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

LEGO VIP Rewards: Tin Signs – For the completist who has everything else already [Review]

Back in November, we shared a review of the 1950’s LEGO Logo tin sign VIP reward. Since then, LEGO has introduced four more designs to help fill out your wall space – 5007155 Ninjago, 5007156 – City, 5007157 – Friends and 5007158 – Rebuild the World. Each is available one-per-VIP-account in the Rewards Center (US | CAN | UK). In the US they’re 1,200 points each with a listed retail value of $15. We caved and ordered all four – come along as we take a look at just what we got for our 4,800 points. (Spoiler alert: Not much.)

Click to read the full hands-on review

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LEGO DOTS 41958: Extra DOTS Series 7 – SPORT [Review]

It feels like it was just yesterday (Okay, it was back in January) when we took a look at the Extra DOTS series 6 packs. But now the latest iteration of collectible tile semi-blind packs has arrived with 41958 Extra DOTS Series 7 – SPORT. They’re available now from the LEGO Shop Online for US $3.99 | CAN $4.99 | UK £3.49, and we bought a few so you could see what’s up. Because we love you.

Crack a pack or three with us

That’s “Lola”. “L0-LA59” if you’re nasty.

Any new Star Wars property is pretty much guaranteed to include at least one new highly-merchandisable droid friend, and the new Obi-Wan Kenobi series is no exception. Nick Jensen has (swiftly!) created an amazing likeness of the adorable L0-LA59 out of LEGO, complete with articulated wings and buzz-saw blade. I particularly like the use of the opalized transparent blue dish and Mysterio helmet elements.

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A bright and shiny sunflower

Sometimes a simple flower can contain clever secrets. Take this sunflower by Ted Andes for example. It’s one of those models that looks great on its own, but has rewards for the LEGO parts junkie as well. Creative use of Bionicle Vahki eyestalks forms a real sunburst of color for the petals, and those leaves are repurposed pteranodon wings.

There’s a whole lot you can do when creating plants out of LEGO. Our archive is a garden overflowing with sweet techniques.

Miles “Mosaic” Morales

The Brothers Brick contributor Chris Doyle has conspired with Alyse Middleton on another large-scale LEGO mosaic. Visiting the Spider-Verse, they created a mosaic tribute to Miles Morales.

If you’re like me (and I know I am), then you probably love the Into the Spider-Verse movie. Miles Morales quickly became my favorite take on the Spider-Man character, and I’d started (and abandoned) more than a few attempts to pay tribute to the character in LEGO form. Still, when I wanted to challenge myself and try a mosaic style that varied from the LEGO Art format I’d been working in, I decided Miles had to be the focus. Then I teamed up again with Alyse to make this new challenge a bit easier. Built on a 96×64 base of Technic brick, this images uses layers of plate and other elements to create an image in line with the animation style from the movie.

Doin’ the things a spider can

Monkey sea, monkey do

Here’s a bit of toy nostalgia for you. Remember the Sea-Monkeys? What, before you time? Well, how about the glorious days of LEGO’s X-Pods? Still no? Well, just work with me here. Brandon Jones has created a wonderful tribute to questionable comic-book marketing with this aquarium made from stacked X-pod containers. It has the look of a water cooler – but you probably don’t want to top off your glass with water from this tank. The quality brick-built castle is offset by just a touch of greenery, with red horn elements serving as the brine shrimp of legend. The craggy rock of the display stand elevates the build in both a literal and physical sense. Too bad the real Sea-Monkey kits weren’t nearly this amazing.

Fishing for more fun? Cast a line into our archives!

This Bionicle is a big hit on Tinder

It must be tough times on Mata Nui, as this Toa has resorted to getting a day job as a lumberjack. Tempting as it is, I’ll be avoiding the Monty Python jokes when talking about this clever build by Johann Dakitsch. I like the clever details like the rubber tires used to beef up the legs, the Hero Factory armor used for the sleeves, and the row of 1×1 round silver plate that forms the jacket’s zipper. Oh, and that axe is pretty sweet, too.

Check our archives for more Bionicle creations we thought made the cut!

Kandor is cool but R’lyeh is rockin’

We’ve seen ships in a bottle, and decks of cards in a bottle, but Bart De Dobbelaer is the first builder I know to combine glassware with the elder gods. Rise of Cthulhu features not only the great tentacled meanie, but also the city of R’lyeh doing a wicked impression of a lava lamp. The city was built brick-by-brick inside the bottle thanks to a small hole in the back; a process that is certainly madness-inducing.

A Beauty of a Bionicle Bullfinch

Although summer is fast upon us, this lovely Bullfinch by Oscar Cederwall feels like a scene from early spring. The thin, organic shaping of the branch is what first caught my eye, probably because the bird itself instantly read as “bird” and let me appreciate the setting. But the Bullfinch deserves a closer look, too, with range of interesting shapes provided by clever use of Bionicle, Hero Factory, and even an old NHL Sports helmet for the head.

If you like combining your bricks with avian themes, take a nature walk through our bird archives.

LEGO Ninjago 71774: Lloyd’s Golden Ultra Dragon – Are four heads are better than one? [Review]

Dragons and Ninjago: This fan-favorite thematic pairing returns in Summer 2022 with Ninjago 71774 Lloyd’s Golden Ultra Dragon, part of Ninjago Season 15’s “Crystalized” theme. This 989 piece set will available June 1st in the UK, and August 1st worldwide, from the LEGO Shop Online for US $139.99 | CAN $179.99 | UK £124.99. Featuring a giant cast of nine minifigures, a weapon-studded throne, and a massive four-headed dragon, this is the most expensive set in the wave…but it’s not the set with the most pieces. Does LEGO manage to justify the cost with the contents? Read on as we take an early look and decide 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.

Roar! And Roar! And Roar! And Roar!

LEGO Ninjago 71768: Jay’s Golden Dragon Motorcycle – Putting the Dragon into drag racing [Review]

We recently took a look at 71775 Nya’s Samurai X Mech, one of the larger sets in the new Summer 2022 wave of Ninjago sets based on the upcoming Season 15 of the tv show. Next, we swing to the other end of the spectrum and explore one of the more compact offerings. Ninjago 71768 Jay’s Golden Dragon Motorbike will available June 1st in the UK, and August 1st worldwide, from the LEGO Shop Online for US $19.99 | CAN $24.99 | UK £17.99. This 137 piece set comes with the Golden Dragon Motorbike, as you’d expect, as well as a Crystal Spider, Vengestone warrior, and a very impressive Golden Dragon Jay minifigure. Ride along as we take this set for an early spin!

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.

Vroom Vroom awaits

LEGO Ideas 21333: The Starry Night – You’ll Gogh nuts for this one. [Review]

Back in February of 2021, LEGO announced that a brilliant adaptation of Vincent van Gogh’s The Starry Night by fan creator Truman Cheng (legotruman) would be one of the next LEGO Ideas sets. Now, just over a year later, that set is about to leap into our greedy little hands. LEGO Ideas 21333 The Starry Night will be available May 25th for VIP members (and June 1st for everyone) from the LEGO Shop Online for US $159.99 | CAN $219.99 | UK £149.99. This 2316-piece set features not only a very interesting sculptural approach to the impressionistic masterpiece, but a minifigure of Vincent van Gogh himself. Come along as we stroll this fantastic landscape, and set our sights for the stars.

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 take a trip into the artist’s studio