Posts by Daniel

Don’t let the shoulder pads fool you. This Samus Aran is all business!

Samus, the playable character from the platform game Metroid, first released in 1986 on the Nintendo Entertainment System, is instantly recognizable for the cannon arm and enormous shoulder pads… well, the game did come out in the 80’s after all. This model by Matt Goldberg depicts the heroine (Samus was one of the first female video game protagonists) in a later version of her power armor, the Phazon edition. The bulging shoulders are accented by a strip of red LEGO sticker, and the helmet features a nice part use, the minifig handcuffs. Stacked animal tail/claws and robot arms make excellent chest sculpting, and a common trick of turning tires inside-out is used as part of the shoulder assembly.

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Tensions are rising on the once-peaceful streets of Jedha

The movie Rogue One; A Star Wars Story introduced fans to several new locations, including the holy city of Jedha, a site of Imperial oppression as precious resources were harvested to power the Death Star super-laser. In this impressively detailed LEGO scene by HazBazBricks, a patrol of stormtroopers confront citizens while rebels gather in doorways and on rooftops, preparing to unleash violence in defense of their home and in defiance of the Empire’s relentless cruelty. The worn details of the walls and archways, along with the uneven ground complete with cracked pavement reflect the separation of the civilians.

Announcing our TBB sponsored BrickCon 2022 Collaboration [News]

While we try to organize a TBB-sponsored collaborative project for LEGO builders who travel to Seattle to attend BrickCon, the last two years have been a bit strange, to say the least. With the 2020 convention fully remote, and 2021 under restrictions for how many registered attendees were allowed, we’ve had to adjust. But this year, the 90th anniversary of the LEGO brand gave us an idea. We have already seen many builders from around the world creating tributes to their favorite sets or themes from throughout LEGO’s history. So we are very excited to announce this year’s TBB collab for BrickCon 2022: MOCing Memories.

The rules are simple. Build a MOC inspired by a favorite set or part of a set from any LEGO theme, past or present. That’s it. Modernize the classic space rover? Perfect! Microscale fire station? Awesome! Giant-sized minifigure? Oh yeah! Build the ultimate elemental dragon? It’s on! So if you are a registered attendee of BrickCon 2022, and you want to be part of this nostalgic display, then join in on the fun and happy building.

When registering your MOC, be sure to select “TBB Collaboration” as the theme, and we’ll see you in Seattle.

Mars needs tanks — we’re on a mission!

Nostalgia is big this year, with the 90th anniversary of LEGO inspiring lots of fans to build their own tributes to popular themes of yesteryear, and I am loving it. Shannon Sproule built an awesome homage to the Mars Mission theme that debuted in 2007. The signature color scheme of orange and white makes this tank instantly recognizable, and what a tank it is. With dual machine-gun toting manipulator arms, a missile launcher, and a high-powered laser, this bad boy is loaded for Martian bear, which probably has four arms and huge claws.

Awww, what a cute little tower you have there Saruman

There are few towering structures more recognizable than the two towers featured in the Lord of the Rings novel of the same name. The obsidian-colored sharp-cornered Orthanc has more in common with its dark counterpart in the book, Barad-dur than it does with any of the man or Dwarf made structures of Middle-Earth, namely a lot of sharp pointy bits. Even in this microscale model by Jesse van den Oetelaar the tower at the center of Isengard looks quite ominous. One of my favorite details is the angled bars made by wedging the lever part in between grille plates. The round base was constructed with black clamps attached to flexible tubing, and it is a simple yet effective technique.

75337 LEGO Star Wars AT-TE Walker [Review]

Easily one of the most iconic Star Wars vehicles from the prequel trilogy, the All-Terrain Tactical Enforcer, or AT-TE first appeared in the dramatic conclusion of Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones, but fans of the Clone Wars animated series which premiered in 2008 with a theatrical movie pilot will remember the excitement of watching a group of AT-TE’s scaling a vertical cliff on cables, with Annakin’s Padawan Ahsoka Tano leaping from one to another. This vehicle is clearly also a fan of LEGO designers, with this version being the 5th set since 2003. Let’s find out how this latest set stacks up against its predecessors. 75337 LEGO® Star Wars™ AT-TE™ Walker includes 1,082 pieces and will be available August 1 for US $139.99 | CAN $179.99 | UK £119.99

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.

