Posts by Jake Forbes

2024 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 15 [Feature]

Do you hear what I hear? No, there’s no one on the rooftop… yet. It’s tiny bags crinkling inside their boxes just waiting to be unwrapped and built! Put an extra log and the fire before we continue opening all six LEGO advent calendars: Friends, Disney, City, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Spider-man!

As ever, our intrepid TBB team is on hand with witty comments, insightful observations, and bad jokes for each day’s builds. And of course, you can add your own thoughts in the comments section each day! So without further ado, let’s crack open the build for day 15…

Click here to see today’s builds!

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.

They come in red now?

It’s been over five years since we’ve had a Captain America on the big screen, but that changes next February with Brave New World giving Sam Wilson’s Cap’-with-wings the spotlight. TheMarkStudios 84 gets the hype train rolling with a dynamic tribute to the promised face-off between Captain America and the Red Hulk. Forget big fig – this Red Hulk is sized for epic smashing! I love the mix of up-scaled bricks bursting from the wall to match the super-sized Hulk hand. The scene captures the energy of a classic Silver Age Marvel comic and pairs nicely with the similarly explosive new MARVEL Logo set.

To see how this Avenger action diorama was assembled, the builder shares a step-by-step video.

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.

2024 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 14 [Feature]

LEGO Advent calendars draw on so many icons of the season. Sweaters and snowmen, candy canes and cookies, and of course Santa! But you know what we’ve yet to see in an advent calendar? Krampus. Will this be the year? Will today be the day? Probably not, but let’s find out as we open door 14 on all six LEGO advent calendars: Friends, Disney, City, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Spider-man!

As ever, our intrepid TBB team is on hand with witty comments, insightful observations, and bad jokes for each day’s builds. And of course, you can add your own thoughts in the comments section each day! So without further ado, let’s crack open the build for day 14…

Click here to see today’s builds!

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.

An uplifting story that starts with LEGO

In 2001: A Space Odyssey the appearance of a black obelisk turns apes into tool users in a rather violent way. Victor imagines an alternate spark of inspiration – a 2×4 LEGO brick! Confronted by this mysterious object, would the apes be inspired to use their newfound reasoning for creative pursuits instead of aggression? Or is the evolution of the stud-shooter inevitable? Victor’s model is a clever tribute to the classic Kubrick film with an upscaled brick looking suitably imposing against a studless sky. Of course, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen a toy swapped into the iconic scene (Hi, Barbie!).

Inspiration

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.

2024 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 13 [Feature]

December 13th! Here in Sweden, today is Lucia, a celebration of songs and lights to mark the darkest day of winter. Today we feast on “lussekatter” saffron-flavored buns and listen to the youth dressed as white-robed Lucia, star boys, Santas, and gingerbread men as they sing carols. Thanks to our Danish neighbors, it’s also the day when we open the 13th door of our LEGO advent calendars: Friends, Disney, City, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Spider-man await!

As ever, our intrepid TBB team is on hand with witty comments, insightful observations, and bad jokes for each day’s builds. And of course, you can add your own thoughts in the comments section each day! So without further ado, let’s crack open the build for lucky day 13…

Click here to see today’s builds!

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.

2024 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 12 [Feature]

The 12th Day of Christmas… Per the classic carol, that’s the day for drummers drumming, but seeing as we’ve already had drums come up the calendars, I’m guessing LEGO has other gifts in-store for today. Between Friends, Disney, City, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Spider-man, you’d think at least one of them could include a turtledove or two.

As ever, our intrepid TBB team is on hand with witty comments, insightful observations, and bad jokes for each day’s builds. And of course, you can add your own thoughts in the comments section each day! So without further ado, let’s crack open the build for day 12…

Click here to see today’s builds!

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.

Hark, an Angel! sirens ring

Sachiel, the third Angel, has arrived in LEGO courtesy of Sakiya Watanabe (N.A.B.E _mocs), and I don’t think it brings good tidings. Sakiya employs some devilish parts usage in this recreation of the Evangelion enemy. Strings of rubber tires give the limbs an organic effect. Black wing elements tightly tucked into the torso are nearly invisible until you zoom in to appreciate the subtle texture. A white cloth cape for the face is especially unsettling. Sakiya has only recently begun sharing Bioncle and constraction builds but is already finding fans. The builder’s hockey mask tiki tower was one of the most popular builds with readers this year!

