Posts by Jake Forbes (TBB Managing Editor)

A fantastic full-hearted build of a half-timbered hovel

Classic LEGO Castle sets could loom large with a few hundred parts thanks to molded wall pieces and base plates. When your goal is to capture craggy stonework, weathered walls, and rolling terrain, hundreds of parts becomes thousands. Peter (forestArcher) wanted to build in the maximalist medieval style for a long time, with whimsical angles where everything feels on the verge of collapse, but never had the parts to pull it off. After an infusion of new pieces, Peter was finally able to tackle the fantasy architecture. Take a moment to admire that crumbly foundation that mixes SNOT techniques, profile bricks, and subtle slopes. It’s a beautiful half-timbered house that looks like it would come tumbling down if you blow on it!

Peter shares the builds that inspired this journey into medieval brickwork. Each is a wonderful model on its own, and a reminder of how much innovation and iteration exists in the castle genre: Gloomy Gulch by Luke Watkins Hutchinson, Eldford Barracks-GoC by Roanoke Handybuck, The Pilgrim by Joe (jnj_bricks), Awakening by Classical Bricks, Fin the farmer by The Maestro, The four seasons – Birth by Brickleas.

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Dieselpunk Mechs and Military Hard Suits – [Minifig Monday]

Mechs and minifigs have been near and dear to the Brothers Brick for as long as we’ve been covering LEGO fandom. It’s always a thrill when builders bring a specific and fresh aesthetic to a favorite genre, and that’s definitely been the case with Brickbot Studios, Red Impala, and Zakar.ion – three builders who are absolutely crushing it with military mechs at an intimate perspective. The trio collaborated last week on trench warfare dieselpunk mechs inspired by the 1920 setting of mr_werewolf, with each builder bringing a personal spin to the theme. This week on Minifig Monday, we’re spotlighting this collab, but also some mortar blasts from the dieselpunk past from some top builders of yesteryear playing in a similar sandbox.

Leading this week’s charge is the PZM-7 Śmiały from Red Impala. Swift, merciless, and armed with an anti-mech rifle, this unit looks ready to leap over trenches like a Winged Hussar. (The lore that these builders share alongside their brilliant builds is half the fun!).

Brickbot Studios responds with theStahlschreiter 44 “Trench Reaper.” My favorite flourish is the moustache on the mech. The builder brings a touch of Warhammer sensibilities to this Death Korp diesel demon.

The minifigs and mecha continue after the break!

LEGO lets loose Mario Kart Blue Shell as Insiders reward, redeemable from May 15

As Mario Kart players know, when there’s a Spiny Shell (aka “Blue Shell”) headed your way, you’re in for a world of trouble. But not this one, homing in on LEGO Insiders. Just in time to accompany the Mario Kart Standard Kart display set, LEGO is adding a new set to the Insiders Reward page: LEGO Mario Kart 40787 Spiny Shell. Containing 234 pieces, the set can be redeemed for 2,500 Insider Points and added to any order starting on May 15. (Not an insider? Read about the free program here.) Aside from being a fun companion to the next big Mario Kart set, the ~~Blue~~ Spiny Shell packs an excellent mix of parts, including previously rare blue curved slopes and white tubes. Just be careful handling this new set around your completed Karts, as if it’s anything like the video game version, it’ll have them in pieces faster than a brick separator.

See the full Mario Kart Spiny Shell details details from LEGO

Building and growing together: An AFOL mother’s journey [Feature]

In celebration of Mothers Day and the many AFOLs who became mothers or mothers who discovered LEGO through their children, we present this guest post from our own Kimberly Giffen.

The day arrives when the oldest child receives her first LEGO set, and the time for endless hours of building with your children has come. As a family with an AFOL mother and four kids, so many hours have been spent on building. We build together, they move on to something else, and I continue building.

Kimberly’s story continues

LEGO Art 31216 Keith Haring – Dancing Figures – Brick up and dance with me [Review]

LEGO’s Art line has proven a popular way to engage with iconic artwork, with sets that translate brushstrokes into bricks that you can hang on your wall. The newest addition to the line, LEGO Art 31216 Keith Haring – Dancing Figures, shakes up the formula with a playful interpretation of the pop artist’s work that invites sharing the build experience with others. And instead of one finished work, you get 5 pieces that you can display your own way. For this review, I’ll be taking LEGO’s suggestion and inviting my family to join in for a social build experience. If you have others to share the build with, I recommend that you try this as well. As Keith Haring famously said, “art is for everybody.” But is this set for you? Let’s dig in!

Keith Haring – Dancing Figures will hit shelves and walls this May 15th for US $119.99 | CAN $149.99 | UK £104.99.

