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 best of Count Blockula: Sesame Street

We’re going to hold off posting new LEGO models this weekend as we celebrate the life of Mike Crowley, who passed away on Tuesday in Boston. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy selections from Mike’s prolific and brilliant LEGO output.

Mike’s Sesame Street diorama doesn’t just feature really wonderful, brick-built renditions of the iconic Jim Henson characters. The backdrop is also full of interesting techniques, like the bricks on the green building.

According to my original blog post about this, Mike built this back in February 2006.

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.

Pete Reid’s hardsuit hits 10K on LEGO CUUSOO [News]

Last time we highlighted the awesome hardsuit designed by Peter Reid, his LEGO CUUSOO project had just over 6,500 supporters and we were rooting for it to hit 10,000 for the Fall Review Cycle starting last September 3rd. It’s taken a little while longer, but I’m overjoyed to see this highly original, truly creative project hit 10K!

This just happened today, so no official comment from LEGO yet, and based on what we’ve seen over the last several months, it’ll probably be quite a while before we learn whether we’ll all be able to buy a copy of Pete’s suit (well into the next review cycle), but congratulations to Pete for this important first step!

LEGO Marvel Super Heroes video game announced [News]

Marvel and LEGO have just announced another video game from TT Games, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes. The game will feature an original storyline and is due out this autumn.

Here’s the official post from Marvel.com:

Marvel super heroes are assembling for an action-packed, brick-smashing good time! Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment, TT Games, The LEGO Group and Marvel Entertainment announced today that “LEGO Marvel Super Heroes” will be available beginning Fall 2013 for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, PlayStation 3 computer entertainment system, the Wii U system and Windows PC, as well as the Nintendo DS handheld system, Nintendo 3DS handheld system and PlayStation Vita handheld entertainment system. “LEGO Marvel Super Heroes” is the first installment in the highly successful LEGO videogame franchise to feature famous Marvel characters.

“LEGO Marvel Super Heroes,” coming Fall 2013

“LEGO Marvel Super Heroes” complements the LEGO Marvel Super Heroes construction toy collection, which brings the characters, vehicles and action of Marvel’s renowned universe to the world of LEGO build-and-play adventure. There are currently eight iconic scenes from the X-Men, Iron Man and Spider-Man franchises available and more construction sets tied to the new “Iron Man 3” feature film will launch later this spring.

“LEGO Marvel Super Heroes” offers an original storyline in which Nick Fury calls upon Iron Man, the Hulk, Thor, Spider-Man, Wolverine and other heroes spanning the Marvel Universe to save Earth from such threats as the vengeance of Loki and the hunger of Galactus, Devourer of the Worlds. LEGO and Marvel fans will enjoy classic LEGO videogame adventure and humor, while playing as their favorite Marvel characters.

“We’re very excited to bring a myriad of classic Marvel characters to life in LEGO form for some fun, family-friendly gameplay in ‘LEGO Marvel Super Heroes,’” said Tom Stone, Managing Director, TT Games Publishing. “Players will brave the ultimate mission to save the world as they explore famous landmarks in LEGO New York and take the adventure beyond Earth to iconic locations in the Marvel Universe.”

“Fans of both LEGO and Marvel have wanted this game for years, and we’re addressing that demand with more Marvel Universe characters than ever in a console game,” said TQ Jefferson, Vice President, Games Production, Marvel Entertainment. “If you’re a fan of Spider-Man, the Avengers, Fantastic Four, X-Men, Guardians of the Galaxy or scores of other Marvel characters, this is the game for you.”

In “LEGO Marvel Super Heroes,” players will unlock more than 100 characters from across the Marvel Universe, including fan favorites like Spider-Man, Iron Man, Wolverine, Captain America, the Hulk, Thor, Black Widow, Hawkeye, Deadpool, Loki and Galactus! The game will pack in a plethora of super-cool character abilities, combat-like action sequences, epic battle scenes, puzzle-solving and a unique story told with playful LEGO humor.

“LEGO Marvel Super Heroes” is being developed by TT Games and will be published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. For more information, please visit http://videogames.lego.com/en-us/lego-marvel-super-heroes.

