Posts by Jake Forbes (TBB Managing Editor)

Plucky Patapons emerge from Playstation Portable past in LEGO

If you were lucky enough to have a PlayStation Portable, then there’s a good chance you remember Patapon, the music and tactics mash-up that’s up there with Space Channel 5 and PaRappa the Rapper in the rhythm game Hall of Fame. Builder Vlad V boots up the little fellas for this pixel-perfect LEGO tribute. Vlad nails the personality of the silhouetted soldiers as they march to the beat. It’s a simple mix of parts, but it couldn’t be more faithful. And you don’t have to know the game to appreciate the lovely sunset mosaic. Already the “pat-a-pat-a-pat-a-pon” earworm is back in my head. If you’re also feeling nostalgic for Patapon, the spiritual successor Ratatan is on its way with more great character designs to inspire LEGO 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.

Rock solid colossal castle

When we checked in with Louis of Nutwood last week, the builder took to the seas on itty bitty sailing ships. This time Louis puts those ace LEGO skills to work at colossal scale with the impressive Fortress of Hyrrefur. The castle features distinctive brickwork that incorporates SNOT techniques, profile bricks, and sloped corners for an impressive chiseled look. That intricacy extends to the rocky base with nary a foothold for would-be invaders.

The fortress is even more impressive up close.

Click to explore Hyrrefur Fortress from every angle

Iron Forging ahead with another This Week in LEGO Bricks! [Feature]

A lot happens every week in the world of LEGO builders. Thankfully, we can always count on ABrickDreamer to highlight the best MOCs, videos, and builder news. This week’s big story is the Iron Forge competition, currently in the free-for-all phase. We try not to choose favorites here at TBB, but best of luck ABrickDreamer! Now, on with the news…

NikiFilik spells out how to build your own LEGO wizard [Instructions]

Blue is a great color for wizards. Majisto, Disney’s Merlin, Gauntlet‘s best hero… Tolkien fancied the idea of a blue wizard so much, he made two of them! But the prize for the cutest blue wizard around goes to NikiFilik, whose LEGO mini-mage is about 90% beard, which is the ideal proportion. This build is a remake of an earlier character design from last August that NikiFilik created for the Vignweek competition. Small changes, like the new hat, cuffed sleeves, a curlier staff, and smoother boots, show how even a small build can benefit from iteration. And now you too can have a li’l wizard buddy for your desk as NikiFilik has generously made free instructions available to all.

LEGO Wolfpack on patrol

Wolfpack Beastmaster is the unambiguous favorite of Collectible Minifigures Series 27, bringing back a fan-favorite Castle faction and a new wolf mold. As appealing as the figure is out of the box, minifig modder Kamil Karpiński always finds ways to take minifigs to the next level. The Beastmaster gets a wickedly clever brick-built crossbow while his sword goes to the captain, an incredible figbash foe who leads the pack atop a fearsome dire wolf. Seeing Kamil’s trio has me craving a new Wolf Pack building set. If LEGO releases a Classic Castle update in 2025, would you want the Wolfpack, or is there another theme you’d rather revisit?

Slithering into a prosperous new year with DeRa

According to the Chinese horoscope, 2025, Year of the Wood Snake, promises to be a year of prosperity and financial success, thanks to the snake’s charisma and cunning. In that spirit, builder DeRa offers a New Years’ greeting featuring the zodiac snake in a traditional motif atop a bag of gold coins. The coiled snake is definitely a charmer, but it’s the bag that has me in knots with its incredible shaping. DeRa certainly has a knack for zodiac animals. The builder’s majestic tiger made our short list for best creations of 2024.

