Posts by Daniel

LEGO Ninjago 71814 Tournament Temple City – Do you have what it takes to compete? [Review]

Summer is just around the corner, and that means it’s time for another wave of Ninjago sets from the current Dragons Rising season. Recent waves have really been stepping up both the aesthetic and the sturdiness of sets and this wave is no exception… in fact, I can say with full confidence that these sets are some of the sturdiest mechs, dragons, and dojos I have ever seen from Ninjago, and that is saying a lot considering the theme has been around for over a decade. The first and largest set of the wave is LEGO Ninjago 71814 Tournament Temple City, which is a multi-floored temple on top of a dragon cave, complete with a blacksmith forge, a dragon, and 13 minifigures. The set includes 3,489 pieces and will be available on June 1st for US $249.99 | CAN $329.99 | UK £219.99

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.

Read on for our full review

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A stark LEGO temple makes the most of a minimalist color palette

Sometimes having a design constraint leads to surprising results, like in this LEGO temple built using only 3 colors by Rilbist. Building the rocky landscape and the temple proper using the same color gives the impression that the temple is carved directly into the rocks. A few sand green elements add a bit of visual interest while the use of orange for the third color really draws the eye to certain details. One more great parts usage is the angled sections at the front, which use a gray rail brick on either side of the orange stripe to trap tiles in place.

Adorable LEGO kid in a Triceratops costume

Minifigures wearing costumes have becom quite common with many of the Collectible Minifigure Series includiong them, but this LEGO model by filbrick takes the costumed character to a whole new level! This brick-built kid wearing a Triceratops costume is full of great details. from the tussled hair to the little nose to the oversized feet. I especially like the eyes, which inlude a 1×1 transaprent blue tile for the pupils. The expresion is pure joy!

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for April 27, 2024 [News]

In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the 4th week of April 2024.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS This week has been all about those love-able (or hate-able) yellow minions, and the rest of the Despicable Me crew, with reviews of four newly announced sets from the upcoming fourth movie coming out later this summer. We also got two new sets from the ever-expanding Space cross-over from Art and Icons. Lastly, Brickcon, the longest-running adult LEGO fan event in the country, has opened registration for the convention later this fall.

[REVIEW] LEGO Despicable Me 4 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus — Let your hair down, or unleash your inner party animal with this new set from Despicable Me 4.
[NEWS] LEGO Icons & LEGO Art sets 10341 Artemis Space Launch System and 31212 The Milky Way Galaxy unveiled for summer 2024 — Now you can hold the entire galaxy in your hands, or celebrate the new Artemis launch system.
[REVIEW] LEGO Despicable Me 4 75580 Minions and Banana Car — Start your banana motors, this banana-inspired hotrod is ripe.
[REVIEW] LEGO Despicable Me 4 75583 Minions and Gru’s Family Mansion — The neighborhood will never be the same, with the Gru family mansion and backyard treehouse.
[REVIEW] LEGO Despicable Me 4 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions — Now you can build your very own Gru and Minions display set.
[NEWS] BrickCon 2024 is laying the Foundations of another year of fun! Registration is now open. — Start planning your next LEGO convention adventure and register to attend Brickcon 2024.

LEGO Despicable Me 4 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus [REVIEW]

If you’ve seen any of the Despicable Me movies you know that those chattery little Minions get up to all sorts of shenanigans when left unsupervised. Well, now they can do it in style with this fully loaded party bus. Did the Anti-Villain League approve of this excursion, or did someone leave the key box unlocked? LEGO Despicable Me 4 75581 Minions’ Music Party Bus includes 379 pieces and will be available on May 1st for US $39.99 | CAN $49.99 | UK £34.99

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.

Read on for our full review

LEGO Despicable Me 4 75580 Minions and Banana Car [REVIEW]

Minions and bananas go together like peanut butter and jelly, like coffee and doughnuts. So it can be no surprise that the latest wave of sets from the Despicable Me franchise includes this obvious combination. This banana car set comes with four minions and a bunch of accessories, basically a Minions battle pack. LEGO Despicable Me 4 75580 Minions and Banana Car includes 136 pieces and will be available on May 1st for US $24.99 | CAN $32.99 | UK £19.99

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.

