Posts by Chuck Hagenbuch

LEGO Icons 10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook – Shall you pass? [Review]

Earlier this month, we brought you a look at LEGO Icons 10351 Sherlock Holmes: Book Nook, LEGO’s first revealed venture into the Book Nook decor trend. It turns out that that Holmes and a certain boy wizard aren’t the only nooks coming this June, and today we can delve deeper – carefully! – into the just-revealed LEGO Icons 10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook. This fraught cavern passage contains 1,201 pieces and will be available on June 1 for US $129.99 | CAN $TBD | UK £109.99. Will you be adding Durin’s Bane to your shelves?

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.

Balrog in a book nook? Is that a bridge (of Khazad-dûm) too far?

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LEGO Icons GWP 40761 The Lord of the Rings: Sméagol & Déagol – You won’t believe what happens next! [Review]

With initial reactions to LEGO Icons 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire finding it beautiful but not a great value, would a family fishing trip help? LEGO Icons GWP 40761 The Lord of the Rings: Sméagol & Déagol will be available from release (Insiders April 2nd, everyone else April 5th) through April 8th (while supplies last!) with the purchase of Bag End: (US | CAN | UK). So let’s dig into this 181-piece GWP and see if it’s worth prioritizing a long-awaited purchase of LEGO Icons 10354 The Shire on initial release. If you miss the GWP during this window, it may be available from some 3rd party resellers like Amazon or eBay.

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.

Check out the review of this new GWP below!

LEGO Icons 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire – A Long Expected Party [Review]

Whenever you read this review, it will not be late, nor early. This review, like a wizard, arrives exactly when it intends to. LEGO has returned to Middle Earth with a series of large diorama sets, and after exploring the formation of the Fellowship in Rivendell, and the second of The Two Towers at Barad-Dûr, we visit the beginning of the story: The Shire. This large hobbit hole is accompanied by accessories that set the scene of Bilbo’s farewell party, and the passing of the Ring to Frodo. LEGO Icons 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire contains 2017 pieces and 9 minifigures, and will be available April 2nd to LEGO Insiders (April 5th for everyone) for US $269.99 | CAN $349.99 | UK £229.99. Will you like it half as well as you should? Let’s pause for second breakfast…. ahhh, thats better. Now we’re ready to explore!

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.

Read on for our full review!

LEGO Ideas 40698 Gift with Purchase Books Are My Passion: Curl up with a good brick! [Review]

The latest gift with purchase, based on a fan design that won a LEGO Ideas fan contest, is here: LEGO 40698 Books Are My Passion contains 285 pieces and 1 minifigure and will be available from LEGO.com and LEGO retail stores starting October 28th and until November 11th as long as supplies last, with a purchase of US $130 | CAN $TBD | UK £130. This was the winning entry to the “My, Myself, and I” contest, submitted by fan designer Anna (Fr-An). Is it worth inking the LEGO purchases to qualify for it, or should you turn the page? Let’s take a look!

Read on for our full review!

LEGO Winter Village Collection 40746 Santa’s Delivery Truck [Review]

To go along with the full Winter Village set this year, LEGO has released a companion set: LEGO 40746 Santa’s Delivery Truck contains 224 pieces and 1 minifigure, and will be available October 1st for US $19.99 | CAN $24.99 | UK £17.99. In the past, there have been gift-with-purchase sets that compliment the Winter Village in general, or go directly with the main set for the year – sometimes even two bonus sets, one in October and one in November. However, I don’t recall a complementary model like this that pairs directly with the Winter Village set and is separately available for purchase. Is it worth adding it to your list? Let’s take a look!

Read on for our full review!

LEGO Icons 10339 Santa’s Post Office – Santa would like a word [Review]

It’s turned to fall in the Northern Hemisphere, there’s a chill in the air and the leaves are turning depending on where you are, and it’s time for Halloween decor… just kidding, of course, it’s time for Christmas stuff already. There’s a Winter Village Multiverse developing between the human world and the North Pole/Santa/Elves world, and this year we get another addition to the the Santa side of the portal. LEGO Icons 10339 Santa’s Post Office contains 1,440 pieces and 5 minifigures and will be available October 4th for US $99.99 | CAN $129.99 | UK £89.99. LEGO Insiders will have early access starting October 1st. You might think, oh, of course, Santa probably gets more mail than anyone else in the world, there must be a huge facility to process it! Read on to learn the alleged truth about Santa’s mail.

