Posts by Chuck Hagenbuch

LEGO Star Wars 501st Clone Troopers Battle Pack [Review]

Today we’ll take a quick look at the last of three new LEGO Star Wars sets for January 2023. 75345 501st Clone Troopers Battle Pack returns to the popular 501st Legion, with their distinctive blue markings. In fact, the 501st was the subject of the most recent battle-pack-like set to feature clone troopers, 501st Clone Troopers. Let’s see if it’s a worthwhile return to the subject matter. The set comes with 119 pieces and 4 minifigures and will be available Jan 1st for US $19.99 | CAN $24.99 | UK £17.99.

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 the full review

LEGO 75344 Boba Fett’s Starship Microfighter [Review]

In 2022, LEGO released one Microfighter featuring a Mandalorian, and in 2023, so far we know there will be … one Microfighter featuring a Mandalorian! 75344 Boba Fett’s Starship Microfighter is, surprisingly, the first Microfighter treatment for our favorite space western villain’s ride – either under its old name or this newer eponymous one. There’s another first with this set: it’s the first time a Microfighter pilot has been behind a canopy or otherwise “inside”! The set comes with 85 pieces and 1 minifigure and will be available Jan 1st for US $9.99 | CAN $13.99 | UK £8.99. Let’s take a quick look at this bite-size build and see if Boba should keep the roof, or be out in the cold, err, January Tatooine rain?

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 the full review

LEGO Star Wars 75347 TIE Bomber – a blast from the past [Review]

Today we take a look at one of the least-covered Original Trilogy vehicles left: the TIE/sa bomber! LEGO Star Wars fans have been anticipating the reappearance of this ship after its sole minifigure-scale version from twenty years ago. 75347 TIE Bomber nearly triples the piece count of the 2003 version and changes up the minifigures, introducing the very first LEGO version of Rae Sloane, a popular and important character who bridges the Original Trilogy all the way to the sequel movies and the First Order. The set comes with 625 pieces and 4 minifigures and will be available Jan 1st for US $64.99 | CAN $84.99 | UK £59.99. Is this new version on target? Let’s dive (bomb) in!

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 the full review

Will you get a kick out of LEGO Ideas 21337 Table Football [REVIEW]

LEGO Ideas has produced an increasing number of sets based on contests, in addition to the regular get-10,000-votes method. Most of these have been smaller gift-with-purchase items, but LEGO Ideas 21337 Table Football joins 21329 Fender Stratocaster as a full-size retail set. This was the winning submission in the We Love Sports LEGO Ideas contest, and let’s get right to the main question: the winning submission was a full-size, 11-on-11 table football setup (usually referred to as foosball in the U.S.). When the contest results were announced, lots of fans were excited to get a near full-size playable game. That swiftly turned to disappointment when the official pictures were released. The set has been scaled down to 5-a-side, less than half the size of the original! While there are very clear reasons for that choice, does it still leave us with a desirable set? LEGO Ideas 21337 Table Football, with 2,339 pieces and a whopping 22* minifigures (* and even more hair and heads), is available now for US $249.99 | CAN $309.99 | UK £214.99.

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 our hands-on review of LEGO Ideas 21337 Table Football

LEGO Avatar 40554 Jake Sully & his Avatar [Review]

The BrickHeadz line has expanded to cover a wide range of pop culture in the past two years, so it is not at all surprising that the wave of sets coming with the release of the second Avatar movie includes one. 40554 Jake Sully & his Avatar features the main character Jake, both in his original human form and as his Na’vi avatar. It contains 246 pieces and will be available October 1st and retail for US $19.99 | CAN $24.99 | UK £17.99.

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 the full review

LEGO Harry Potter 76406 Hungarian Horntail Dragon [Review]

The summer 2022 Harry Potter wave includes one more display-oriented set, 76406 Hungarian Horntail Dragon. This is the third in what seems to be a series of large(er)-scale winged, flapping creature builds from the Harry Potter theme, following Hedwig the owl and Fawkes the phoenix. Of course, those models were of much smaller creatures, closer to 1:2 or 1:4 in scale. This build roughly matches the first two in size, so the scale is much smaller. Here’s our review of the set, which contains 671 pieces and 1 minifigure, and is available now for US $49.99 | CAN $64.99 | UK £44.99.

This set is based on a license The LEGO Group has with the Warner Brothers films, not J.K. Rowling directly. The transphobic views expressed by Rowling do not reflect the values of The Brothers Brick or, indeed, those of The LEGO Group. The magical world Rowling created, in which many who felt a bit different could see themselves, meant a great deal to so many people, including those that Rowling now demeans. TBB affirms each individual LEGO fan’s choice to claim a piece of the world for themselves, or to reject it entirely.

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 the full review

LEGO Harry Potter 76401 Hogwarts Courtyard: Sirius’s Rescue [Review]

Continuing our reviews of the summery 2022 Harry Potter sets which are now available, today we take a quick look at the second-smallest set in the wave: 76401 Hogwarts Courtyard: Sirius’s Rescue. This set is in many ways a modern version of 4753 Sirius Black’s Escape, featuring Harry, Sirius, Buckbeak, and more. Is it worth picking up? The set, featuring 3 minifigures and 345 pieces, is available now for US $49.99 | CAN $64.99 | UK £44.99.