Bionicle’s Mata Nui finally appears in LEGO form in stunning fan model

For Bionicle Fans, the Great Spirit Mata Nui is more than a robot and not quite a god and is pretty much the most important figure in the complex cosmology of LEGO’s beloved franchise being a creator, protector, and the land itself. But as important as he was, Mata Nui never appeared in his true form in any official sets (only as a Glatorian Legend). Bionicle fan GiiKei remedies this omission with a brick-built version that features incredible articulation and custom lighting. Even if you know nothing about Bionicle lore, it’s easy to appreciate this square-jawed gentle giant.

To give a fuller picture of Mata Nui’s epic majesty and functionality, GiiKei shares a video:

Bionicle fans, would you want to see LEGO release an official version of Great Spirit Mata Nui?

Which of these 54 submissions could become the next LEGO Ideas set? [News]

Today the LEGO Ideas team announced the next 54 submissions to join the 10K Club and be considered for future LEGO sets as part of the third and final review of 2024. Recent sets to come from the Ideas program include The Botanical Garden and Jaws. Will one or more of these proposed projects make it past design review? We’ll find out later this year (around August if tradition holds).

This batch includes an eclectic mix of which roughly half is based on popular culture, with the others a mix of science, nature, and minifig life. Books and literature make an especially strong showing this round. Which of these sets would you most like to see turned into an official Ideas set? Let us know in the comments.

Click to browse the latest 54 LEGO Ideas submissions up for design review

A LEGO R-Type spaceship that warms my Metal Heart

Nick Trotta might not be the most prolific builder, but every one of his works is a masterpiece of color, geometry, and innovative use of LEGO elements. For style and technique, Nick sets the gold standard for LEGO spaceship design. Nick’s latest craft is the R-104 Metal Heart, a ship inspired by the classic R-Type shoot-em-up video games, characterized by the massive wave cannon and many fins for maneuverability. Clocking in at 4,021 pieces, the ship is one of Nick’s most elaborate builds to date.

The best LEGO ships take advantage of slopes and SNOT (short for “studs not on top”) parts to create shapes and angles that are plausible as aerospace engineering while keeping that “swooshable” fun form factor of a kid’s favorite toy. In Nick’s build, every seam enhances the ship’s smooth lines. Modules connect in ways that defy logic. To see how Nick pulled off this slick exterior, you really have to see the ship from the inside. Thankfully the builder provides a detailed video of the build process.

Click to see Nick’s build process on this amazing ship!

LEGO Shinto shrine offers solace in the snow

I’ve never visited Japan in winter, but it sure looks lovely in LEGO in this scene from BrickiboT. The Shinto shrine is entered via a gate in the rōmon style, which BrickiboT achieved in LEGO using 10 nets sandwiched between 1×1 red tiles on the bottom and 1×1 curves on top. (that’s over 3000 pieces just for the curved roof sections alone!) Inside the gate stand brick-built statues of Fuijin and Raijin, the gods of wind and storms.

A look at the full complex reveals more details of Shinto tradition, like the wooden ema tablets where wishes are written, strung up, and later burned.

BrickiboT created this scene as part of the Roguebricks LUG 2024 Rogue Ronin collaboration at Bricking Bavaria. We also loved these entries from Mark van der Maarel and felix-workshop.

Bricking the micro-waves

Sometimes it’s the tiniest LEGO builds that stop you in your tracks. That was definitely the case with this vignette of two pixie-sized ships fleeing a wave of mutilation from builder Louis of Nutwood. Take a moment to appreciate Louis’ brilliant ship design, with croissant sails and frog bows. The gradient of water, from inky black to white sea foam, as well as the irregularly shaped base, add to the drama.

Everything is awesome when you’re Renaissance art

Thanks to sets like LEGO Art 31213 Mona Lisa we can experience a classic art as it be experienced by a LEGO minifig peering into our dimension. Bricko Nicko brings us one brick closer to a true LEGO reality by reinterpreting the Mona Lisa as the Renaissance minifig of Leonardo Da Vinci always intended – with a cylindrical yellow head, clamp hands, and an unambiguous smile just like everyone else’s. Truly this masterpiece belongs in the Louvre (21024).