Posts by Jake Forbes (TBB Managing Editor)

As Febrovery rolls to a close, it’s time for a final rover roundup! [Feature]

Alas, Febrovery has reached the end of the road. If only February were a few days longer, then we would get more amazing LEGO rovers rolling across distant moons. On the other hand, more days might burn out those hard-working builders creating a new build each day. Let’s celebrate our favorite rovers from the second half of the month. In case you missed it, here is is our mid-month roundup. Tell us in the comments which rover you’d most like to take for a spin!

Two-seater Monowheel Rover by Wynd

We lead with greebles courtesy of this delightful monowheel from builder Wynd. It’s a fresh spin on her rover from last year, maintaining the neo-classic space vibes, but expanding for an extra passenger and bringing in a rubber tire.

Our Febrovery roundup continues with many more amazing space builds

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This Week in LEGO Bricks: Rovers reign, roads ripple, roger roger [Video]

Here at the Brothers Brick, we love writing about our favorite MOCs and new sets, but there are too many amazing creations and builder stories for us to cover them all. Thankfully ABrickDreamer is here to highlight the must-see models, articles, and videos of the week. My favorite link this week is Brick Fanatics’ wonderful video on why Fabuland was a hit in some places and not others, but the “illegal” road techinque from Brickcrafts is a close runner up.

Badminton with LEGO? It’s a racket

Japanese builder and LEGO Masters finalist Chie Kiyoshima is such a fun creator to follow as you never know where her imagination will lead next, and every model she posts is a delight. Her latest creation is a 1:1 scale badminton set, where if you squint you wouldn’t know it was made from LEGO bricks. The racket is strung with genuine LEGO string. Chie finds the prefect parts usage for the shuttlecocks with basketball nets as skirting. 1:1 props of mundane items are joyful enough on their own, but Chie serves up a smash by creating a motorized rig for the props. Game and match.

Star Wars by way of IKEA makes for cozy living

Season 2 of Andor is fast approaching and I couldn’t be more excited. For the thrills of a rebellion blazing into action, yes, but also for more scenes of Syril Karn’s home life with mom. TBB alum Mansur Soeleman is also a fan of Syril’s dining nook and used it as an inspiration for a cozy apartment vignette for his Star Wars Factions character Jani Pryce. Mansur describes the aesthetic as “Space IKEA,” and I’m here for it.

Mansur built the three room apartment for the Star Wars Faction role-playing game, where participants were challenged to create a scene of civilian life. (I just love the idea of getting XP from building beds instead of blasters!) Mansur went above and beyond, presenting both Jani’s ~~Scandinavian~~ New Republic modern abode as well as a towering slice of the exterior, complete with a motorized elevator. With its clean lines and minimal greebling, Mansur’s apartment perfectly cpatures the look of an Inner Rim world sheltered from scum and villainy.

Cozy up for a closer look at Mansur’s Star Wars apartment

LEGO Ganesha, remover of creative blocks

The LEGO group has expanded its audience and introduced builders around the world to new stories through its Chinese New Year and Monkey Kid lines. Wouldn’t it be exciting to see sets inspired by Indian culture beyond models of the Taj Mahal? In the meantime, Łukasz Alagierski draws on a colorful mix of parts old and new to present Lord Ganesha, Remover of Obstacles and bringer of luck and new beginnings. Łukasz depicts the elephant god holding the traditional symbols of an an axe, pasha, lotus, and a tray of sweets (that his trunk drifts towards). Surrounded by flowers in a dozen colors and sitting atop a Scala quilt, this Ganesha perfectly captures the look of a Hindu altar scene.

Full-spectrum starfighter runs on color

NASA and Space X might stick to mostly monochrome vehicles, but great LEGO spaceships play confidently with color. Maybe you take inspiration from one of the classic LEGO space themes, or maybe you just love teal. For Mason Martin‘s starfighter, color isn’t an aesthetic choice but the driving force behind a bold design that fuses sleek lines with scientific scholarship. The Color Theory incorporates RGB, CMYK, and the trusty RYB color wheel. It has a prism, gradients, and a mass spectrometer. How does all that color make it better at swooshing and pew-pewing? I don’t know, I’m no scientist. But it sure looks good from every angle.

