Posts by Jake Forbes (TBB Managing Editor)

All aboard the Autobot Express!

Alex “Orion Pax” Jones is a legend in the LEGO community thanks to his spot-on replicas of ’80s toys in LEGO form, especially the Transformers. A year after debuting his high-flying Aerialbots, the undisputed champ of transforming toy tributes is back to ring out the Transformers’ 40th anniversary year with his latest masterpiece: the Trainbots! It’s hard to imagine transforming locomotives picking up much steam with kids today, but if there’s anyone in the middle of the Venn diagram overlap of LEGO, Transformers, and trains, it’s our TBB readers!

Each of the six Trainbots is fully transformable and can couple together to run on LEGO tracks, with the red diesel engine equipped with a power unit to pull the others. The combined form, Raiden, towers at 65cm tall and stands atop a track base with cherry blossoms and a torii gate. Ever the master of presentation, Alex unveils the transforming trains on rails with all the pomp of a proper ’80s toy commercial.

There’s more to these bots than meets the eye. Click to read on!

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2024 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 19 [Feature]

Happy holidays, dear calendar fans! Before we dig into today’s boxes, let’s start with a little LEGO advent history. The first LEGO advent calendar was released in 1998 featuring basic bricks and one Santa minifigure. It wasn’t until 2004 that LEGO released two choices in one year. That second calendar option? Clikits! How far we’ve come. This year we have 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 19…

Click here to see today’s builds!

LEGO Icons 10355 Blacktron Renegade revealed as the next retro set reimagining [News]

Following in the success of 10497 Galaxy Explorer, LEGO has announced the next iconic Space set to get a modern-day remake: LEGO Icons 10355 Blacktron Renegade. The original Renegade debuted in 1987 as the largest of the initial Blacktron wave of Space sets that introduced the nefarious faction to the LEGO Space universe. While the original contained just 293 pieces, the new set clocks in at 1,151 pieces with a crew of 3 minifigs and a robot. Like its inspiration, the reimagined Renegade includes modular connections, a rover that can be stowed in the ship, and a distinctive asymmetrical design. LEGO Icons 10355 Blacktron Renegade will be available on January 1, 2025 for LEGO Insiders and January 4 for all, and will retail for US $99.99 | CAN $129.99 | UK £89.99.

Read on for more pictures of LEGO’s modern take on the classic Blacktron Renegade

2024 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 18 [Feature]

We’re into the final week of this year’s advent adventure. We’ve had some amazing special guests join our photo shoots, from Johnny Thunder to Saruman, but the real stars are the daily gifts found in our bounty of calendars: Friends, Disney, City, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Spider-Man!

Click here to see today’s builds!

Give that lizard a banana

Over at New Elementary, the results are in from the “Mind that Banana” contest that challenged builders to make creations featuring any of LEGO’s banana elements. Filbrick crawled into the bunch of first-place builds with this mellow yellow iguana. As the builder mentions, yellow iguanas do exist as the typically green lizards appear yellow if born with albinism. Bananas are featured as spines, toes, eyelids, and the tip of the tail. Speaking as a former Iguana owner, the anatomy here is spot-on.

Creating a lifelike lizard with limited colors is no easy feat. Here’s a behind-the-scenes pic of how Filbrick found this scaly friend in a sea of yellow.

The Crash Bandicoot tribute that we spotlighted last week also made it into the beautiful bunch of banana winners. Congratulations to everyone who participated, and thanks to New Elementary for such an a-peeling competition!

2024 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 17 [Feature]

Opening up a new set of LEGO gifts each day is a great day to mark the passing of time. Why not make Advent calendars for every day of the year? Think about it, LEGO! I’m sure the crack design team can come up with a few hundred more Star Wars micro builds each year, right? For now, let’s enjoy our calendar gifts when we can get them in December. All six of them: Friends, Disney, City, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Spider-Man!

Click here to see today’s builds!

2024 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 16 [Feature]

It’s December 16th already? Just one more shopping week till Christmas. Not that I need to worry about that – I have dozens of LEGO builds from the advent calendars to regift! It’s a solid plan, right? I can figure out who gets what later. First, we have six LEGO advent calendars to open: Friends, Disney, City, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Spider-Man!

Click here to see today’s builds!

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!

Click here to see today’s builds!

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.

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!

Click here to see today’s builds!

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!).

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!

Click here to see today’s builds!