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)

Whack some moles at the Iron Arcade

With the latest round of Iron Builder underway, expect to see a flurry of LEGO creations featuring the Friends balloon piece, as we noted a few days ago with the lovely LEGO lotus blossom. Contestant Grant Davis is cranking out something new just about every day — and sometimes more than one new creation a day. One of my favorites so far is this Whack-a-Mole machine. The ill-fated victims of whackage peeking with their single eyes out of their holes are also the tips of the bulbous balloon piece, and I just love their adorable little hats.

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.

Insert a 5.25″ floppy disk and start up WordStar with this retro LEGO desktop

We’re huge fans of Chris McVeigh here at The Brothers Brick, and I’ve enjoyed each of the custom LEGO kits I’ve bought from his online store — custom kits that I can only describe as artisanal LEGO kits, with beautifully printed packaging lovingly arranged in the shipping box with tissue paper. We featured Chris’s LEGO Macintosh desktop last year (which I bought for myself last Christmas and love, love, love!) and his LEGO Amiga 500 last month, and now Chris has posted the final design for his DOS desk kit, which will be available on his website soon.

The desk drawers are fully functional, with a bunch of accessories to make you more productive — or keep you distracted during the workday.

One of the things that makes us love Chris and his designs all the more is that he puts his detailed instructions online for free. Yes, you can buy his kits — complete with custom-printed floppy disks and retro calculator — but you can also download his instructions and build his designs with your own bricks if you want. Be sure to check out our interview with Chris McVeigh as well.

John F. Kennedy’s PT-109 WW2 torpedo boat recreated in LEGO

While the rest of us toil away at day jobs and try to squeeze in a bit of LEGO building in the evenings and weekends, Dan Siskind runs Brickmania full time, continuing to lead his company’s LEGO design team even while he brings on other great designers. Dan’s latest personal design project has been a full-size minifig-scale version of John F. Kennedy’s World War II torpedo boat, PT-109. Dan’s model includes over 4,000 pieces and measures 27 inches (over 68 cm) long, with a crew of thirteen custom-printed minifigures.

See more of JFK’s PT-109 in LEGO

Bring back life form. Priority One. All other priorities rescinded.

H.R. Giger’s Xenomorph design is a perennial favorite among LEGO builders, and I’m looking forward to another batch of great LEGO aliens with the release of Alien: Covenant today. With a bar set very high by the likes of the Arvo Brothers, but this bust of the original alien from the 1979 Ridley Scott movie might be my favorite so far. Blair Archer has built a clear-domed carapace over a skull-like face, with the secondary jaws spitting out from a drooling mouth. This is not the otherworldly lifeform you’d want to meet in a darkened Nostromo corridor.

See more of this stunning Xenomorph

The LEGO Balrog shall not pass!

The LEGO Balrogs we’ve featured here on The Brothers Brick over the years have been large and monstrous, with flames flying and wings flying everywhere. Jonas Kramm takes a subtler approach with a considerably smaller Balrog built almost entirely from black. The black only serves to make the creature more sinister, making the contrasting orange flames on the Balrog’s back and his flame-whip even more striking. The Balrog is an ephemeral creature wrapped in darkness and fire, and the absence of explicit wings also adds to the evil look of this creature from the depths of Middle Earth.

While rather more gaudy, you might also enjoy the massive LEGO Balrog by Chak hei Mok and a looming Balrog by Aaron Newman.

May the 4th 2017 sales & deals from the LEGO Shop [News]

The LEGO Shop is holding its annual May the 4th “Star Wars Day” sales event, starting at midnight EDT Thursday, May the 4th (9 PM PDT Wednesday, May the 3rd) through Sunday, May 7th. Several LEGO Star Wars sets are on sale, with a free R2-D2 mini-set (on orders over $50), and double VIP points to maximize your savings. The R2-D2 figure is larger than the standard minifig, with a number of unique printed elements.

See all of the May the 4th deals for the US, UK, and Canada after the jump

Hit the beach in this stripped-down rat rod

Austria may not have any ocean beaches, but that didn’t stop Austrian builder Sanel Lukovic from building this lovely scene featuring a rockabilly dude hauling his board from his heavily customized “rat rod” to the inviting blue surf. True to the rat rod aesthetic, the vintage car has an exposed engine and what I’m assuming is a rust-bucket body — truly lovely. The surfer features a pompadour hairstyle and a rather hirsute custom torso from Citizen Brick. Sanel completes the scene with little details like a trash can and pilings with tree rings.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for April 30, 2017 [News]

We’ve featured some pretty big news here at The Brothers Brick this week, along with our usual fare of LEGO models, reviews, and more. In case you’ve missed any of it, here’s your weekly Brick Report for the last week of May 2017.