Hobbiton in the round

J.R.R. Tolkein’s own artwork for The Hobbit shows many different hobbit holes in Hobbiton, but it’s rare to see anything other than Bilbo’s green-doored Bag End. So, it’s quite a nice change to see this gorgeous, different slice of Hobbiton by Brick Vader. I love the way the shape of the diorama’s base reflects the iconic round doors.

You can see more photos (including interior shots) on Imperium der Steine.

Catch all of Carson Hart’s LEGO Pokemon

Unless your heart is made of stone, you’ll fall in love with these adorable LEGO Pokemon and their trainer by Carson Hart.

I think that’s Blastoise, Venusaur, Charizard, Ash, and Snorlax. How evolved!

WB Interactive announces 3 LEGO Legends of Chima games [News]

Speaking of Legends of Chima, today WB Interactive officially announced a set of three new games based on the theme.

The first game, LEGO® Legends of Chima ™: Speedorz ™ (whose name is trademarked in various ways, in case you missed it) launches today on LEGO.com and iOS (iPhone and iPad), while LEGO® Legends of Chima ™: Laval’s Journey will be released on handheld game platforms from Nintendo and Sony this summer.

Later in the year, LEGO® Legends of Chima ™ Online launches as a free-to-play “online world.” (And no, this isn’t the MMO based on Collectible Minifigures announced earlier this summer.)

Here’s the complete press release:

London, UK – 2nd January, 2013 – Enter and explore the Kingdom of Chima™ in three gameplay experiences, offering something for all types of LEGO® gamers! Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and The LEGO Group today announced the LEGO ® Legends of Chima ™ videogames, scheduled to roar into 2013 for various platforms. The three videogames will each provide an entirely unique and exciting adventure that builds to the next experience and complement the just announced LEGO Legends of Chima™ universe of products, which includes construction sets, vehicles, TV content and more. LEGO Legends of Chima™ is a fantasy adventure set in land inhabited by different magical animal tribes and tells the classic story of good and evil, friendship and family.

“We are doing something innovative with LEGO Legends of Chima™ by making three distinct videogame experiences on a variety of platforms,” said Samantha Ryan, Senior Vice President, Production and Development, Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. “By creating multiple LEGO videogame experiences for one brand, we are catering to today’s diverse gaming community, as well as establish a rewards system for players of all three games.”

LEGO® Legends of Chima ™: Speedorz ™, a racing mini-game produced by TT Games and 4T2, revs its way on to LEGO.com today and iOS tomorrow, 3rd January. Players will race against famous Chima™ characters, battle through iconic Chima™ locations, and unleash the power of CHI to boost their Speedorz, all while collecting studs and rewards to unlock more Speedorz and customize characters. The player’s goal is to become the ultimate champion and win Golden CHI, which transforms the world map and opens a new race level.

LEGO® Legends of Chima ™: Laval’s Journey, developed by TT Games, is scheduled to be available for the Nintendo 3DS™ hand-held system and for the PS®Vita system in summer 2013 and for the Nintendo DS™ hand-held system in autumn 2013. Players will embark on an amazing adventure into the world of Chima™ where the brave warrior Laval and his allies are called upon to fight for justice.

In autumn 2013, LEGO® Legends of Chima ™ Online , a free-to-play, online world developed by WB Games Montréal, will provide kids with a safe and incredibly immersive connected game experience. Players will be able to build and customize their kingdom in the world of Chima™, explore massive environments like the Falling Leaves Forest, take on missions to help Laval and his friends, uncover hidden secrets and treasures, earn rewards, and use LEGO bricks to build weapons, gadgets, and more!

The Chima™ Vault, which houses an exclusive reward system, will be accessible to players on LEGO.com/chima. While playing LEGO Legends of Chima™: Speedorz ™ and LEGO Legends of Chima™: Laval’s Journey , players will be able to earn points. These points can be redeemed through the Vault for a variety of unique content that players can use to enhance their experience in LEGO® Legends of Chima ™ Online.

What do you think? Discuss away in the comments!

