Posts by Daniel

SHIPtember 2025 Finale: Reflections from the fleet [Feature]

As we celebrate the end of another exciting and inspirational SHIPtember, while the fleet is assembling for the 2025 SHIPtember armada poster, it seems only fitting to take a moment to reflect on the history behind this LEGO building challenge. We sat down for a short interview with Simon Liu, the grand admiral of all things SHIPtember. Simon started it all with an idea to challenge himself, to push beyond his comfort zone, and as a result created a community of builders around the world who come together every year (and sometimes in between) to build the best SHIP they can, and to share their struggles and triumphs with others. As a bonus, I also reached out to the SHIP building community to get their thoughts on the event.

TBB: Hi Simon. It’s great to chat with you again after another amazing SHIPtember! Before we get to the greebles, an icebreaker. What is your earliest LEGO memory?

Simon Liu: In our old house, we used to have this enclosed balcony area that was sort of the LEGO playroom, and had this wooden plank that I built a little LEGO city on. Some official sets, some of my own creations, and some set mods. I would play for hours in my own little city.

TBB: Can you tell us about the history behind SHIPtember and your role in it?

Simon: I started SHIPtember and came up with the idea. It was simple; I had never built a SHIP and didn’t know how to. So why not make it a group exercise? At the time, building a SHIP was seen as a huge investment in time and effort, and now it’s pretty routine to see some people build multiple SHIPs in a month.

SHIPtmeber was actually going to be SHIPril. But after no SHIPs at BrickCon (which historically was the first weekend of October), I decided to move it, ensuring that BrickCon would always have fresh SHIPs.

Our interview with SHIPtember founder Simon Liu and final thoughts from 2025 builders follow

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TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for October 12, 2025 [News]

In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders worldwide, The Brothers Brick brings you the best LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the 2nd week of October 2025.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS This year marks the 20th anniversary of LEGO Batman, and Merch will see the release of a bunch of LEGO sets to celebrate, including a pretty cool Batman logo covered in black and sometimes very, very dark gray greebles. Be sure to check out last week’s Brick Report for more news and features you may have missed.

[NEWS] LEGO celebrates 20 years of Batman with new Batmobiles and a Bat logo releasing March 2026 — Batmobiles from three movies, and one big logo for your own Bat-signal mark the first wave of sets celebrating 20 years of LEGO Batman.
[REVIEW] LEGO Bricklink Designer Program Series 6 – Sequoia Tree Trail: Towering beauty — we explored this tribute to some of the most magestic trees on the planet.

TBB FEATURES & INTERVIEWS

[FEATURE] These Friendshiptember builds are out of this world — The heavy hitters of SHIPtember are forming their armada for the poster, leaving the defence of the galaxy to FriendSHIPs.
[FEATURE] A symphony of Silksong tributes in LEGO — Some games are so distinct they make perfect subjects for LEGO, like the critically aclaimed sequel to Hollow Knight, Silksong.
[INTERVIEW] One does not simply make LEGO models of Barad-Dûr this big — A larger collection of black rocks you will not find this side of the Anduin.
[FEATURE] LEGO pirates make a scene as Umbasa LUG x Brothers Brick contest sails to an end — Ahoy me hearties, pour out some rum for this collection of coarse corsairs.
[FEATURE] Looks like meat’s back on the menu: 19 custom LEGO orcs — A showcase of slobbering brutes, and other colorful characters inspired by Middle Earth’s most notorious henchmen.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for October 5th, 2025 [News]

In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders worldwide, The Brothers Brick brings you the best LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the 1st week of October 2025.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS Nintendo fans have a lot to be excited about with the release of the nearly perfect 1:1 replica LEGO 74206 Game Boy, which is already on backorder, proving this thing hits hard with nostalgia. I myself remember playing Pokémon Yellow on my console back in the day, so it’s no wonder the Game Boy set was our TBB Pick of the Month for October.

[NEWS] October 2025 New LEGO Sets Available Now — Minerals, Gremlins, Consoles, and Death ~~Star~~ Slices, Wednesday Addams, and holiday sets, all available now.

