About Andrew Becraft (TBB Editor-in-Chief)

Andrew Becraft is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Brothers Brick. He's been building with LEGO for more than 40 years, and writing about LEGO here on TBB since 2005. He's also the co-author, together with TBB Senior Editor Chris Malloy, of the DK book Ultimate LEGO Star Wars. Andrew is an active member of the online LEGO community, as well as his local LEGO users group, SEALUG. Andrew is also a regular attendee of BrickCon, where he organizes a collaborative display for readers of The Brothes Brick nearly every year. You can check out Andrew's own LEGO creations on Flickr. Read Andrew's non-LEGO writing on his personal blog, Andrew-Becraft.com. Andrew lives in Seattle with his wife and dogs, and by day leads software design and planning teams.

Posts by Andrew Becraft (TBB Editor-in-Chief)

2009 LEGO Pirates now available from LEGO Shop [News]

The first 2009 LEGO sets are starting to show up in the LEGO Shop online, starting with Pirates!

Behold 6243 Brickbeard’s Bounty. Yarrrrrrr!!!

Unlike the Pirates sets available in the US back in the 1990s, the cannons in these sets actually fire (and they’re a cool gun-metal gray).

The two “impulse purchase” sets look like a great way to build your army:

6242 Soldiers’ Fort reminds me a lot of 6277 Imperial Trading Post from 1992:

Here’s the full list of 2009 LEGO Pirates sets available so far (prices in USD):

A couple more sets, including ~~6242 Soldiers’ Fort~~ and 6253 Shipwreck Hideout, haven’t been added to the site yet. We’ll keep you updated as the rest of the 2009 LEGO sets begin showing up in the LEGO Shop online.

The links will probably only work in the US and Canada. And yes, I’m aware that these have been available from a certain mega-store run by a giraffe for a while now.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Le Quartier Brique

5p8c3 enters the Pillage the Village contest with this massive diorama titled “Le Quartier Brique”:

A carriage careening down a cobblestone street, smoke billowing from the window of a half-timber house — this LEGO creation has it all. Don’t miss all the action in 5p8c3’s LEGO Pirates photoset on Flickr.

MisaQa kicks off her 2008 Advent Calendar

Those of you lucky enough to snag a 7979 Castle Advent Calendar have probably just started opening those little doors to discover your Christmas goodies. (You can also follow along on ReasonablyClever.com.)

One of my favorite holiday LEGO traditions, though, is the series of small creations posted each day in December (until Christmas Day) by Japanese builder MisaQa. This year, she’s focusing on “Mythical Creatures,” starting with the Wyvern:

Since it’s already December 2 in Japan, she’s also posted her second creature, a three-headed Cerberus:

Check back in MisaQa’s Advent Calencar 2008 folder on Brickshelf or check them out her Web site, Stud&Tube

The Siege of Ung’Thol

The sixth Colossal Castle Contest on Classic-Castle.com is certainly yielding some great entries this year, including this excellent siege scene by tiberium_blue.

The smoke trailing behind the fiery projectile is hard to miss, but the tiled walls are also something I hadn’t specifically noticed before, though it’s not the first time tiberium_blue has used it.

Don’t miss the full Siege of Ung’Thol photoset on Flickr.

Nelson has some guests over for Thanksgiving dinner

Click the pic to find out what’s going on in this little scene from Nelson Yrizarry:

“Turkey” Tactical Response and Combat Enforcer by Adrian Drake

Our focus here on The Brothers Brick is new creations (unless we’re fooled on Brickshelf, as we sometimes are). Nevertheless, classic creations come to our attention now and then that predate the blog and absolutely deserve broader attention.

Adrian Drake (Brickfrenzy) has been posting pictures of older creations on Flickr lately, and my favorite so far is his turkey mecha:

Click the picture for Adrian’s history of this creation, and check out the gallery on brickfrenzy.com for more pictures, including shots of the turkey with all weapons deployed.

Oh, and a belated “Happy Thanksgiving!” from me, too. ;-)

Next stop: Everywhere!

Alan McMorran has been working on a LEGO TARDIS and the 10th Doctor (“Doctor Who?” you ask. Exactly…) for a while now, and this his latest version is definitely my favorite.

Note the venerable LEGO pieces Alan’s used in the TARDIS — perfect for an ancient device that’s seen many years and many miles.

And we’re back!

Thanks for your patience as we went through another server upgrade over the past 48 hours or so. Our apologies to those of you who left comments on the old server during the transition; sadly, those comments are gone now.

Okay, back to our regularly scheduled LEGO programming.

Hispabrick 2008 to be held December 6 and 7 in Barcelona, Spain [News]

Lluís Gibert sends word that Spanish-language LEGO fan group Hispalug will be hosting an event early next month in Barcelona.

Hispabrick is a LEGO fan event organized by HispaLUG. The event will feature LEGO creations such as dioramas, models, and Great Ball Contraptions, as well as presentations about Model Team and Hispabrick Magazine. With building contests and activities for kids, it’ll be a full weekend of LEGO bricks in Spain.

Name: Hispabrick 2008
Location: Mall L’Anec Blau in Castelldefels (Barcelona)
Dates & Times: December 6 (15:00~20:00) and 7 (11:00~20:00), 2008
Admission: Free
Contact & More Info: Hispabrick.com

Finally, a few words for our Spanish-speaking readers:

6 y 7 de Diciembre de 2008 en el Centro Comercial L’Ànec Blau de Castelldefels (Barcelona)

El Encuentro Nacional de Aficionados de LEGO(R) organizado por HispaLUG. Exposición de dioramas, creaciones singulares, GBC… Presentaciones de MODEL TEAM, Hispabrick Magazine. Concurso y actividades de montaje para niños. Un fin de semana lleno de ladrillos LEGO en España.

La entrada es gratuita para el público los dos días.

More LEGO Gradius creations from Peter Morris

Our second and third LEGO Vic Vipers of the day come from NoVVember co-creator Peter Morris.

Here’s his SC-5 Ramius, with gorgeous dark blue and orange highlights almost reminiscent of the color scheme from Ice Planet 2002:

And a very different ZR-15A Widowmaker:

I wonder if the creators of Gradius back in 1985 ever imagined people would still be paying homage to their game more than 20 years later…

The Brick Testament updated with Book of Job

Comforting to some, deeply challenging to others, the Book of Job has long stirred discussion among believers in the Judeo-Christian religious tradition.

The Rev. Brendan Powell Smith gives Job The Brick Testament treatment with eight pictorial stories, including God speaking to Job from within a whirlwind:

Daniel lays siege to Elenaï

Daniel Z charges into the Colossal Castle Contest VI with “The Siege of Elenaï.”

The trebuchet and wooden hoardings are certainly excellent, but my favorite detail is the group of sappers who think they’ve dug deep enough to mine under the moat. They’re in for a surprise!