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)

Pete Morris starfighter roundup for August 31, 2008

There’s always something overwhelming about coming back from vacation, a trip, or whatever and seeing 3,000 unread items in one’s RSS feeds. But Peter Morris makes slogging through all that worthwhile with a batch of fantastic starfighters from the past several weeks.

First up, a spacey vehicle for Batman that’s my undeniable favorite:

A trio of “generic” fighters:

The ZR-42D Archangel and Archangel Plus:

The starfighters themselves are certainly cool, but Peter’s presentation — in a brick-built hangar — sets the two photos above apart from the crowd.

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.

Crises at the space port!

True to his nickname, it seems like there’s always something going wrong in LEGO creations by crises. In his latest diorama, a team of intrepid spacemen have unleashed some nasty tentacles from beneath the ground:

Note several interesting techniques, including the tentacle penetrating the helmet of the unfortunate spaceman with the red air tank and the vehicle with independent suspension.

Pippi Longstocking’s Villa Villekulla by Erik Smit

Erik “Eti” Smit has built a faithful recreation of various locations in the world of Pippi Longstocking, including Pippi’s house, Villa Villekulla.

The two-story house has a porch (with a horse on it), lemonade tree, swing set, and detailed interior with a kitchen and bedroom.

Other locations in Pippi’s world include her father’s ship in the harbor, with Blom and Dunder-Karlsson in their prison cell.

Check out the full photoset on Flickr.

Rocko depicts Falun Gong organ-harvesting in LEGO

The recent Beijing Olympics — and NBC’s coverage of them here in the U.S. — painted a picture of the People’s Republic of China as a veritable utopia of modernism in harmonious balance with ancient tradition.

In this vignette depicting alleged organ-harvesting of Falun Gong detainees, Rocko suggests that the truth may not be so pleasant:

You can read more about this issue in the surprisingly well-sourced Wikipedia topic.

(Via VignetteBricks.)

Coming out at the Christopher Day Parade

Working my way further back through Moritz N‘s photostream, I encountered this great vignette highlighting the importance of being tolerant:

Moritz says:

Although there are still incurable boneheads in both the dwarf and the troll society, Gnork and Shroeder finally summon up the courage to come out of secrecy.

Living their relationship freely they join the Cristopher Street Day parade to demontrate for tolerance and equal opportunities.

Go Gnork and Shroeder, go!

smooch

Click through for the punch line to this great little vignette by Moritz N. (nolnet on Flickr), featuring a little gray frog on a table and a rather unhappy princess.

Via VignetteBricks.

EDIT: And, it would seem, via The Brothers Brick. :oops: This is what I get for blogging while jetlagged… Thanks Tyler!

Del Boy and Rodney ride in style. Well, sort of.

Speaking of references to British popular culture that I’m not familiar with, Ronald Vallenduuk (Duq) has posted a great entry for the LUGNuts Sympathy for the underdog challenge inspired by the BBC comedy Only Fools and Horses.

Here’s Del Boy and Rodney of Trotters Independent Traders (in their “Heroes and Villains” Christmas special outfits):

The source of inspiration may not be a particularly stylish vehicle, but Rondald’s LEGO rendition of the three-wheeled Reliant Regal Supervan is very cool indeed.

Wearable Boba Fett costume built from LEGO

I’ve been keeping an eye on Simon‘s LEGO Boba Fett costume project for a while (and yet somehow missed his great LEGO Star Wars minifigs along the way), so I was very pleased to see the completed armor.

This may be the coolest homage ever to the beloved bounty hunter with only ~~two~~ four lines in Empire Strikes Back:

That’s right, Simon has built a complete Boba Fett costume entirely from LEGO (except the jump suit and cape, of course). The outfit includes a helmet, jet pack, chest plate, and blaster. Amazing stuff!

DARKspawn sets sail aboard The Black Meg

Most builders use the pre-molded ship pieces when building their galleons, schooners, and clippers.

Never one to take the easy way out, Aaron Andrews has used bricks and tiles to build the hull of his pirate ship, The Black Meg:

See more piratey goodness in Aaron’s Brickshelf gallery.

Interior decorating by minifig

I had the pleasure of hanging out with Thom (aka minifig) on my recent trip to London. Over non-alcoholic drinks at a lovely neighborhood pub far from the tourist crowds, the conversation inevitably turned to LEGO.

Thom apparently decorates his home with great little LEGO scenes. On arrival back in the States, I was pleased to see that he’d uploaded several of the scenes we talked about, including this intrepid streaker:

And these Technic figures with their AT-AT pet:

I was going to close with a sarcastic comment about the obscurity of the British people that Thom’s been honoring in ABS lately, but it turns out that Townes Van Zandt was an American, and I’m just ignorant. :-P

Happy 30th birthday to the LEGO minifig!

The LEGO minifigure turns 30 today. The very first minifig I got was in 1978, when I was 3 years old. Mr. Policeman had a stickered torso (right).

Today, minifigs are of course my favorite aspect of playing with LEGO, mainly because minifigs represent infinite possibilities.

Former LEGOLAND Master Model Designer Mariann Asanuma puts it best: “Minifigs, in all their countless varieties, are one of the best things that LEGO ever invented.” Indeed.

Naturally, the Internet is abuzz with congratulatory messages for our little plastic friends.

Here at The Brothers Brick, we’re hosting the GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest, and Gizmodo is hosting a GO MINIMAN GO Video Competition.

If you’re interested in reading all about how the minifig was invented, you can read Minifig History on Minifig.co.uk.

It may just be another day at the office for Justin Vaughn:

But Michael Jasper, the Leonardo da Vinci of minifig builders, conveniently updates his “Things” folder with a pair of tricycles:

There’s a surprising turn of events in this birthday scene by J.R. Schwartz:

So, a very happy birthday to the LEGO minifig! I hope I’m still playing with minifigs when I’m 63, and then again when I’m 93.

Announcing the GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest [w00t!]

GO MINIMAN GO Logo August 25th is the 30th birthday of the LEGO minifigure. Here at The Brothers Brick, the minifig holds a very special place in our hearts — after all, we started out as a tiny little blog highlighting our favorite minifig finds.

To wish the minifig a happy 30th birthday, I’m pleased to announce that The Brothers Brick is hosting the GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest. With awesome prizes like 10185 Green Grocer and four copies of 10190 Market Street, there’s some serious brick to be won. You can build a vignette or diorama and submit it in one of four categories that represent the decades in which minifigs have graced LEGO sets — from the 1970s through today.

The contest is open to everyone in the world who’s 18 years old as of August 1, 2008. You have until October 31, 2008 to submit your entries using our Contact Us page and the GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest group pool on Flickr.

Here’s an example of the sort of scene you could build:

Entries will be judged by a Master Model Builder and Creative Director from LEGO, along with the Editor-in-Chief of The Brothers Brick (that would be me).

There are important rules for where and how to enter your LEGO creations in this contest, so please read the GO MINIMAN GO Photo Contest Rules carefully.

To see what else is going on to celebrate the 30th birthday of the LEGO minifig, check out GOMINIMANGO.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Why is this only open to people over the age of 18?

A: Although we welcome and encourage online participation on The Brothers Brick by anybody over the age of 13, we can’t ask for real names and addresses from people who are not yet adults. This is a legal requirement, and is not intended to discriminate against the talented teenage builders we frequently feature on the blog.

Q: What kind of creations are acceptable in each category?

A: How you interpret the four categories is entirely up to you. Let your imagination run wild! The only requirements are that your entry is a vignette or diorama and that it features a LEGO minifig.