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)

The Reign of King David, by The the Rev. Brendan Powell Smith

The newest stories in the Reverend Brendan Powell Smith’s The Brick Testament feature events from the reign of King David, including “God Kills Man for Touching Ark”:

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.

Classic Volkswagen Beetle set from LEGO in late 2008 [News]

And speaking of cars… A Volkswagen fan site has a press release from LEGO announcing that the classic Beetle will be released as a set in mid-2008:

Now, there’s some history to this set, as you can see by reading the press release. Here’s a rundown of previous coverage here on The Brothers Brick:

Back in October 2006, the LEGO Ambassadors asked fans what cars we’d like to see as sets. You can read the discussion in comments on the old blog. Note that the VW Beetle was a common request.
In January of 2007, LEGO showed off three prototype cars at a fan event in Frechen, Germany, and fans could vote on which of the three they wanted as a set. One of the cars was the VW Beetle.

Thanks for the link, Matt Wagner!

Modified Machines by the LUGNuts

LUGNuts is a new Flickr group that focuses on LEGO vehicles. They’ve just concluded their first contest, “Modified Machines,” and here are a couple of my favorites…

Lino Martins‘ 1968 Pontiac GTO:

Nathan Proudlove‘s 1964 Chevy El Camino dragracer:

With talented builders like Lino, Nathan, Ricardo “Biczzz” Prates, and Steven Marshall as LUGNuts members, I can’t wait to see what the next contest, “I Smell a Rat,” will yield!

Sand green is my friend...

I thought I’d try extending my troop of goblins from 7036 Dwarves’ Mine using the mandrake root heads from 5378 Hogwarts™ Castle.

When I finished switching around the legs to make the goblins, I realized that the “leftover” legs would look great with the Clone Scout Trooper torsos I picked up at BrickCon, resulting in a batch of space Marines:

Kwi-Chang roundup for November 13, 2007

Kwi-chang is another mecha builder who deserves his own roundup post, starting with a mecha of a four-legged variety:

Next, an Exo-Force mashup and a mecha with a very large Gatling gun:

Finally, a black mecha with big, sharp fingers:

Sushi + Wasabi = Delicious!

Did you know that the wasabi you usually eat with your sushi probably isn’t actually wasabi? It’s a combination of horseradish, mustard, and green food coloring. Real wasabi comes from a root — like the green one in this very delicious-looking platter of sushi by Turbo.

A month of steampunk from Kevoh

I had the pleasure of meeting Kevin “Kevoh” Blocksidge at BrickCon in October, where his “Fingobbins Village” floating rock won a well-deserved “Best Steampunk” award:

I waited patiently for him to announce his beautiful creation online, but somehow missed it a month ago. For those who missed it elsewhere, I think it was worth the wait.

And for those who wait, further rewards — three more steampunk creations:

Axefight at the Rusty Shackle, by Mike Yoder

I would pay to see a movie with special effects by Mike Yoder.

Bionicle rose by MuffinToa

If you think Bionicle creations are all about Toa and Rahi and other things the average SYSTEM builder would never care about, you’re not a reader of Arpy’s BioniBlog, where I ran across this excellent rose by MuffinToa — an entry in the latest Bionicle Building Contest BZPower.

Screeeeech! CRASH!

Brickshelfer Mahjqa recently won the Lowlug Mini MOC Madness contest with the highway pileup pictured above. (Via MicroBricks.)

Have I mentioned that I love 7036 Dwarves’ Mine? [Review]

Well, I do. I love 7036 Dwarves’ Mine! It may in fact be my favorite LEGO set in several years.

It’s got great play features that had me running over and showing my wife as I built the set, and as I discovered each new piece, I kept thinking about how I could use them in my own creations. I spent some time a couple weekends ago seeing what hats would fit with each of the new beards. Click the naked bearded guys (I used “blank” minifigs as mannequins) to see the results of my experiment:

This past weekend, I finally got around to taking pictures of the minifigs that use the new beards and helmets.

Valkyries and Yosemite Sam:

A marooned explorer and a biker (I really need to make one of Noddy’s bikes):

Finally, a pair of fearsome fictional pirates I’m too tired to name amusingly at the moment:

And if you want to see for yourself (and support The Brothers Brick while you’re at it), you can buy your own Dwarves’ Mine from the LEGO Store online.

(See what I did there boys and girls? That’s called “product placement.”)

AT-ST: Design by Dmac, built by MisterZumbi

Now here’s a cool collaboration story. According to this post on Klocki, dmac designed this AT-ST in MLCad, and then MisterZumbi built and photographed it:

I really like the new AT-ST from LEGO, but this one is awesome! Note the samurai armor under the walker’s “chin.”