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.

Read on for our full review!

LEGO Ideas 21350 Jaws: You’re gonna build a pretty big boat [Review]

DA-DUM, DA-DUM, DA-DUM… no two notes are more iconic, or stressful, and the creature that those notes invoke is as classic as they come. Jaws, the original summer blockbuster movie, has an outsized share of iconic elements, scenes, and lines, and with the 50th anniversary of the book this year and the movie next year, it’s perhaps no surprise that we’re getting a LEGO rendition of one of those classic scenes. LEGO Ideas 21350 Jaws contains 1,497 pieces and 3 minifigures, and will be available August 6th for US $149.99 | CAN $199.99 | UK £129.99. LEGO Insiders will have early access starting August 3rd. Let’s dive in… ehhhh maybe we’ll stay on the beach for this one.

Read on for our full review!

LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31151 T. rex: An apex predator outpaces the rest [Review]

Dinosaurs and LEGO just go together. It could be molded creatures from Dino Hunters, Adventurers, or Jurassic Park. Or detailed brick build sculptures from…Jurassic Park. Or maybe massive creations of stacked 2x4s. Or, indeed, multiple decades of Creator sets! These prehistoric giants are a compelling subject for display and play in the brick. The summer Creator wave returns to the Tyrannosaurus Rex, considered one of the fiercest predators of its time, and perhaps ever (yes, the Allosaurus and Giganotosaurus may want a word, and Jurassic Park invents its own wordless villains, but T. rex still holds up as a top predator). LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31151 T. rex. contains 626 pieces and is available August 1st for North America, June 1st for the UK for US $59.99 | CAN $79.99 | UK £54.99. Let’s see if it stacks (bricks) up!

Read on for our full review!

LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31153 Modern House: Posh digs for the modern fig? [Review]

With a worldwide population of 4 billion minifigures and growing fast, housing access is a crucial issue in the LEGO world. Even non-licensed minifigures need a place to live, and have you seen the cost of homes these days? We need every theme contributing housing that possibly can. Fortunately, Creator sets have been building homes for close to two decades now. And in the summer 2024 collection, minifigures can select from 3 dwelling options thanks to LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31153 Modern House. Whether at the beach, in the city, or in the woods, here’s our review of this 939-piece, 2-minifigure set, which is available for pre-order now (will ship August 1st) from LEGO.com for US $99.99 | CAN $129.99 | UK £89.99.

Read on for our full review

LEGO Icons 10332 Medieval Town Square: The GOAT? No, the goat! [Review]

Today we get to dig in to a highly anticipated tribute to/reimagining of/reviving of the beloved 10193 Medieval Market Village. LEGO Icons 10332 Medieval Town Square contains 3,304 pieces and 8 minifigures and will be available from LEGO.com and LEGO retail stores for Insiders on March 1st, and to everyone March 4th, for US $229.99 | CAN $299.99 | UK £199.99. It’s over twice the price of the original Medieval Market Village, but also over twice the pieces – and inflation happens, so: how does it do? Is the sequel worthy of joining the village? Let’s get our wattle and daub and find out!

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 our full review!

LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31149 Flowers in Watering Can: Transformations and the conservation of studs [Review]

Traveling the yellow brick road from the savannah to the windowsill, we arrive at a home for some flowers and winged creatures. Today we take a look at LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31149 Flowers in Watering Can. This set caused us to sit back and reflect a bit on the nature of 3-in-1 sets and if more thought is going in to the secondary models than used to – and if so, is it working? Here’s our review of this 420-piece set, which is available now from LEGO.com for US $29.99 | CAN $39.99 | UK £24.99.

Read on for our full review

LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31150 Wild Safari Animals [Review]

We continue our look at 2024’s Creator 3-in-1 sets with the largest one announced so far, LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31150 Wild Safari Animals. Realistic animal models are a Creator tradition, even going back to the precursor Designer Sets – that’s 20 years! Let’s tour this 780-piece set, which will be available January 1st and retail for US $64.99 | CAN $84.99 | UK £59.99. Don’t worry, we’ll get to the flamingo.

Read on for our full review