TBB NEWS, REVIEWS & INSTRUCTIONS: LEGO news this week was dominated by back-to-back announcements of two upcoming LEGO sets.

LEGO unveils largest Ideas set yet: 21309 NASA Apollo Saturn V [News] – One of the most popular set announcements ever featured here on TBB, this upcoming LEGO set will include 1,969 pieces, retail for $119.99, and hit store shelves on June 1st.
New LEGO Creator Expert set 10257 Carousel announced [News] – Somewhat overshadowed by the Saturn V reveal a day later, this set will be available on June 1st as well, with $199.99 for 2,670 pieces.
LEGO Star Wars Rebels 75170 The Phantom II + TBB chats with Thrawn author Timothy Zahn [Review] – TBB talked to Grand Admiral Thrawn creator Timothy Zahn and got his first impressions of the new minifigure.
BrickCon 2017 registration is now open [News] – Registration for TBB’s “home convention” is now open. Join us the first weekend in October here in Seattle for a friendly, casual party with 500 of our closest friends.
Build your own LEGO Citroën DS and then drive your minifig self through the Vézère Valley [Instructions] – Drive around the French countryside in this adorable early 1970’s Citroën DS you can build with bricks in your own collection.
Make your own LEGO magic folding cube with just a few pieces [Instructions] – Are you one of those people who thinks best when they’re fidgeting or fiddling with something in their hands? Then follow these instructions to make your own little folding cube.

OTHER LEGO NEWS: The new Saturn V set is a hard act to follow, and the rest of the web was buzzing with that news this week as well. We’re also starting to see rumors and leaks of summer LEGO sets for products that weren’t unveiled at Toy Fair in February, but we’ll hold off covering those until we have more reliable, higher-quality information — our readers rely on us for trustworthy LEGO news, and we’ll bring that to you as soon as we have it.

LEGO Star Wars Rebels 75170 The Phantom II + TBB chats with Thrawn author Timothy Zahn [Review]

For long-time Star Wars fans, perhaps the most exciting thing to emerge from the current batch of LEGO Star Wars sets inspired by the Rebels animated TV series is the new Grand Admiral Thrawn minifigure, released as part of the 75170 The Phantom set, which depicts the modified Trade Federation shuttle that replaces the first Phantom part way through season 3.

Grand Admiral Thrawn himself was created by sci-fi author Timothy Zahn in Heir to the Empire, the first book in Zahn’s epic Thrawn Trilogy. TBB spoke with Timothy Zahn at Emerald City Comicon recently, and got his first impressions of the Thrawn minifig, which we’ll share later in our review.

Read the full review after the jump!

Not just a treehouse, a whole town in the leafy canopy

When we were young, we probably all dreamed of having the perfect treehouse — a place of solitude away from irritating siblings, homework, and that annoying older neighbor boy who always laughs at you when you’re walking home from school. Tim Schwalfenberg has constructed a rather more communal and social trio of treehouses in adjoining trees, with a rope bridge connecting them and plenty of room to play both up top and down below. The colorful little buildings have slap-dash siding and textured roofs, and the trees themselves look ready to be climbed.

The rear of the diorama showcases wonderful little platforms for lounging with a good book and even an open-air art studio.

The World Peace Gate stands ready to welcome the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games

The World Peace Gate is a unique architectural element of Olympic Park in Seoul, South Korea, built for the 1988 Summer Olympic Games. Korean LEGO building team OliveSeon have recreated the arch in LEGO, complete with the colorful undersides of the “wings” extending outward from the top of the structure. The ground level of the park is no less detailed, with people walking through the park, enjoying the pools of water and bright pink flowers.

Build your own LEGO Citroën DS and then drive your minifig self through the Vézère Valley [Instructions]

The vintage French Ghostbusters-themed Citroën DS we featured here a few days ago was certainly adorable, but what if you want to build your own early 1970’s LEGO Citroën DS? Creator OutBricks comes to the rescue with step-by-step instructions for the DS on which he based his “Ecteau-un”.

You can see the builder explain how to build your own LEGO Citroën DS, as well as what parts you need, in this tutorial video.

About Andrew Becraft (TBB Editor-in-Chief)

Like this article? Tell all your friends!

Like this article? Tell all your friends!

Like this article? Tell all your friends!

Like this article? Tell all your friends!

Like this article? Tell all your friends!

Like this article? Tell all your friends!

Like this article? Tell all your friends!

Like this article? Tell all your friends!

Like this article? Tell all your friends!

Like this article? Tell all your friends!

Like this article? Tell all your friends!

Like this article? Tell all your friends!