TBB FEATURES & INTERVIEWS

[FEATURE] We Arrr Family celebrates LEGO pirates of all stripes — Swashbucklers unite with our collection of scurvy dogs from the seven seas and beyond.
[FEATURE] Incomming fleet detected by long-range scanners – SHIPtember 2025 week 4 — An amazing end to another month of SHIP building by LEGO shipyards around the world.
[FEATURE] Lino rounds up the classic vehicles that put him on the LEGO automotive map — LEGO car model and TBB contributer Lino rolls out some of his favorite models from his garage.
[FEATURE] Making magic with mind-bending custom minfigs [Minifig Monday] — Witches, Wizards, and other magic users cast a spell on Minifig Monday

Read all the rest of the LEGO news from around the web

Incomming fleet detected by long-range scanners – SHIPtember 2025 week 4 [Feature]

I can hardly believe yet another SHIPtember has come and gone. This year was one of the most amazing turnouts, with many first-time SHIPbuilders and veterans blowing us away with the sheer scope of their creations, from a 500+ stud Halo ring to a five-pronged star-ship with an impressive amount of teal tiles, to a ship built into and around the bones of a giant space whale. From NASA-adjacent to completely alien, this year’s lineup of ships in all manner of 100 stud orientations will make a very impressive poster in the coming months.

Read on for our special coverage of SHIPtember week 4

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for September 27, 2025 [News]

In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders worldwide, The Brothers Brick brings you the best LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the 4th week of September 2025.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS Since the last Brick Report, we have not seen much in the way of official news from LEGO, but we did get a chance to review the Star Wars holiday-themed set, and the LEGO Ideas Mogway Gizmo set, complete with a pair of 3-D glasses. We have also been in Billund all last week for LEGO Fan Media Days, bringing lots of great content to our social media accounts. For even more news and reviews from TBB, be sure to check out our last Brick Report.

[REVIEW] LEGO Star Wars 40806 Gingerbread AT-AT: a sweet deal for Life Day — Gingerbread Darth Vader sipping (or slurping) hot chocolate by the fire inside his cozy cookie-themed walker…
[REVIEW] LEGO Ideas 21361 Gizmo – Mogwai in the Spotlight — With the new release of the Gizmo set, you can break all the rules without worrying about a nasty surprise.

TBB FEATURES & INTERVIEWS Between SHIPtember and Minifig Mondays, we’ve been featuring a lot of Sci-Fi the last few weeks, and we top that off with an interview with a prolific mecha builder. There’s also a healthy dose of nature, between National Public Lands Day and a showcase on building pastoral LEGO scenes, there’s something for everyone.

[FEATURE] Meet the 17 artists debuting in the LEGO House Masterpiece Gallery –– every year a talented mix of AFOLs are selected to have their work displayed in LEGO House for all to see and we were there to talk to the builders for the big reveal.
[FEATURE] Prepare to launch into SHIPtember, week 3 — SHIPtember is nearing its epic conclusion as we head into our week 3 coverage
[FEATURE] No Theme? No Problem! A Wild Card Showcase of Minifig Excellence — When it comes to creating custom minifigures and brick-built characters, this wild card edition blurs the lines of LEGO figures.
[FEATURE] Celebrate National Public Lands Day with the LEGO Park Ranger — Celebrate the beautiful lands of our treasured national parks in LEGO style, with an actual park ranger.
[FEATURE] Blast off into SHIPtember – week 2 — Catch up with SHIP builders new and old, as we cover the second week in the month-long build challenge.
[INTERVIEW] Celebrating 10 Years of MOCs with LEGO Mecha Maestro Marco De Bon — Get to know this iconic mecha builder and learn more about his classic anime inspired builds.
[FEATURE] An Ode to the Goatherd: designing a pastoral LEGO diorama — Take a closer look behind the scenes to find out what it takes to create a compelling story with landscape.
[FEATURE] Wake up samurai, these Cyberpunk minifigures have the coolest upgrades around [Minifig Monday] — Bionic limbs, bright colors, and edgy characters are essential elements to any good cyberpunk build, and these crafty creations are perfect examples.

