull. (For those of you wondering, the Phunky was already at 107 studs long before the guns and thruster burst were added.)

Don’t think Marin is limited to just building giant markers…I mean spaceships. Check out their other featured builds!

A Viking? That’s a switch

Making human-featured builds out of LEGO is a challenging task, but Jonas Kramm knows just how to go about it. The trick, as is often the case, is NPU or “Nice Part Usage.” For example, the nose is made from a baby dinosaur. And the fingers from minifigure arms. And the pupils from tiny hammers. And let’s not forget that glorious yellow tresses and beard, resplendent with 2 bananas and over a dozen 9V Train track switch elements. Even the display stand is finely decorated with a twisting branch pattern made from animal horns and claws. Every part of this creation is alive with great details and clever tricks.

The train switch is the seed part in the latest round of Iron Builder and is leading to some great builds. But don’t think Jonas needs any specific goad to create great builds. I mean, just check out the other great builds we’ve featured.

This map took a lot of control to build

Let’s see. I should start this off with something topical, right? Hrm. Well, for a change how about I try something topographical instead? Something like this amazing map from Eli Willsea, perhaps. Sure, it’s not particularly practical if you want to fold it up and take it with you; some of the pieces are just sitting on the surface of the build. But who cares about that. Look at those mountains, trees, and tents made from 1×1 triangle tile! The little bridge made from a curved slope! The “North” indicator made from rods and tile. Oh yeah, and let’s not overlook that compass and map calipers. They make use of a really unusual part: The 9V Track Switch.

As that control switch is the seed part in the latest round of Iron Builder, I think it’s a safe bet we’ll see a lot more from this part in the future. Personally, I’m looking forward to whatever Eli builds next.

A deep dive into NPU

NPU, or “Nice Part Usage” is often a hallmark of the LEGO creations we feature here at the Brothers Brick. The Sludge Diver by djokson is a prime specimen. A specimen of what, exactly, remains up for debate. It seems likely those eyestalks are partially composed of dinosaur tails, but the bulk of the diver remains hidden behind that fascinating bit of protective gear. Combining Duplo tubes, rubber tires, and even the packaging from the 8050 Bionicle Kraata booster pack, this explorer is ready for whatever life throws at them.

The best bit of this build for me is the DOTS bracelet used for the helmet gasket. If you agree, check out other innovative uses of those bracelets in our DOTS archives.

Is Unikitty a Disney Princess?

Sure, you might recognize this build by Koen Zwanenburg as a mini version of the Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland Paris. But if you imprinted on The LEGO Movie like I did, this looks like Unikitty bought and redecorated Cinderella’s castle. And that’s not a bad thing. (Well, maybe for Cinderella.) Built on a 32 x 32 baseplate, Koen has crammed an enormous amount of detail and creativity into a compact footprint. There are little rewards all over for taking a close look, like spotting a Gungan shield as decoration, or recognizing bunches of golden ski poles as turret toppers.

There are even more building Easter eggs on rear of the castle. Can you spot the hot dogs and unprinted minifigure heads?

All in all, it’s a masterful effort, and an impressive display piece. But we’ve come to expect that level of “wow” from Koen, as a trip into our archives will show.

What’s this? What’s this?

You may have noticed that there’s been a lot of Christmas set news lately. But personally, I think we should be focusing more on Halloween. Luckily, delayice finds the middle ground with these great LEGO character builds from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Both Jack Skellington and his pet ghost-dog Zero are very recognizable. They’re also very cute, with big round tile eyes that are reminiscent of POP figures. I like how both Zero’s ears and Jack’s eyebrows (eye sockets?) sit at unconventional angles, making this build feel less static. The gravestone behind Jack is a nice touch, too, expanding this into a micro-scene, rather than just a character build.

If you’re like me and want to fend off the incoming elf hordes for a few more minutes, why not peruse our Nightmare Before Christmas archives? I promise nothing there is that scary.

LEGO Winter Village Collection 10275 Elf Club House [Review]

It’s hard to believe, but somehow it’s already nearly October. While some people think that should mean “Halloween all the time,” others–particularly those in marketing–think that it’s a good time to start getting everyone ready for the gift-giving holidays. Normally that just makes me grumpy, but it does have the occasional upside. Here’s one of those positives: it’s time for LEGO to announce the newest addition to their Winter Village Collection! This year, we leave Santa’s Workshop at the North Pole to check out what the elves get up to in their spare time…namely hanging out in their club house. This highly anticipated set spans 1,197 pieces with goodies like a new minifigure-scaled reindeer, four elves, a heap of presents, and, oh yeah, the club house itself. The Winter Village Collection 10275 Elf Club House will be available September 23 from the LEGO Shop Online for US $99.99 | UK £84.99 | EU €94.99. Is it worth fitting into your holiday budget? Read on and see!

Click to read the full hands-on review

Storage just overflowing with bricks

Recently LEGO announced a collaboration with IKEA to produce some new storage solutions. They won’t be available to the masses until October 1st, but Brothers Brick contributor and LEGO Masters US competitor Flynn DeMarco and his partner Richard Board, collectively known as TrickyBricks, had a chance to try them out early. Using the largest box as a base, they’ve built a breathtaking palace of white and transparent light blues. I’m particularly fond of the crests formed from Legends of Chima Wings and Nexo Knight shields, and the repeated use of trophy statues help create a sense of vast scale. Also, check out that “studs to the side” inlaid mosaic in the central archway. The varied shades of blue and clear plate really unify the color choices of the whole creation.

But what really caught my eye was the way they didn’t just use the box lid as a base. By adding waterfalls of blue brick to the lower section, they created a great visual pun of “overflowing LEGO storage bins” – a common lament in my household. I’m not sure things are actually useful as a storage solution at this point…but I don’t think anyone will be complaining about that.

Snatcher, no snatching!

I’m a big fan of people using LEGO elements in unusual ways, and builder Djokson hits the sweet spot with Slizzk the Snatcher. Although described as “a pathetic little creature cursed with an insatiable desire to collect all things sparkly and shiny,” I don’t find Slizzk lacking at all. Two LEGO DOTs bracelets create a great color contrast with yellow Hero Factory armor. The black limbs show great articulation, and the end result is just charming as all get out. Sure, I’d probably be annoyed if they stole any of my stuff. But that’s not currently my problem.

This isn’t the first adorable creature of Djokson’s we’ve featured. Hopefully it won’t be the last, either.