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)

Renault Type AG-1 from 1910 – the Taxi de la Marne

Given the horrors of World War I, our last post deserves an adorable chaser from the same era. LegoEng normally builds military models himself, but he took a break to build this 1910 Renault AG-1.

Getting the proportions of minifig-scale vehicles right can be very challenging, and this builder has accomplished it by going with an odd width — the cab is five studs wide and the narrow hood is only one stud wide (with tiles attached for greater width). The whole thing looks held together with clips.

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The Great War that should have ended all wars...

Today marks the 100th anniversary of Germany’s declaration of war against France, drawing two of Europe’s largest nations into what would later be known as World War I. The “Great War” introduced numerous new and deadly military technologies, from fighter planes to tanks.

Talented Polish builder Ciamosław Ciamek (PigletCiamek) has built a triptych of highly detailed dioramas depicting three phases of World War I.

The first diorama, titled “Enthusiasm,” shows French citizens volunteering as the patriotic population admires the soldiers marching off to the front in 1914.

The second scene, titled “Awe”, illustrates the Third Battle of Ypres in 1917, in which hundreds of thousands of men died.

Finally, Ciamek’s third diorama, titled “Glory”, shows the moment when German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen (the “Red Baron”) was shot down in his famous red tri-plane in 1918.

Off to a summer picnic in a VW Camper Van

One of the things I respect most in a LEGO builder is the ability to build well in multiple themes or genres. The Titanfall / World War II mashup we posted earlier this month couldn’t be more different from this tranquil scene that Kosmas Santosa posted today.

I actually did a double-take when I saw this photo, since it so closely resembles the beautiful Volkswagen T1 Camper Van released a couple years ago, as well as the micro version available briefly as a freebie. But this one is perfectly scaled for minifigs. The chrome wheels and door handles really make the whole model pop.

Angus MacLane’s Wall-E achieves 10K supporters on LEGO Ideas [News]

Earlier today, Angus MacLane‘s LEGO Wall-E model achieved 10,000 supporters on LEGO Ideas.

I’ve commented before about how way too many projects on LEGO CUUSOO/Ideas aren’t based on ideas associated in any way with the person who initiated the project. This one’s different. As long-time readers will recall from our interview with Angus MacLane back in 2008, Angus works at Pixar and was the Lead Animator for Wall-E. Given Angus’s close association with Pixar and the source material, I’m very hopeful that this wonderful model will end up as a future LEGO set.

Good luck during the review process, Angus!

A monument to the Age of Steam

Ordo is a multi-theme builder whom we haven’t featured nearly enough, I think. (Frankly, I suspect the broader LEGO builder community tends to overlook fellow builders whose primary theme is Star Wars — it’s a bit unfair, and I admit to passing over some pretty good Star Wars models myself from time to time.)

Ordo has begun dabbling with steampunk, and this little vignette is packed with detail — as both steampunk and vignettes should be.

The small steam-cycle and robotic drone are nice little steampunk builds in their own right, but it’s little touches like the key on the vignette’s base and the scattered pink flowers that really distinguishes Ordo’s work from so many other builds in the genre.

Be sure to check out Ordo’s photostream if you haven’t already — there’s lots to like.

211 in progress! Suspects are armed and hilarious!

Apparently, I’m not the only one who finds the LEGO Simpsons Collectible Minifigures vaguely unsettling. Nooroyd has put the Krusty the Clown head to good use as rubber masks hiding the identities of a pair of bank robbers. Beyond the use of these minifig parts, the scene is wonderfully photographed, with overhead and ambient lighting.

Defending Arcadia with the R-16 Vindicator

Everything Jon Hall builds is blogworthy. But it’s not often that I run across one of his builds while looking for something to post and I have my breath taken away. The beautiful use of olive green, bulbous shape, and signature custom decals all combine for a strong impression.

Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.

Tomorrow is the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing on the moon. I hope we see many moon-themed LEGO models over the next couple of days, but we’ll start with this fantastic microscale version of the lander by Ted Andes.

Ted has been building one vignette a week this year, and this is his 31st. Check out his photostream for the rest.

To the stars aboard ships of the Cervine Royal Fleet

I have a special place in my heart for a fun fleet of microscale LEGO spaceships — it’s a challenge maintaining a consistent visual style that ties the fleet together, and it can stretch your LEGO collection in your chosen colors. Chris Boen (Mos Doomsday) succeeds rather well with his fleet of six substantial ships clearly inspired by the stripy Homeworld aesthetic.

Granted, the sleek, striped skin around a dark gray “technical” core is nothing new among LEGO space shipwrights, but the central battleship has some interesting shaping and I like the brutish-looking destroyer near the back. Regardless, it’s an impressive fleet with a clear common theme.

Should an emergency arise, the Varys medical/rescue vessel is ready to provide aid.

I knew I had to blog these when both appeared in my “to blog” folder…

Pay your tithes at the Bank of the Prophet

About a year ago, we featured a beautifully rendered LEGO Songbird from Bioshock Infinite by the talented Imagine Rigney. At BrickWorld last month, he exhibited a complete scene that recreates the entrance to the Financial District in the game.

Imagine has included a rail system and various enemies for a full-scale battle, including Booker using Shock Jockey on a Handyman and some Founders.

Columbia looks hauntingly gorgeous at night.

Check out Imagine’s full photoset on Flickr to see more detailed photos of this massive build.

Fishing the turbulent waters of the East Sea

It does seem like we’re obsessed with spacecraft today, so here’s a very different kind of vessel. Hoang Dang built this Vietnamese fishing boat to raise awareness of the complex political situation happening today in what westerners typically call the “East China Sea” (even the name of the geographic area is fraught with tension, thus my quotation marks). For a change, I’ll stay out of the politics, but Hoang’s LEGO model certainly deserves plenty of attention.

Hoang has built his model at the scale of the classic Technic figure, which gives him a bit more room to play with shapes and details than if he’d built it at the typical minifig scale. He captures the curves of the hull wonderfully, and details like the sea star on the Vietnamese flag, nets, fish in barrels, and lights all add realism. But my favorite aspect of this model is the color — it’s not often you see a bright blue boat built from LEGO!

A lamp alight in the darkness of space

I’m apparently in quite a spacey mood today, since this is the second microscale space LEGO model that caught my eye. This one is by Shannon Sproule, a med-station orbiting Saturn named Nightingale. The gold is a beautiful touch.