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)

One small step for man, one giant leap for pug-kind

I’m starting to get suspicious that LEGO builders are creating pug-themed creations because they know I’ll feature just about every single one. Well, keep it coming! This pug astronaut by 鄭仲恆 appears to be surprised by something he sees off in the distance above him. The space suit is well-constructed and realistic, with a bubble helmet to encompass the pug’s bubble head and bubble eyes.

Here at The Brothers Brick, we can’t help ourselves sometimes — we hope the talented builder doesn’t mind — and we took it upon ourselves to give this lovely space-pooch some adventures. Here he is landing on the moon. Or was he already there and he’s been surprised by the Apollo 11 crew landing next to him?

See more of this adventurous space pug’s adventures in space!

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Patrol the Martian safety perimeter aboard the Mercury-class interceptor

Polish builder Marcin Grabowski is no stranger to large spacecraft. We featured his DragonFLY-class dropship last year, and he’s recently completed this wonderfully angular starfighter set against the planet Mars. The heavily armed, predominantly white fighter fighter is complemented by technical components in shades of gray. The lines of yellow make the vehicle look like a racing ship, and I love it.

You can see the top and rear of the spacecraft better in this multi-angle collage.

These dogs are here to help!

While the power of some dogs is in their incredible cuteness, other dogs — though certainly no less adorable in many ways — have been bred to meet the demanding needs of the humans that they work with. LEGO 7 follows up his amazing LEGO hot dog food truck with a trio of pooches who do amazing and important work.

Take a closer look at these LEGO working dogs

Pugs and Corgis and Frenchies, oh my! A cavalcade of LEGO canine cuteness!

A couple weeks ago we featured an adorable LEGO miniature dachshund, whose, uh, accurately brick-built posterior attracted some rather surprised comments. It’s wonderful to see that the Year of the Dog is inspiring builders to create realistic LEGO depictions of man’s best friend. Leading the pack thus far has been ZiO Chao (of recent wiener dog fame), with another trio of wonderful creatures.

Unsurprisingly, this chubby little pug is my favorite of the bunch, reminding me of TBB’s unofficial mascot, Oliver Twist the pug. He has a lovely corkscrew tail and floppy little ears.

See more adorable LEGO dogs

Classic LEGO 60th Anniversary promo set available now [News]

The highly anticipated promotional set 40290 60 Years of the LEGO Brick is now available with orders over $125 from the LEGO Shop. The set includes 421 pieces, which means it would likely retail for around $40 separately.

The set includes miniature builds of the iconic yellow castle, a Classic Space ship, the much-beloved monorail, and a pirate ship that can only be 6285 Black Seas Barracuda, plus a printed 60th-anniversary tile.

But in case you don’t want to spend $125 to pick up this set, and you think you might have all the parts yourself, you can build 40290 from free instructions.

Mystery awaits in a rediscovered Mayan temple

Even though this ruined Mesoamerican temple by Jonas Wilde doesn’t depict any particular site, it’s clear Jonas was inspired by the amazing Mayan structures of the Classic Maya era (250-900 AD). Jungle foliage drapes itself over the building, while palm trees sprout from the platform. The composition of this LEGO build is stunning, with the scene built on a platform that includes cutaway views of earth and stone, and a variety of heights that accentuate the detailed flora.

See more of this fantastic archaeological treasure

Join the TT Games team as a LEGO Model Designer and play with LEGO and video games for a living [News]

Over the years, our friends at TT Games have asked us to help them find the best LEGO talent in the world. Based on the job postings we’ve shared, the company has hired several LEGO builders, including Carl Greatrix and the Arvo Brothers, who now design the models in the company’s video games. If you’d like your own shot at building with LEGO for a living, from gameplay puzzles to vehicles and buildings, this is your opportunity to work with the design team in TT Games’ UK office.

While the final product of your work will be digital, you’ll get to work on unique properties like Marvel and DC Super Hero games. This LEGO version of GLaDOS from Portal is a great example of the fantastic designs that LEGO Model Designers at TT Games produce.

Read the full job description for the LEGO Model Designer opening at TT Games

In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.

Last summer, we featured a lovely microscale LEGO hobbit hole by Austrian builder Patrick B. Recently, he’s shared a full-size minifig-scale version of Bag End, full of verdant landscaping and lovely touches like a beehive and snail.

See more details and the interior of this LEGO Bag End

Raise a horn of mead to Sigurd and Gudrún in Völsung Hall

In Norse mythology, Sigurd is a hero who slays the dragon Fáfnir (himself originally a dwarf affected by a curse). The legend was popularized in Wagner’s Ring Cycle, and more recently by a posthumously published epic poem by J.R.R. Tolkien titled The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún (published in 2009). Ben Cossy and Eli Brinsmead collaborated on an equally epic and legendary LEGO creation inspired by these myths, winning an award at the recent Brickvention 2018 in Melbourne, Australia.

The two builders live on opposite sides of Australia, and collaborated remotely over the course of more than three and a half months, with the two sections coming together for the first time at the event.

See more photos of this amazing Norse LEGO creation

Get a piping hot dog at the corner food truck

The food truck revolution has made lunch a lot more tasty for millions of office workers in cities all over the world. LEGO 7 brings us a delicious LEGO version of a hot dog truck, complete with brick-built lettering and a noble dachshund statue gracing its roof.

See more photos and details of this excellent LEGO food truck

There’s room for all at Space Base H17

Growing up, my brother and I used to pull out all our gray and blue LEGO and build sprawling space bases on our bedroom floor. We couldn’t imagine more than thirty years ago how much bigger and better future LEGO creations would be, like this amazing diorama by ZCerberus. The base has landing pads for ten ships and incorporates over a hundred lights.

The ships and vehicles are also excellent, and the builder spares no detail — just take a look at that gorgeous brick-built Classic Space logo on the side of the main building! My favorite vehicle is the large gray vehicle on the right, pumping some kind of mineral from a great big hole in the planet’s surface.

Flip the One Ring into Mt. Doom with this LEGO Lord of the Rings playable pinball machine [Video]

Dutch builder Vladimir van Hoek has created a fully functional pinball machine from LEGO, inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The table includes scenes from all three books and movies, from Hobbiton above the ball shooter to Mount Doom in the opposite corner. Every element of the pinball machine is built from LEGO, including the targets, lanes, and flippers. Official minifigures from the Lord of the Rings sets add character to the scenes, but the microscale buildings and landscaping are excellent in their own right.

See more photos and the LEGO Lord of the Rings pinball machine in action