All Jan 2013 LEGO sets now available – Arkham, Chima, TMNT, Friends... [News]

Continuing our post-holiday LEGO news catchup, this is just a quick reminder that all the January 2013 LEGO sets are now available from the LEGO Shop online.

Highlights include the new LEGO Batman set 10937 Arkham Asylum Breakout.

The rest of the 2013 LEGO Super Heroes sets are also online now, including new Spider-Man and other Batman sets.

The new LEGO Train set 10233 Horizon Express is out.

The full range of LEGO Legends of Chima sets are also available, and you can get a free Ewar’s Acro-Fighter with any $75 purchase.

The complete list of Legends of Chima sets:

(For behind-the-scenes technical reasons, that list took me forever, so we’ll just give you banner links from here on out.)

The LEGO Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sets were released a little early elsewhere, but they’re now on LEGO.com as well.

Finally (for today), LEGO Friends gets a complete refresh for 2013 with (count ’em) eleven new sets.

Bricks Cascade 2013 LEGO convention in Portland, Oregon

The 2013 North American LEGO convention season kicks off on March 7 with Bricks Cascade in Portland, Oregon.

Registration is now open. Here’s the official announcement:

Portland, OR – The Portland Lego Users Group (PortLUG) and Bricklandia, Inc. are pleased to announce Bricks Cascade 2013 open registration!

On Thursday, March 7, 2013, starting at noon, Friday, March 8, Saturday, March 9, and Sunday, March 10, 2013, our doors will be open for Convention members to attend our 2nd Brick Convention at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Oregon.

Games, classes, competitions, and LEGO related announcements/ products will enhance the experience for convention members. Please go to http://www.brickscascade.com/page/convention to register and give automated PayPal payment to attend the convention. Introductory admission into Hall A for convention members and the entire event is $52 a person.

Public Exhibition of the event and its displays will be on Saturday, March 9 and Sunday March 10, 2013. Admission to the public display will be $8 per person, $28 per family (2 adults and up to 3 children).

We hope see you there!

Interview with LEGO Classic Space designer Bjarne Tveskov on MOCPages

David Alexander Smith recently interviewed former LEGO designer Bjarne Tveskov, responsible for creating many of the iconic LEGO Space sets from the “Classic” era of the 80’s and 90’s, including favorite themes like Blacktron.

DS: Was the reverse engineering required to build the alternative builds considered a play element (I loved making these models just from the pictures).

BT: To some degree, yes. Mainly it was and is a question of ressources; it’s takes a lot of time and effort to create building instructions, so for LEGO play themes there were generally only one main model. But especially with the smaller sets the customers had a decent chance of reverse egnineering the B-models. I recall doing the B-models for the Blacktron Alienator, a set with a really nice assortment of elements. I still quite like this set and the alternative models are rather different from the main model. (Also like how the box design guys made the footprints on the space surface at the image on the back of the box, even though the model isn’t actually able to lift it’s feet from the ground!)

Read the full interview over on MOCPages.com.

New LEGO Friends blog – Heartlake Friends [News]

Our friend Ace (from FBTB) and his family have just launched a new website dedicated to LEGO Friends called Heartlake Friends.

Here’s what Ace has to say in the announcement on FBTB:

The goal of Heartlake Friends is to take an unbiased position to look past the noise of any perceived controversy and celebrate all the positive aspects and outcomes from LEGO Friends. Me being an adult male, I’m not exactly the target audience for the line, so this is where my wife steps in. She’ll be managing the content and together with our three year old daughter, we hope to make a compelling blog that you’ll want to visit and maybe even share with us your thoughts and stories on your experiences with LEGO Friends.

To get things started, Heartlake Friends is hosting a contest, for which the deadline has just been extended to Sunday, January 6. So, head on over to HeartlakeFriends.com to check out the news, reviews, and more.

LEGO Minecraft set back in stock – likely very briefly

It may already be gone by the time you read this, but in case it’s not, 21102 LEGO Minecraft is back in stock at the LEGO Shop online.

Treebeard’s Holiday Special

BrotherhoodWorkshop presents another amusing installment of their LEGO Lord of the Rings videos, this time featuring the Ent Treebeard — along with the usual orcs.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Christmas, full of boxes under the tree that rattle in that very special way.