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)

How to Build your Dragon: Make your own LEGO Toothless [Instructions]

We’ve come to enjoy the many LEGO creations from Build Better Bricks not just for their quality and variety, but because they often provide inexpensive building instructions. Their latest is the titular dragon Toothless from the How to Train Your Dragon series, which just released its third movie recently. I love the dragon’s eyes, and Toothless’ low profile is captured perfectly, along with key details like his makeshift tail fin.

You can check out the instructions for Toothless on B3’s website.

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All aboard the Victorian Railways from Melbourne to Sydney

Back in the early 20th century, the Victorian Railways in Australia ran two S class steam locomotives, first without streamlining and later with streamlined Art Deco styling. Australian LEGO train builders Alexander and Teunis Davey have collaborated to build both versions of these vintage trains. The earlier version looks beautiful in dark red with black details, while the later streamlined version looks fantastic in dark blue and gold.

Alexander users a number of custom elements in the locomotives, including 3D-printed rods and valve gear, as well as the gold locomotive names and trim. As much as I love the Art Deco look of the 1937 train, I’m smitten with the classic look of the original, unstreamlined locomotive.

1/8-scale Porsche 917 Le Mans racecars in LEGO

The Porsche 917 gave the German auto manufacturer its first win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1970 and 1971, following the historic wins by the Ford GT40 in 1966. Talented LEGO race car builder Greg_998 has recreated both the 917LH in white with blue and yellow trim and the 917K in gorgeous Gulf Oil livery.

See more of these detailed Le Mans race cars

To Carthage, and beyond...

While Greek galleys have been an occasional subject for LEGO builders, it’s not often we feature the Roman navy, despite its historical importance in carrying the Roman army to victory across the Mediterranean in places like Carthage, as well as to Britain from Gaul. Iyan Ha has corrected this oversight with his wonderful little Roman warship, with full rigging and even pavilions on the deck for the elite passengers. As wonderful as the ship is, don’t miss the filigreed stand, complete with a custom plaque and a pair of tigers.

USCSS Nostromo and ore refinery from Alien built from 3500 LEGO pieces

While most LEGO sci-fi builders inspired by the Alien franchise tend to build the military hardware from James Cameron’s Aliens, some builders go for the industrial aesthetic of Ridley Scott’s original movie. TBB’s own Daniel Fortine has not only built the Weyland-Yutani corporation’s cargo ship Nostromo, he’s built the massive ore refinery that Ripley and her crew are hauling when they make an ill-fated stopover on LV-426.

We asked Daniel to share his huge model with our readers first, along with a bit more info you won’t find anywhere else.

See more of Nostromo and the ore refinery

Deploy TIE bombers to root out Rebels hiding in asteroid belts

The Imperial TIE Bomber doesn’t get a whole lot of screen time in the Star Wars films, but its unique twin-fuselage design has made it a fan favorite over the years. Polish builder barneius uses the new TIE fighter canopy, placing his model in the same scale as official LEGO sets like 75211 Imperial TIE Fighter.

The ordnance pod with its forward missile port is wonderfully detailed, as seen in the photo above. This next rear view showcases the excellent shaping of the fuselages, along with the bomb chute that extends down from the ordnance pod.

So long, and #ThanksOppy – Mars rover Opportunity declared dead after 15-year mission

By the time the Curiosity Rover landed on Mars with its splashy “Sky Crane” in 2012, the unassuming Opportunity rover had already been trundling across our neighboring planet’s surface for 8 years. But on February 13, NASA declared its 15-year mission over, having received the last transmission from the rover ahead of a major dust storm on June 10, 2018. To commemorate the end of the mission for what is arguably one of humankind’s greatest achievements, here’s my LEGO Opportunity that I built back in 2012.

The city of Cyrene falls to the Pierian Empire

Despite the inclusion of Classical or Greco-Roman characters in several waves of Collectible Minifigures, the ancient world just isn’t as popular with LEGO Castle builders as the big gray castles of the medieval era. As a result, it’s always refreshing to see great LEGO models from that earlier era. Talented TBB alum Mark Erickson has created a fictional battle between rivals the Pierian Empire and the great city of Tylis. Mark’s diorama is full of fantastic architectural detail — I particularly love the contrast between the tan city walls and the shining white temple with its gold details and green roof.

See more of Mark’s fantastic Greco-Roman city

In a few hours it’s gonna burst through your ribcage, and you’re gonna die. Any questions?

As a prize for the Space Jam contest he’s currently hosting on Flickr, Micah Beideman has built an excellent chestburster from the various Alien movies. While the Arvo Bros’ chestburster remains one of the best large-scale versions, this one might be my new favorite tiny version. Micah has used a minimum of parts with wise parts selection to capture the slithering organic shape of the nasty creature. The tan Technic gear for the creature’s teeth is particularly well-placed.

To the moon, with steam!

I’m not quite sure how the mechanics of a steam-based industry work on the moon, or how exactly a lighter-than-air vehicle like a zeppelin would float above an airless surface, but Dwalin Forkbeard certainly makes such a fantastical idea believable with this steampunk city on the moon.

See more details of this steampunk city on the moon

TBB cover photo for January 2019: Captain on the Bridge!

A new year brings us a (belated) new cover photo for The Brothers Brick’s social media channels. This month’s cover photo by Finn Roberts takes us high above the earth, to the interior of a spacecraft preparing to depart our planet’s orbit.

This scene is also built to fit the interior dimensions of an inflatable habitat module that Finn featured in a previous LEGO model, alongside a fantastic spacecraft used to assemble an interplanetary cruiser under construction. We can’t wait to see what the finished cruiser looks like!

Want to see your own LEGO creation featured across TBB social media for a month? Then read the submission guidelines and send us your photo today. Photos that do not meet the submission guidelines will not be considered, and will be removed from the group.

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LEGO Speed Champions 75892 McLaren Senna [Review]

Having taken a a drive around Memory Lane with classic cars like the 1967 Mini Cooper S Rally and 1980s-era Ferrari F40, we turn to the thoroughly modern 75892 McLaren Senna. Rather than a sticker price of $837,000 (give or take another million dollars when finally auctioned off), this LEGO version of the European supercar retails for $14.99 (£12.99 in the UK and $19.99 in Canada), with 219 pieces and one minifig driver.

Read our hands-on review of LEGO Speed Champions 75892 McLaren Senna