The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Read the full review

Colors, competition, and cookies! A packed This Week in LEGO Bricks! [Feature]

It’s been an exceptionally busy week in the LEGOverse with dozens of new sets getting announced, May the Fourth blasting off, and a new batch of Bricklink Designer kits moving to the voting round. Not to mention the Rogue Olympics and Iron Builder competitions, and all the usual MOCs and articles about our beloved bricks. Thankfully, ABrickDreamer has rounded up the essentials for easy viewing. My favorite stories this week: in the Conversation Piece column, there’s a must-read roundtable discussion of color theory and LEGO, and over on New Elementary, one of our favorite builders, Tom Loftus, brings an expert’s eye to new parts and recolors on the new Jango Fett’s Starship.

Otaku icons Yotsuba and Danbo in LEGO&!

Outside of Otakudom, Yotsuba might not be as familiar as Calvin and Hobbes or Dennis the Menace, but this genki girl from the long-running manga offers a similar authentic and charming child’s view of the world. To celebrate a new volume, Ids de Jong builds Yotsuba in LEGO, along with her cardboard companion Danbo. Yotsuba is posed among sunflowers, a motif used on the book covers. Ids uses bright green bricks for the hair, a color that is quite scarce, and even pick-a-brick has limits of 10 for some parts, but the results are spot on.

Ids previously made a Hatsune Miku character that is equally kawaii.

A bridge over tranquil waters

When I’m feeling weary and small, sometimes all it takes is seeing bricks laid down to ease my mind. And what’s more comforting than a bridge over ~~troubled~~ tranquil waters in the countryside? As chairman of the Zbudujmy.to! (Polish for Let’sBuild.It!) LEGO community, Paweł Michalak (aka Kris Kelvin) has contributed to and coordinated many amazing and immersive builds that celebrate the buildings and landscape of Poland. Paweł’s latest piece features a bridge, but it’s the scenery that sweeps you away. The weeping willow, made from dozens of green whips, is a clever design that transports you right to the riverbank. The three swans, gracefully swooping under the bridge, let the scene soar.

Where are the swans headed? Probably one of the builder’s scene castles, gardens, or hobbit holes!

LEGO Icons 10351 Sherlock Holmes: Book Nook – A study in plastic [Review]

Book Nooks are a cozy trend in decor and DIY crafting in which you assemble a diorama that fits between books on a shelf offering a window into a miniature world. They’re also the latest format that LEGO is experimenting with in finding new ways for adult fans to assemble and display brick-built models, starting with LEGO Icons 10351 Sherlock Holmes: Book Nook. The set is exclusive to Barnes & Noble booksellers and LEGO online and retail stores beginning on June 1st, where it will retail for US $129.99 | CAN $149.99 | UK £109.99. A folding façade of 221B Baker Street full of literary easter eggs, architectural flourishes, and minifigs of iconic characters that can be tucked away on any bookshelf? In theory, it’s a match made in millennial aesthetic heaven. But is this the book nook we deserve or just a red herring? Come, Watson! The game is afoot!

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Join us as we crack the case of the Sherlock Holmes: Book Nook!

Highly-synchronized miniature Evangelion mecha are absolutely terrific

The EVA mechs of Neon Genesis Evangelion are perennial subjects for LEGO builders, and as big fans of the show, we never get tired of seeing new takes. Joe Lam has the Nerv(e) to build all three units in his signature spindly style. These little guys are so tiny, I hope they don’t face any Angels bigger than a cherub. Unit-01 trades purple for blue and sports a scredriver for its signature horn and holds an impressively pointy Spear of Longinus. What’s fun about this scale of bot is how common the parts are and how accessible it is for new MOC builders to figure out the steps to make copies of their own.

Joe previously made bloody good LEGO Chainsaw Man and Katana Man at this scale.

NASA Space Shuttle Enterprise takes flight with LEGO Icons 10360 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft [News]

LEGO has many versions of NASA’s iconic Space Shuttle over the years, but never like this. In less than two weeks, the shuttle makes a surprise return atop a Boeing 747 as part of the LEGO Icons line. Measuring two feet long with a wingspan of 21 inches, and featuring working 18-wheel landing gear, LEGO Icons 10360 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft follows in the wake of 2023’s Concorde as a perfect project and display model for fans of aerospace engineering. The set contains 2,417 pieces and will be available early to LEGO Insiders on May 15 and to all on May 18 for US $229.99 | CAN $299.99 | UK £199.99.

Read our review with Chris Malloy here!

Blast off for aerospace adventure with pictures and product details from LEGO

The sun sets on Revenge of the Fifth

In Revenge of the Sith, we witness the twilight of the Jedi in the glow of lasers, lightsabers, and lava. Sam (dewback_bricks) brings cinematic lighting to Anakin’s fall in a LEGO diorama that infuses excellent brickwork with a powerful air of tragedy. The floor design is brilliantly done, as is the forced perspective through the tall window. (And no doubt many builders are envious of those sand red columns!)

Thanks to LED lighting and a few minor changes, the scene transforms as the Dark Side rises.

As George Lucas famously said about the prequels, “It’s like poetry. It rhymes.”