Read all the rest of the LEGO news from around the web

Prepare to launch into SHIPtember, week 3 [Feature]

Week three of SHIPtember is behind us, and that means many SHIP builders have wrapped on their epic builds. Some have even started a second SHIP. Many have taken their pics to post-production to produce that epic hero shot, along with a side-view pic that will be featured in 2025’s armada fleet poster, like the one I used for my hero image from 2024. My 2024 SHIP is the slim, dark blue ship just to the right of the Supramacy shown on the far left of the poster.

For many builders, the third week is a time for final details, engines, landing gear, or other greebly details that add the finishing touches to their space-bound masterpieces. But let’s not waste any more time as we take a look at a few completed SHIPs, and check out a few builders that flew under my radar in previous weeks, like a stealth ship with ventral optical camouflage.

Read on for our week 3 coverage of SHIPtember 2025

Surfing through the jungle with this beautiful LEGO butterfly

With a name like birdwing butterfly, it’s no surprise that this majestic insect by moptoptrev has wings that resemble a bird. What surprised me was the clever use of so many interesting parts to achieve the unique pattern on those wings, from a surfboard to a ski pole. And there are many nice parts used on the body as well. Like those long and bendy black elements used in the Avatar theme, and the coiled whip used for the long proboscis.

The builder even created a separate build to show the wings opened!

This amazing LEGO scene will leave you stranded

The warped mind of Hideo Kojima has created some incredible games. Just in time for the release of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, builder Care Creations shows how perfect Kojima’s world is for LEGO. The striking vignette captures the danger of traversing a bleak post-apocalyptic landscape where rain ages whatever it falls on and black goo signals the invisible presence of the warped dead. Floating cargo containers and a folding ladder are perfect details to capture in-game story elements, and the full hood rain gear helps protect the courier from deadly timefall. My favorite detail – a minifig trophy for the creepy breach baby!

Blast off into SHIPtember – week 2 [Feature]

Wow, is the month half gone already? As we head further into SHIPtember, the SHIPs are shaping up, and the parts are really adding up. Digital builds begin their journey to IRL, or continue to grow in bytes, while their physical counterparts take on a more finished look. Some SHIPS are even done already. Builders wonder if they have taken on too big a challenge. They persevere, they re-work and re-work that one detail they are not 100% happy with. Some SHIPS may suffer a drop, or a shoulder bump, or a wayward cat, which gives the builder a chance to reinforce a more fragile section. Now, let’s check up on the builds of SHIPtember 2025…

Read on for our coverage of SHIPtember week 2

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for September 14, 2025 [News]

In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders worldwide, The Brothers Brick brings you the best LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the 2nd week of September 2025.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS Wow, we have a lot of news to catch up on, since many of our TTB contributors were busy at Seattle’s BrickCon 2025 last weekend, where we hosted a fun collaborative display of a Steampunk-themed world’s fair. LEGO announced the very first $1,000 set, the Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series Death Star (referred to by many as the Death Slice). Also, a wave of holiday-themed LEGO sets was revealed (is it just me, or do they launch these sets earlier every year?). On top of all that, we got a new take on LEGO sets inspired by the natural world with the reveal of the new LEGO Ideas Mineral Collection. For another dose of news and reviews, be sure to check out our last Brick Report.