Sachiel in Evangelion

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.

Tiny Badlands dragon has a four-foot high belly

How can an 8-inch dragon also be four feet high? When those feet are LEGO versions of Donkey Kong feet, cleverly worked into the dragon’s scaly belly. Nathan Don (Woomy World) designed this fellow at the Skærbæk Fan Weekend as part of New Elementary’s New Parts Workshop. As guest builder, Nathan guided fans in unlocking the creative potential of new elements. The seed part for the dragon, Donkey Kong’s foot, doesn’t feature easy connection points for such a small build, so the row of feet are rubber banded together, reducing the number of connections needed. Very clever! (Learn more about Nathan’s process at New Elementary).

Badlands Dragon

Nathan has had an incredible year, both winning the Bio-Cup competition and being invited to contribute to the LEGO House Masterpiece Gallery. After so many epic creations, it’s a delight to see what a builder can do with just a few weird parts to spark the imagination!

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.

2024 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 11 [Feature]

It’s day 11 of the most wonderful time of the year when we at the Brother Brick take you on a guided tour of the winter wonderland that is LEGO advent calendars! It truly is the best time of year. We love it so much that other holidays, birthdays, and celebrations feel a bit limp in comparison. And with six calendars to reveal, this is without a doubt the most wonderful iteration of the most wonderful time of the year. What a time to be alive! What will Friends, Disney, City, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Spider-man have for us today?

As ever, our intrepid TBB team is on hand with witty comments, insightful observations, and bad jokes for each day’s builds. And of course, you can add your own thoughts in the comments section each day! So without further ado, let’s crack open the build for day 11…

Click here to see today’s builds!

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.

Pumpkin spice lattes are the only things steaming in this town

It may be winter where you are, but in the Imperial City of Ids de Jong‘s imagination, fall is still in the air. Ids LEGO scene captures a slice of steampunk life as the leaves turn. The steam-powered mulcher is a nice touch, showing how newfangled technologies are good for more than airships and gyrocars! I’m a huge fan of the steampunk accents on the brick buildings, like those rickety drainpipes, the corrugated metal bay window, and the chunky metal tubes for piping in steam.

Autumn in the Imperial City

Ids built this service station for the annual Wandering Skies competition in the Seasonal Bliss category.

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.

Magnificent Moorish tower with a modern twist

Blake Foster has been wowing us with epic builds for over a decade. His M-Tron Magnet Factory remains the most epic tribute to that retro LEGO Space theme I’ve ever seen, and just last month we highlighted his towering contribution to the New Hashima collaboration. Blake is back with another tower for an upcoming near-future Middle Eastern city collab with the Mehmet Agha Mosque, named for the tower that inspired it on Rhodes. In modular fashion, Blake situates the mosque next to a multilevel urban structure containing a street-level carpet shop and a rooftop hookah bar.

Mehmet Agha Mosque

The model is a big departure from the SHIPs and sci-fi works we’ve come to expect from Blake, with a focus here on Moorish architecture and urban decay. The cracked plaster is brilliantly done, and the exposed brickwork strikes the perfect balance between fragility and permanence. I really appreciate how Blake combines at least three architectural styles here, capturing the nature of old cities to develop in layers, while also making the model exciting to study (much like the upcoming Tudor Corner modular!).

Mehmet Agha Mosque

As an easter egg, the rug seen hanging through the ground floor doorway is a custom printed sticker modeled on a rug Blake owns, and that’s his sigfig tending the shop!

Blake’s tower will be joining the epic Medina al Musawrah collab that we highlighted earlier this year. You can see the work in person at BrickFair NoVa 2025.

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.

2024 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 10 [Feature]

Yesterday we passed 50 advent gifts from the calendars. Today we’re looking to hit an even 60 LEGO surprises. Will minifigs or micro builds earn the kudos of our wise and fair panel of experts? Join us as we open one more set of doors from Friends, Disney, City, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Spider-Man!

As ever, our intrepid TBB team is on hand with witty comments, insightful observations, and bad jokes for each day’s builds. And of course, you can add your own thoughts in the comments section each day! So without further ado, let’s crack open the build for day 10…

Click here to see today’s builds!

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.