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)

Preserving Preston bus station’s Brutalist architecture in LEGO

I don’t think I’d ever call Brutalist buildings beautiful, but they’re certainly interesting. Fairly unpopular and often built from materials like concrete that don’t always stand the test of time, many Brutalist structures are at risk. Rob H. (rh1985moc) built a LEGO version of Preston bus station in England to highlight the latest plan to demolish it.

Rob even highlights the stark lines and curves of his LEGO model using photo processing reminiscent of snapshots from the 60’s or 70’s. Head on over to Flickr for interior shots.

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.

LEGO and Arduino Projects: Projects for extending MINDSTORMS NXT with open-source electronics

Not surprisingly, one of my favorite non-LEGO blogs is the MAKE Blog, where Cult of LEGO author John Baichtel joins tech/geek luminaries like Boing Boing founder Mark Frauenfelder to highlight everything from steampunk art cars to the latest adventures in 3D printing.

One frequent MAKE topic I’m fascinated by (though I certainly already have way too many hobbies) is Arduino. Dubbed “open source hardware,” it’s always fascinating seeing what just about anybody (especially kids) can do with these little boards.

John’s latest book, LEGO and Arduino Projects: Projects for extending MINDSTORMS NXT with open-source electronics, is part of MAKE’s own how-to series, and merges two logical, inevitable hobbies.

John writes in today’s Monday Jolt to introduce the book, and talks specifically about integrating the two systems, as well as how the two systems compare.

Head on over to the MAKE Blog to read John’s intro. You can pick up the book from Amazon.com.

A Legless Lego Legolas

The latest video from BrotherhoodWorkshop is short, so there’s not a whole lot to say about it. Just watch it. And laugh.

50 years of Doctor Who, 1 very tall LEGO staircase to the clouds

Growing up in Asia, the classic Doctor Who was never available to me, so I only got into the show around 2005 here in the States, with the Ninth Doctor. Nevertheless, I’m excited about the 50th anniversary of the show this year. But not as excited as Thorsten Bonsch (Xenomurphy), who promises 11 LEGO models over the next several months, each inspired by the incarnations of the Doctor since 1963.

Thorsten starts off with the most recent Doctor, and in fact the most recent Doctor Who episode — the Christmas special titled simply “The Snowmen.”

I think Iain put it best: “Longest. Post. Ever.“

A message from Mike Crowley’s family

As many of you know, the LEGO building community lost a leading light earlier this month, when Mike “Count Blockula” Crowley passed away.

The love and sympathy expressed here, on Facebook, Flickr, FBTB, and all of Mike’s other online homes didn’t go unnoticed by Mike’s friends and family, who asked me to pass along this message from Mike’s parents to all of you.

My wife Janina and I wish to pass along our gratitude to the wonderful folks from the Lego Brick community for their outpouring of sympathy to the family at Mike’s passing. We greatly appreciated so many sharing stories and pictures of their memories of Mike at the many conferences he attended. He so loved these times when his health was better and you all made us aware of a side of him that we did not know existed.

Again, thank you all for your kindness, it made a very difficult time for the Crowley family a great deal easier knowing that the Count had so many friends and fans.

God Bless you all,

Paul and Janina Crowley

Amazon.com LEGO sales & deals – Jan 29, 2013

We highlighted some LEGO sales & deals on Amazon.com late last week, but for those who missed that post, there are still some pretty sweet discounts on LEGO.

Highlights include 4440 Police Forest Station, which is currently marked as “pre-order,” but the page says it’ll be in stock on February 1. At 28% off (5% more off since last Friday), you save over $22.

Other items still on sale:

Powerpig’s perfect Apple Macintosh

We love Chris McVeigh (powerpig on Flickr) for the many real-world objects he recreates so faithfully — and photographs so beautifully — in LEGO. His latest is the original Apple Macintosh. That thing over on the left is called a “mouse.”

While we’re at it, here’s a wonderful little Leica M9 camera we didn’t get to a couple weeks ago.

If you feel like buying one for yourself, it’s available in Powerpig’s store.

This Catoblepas can fly in space

I’ll always remember Catoblepas as a big horned beast in various Final Fantasy games over the years, but Shamisenfred puts an entirely different image to the name with his strange starfighter, “the bounty hunter Assa-Rak’s personal ship.” The four hover-pods make the ship look a bit like a race car, and the purple pods from the new Galaxy Squad sets make an excellent … whatever that is.

Bart De Dobbelaer discovers a monstrous red beetle

I’m reading paleontologist Richard Fortey’s Horseshoe Crabs and Velvet Worms right now, learning all about the weird and wonderful fauna of the Ediacaran and early Cambrian, so I was happy to encounter this lovely red arthropod by Bart De Dobbelaer.

Bart’s big bug is of course thoroughly modern, lovingly mounted for display in his cabinet of curiosities.

Convert your LEGO Wii into a LEGO Wii U

Unsatisfied with your LEGO Wii? Kooberz has the answer.

(Pssst… All you need is a bunch more LEGO and an iPad. Easy!)

A very green Hornet

Although it’s unlikely I’ll be able to contribute to this latest LEGO bandwagon, I’ve certainly enjoyed watching the new models come out of the GARC craze. Built in my favorite color, VolumeX‘s TEAM G-Hornet46 includes some really interesting parts usage under all those stickers — especially the light & sound brick from the Insectoids sets of the late ’90s.

The secret of Turtle Island

Photographing very large LEGO models can be a real challenge. I’d bookmarked this gorgeous diorama by Gabriel Thomson (qi_tah) when he first posted it last week, but wasn’t sure I’d blog it because the lighting was a bit dark, and he’d been forced to use a sheet for the backdrop that didn’t completely cover the room behind the model. But looking over my queue again today, I was pleasantly surprised to see that Kyle Collard had worked some ~~Photoshop~~ GIMP magic on Gabriel’s photo, making it really pop.

The model itself is of course wonderful, and it won “Best in Show” at BrickVention in Melbourne this past weekend, with both a crashed ship and an oared caravel, as well as a lighthouse and large-scale landscaping — as the name implies, the island itself is shaped like a turtle.

Just goes to show what a difference excellent presentation — and a little help from a friend — can make to a LEGO model.