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.
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.
My local LEGO club, SEALUG (the Seattle LEGO Users Group), will be putting on a display at Emerald City Comicon in two weeks at the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle. Day and weekend passes are going fast, so get your tickets now if you want to join us there.
With over a hundred active members, SEALUG is one of the largest LEGO fan groups for adults in North America, and we know how to put on a display! You can see photos of our display from last year in my photosets on Flickr, and in the group pool.
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.
The next set in the Ultimate Collectors Series of LEGO Star Wars sets brings back the X-wing – 10240 Red Five X-wing Starfighter. Due out this May, the set will include 1,558 pieces and retail for $200 here in the States.
I’ve upload all the official photos to Flickr, and here’s the designer video as well:
Here’s the official info from LEGO:
10240 – Red Five X-wing Starfighter™
Ages 16+. 1,558 pieces. Build the ultimate LEGO® Star Wars™ X-wing Starfighter! US $199.99 CA $249.99 DE 199.99€ UK 169.99 £ DK 1699.00 DKK
Collect and create the most highly detailed LEGO® Star Wars™ X-wing Starfighter ever produced. This iconic starfighter is featured in many of the most exciting Star Wars battle scenes, including the decisive battle scene above planet Yavin™. Recreate the moment when Luke Skywalker’s X-wing delivered the proton torpedo that led to the destruction of the Imperial Death Star! With 1,558 pieces, this realistically detailed model features opening wings and cockpit, a special display stand, data sheet label and R2-D2.
Includes R2-D2 atromech droid
Features highly authentic detailing, and opening wings and cockpit
Includes 1558 pieces
Measures over 10″ (26cm) high, 20″ (52cm) long and 18″ (46cm) wide
Includes display stand and data sheet label!
Available for sale directly through LEGO® beginning
May 2013
Programming note: Although this info was supposed to go out only after 1 PM PST, one of LEGO’s official channels leaked the story early, so our post is online a few minutes ahead of schedule. FBTB has the amusing tale of the “Worst. Product launch. Ever.”
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The latest modular LEGO building isn’t officially out until next month, but if you’re a LEGO VIP Program member, you can order 10232 Palace Cinema today. Make sure you’re logged in over on LEGO.com before clicking through from here.
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.
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.
While I’m obligated every time I highlight graffiti to say that I don’t condone vandalism, I love to see great street art. This photo by clockity shows the artist’s progress as he squeezes Wolverine in between some larger pieces.
Have any of our readers in Brighton seen this in person? Know who the artist is?
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.
One benefit of getting together with other LEGO fans at local club meetings is that you get to hear the thought process that goes into their LEGO models. Shawn Snyder (Flickr) has been building fantastic character sculptures for years — remember his amazing Predator bust? — and lately he’s been bringing his figures to SEALUG meetings long before he posts them online.
One of his recent figures is the villainous Venom, here taking down Spider-Man. Venom’s brick-built spider logo and teeth are particularly nice.
What’s fascinating about Shawn’s building style is that he says he never starts with a particular scale in mind. He always starts by working at building a head until it looks right, and then he works his way down (or not, in the case of his large-scale busts). Shawn’s characters are also nearly always articulated, and he incorporates structural support to enable dynamic posing. My brain just doesn’t work like that.
Since it looks like we missed it when he posted it after Emerald City Comic Con last year, here’s Shawn’s awesome Altaïr from the original Assassin’s Creed.
I can’t wait to see what he’ll bring to the SEALUG display at ECCC this year, in just a couple of weeks.
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.
I really miss the heyday of Japanese LEGO mecha builders a few years ago, where it seemed like a stellar new mech appeared online almost constantly. Growing up with Gundam and Macross on TV in Japan (well, when I was allowed to watch TV by my missionary parents…), giant robots piloted by impossibly chiseled youth still hold a special place in my heart.
Thankfully, I can still get my Japanese LEGO mecha fix from builders like LEGOROBO (legorobo:waka on Flickr). His AFA-8 Cynomys walker is full of crazy angles and believable details whose purpose I can only imagine. Just check out those toes!
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.
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.
Fir his first major project of 2013, rongYIREN has created a mechanical version of the extinct “terror bird,” complete with a minifig pilot and an engine in the back.
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.
There’s a reason pretty much everything Mark Stafford (lego_nabii) builds is blogworthy. After all, he’s talented enough to design sets for LEGO. Thankfully, he doesn’t keep all that talent hidden behind closed doors, and continues to post his own LEGO models. His latest is a wonderful starfighter with an interesting color contrast between the front and back, with great greebles in between.
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.
We’ll get to the annual Toy Fair trade show in New York at some point, but in the meantime, FBTB continues to provide great coverage of all the upcoming LEGO sets we can expect in 2013.
Show highlights include new LEGO Lord of the Rings sets, the usual Star Wars assortment, and the first official unveiling of the Lone Ranger sets based on the upcoming movie.
Before you dive into the pictures, one important note: LEGO sets and packaging displayed at toy industry trade shows are often (but not always) prototypes. This can be particularly noticeable on the minifigs, which may have stickers on their torsos instead of printing, and accessories may even be milled or 3D-printed rather than injection-molded. Enjoy the preview, but save your “quality” commentary until official photos or the sets themselves have been released later.
LEGO Lone Ranger
It looks like there will be six sets to accompany the new Disney version of The Lone Ranger starring Johnny Depp as Tonto. LEGO designer Marcos Bessa has shared one official photo of 79111 Constitution Train Chase, so I’ll include that here alongside FBTB’s pictures.
Here’s the full list of LEGO Lone Ranger sets (revealing movie spoilers, in case you care):
After a holiday season full of new LEGO Hobbit sets, Lord of the Rings returns with a fresh batch of four sets due out in June, including 79006 The Council Of Elrond:
The full list (spoilers only if you’ve been living in a cave for the past 50 years):
Ace and his crew have also posted a few videos, starting with a preview of Battle at the Black Gate:
Here’s Pirate Ship Ambush:
LEGO Star Wars
Tatooine has always been my favorite planet in the Star Wars universe, so I’ve been enjoying the recent focus on that planet for sets from the Classic Trilogy, such as the updated 75020 Jabba’s Sail Barge, complete with Max Rebo:
New 2013 LEGO Star Wars sets unveiled at Toy Fair this year include:
Other lines with new sets unveiled at Toy Fair this past weekend include more Galaxy Squad, Technic, board games, and a new LEGO Castle theme due out in August:
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.
by more than 30%, down $15.99 from $49.99 (thus you pay only $34). 
(or as FBTB calls it, a 
