Posts by Jarrett Gercken

This Zelda vignette takes our breath (of the wild) away

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild has been rightfully lauded for its incredible scenery and visuals, and Martin brings the wild of Hyrule to life in this scene. Built for the Swebrick autumn challenge, this colorful build is absolutely brimming with the wildlife and character that we see throughout Hyrule in these games. The variety of techniques used to craft the trees (I spy a white carrot serving as part of a trunk), the terrain, and the intentional color choices to make the stream appear as if it is breaking over the rocks really brings this journey to life. Accompanying Link and Epona is a cast of birds, butterflies, frogs, mushrooms, and the usual hiding Koroks – how many can you find?

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LEGO Icons 11370 The Creel House and 40891 WSQK “The Squawk” Radio Station: We’re going back to Hawkins [Review]

It’s hard to believe that it’s been over 6 years since the last minifig-scale Stranger Things set, but patiently waiting has become a core part of participating in this fandom. To celebrate the long-awaited release of the final season, LEGO Icons 11370 The Creel House will be hitting shelves in Hawkins and elsewhere on January 1st, 2026 – exactly one day after the release of the series finale. Releasing as a Gift With Purchase alongside the set is LEGO Icons 40891 WSQK “The Squawk” Radio Station, ensuring that the majority of the main cast is represented here to mark the special occasion. We braved the Upside Down, shadow governments, D&D monsters, and angsty teen drama to get our hands on these sets and tell you all about them!

LEGO Icons 11370 Stranger Things: The Creel House| 2,593 Pieces | Available January 1, 2026 | US $299.99 | CAN $399.99 | UK £249.99

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.

Venture into the Upside Down and read our review of this strange house

This foe is beyond any of you. Run!

Mitch Phillips is back at it again with another incredible beast build: this time the Flame of Udûn itself. The Balrog is arguably the most popular creature in The Lord of the Rings films (and likely set to appear again in the upcoming season of Rings of Power), and this monstrous build does it justice. Of course, it wouldn’t be a MitchBuilds build without some great part usage.

The impressively massive wings are comprised of a plethora of plastic glider wings from the old Ninja and Adventurers sets, there are translucent orange Hero Factory torsos hiding in the flames atop its back, and you might find more than one color of hot dog featured throughout the build. This is a Balrog build poised to strike fear into even the bravest of the Fellowship.

As always, you can check out the full assembly of Mitch’s Balrog build on YouTube:

The Shire: A Long-Expected Upgrade

Don’t let the Sackville-Bagginses catch sight of this impressive household! While I very much enjoyed this year’s release of 10354: The Shire, it’s always great to see the MOC community making personal improvements or alternate takes on recently released sets. While not a 1:1 remake, The Creators Child put together a wonderful build of Bag End that incorporates several parts from this year’s The Shire set, like the fence made from boomerangs, but takes the entire presentation to a new level. This build is much larger in scale and is completely covered in lush vegetation, as Hobbiton is depicted in the films. At its core, this build still focuses on the green hill that holds Bilbo’s home, but the accompanying plant life makes everything feel much more alive and connected.

There’s been a decent amount of discussion about the lackluster trees in the official set, but the tree atop this version of Bilbo’s abode is a sight to behold. It’s incredibly detailed, and features a variety of build techniques and shaping to make it really stand out. The tree trunk costume is an excellent touch.

Home never felt so colorful

Who wouldn’t want to live here? This beautifully whimsical build is the latest creation from Iron Builder Bousker, and it’s chock-full of excellent color and parts usage. The shaping on the house is stunning, filled with uneven angles, lopsided window frames and panels, and a door that looks straight out of a storybook. The supporting terrain is also very naturally uneven, but everything fits together so well that it looks perfectly real. Surrounding the house is an equally striking color palette, where we can find plants made out of katanas, pickaxes, and bows. My favorite detail is actually the signpost up front. It’s simple, yet smooth and perfectly executed- and not something I’ve seen before. I’d gladly move here tomorrow.

Taking on an Empire, one base at a time

Nobody said that taking on an Empire would be easy. As stated in Karis Nemik’s manifesto: “The frontier of the Rebellion is everywhere, and even the smallest act of insurrection pushes our lines forward.” On an unnamed forest planet, Bolim59 brings this truth to light as Rebel freedom-fighters play their part in slowing down the ever-growing oppressive Imperial regime. This appears to be a two-team sabotage mission, fronted by Rebels obviously dressed in the coolest Star Wars garb (seriously, the Battle-Ready Lucy headgear usage here is perfect), and a lightsaber-wielding Rebel that looks eerily similar to a former Jedi padawan we’ve seen before.