This set is based on a license The LEGO Group has with the Warner Brothers films, not J.K. Rowling directly. The transphobic views expressed by Rowling do not reflect the values of The Brothers Brick or, indeed, those of The LEGO Group. The magical world Rowling created, in which many who felt a bit different could see themselves, meant a great deal to so many people, including those that Rowling now demeans. TBB affirms each individual LEGO fan’s choice to claim a piece of the world for themselves, or to reject it entirely.

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 the full review

LEGO Harry Potter 76402 Hogwarts: Dumbledore’s Office [Review]

The 2022 summer Harry Potter sets are now available for purchase, so let’s take a look at the next one on our review list. In the 76389 Hogwarts Chamber of Secrets from January, LEGO included smaller versions of locations that have already appeared in the modular Hogwarts series. In 76402 Hogwarts: Dumbledore’s Office, we see a more detailed version of a location that has appeared in smaller renditions since 2018. Is it worth the dedicated attention? How does it fit into the modular Hogwarts collection? Let’s dive in and take a look at this set, featuring 6 minifigures and 654 pieces, which is available now for US $79.99 | CAN $109.99 | UK £69.99.

This set is based on a license The LEGO Group has with the Warner Brothers films, not J.K. Rowling directly. The transphobic views expressed by Rowling do not reflect the values of The Brothers Brick or, indeed, those of The LEGO Group. The magical world Rowling created, in which many who felt a bit different could see themselves, meant a great deal to so many people, including those that Rowling now demeans. TBB affirms each individual LEGO fan’s choice to claim a piece of the world for themselves, or to reject it entirely.

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 the full review

LEGO Harry Potter 76400 Hogwarts Carriage and Thestrals [Review]

The smallest set in the summer 2022 Harry Potter wave is 76400 Hogwarts Carriage and Thestrals. The set name really sums it up here – other than the minifigures and a very small bit of scenery, a carriage and some thestrals is all you get! Is it a good pocket money pickup? Let’s take a quick look at this set, featuring 2 minifigures and 121 pieces, which will be available starting June 19th for US $19.99 | CAN $24.99 | UK £17.99.

This set is based on a license The LEGO Group has with the Warner Brothers films, not J.K. Rowling directly. The transphobic views expressed by Rowling do not reflect the values of The Brothers Brick or, indeed, those of The LEGO Group. The magical world Rowling created, in which many who felt a bit different could see themselves, meant a great deal to so many people, including those that Rowling now demeans. TBB affirms each individual LEGO fan’s choice to claim a piece of the world for themselves, or to reject it entirely.

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 the full review

LEGO Harry Potter 76408 12 Grimmauld Place [Review]

Today we take a look at the second completely new setting from summer 2022: 12 Grimmauld Place, the Fidelius-protected headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix. Like 76403 The Ministry of Magic, this set includes scenes and references from both the Order of the Phoenix and the Deathly Hallows, though it leans more heavily towards the Order of the Phoenix. If you’re going to represent Grimmauld Place, there’s one key feature: how do you represent how it only appears to those who know the secret? It’s quite possibly this challenge that kept LEGO from modeling this key location previously. Have they risen to it? 76048 12 Grimmauld Place has 1083 pieces and nine minifigures. It will be available from the LEGO Shop and worldwide starting June 19th for US $119.99 | CAN $149.99 | UK £114.99.

This set is based on a license The LEGO Group has with the Warner Brothers films, not J.K. Rowling directly. The transphobic views expressed by Rowling do not reflect the values of The Brothers Brick or, indeed, those of The LEGO Group. The magical world Rowling created, in which many who felt a bit different could see themselves, meant a great deal to so many people, including those that Rowling now demeans. TBB affirms each individual LEGO fan’s choice to claim a piece of the world for themselves, or to reject it entirely.

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 the full review

LEGO Harry Potter 76403 The Ministry of Magic [Review]

When LEGO announced the summer 2022 sets, two stood out as covering new ground. Here we have the first appearance of the Ministry of Magic, a pivotal setting from the later books (and movies). It’s a large location, and LEGO has chosen to cover a series of vignettes from both the Order of the Phoenix and the Deathly Hallows. Does this approach pay off for the second-biggest Harry Potter set in this wave? 76404 The Ministry of Magic has 990 pieces and comes with nine minifigures, almost all with printing unique to this set and several completely new to LEGO form. It will be available June 19th for US $99.99 | CAN $129.99 | UK £89.99.

This set is based on a license The LEGO Group has with the Warner Brothers films, not J.K. Rowling directly. The transphobic views expressed by Rowling do not reflect the values of The Brothers Brick or, indeed, those of The LEGO Group. The magical world Rowling created, in which many who felt a bit different could see themselves, meant a great deal to so many people, including those that Rowling now demeans. TBB affirms each individual LEGO fan’s choice to claim a piece of the world for themselves, or to reject it entirely.

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 the full review

LEGO Architecture 21058 Great Pyramid of Giza: draw back the sands of time [Review]

When a set review for an unknown Architecture set rumored only as “Monuments of the World” arrived last week, the “click” of other rumors falling into place was audible. Here is one monument of the world – specifically, the oldest and only largely intact of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Great Pyramid of Giza! This lovely diorama moves the time span covered by the Architecture series more than 2,000 years further into the past – The Great Wall of China is the only prior set within several millennia of it – and is also the first Architecture set to depict the same structure at different points in time. 21058 Great Pyramid of Giza has 1,476 pieces. It will retail for US $129.99 | CAN $169.99 | UK £124.99, and to be available June 1st in the UK and August 1st world wide. Read our hands-on review to learn more.

The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Read our full, hands-on review