Posts by Daniel

LEGO Ninjago 71819: Dragon Stone Shrine [REVIEW]

Spring is almost here, and so it’s time for another wave of Ninjago sets! This wave includes mechs, a buggy, dragons, and of course, a dojo, but the first set in the wave is a little different. Halfway between a play set and a display set, the Dragon Stone Shrine may be compact, but it is packed with details, and has one of the best tree designs from the theme, in my opinion. LEGO Ninjago 71819 Dragon Stone Shrine comes with 1,212 pieces, includes 6 minifigures, and will be available on March 1st for US $119.99 | CAN $149.99 | UK

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 stone shrine is as tranquil as it seems

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

LEGO Icons 10327 Dune Atreides Royal Ornithopter [REVIEW]

Science fiction is one of the best inspirations for custom LEGO creations, from franchises like Star Wars, Alien, Starship Troopers, Bladerunner, and many more. And there have been plenty of official sets inspired by the genre as well. But outside of Star Wars and LEGO space-related themes, there have not been very many official sets (LEGO Ideas 21340: Tales of the Space Age being a rare exception). But this changed at the start of this month. With the premiere of Dune part 2 in theaters on March 1st, one of the most iconic vehicles from the movie is finally brought to fantastic LEGO life with the release of LEGO Icons 10327 Atreides Royal Ornithopter. The set comes with 1,369 pieces, includes 8 minifigures, and is available now from LEGO.com and other retailers for US $164.99 | CAN $214.99 | UK £149.99.

Find out what’s in the box below! Don’t worry, it’s not the Reverend Mother’s…

A little brain can be a dangerous thing

Boy, industrial containment standards sure have fallen lately, as evident in this LEGO build by Care Creations of one of the more disturbing video game bosses I have seen since Resident Evil, Mother Brain from Metroid. Clearly, if a giant brain can break their glass prison this easily, someone in the QA department deserves to get fired, if they didn’t get devoured by Mother Brain first.

This LEGO starfighter with teal accents has got it all

The angles on this LEGO starfigther in the Star Wars style are out of this galaxy! But I expect nothing less from Inthert who is well-known for his black magic brickery, merging smooth sections with studs in all directions. With not a single stud in sight, there’s still plenty of greebly textures (as in, like the surface of the Death Star) and excellent part usage. One example of this is the tooth element and the roller skate on the front section. The way the angled wing accents attached to the side guns look like they fold right into the main wings is magical.

This picture of the underside reveals even more note-worthy details, like the hint of landing gear next to the gun attachments. There’s also some well-placed original dark gray elements to give the belly of the craft a weathered look.

Intrepid LEGO reporter looking to branch out

The first thing I noticed about this wonderful LEGO Shoot the Bullet scene by Sweeps was the nice part usage (NPU) found close at hand. The 3 prong plant element makes a perfect hand for this chibi-style character named Aya Shameimaru (of Touhou Project fame). But the NPU doesn’t stop there. The ground is nicely textured with painters palettes and a nice bit of fall foliage. The recent new curved transparent bar in back is the perfect part to raise the character off the ground.

With February comes LEGO rovers

February is here again… man, how time flies. While most people think of Valentine’s Day, personally, I dream of the LEGO rovers that flood the internet during Febrovery (one of many building themed months in the LEGO fan community) Often taking inspiration from classic space themes of days gone by. Frost seems to have picked up a few of the recently released LEGO Creator 31148: Retro roller skate and put those new pink wheels to excellent use. The angled suspension puts the cockpit at an interesting angle, and the long articulated arm in back fits right in with the classic space look, perhaps from a long lost “Pink-tron” theme.

A squat LEGO rock-hopper will get the job done

This compact asteroid prospecting ship, made of LEGO by Jan Woźnica, would fit in very well in the universe of The Expanse, with structural supports and a engine-as-down design common among the working class “belters” spacecrafts. The overall shape even reminds me a bit of an asteroid, with an almost ovoid shape. The small maneuvering thrusters at the back and sides are a nice detail, and that airlock is perfectly placed for any needed spacewalks.

LEGO Soundwave Transformer drops some heavy beats

The moment I first saw this amazing transforming LEGO Soundwave by Student Scissors I had flashbacks to my childhood, playing with my own version of the action figure and the cassette tapes that transformed into a hawk and a panther. The builder has captured the dark blue and white Decepticon in perfect detail, with his shoulder-mounted cannon, cassette-playing chest, and even the aforementioned entourage of mini-bots. I particularly like the tilework used to replicate the play and stop buttons on the torso.

And to prove that the Transformer is worthy of that moniker, here’s Soundwave in his microcassette deck mode. Looks like he’s ready to play the song of the Autobots’ destruction.

A super-slim LEGO spaceship full of great details

The end of SHIPtember (September’s month-long space ship building contest) doesn’t mean the end of massive spaceships built from LEGO bricks. Any time of year is a great time to build a spaceship, as proven by this slim stellar marvel by Oscar Cederwall. Featuring a minimal color scheme of light gray and dark red, ans sporting what may very well be the single longest greebly section I have ever seen (the thin strip of random gray bits and bobs along the front).

Seen from the back, several subtly angled sections blend together very well, and a few textured parts along the top provide a nice bit of visual interest. Here and there, an alternate colored piece gives the ship a naturally weathered look.

Wars of the star age is a fun homage to a galaxy far, far, away

The simplicity of LEGO Ideas 21340: Tales of the Space Age has inspired many LEGO fans to build their own versions, but this Star Wars tribute by Joel Short is my favorite. Tatooine, Bespin, and Endor are instantly recognizable, and the inclusion of the microscale Star Destroyer, Jawa Sandcrawler, twin-pod cloud car, and scout walker is perfect… not to mention that wonderful Millenium Falcon swooshing away using a transparent blue claw for the engine flair. If you want to see more Star Wars sets, check out our recent coverage of the new sets announced as part of the 25th anniversary of LEGO Star Wars.

This small LEGO fishing boat is simply Fabu-lous!

Building the gentle curve of a boat hull in LEGO bricks can be a challenge. That is, unless you find an old Fabuland boat part in your collection like Norton74. He promptly put it to good use as the start of a fishing boat full of the kind of details we have come to expect from Andrea. The simple dock gives a good setting without taking attention away from the vessel. It includes a small cargo hold and a rig for hauling in the day’s catch. Round, white studs give the boat a proper wake in a bed of transparent blue as it approaches the dock at the end of a long day.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for January 13th, 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 2nd week of January, 2024.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS We are wrapping up our end-of-year features this week, including our Builder of the year and our Creation of the year. We also took another look back, on our most popular reviews, and we saw one more Creator 3in1 set review, of flowers in a watering can.

[FEATURE] Top ten TBB LEGO reviews of 2023 — We recapped the most popular LEGO set reviews of 2023.
[REVIEW] LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31149 Flowers in Watering Can — We went into the weeds with another creator set about flowewrs, insects, and something yellow.
[NEWS] The Brothers Brick LEGO Builder of the Year 2023 — We welcomed another amazing LEGO builder into the ranks of Builder of the Year, Congratulations Dicken Liu!
[NEWS] The Brothers Brick LEGO Creation of the Year 2023 — We announced our favorite LEGO creation of 2023. Congratulations to the collaborators who built it!

Click through to read more LEGO news from around the world