[REVIEW] Dressed to Quest: Hands-on with the capes, cloaks, sheaths, and scabbards of Minifig Realms — We gear up for adventure with cloth capes, hoods, and belts to hold your swords and daggers.
[REVIEW] LEGO Icons 10361 Holiday Express Train: all I want for Christmas is… 3D printed LEGO? — All aboard this cute holiday train for a fun and colorful ride with a polar bear.
[REVIEW] LEGO 41843 Family Christmas Tree – A holiday tradition in the making — A fun display set full of hidden details.
[REVIEW] LEGO Death Star’s Tie Fighter with Hanger Rack – how does the GWP measure up? — A nice addition to the Death Star hanger?
[REVIEW] LEGO Star Wars 75419 Death Star: Imperial Folly — Is this glorified diarama scene worth the big bucks, or another dissapointing pile of grey bricks?
[NEWS] LEGO breaks price ceiling with $1000 LEGO Star Wars 75419 Death Star — LEGO revealed their first $1,000 set, full of details and references to iconic scenes from both battle stations.
[REVIEW] LEGO Ideas 21362 Mineral Collection: Crystals from bricks — We dug deep into the latest Ideas set to see if it is a treasure, or fool’s gold.
[NEWS] LEGO Ideas 21362 Mineral Collection revealed – a real gem — A new LEGO Ideas display set for gem enthusiasts.
[REVIEW] LEGO Star Wars 75413 Republic Juggernaut: what’s all the fuss about, then? — Another Clone Turbo tank, or juggernaut set, as big on details as it is on price.
[NEWS] LEGO Star Wars 40806 Gingerbread AT-AT revealed, coming to a galaxy near you in time for the holidays — It wouldn’t be the holidays without a Star Waqrs holiday set, and this year, we get the AT-AT Gingerbread walker, ready to stomp those other cookies to dust.
[NEWS] LEGO Arkham, Pirates, and Hogsmeade lead a packed September of new sets — Holiday advent calendars, Minecraft, Pixar, the Wizarding World, Jack Sparrow, Wicked, the Spiderverse, and Batman round out the wave of new sets available now.

TBB FEATURES & INTERVIEWS From Knights to Pirates, Bionicle to far and distant galaxies, check out our fun features from the last 2 weeks.

[FEATURE] SHIPtember 2025 – Builders boldly go — Launch into the unknown ewith our first week of special coverage of the month-long building challenge known as SHIPtember.
[FEATURE] For Victory, For Glory, For Power- For the Honor of LEGO Bionicle Glatorians! — A tribute to one of LEGO’s most iconic retired themes, that spark the imagination of many adult LEGO builders.
[INTERVIEW] Tiny builds, big imagination. Talking bricks with Dan Ko — We sat down with one of our frequently featured builders to get to know them a bit better.
[FEATURE] Let’s crash the castle with these mighty LEGO minifigs and their custom gear — Knights of the 8×8 round plate table unite in this collection of protectors in shining armour.
[FEATURE] From the Caribbean to the Grand Line, these fantastic LEGO pirates are ready to plunder — Yo ho ho, A LEGO pirate’s life for me… A collection of custom pirates worth walking the plank for?
[FEATURE] Frogust: the bridge between Summer Joust and SHIPtember — Who would have thought that LEGO frogs could be so colorful and entertaining?

Read all the rest of the LEGO news from around the web

SHIPtember 2025 – Builders boldly go [Feature]

September is one of my favorite times of year… not just as the start to cooler weather, leading to the best season of all, Fall; but also for the month-long LEGO building challenge known as SHIPtember. The goal is to build a spaceship that measures at least 100 studs in any dimension: length, width, or height. Or even diagonally (like a Borg cube). The only other constraint is that you must complete your ship within one month. The SHIP in SHIPtember stands for Seriously Huge Investment in Parts, and it shows in the final ships, which can stretch beyond the minimum into the 200-300 stud range. Having participated in SHIPtember for the last 10+ years, I can personally attest to both the challenge and the satisfaction in pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone as a LEGO builder, not to mention the incredibly supportive and collaborative community of SHIP builders around the world.

This year, the Brothers Brick will be taking a closer look at SHIPtember in the coming weeks, checking in with builders and sharing starships in progress before rounding up the SHIPs that launch for the stars at the end of the month.

Before we start our week one coverage, I should mention that some SHIPs are already done, as some builders, like college students, may not have full access to their collections during September, and start their SHIPs in August. As long as the builds stick to the 1-month requirement, they are every bit as eligible as those under construction now. I will also be sharing my own SHIPtember progress each week, at the end of each feature. With that out of the way, let’s jump into SHIPtember 2025 week 1!