Read on for more views of Mason’s colorful creation

Red coats make easy targets

At the start of the French and Indian War, the British outnumbered their rivals with 2 million colonists to France’s mere 60 thousand. Through alliances with Indigenous tribes and the use of guerrilla tactics, the French made sure the redcoats paid a heavy price for those “few acres of snow.” Nicholas Goodman brings this chapter of North American history to life in LEGO, depicting the British under attack in 1759. The builder excels at dioramas, mixing scenery and minifig staging to capture the drama of a moment. I love how the trees get darker away from the road, a perfect setting for an ambush. We loved his last take on tricorn hat history: a swashbuckling pirate raid.

This scene was built for an upcoming LEGO history book called Minifigure Monarchs: A History of Great Brits in Little Bricks, by Andrew Redfern.

LEGO Godzilla Minus One is ready to rock your world

Godzilla, the OG kaiju, has been enjoying a resurgence of late in both Japan and Hollywood, but it’s the grounded back-to-basics take of Godzilla Minus One that most captured the hearts of fans and critics alike. It’s this version of Godzilla that inspired builder DeRa to bring the beast to life in LEGO and the results are as striking as an atomic blast. Once again, DeRa demonstrates an unmatched talent for blending LEGO sculpting, texturing, and articulation to create a model that pushes LEGO to its limits.

See more of DeRa’s impressive beast and learn about the build process below

LEGO doodling – following unusual parts wherever they lead [Building Techniques]

Some LEGO builds are born from a clear vision of the final model. Others are more like doodles where you improvise as you go, finding joy in the parts you use along the way. Pan Noda provides little context for this latest bizarro creation, “Trioffic Lights,” but I’m guessing it falls in the doodle camp, an extension of the builder’s rescent fascination with DUPLO tubes. Aside from the star elements, DUPLO balls with faces, Pan Noda pulls in a mix of pleasing parts and techniques, like tank treads to wrap the faces, inverted rubber tires for the joints, corner window visors, Aquazone octagonal legs, and Belville perfume bottle fingers. Despite such an ecclectic set of elements, the build keeps coherent by sticking to the three primary colors. The results walk a fine line between nightmare and whimsy, a liminal space Pan Noda is qutie familiar with.

What’s the strangest place your LEGO doodling has taken you?

Say cheese, Gromit!

It’s hard to belive 35 years (245 in dog years) have gone by since Wallace and Gromit were first molded by Nick Park’s thumbs and a great cinematic friendship was born. Now the happy couple are up for another Oscar and builder byggi_l is here to capture their special charm in LEGO. Mixel eyes are perfect for bringing life to the duo’s plasticine faces. I especially love Gromit’s brows made from inverted bake-o-lite hotdog buns.

Need a ride for your next hare-brained endeavor? Isaac Wilder made a cracking good version of your Austin A35.

Hejjo Demokowicz’s immersive LEGO steampunk worlds

Immersive LEGO scenes fill the frame with bricks and make you feel like you’re getting a glimpse into another world. Hejjo Demokowicz demonstrates a mastery of the form with his series of steampunk districts that began in 2022, each depicting a solitary figure beginning a journey. The latest entry, District 3, depicts a snowy, urban realm. Hejjo draws on an eclectic mix of rounded parts for the white snow and the nougat path for a lush texture. Wrought ironwork impresses in both the foreground gate and the ornate station awnings in the background. A solitary character stuns with clever parts usage, such as eggs for arms, helmet shoulders, and a pirate’s beard as trailing hair.

Click to explore Hejjo’s other districts

Touch this poison dart mech and you’ll be sorry!

When we last checked in with Zane Houston, the builder bowled us over with a colossal Dr. Robotnik mech. Maybe the Zane spent too much time in the head of Sonic’s nemesis, as now he’s sticking cute animals inside military-grade machines, just like Eggman. On closer inspection, it’s the tiny poison dart frogs who are calling the shots here. The mech shares the bright colors of toxic tropical amphibians, mixing teal, black, and bright light orange. Those triangular missile pods pack a serious punch, but it’s hard to take this mech seriously with those tiny forearms holding a minifig revolver and the pilot frog looking like a clown nose. Uh oh… I seem to have upset the frogs and now they’ve sent out a pair of chibi tanks to get revenge.

Zane’s mechs never cease to inspire with their dynamic design and top-notch presentation. This Nintendo Switch mech remains an all-time favorite build.