Read on for our full review

LEGO Despicable Me 4 75583 Minions and Gru’s Family Mansion [REVIEW]

The Despicable Me franchise, which includes 3 movies and a fourth coming out this July, as well as 2 spin-off films focusing on the yellow banana-loving minions, has been hugely successful, with each film landing in the top 5 grossing films for the year they came out. Hence, it’s no surprise to see another batch of LEGO sets as part of the summer wave. The first set we’re covering is LEGO Despicable Me 4 75583 Minions and Gru’s Family Mansion, which includes 868 pieces, comes with 9 characters, and will be available on May 1st for US $99.99 | CAN $129.99 | UK £89.99

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.

Find out if the set is as much fun as a banana

LEGO Despicable Me 4 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions [REVIEW]

Recently there have been several LEGO sets building characters outside of the usual minifigure scale, like the buildable LEGO Star Wars 75371 Chewbacca and LEGO Super Mario 71411 The Mighty Bowser. These sets straddle the line between play sets and display scenes, offering options for collectors similar to the BrickHeadz theme, and sub-themes like the Star Wars helmets and starship collections. One such set is from the Despicable Me 4 wave, a brick-built Gru surrounded by 5 minions on a rotating base. LEGO Despicable Me 4 75582 Brick-Built Gru & Minions comes with 839 pieces and will be available on May 1st for US $54.99 | CAN $69.99 | UK £49.99

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.

Find out if this display set is worth picking up

LEGO AT-RT walker is the perfect scale for a clone trooper

Sometimes, official LEGO sets end up feeling just a tad off when it comes to proportions for minifigures, but this custom model by Gubi0222 looks pretty much perfect compared to the on-screen walkers seen in both the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated show as well as the very brief glimpse of the walker on Kashyyyk in Revenge of the Sith. The small wheel rims make the perfect hip joint, and I do love a good roller skate used for details.

Here’s a shot from the side to better appreciate the ball joints holding the walker’s legs in place, as well as the wonderful shaping of its nose armor.

A quaint LEGO village in the clouds

It takes a hearty fellow to live so high up among the clouds with so few safety railings, but this idyllic scene by Roanoke Handybuck and Carter Witz makes me feel just a bit braver than normal. Each structure in this village in the clouds has a unique shape, and some include just a touch of weather-worn details. The slender supports and stacked dwellings give the scene a charming, if not slightly precarious feeling. But the citizens certainly don’t seem to mind.

LEGO Star Wars 40686 Trade Federation Troop Carrier – GWP [REVIEW]

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, and there have already been a few LEGO sets announced, like the Podracer diorama and the Droideka. But one of the most iconic characters introduced in that movie, aside from Darth Maul, is the B1 Battle droid. Providing comedic scenes of dialog and utter destruction at the hands of Jedi Qui-gon Jin and Obi-Wan Kenobi, and young Anakin. The latest Gift with Purchase from the LEGO Star Wars theme is a redesign of the battle droid carrier that helped deliver battle droids in the battle of Naboo, in case you don’t already have too many of these clumsy cannon fodder. LEGO Star Wars 40686 Trade Federation Troop Carrier will be available from May 1st through May 5th for a minimum purchase of US $160 | CAN $TBD | UK £145 from the Star Wars theme.

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.

Read on for our full review

Beware of vendors selling ice cream in the forest.

What could be more refreshing after a day of knighting around in full armor in the forest than a sweet ice cream treat? But take a closer look at this LEGO scene by Jérôme Barchietto and you will see that all is not as it seems. Is that the Falcon queen disguised as an innocent shopkeeper? And while our good and loyal Lion knights are distracted by dripping soft serve and brain freeze, a group of Falcon knights are slowly closing in for a delicious ambush.

The textured roof with plenty of thatch pieces and the real-world mossy setting combine to make this scene stand out. Also, with so many joyous faces on those Lion Knights, I almost feel sorry for them. What a cold trick to play.