Launch into our week 1 coverage

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for August 30, 2025 [News]

In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders worldwide, The Brothers Brick brings you the best LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the 3rd week of August 2025.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS Longtime fans of Jack Sparrow and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise have a lot to get excited about with the announcement of the new LEGO Icons set presenting the Black Pearl, or as LEGO calls it, Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Ship, the all black cursed ship with the tattered sails which was featured in several of the movies. Another favorite franchise also revealed a new set coming later this year, the adorable Mogwai Gizmo, from the 80s film Gremlins. For even more news and reviews, be sure to check out last week’s Brick Report, where we reviewed the Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory set, and wrapped up Vingnweek coverage.

[NEWS] Gremlins’ beloved mogwai is back in bricks! LEGO Ideas 21361 Gizmo revealed for October 1 — This buildable Gizmo has one clear advantage over the original: you don’t have to worry about getting it wet.
[REVIEW] LEGO Nike 43021 Nike Dunk Trickshot and 43010 Nike Slam Dunk – Double Dribble — LEGO x Nike’s sophomore sets are a curious mix of play and display. We found Trickshot to be a winner, but Slam Dunk is a skunk.
[REVIEW] LEGO Icons 10365 Captain Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Ship – A shiny Black Pearl — While the price tag is steep, LEGO’s latest pirate ship is a real jewel.
[NEWS] The LEGO Group shares earnings report for first half of 2025 – double-digit growth, doubling down on strategic investment — The LEGO Group continues to thrive despite the potential impact of tariffs.
[NEWS] Set sail again for the Caribbean with LEGO Icons 10365 Captain Jack Sparrow’s Pirate Ship — Jack Sparrow’s iconic ship gets a hefty upgrade, and a hefty price to match.

TBB FEATURES & INTERVIEWS Many of us here at The Brothers Brick have been working on builds to contribute to our Steampunk-themed worlds fair collaborative display which we are sponsoring for BrickCon 2025, the longest running LEGO fan convention in the country! We hope to see some of our readers participate in the display as well as at the public convention days… be sure to stop by if you are planning to attend, or even better, bring a model of your own to add to the display. If you are a registered attendee, and have a steampunk-themed build, just select TBB Royal Exhibition 1898 when you register your MOC (My Own Creation) and we’ll see you there. For more information, check out our announcement post.

[FEATURE] Happy Plant Madness takes cuteness to strange new places — One of the cutest display sets in my collection, the Happy Plants set has inspired all manner of humorous and innovative builds.
[FEATURE] Celebrate Silksong with these LEGO Hollow Knight tributes – With Silksong launching next week, we gather up some of our favorite Hollow Knight LEGO builds from the first Team Cherry game.
[FEATURE] Get ready to showdown with these LEGO samurai, ninja, and cyber-ronin — Ninjas, Samurai, Ronin, these fierce warriors are both bold and stealthy, ancient and modern, honorable and ruthless.
[FEATURE] Last call for contributions to the Royal Exhibition 1898 – our LEGO steampunk collaboration at BrickCon 2025 — If you are planning to attend the BrickCon 2025 private convention, we’d love to have you participate in our Steampunk World’s Fair collaborative display. Or just drop by and say hi!

OTHER NEWS

Pick a Brick: Standard bricks service halted in North America [New Elementary] – The removal of the De Minimis exemption means LEGO is no longer shipping Pick-a-Brick orders to North America that had been fulfilled from European warehouses.
This Week in Bricks [YouTube] – ABrickDreamer provides a weekly video survey of amazing builds and stories from the AFOL community. Always worth watching!
tinybrick.world – Dan Ko’s new website with Free LEGO Instructions – Dan Ko, a prolific MOC builder and BrickNerd contributor, is a wizard with miniature character builds and NPU. Now he has created a website to share free instructions with Bricklink parts lists. Visit our Dan Ko archives to see some of his wonderful wee builds.