Of course, no one should attempt the perfect heist alone. Bolim’s build is a collaboration with Jonas Gohlke (oblivion_builder) who builds another target, a data center, where Rebels are liberating details about Imperial shipments. Both builders are adept at creating unique Imperial architecture that expands on what’s been depicted on screen but feels right at home in the Star Wars sandbox. The mix of curves and harsh angles on Jonas’ build are especially pleasing.

We wish these Rebels the best of luck, and remember this: “One single thing will break the siege.”

The Playable LEGO Game Boy: An Interview with the team behind BrickBoy [Interview]

From the moment that LEGO announced the official LEGO Game Boy set (72046), the online community was abuzz with questions around whether or not it could be converted into an actual functioning handheld gaming system. We had a chance to talk to the team behind BrickBoy, a electronic kit that aims to do just that, currently raising funding on Kickstarter. While other savvy makers have hacked a working emulator into the LEGO model, this team promises a 5-minute conversion that anyone can do at home. We’ll be back soon with a hands-on review of the kit, but first, we sit down with the team to learn more about how the BrickBoy project came together.

Read on to learn more about BrickBoy!

The Tengu Temple above the Clouds

Drawing on Japanese Mythology, pickybrickster shares a beautifully constructed Tengu temple high above the clouds with a gripping backstory. The various techniques used to build the rock foundation and the surrounding clouds work really well together, especially highlighting the smoothness of the clouds in contrast with the jagged rocks.

With a story as wonderful and intriguing as the build itself, he writes:

On the highest mountain peaks, far beyond human reach and well above the clouds, dwell the mighty tengu. A lone samurai ghost has come to this mythical place to seek his revenge, for he could not reach it while he was still alive. The tengu took his family, and now he hunts them down — this is a story destined to become a legend.

Dreaming up engineering marvels

Declaring that “An architect’s dream is an engineer’s nightmare”, Roman brings this premise to life in LEGO form. Appropriately for the subject, the construction itself features some incredible engineering and wonderful parts usage throughout all sections of the build. Some of my favorites are the Ninjago dragon head, hammers, binoculars, and visors that are used in unconventional ways in the artist’s billowy smoke imagination. The dreamer himself is excellently shaped and topped off with a hat comprised of leaves, broomsticks, and an entire boat. A wonderful tribute to this architect’s fantasies, brought to life in bricks.

A world within a Jellyfish

Today Piotr Przytuła shared his latest creation: a stunning jellyfish with more than meets the eye. This is a beautifully shaped build with an excellent use of color. And the variety of different plant parts used to craft and shape the flowing tentacles of the jellyfish make it feel completely alive and in motion. There is some great part usage, my favorite being the Minifigure Crown piece that was recently used in an opposite orientation for a micro jellyfish in the Coral Reef Diorama. Upon closer inspection, you’ll notice that the interior of the jellyfish bell contains a miniature world, dubbed Jellyfish Island.

Take a closer look at the world within this Jellyfish!

LEGO Blastoise and Venusaur join the fray!

Following his incredible Charizard build last month, MitchBuilds has rounded out his party of Gen 1 starter final forms with Blastoise and Venusaur. Both of these builds feature just as many neat building techniques, and all appear to be nicely at scale with each other.

Blastoise is an imposing build, and positioned just like we’d see him in the game or anime. I’m particularly fond of the face shaping, where Mitch has managed to perfectly capture his eyes and give him quite a bit of personality with his open mouth. You may notice that his nose is made out of one of the old stiff minifig capes, which is an excellent touch. The shell frame technique that we’ve seen recently with The Mighty Bowser and Spiny Shell works really well for Blastoise, though it’s been highly customized for this build to make sure everything fits perfectly.

Venusaur’s up next, as well as Mitch’s behind-the-scenes videos!

These Friendshiptember builds are out of this world [Feature]

Friendshiptember is that wonderful time of the year where builders of all experience levels come together to create a ship (space, sky, or seafaring, all are fine!) inspired by the colors and minidolls of LEGO Friends. With another successful Friendshiptember in the rear view mirror, we rounded up some of our favorite entries to share. We also sat down with the event organizer Aubree (moctura) to reflect, so scroll to the end to read our interview. But first, let’s see these fabulous friendships!

Brilliantly capturing both the aesthetic and the color palette of the Friends theme, Chad Rhodes first-ever entry is a sight to behold. This ship is smooth and sleek, yet feels like a true crossover for Friends and Space. The Star and Heart tucked away in the top of the ship is a perfect touch.

With another impressively sleek design, Jason Bourassa shows off this colorful ship adorned with embellishments. Even if the jewels or hearts are blasters, they still seem quite friendly. The bright purple engine exhaust is the perfect final touch.

Travel further into the beyond with these builds