Check out our full review

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for July 16, 2022 [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 July 2022.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS Holy nostalgia Batman! This week was a big one for adult fans of LEGO — especially fans who started playing with LEGO in the ’70s — with reviews of two new sets inspired by some of the most popular themes of that classic era, space and castle. The castle set is so big we broke up the review into two parts! But the nostalgia continues with the big bad boss from the Mario Brothers franchise, Bowser. We round out the nostalgia with classic cars, classic sitcoms, and classic magic with news and reviews covering Harry Potter, LEGO Ideas, and the Camaro Z28 muscle car joining the LEGO Icons automobile line-up.

[NEWS] LEGO Ideas reveals 21336 The Office, now available for pre-order — The World’s Greatest Boss and his trusted crew of paper-selling cohorts join the casts of Friends, Seinfeld and Big Bang Theory in LEGO form with the announcement of the latest sitcom-inspired set.
[REVIEW] LEGO Icons 10305: Lion Knights’ Castle : Part Two – The Minifigures — Check out our in-depth review of all the Minifigs from the Lion Knight Castle to see if you can spot all the references to the many castle sub-themes over the years.
[NEWS] 71411 The Mighty Bowser is the latest addition to the LEGO Super Mario Adult product line — The Princess may be in another castle, but Mario still needs to survive Bowser before he can rescue Princess Pea
[REVIEW] LEGO Harry Potter 40577: Hogwarts Grand Staircase — This much-needed addition to the modular Hogwarts sets will help your students get around without their brooms.
[REVIEW] LEGO Icons 10497 Galaxy Explorer: Classic Space has never looked so good — Classic space is back with a brand new Galaxy Explorer. Don’t miss our detailed breakdown of this homage to the gray and blue.
[REVIEW] LEGO Icons 10305: Lion Knights’ Castle : Part One – The Castle — We go deep behind the castle walls in our review of the monstrous homage to the LEGO castle.
[NEWS] LEGO Ideas third 2021 review results — After another review of LEGO Ideas projects that pass the 10,000 supporters milestone, only one new set was announced.
[NEWS] LEGO reveals 10304 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 as next large-scale Icons vehicle — Fans of the American muscle car are in for a treat as this iconic model was recently revealed.

LEGO Harry Potter 40577: Hogwarts Grand Staircase [Review]

The LEGO Harry Potter modular style sets have been very popular since they were first introduced. Not only are they great for playing with but their modular nature lets you mix and match to create many unique combinations that fit very well on shallow display shelves. But with so many sets stacked on top of each other, Hogwarts students had a hard time moving between the floors. Well no longer. With the introduction of LEGO Harry Potter 40577: Hogwarts Grand Staircase gift with purchase, collectors, and fans will be able to give their Minifigs access to the second or even third floors in their scenes with a bit of creative stacking. Hogwarts Grand Staircase comes with 223 pieces and will be available from July 15th – July 31st with a qualifying purchase of $130 / €130 / £130 threshold, on Harry Potter.

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 set will move you

Miniature Dungeon Master’s Castle is a perfect replica

With new LEGO castle and space sets coming out this year as part of the company’s 90th anniversary celebration, the nostalgia is hitting hard. And Koen Zwanenburg is here for it, with this microscale model inspired by another classic LEGO castle set, 6086 Black Knight’s Castle from 1992. This miniature scene taken straight from the box design pays homage to the castle, including a brilliant recreation of the molded green baseplate with rock printing. The yellow-orange color gradient was a common background for many castle sets from this period, and it even turned up in the recent Classic Castle remake of the Forest Hideout. I wonder which Classic Castle set will get the fan treatment next?

A most tranquil shrine for a traveler to warm their feet by the green fire

While fans of the fantasy series A Song of Ice and Fire may have a very different association with green fire, you can’t deny that these little flames bring a touch of charm to this fantasy scene by Ben Cossy, where scattered trees drop their bright pink blossoms on the pale green forest floor among the crumbling ruins of grand statues. A road-weary traveler enjoys some strong tea while they wait — maybe for the rest of their traveling group, or for inspiration. Whatever they’re waiting for, I can’t think of a more peaceful place to do it.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for July 2, 2022 [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 last week of June… and the first 2 days of July ;-)

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS This week’s news mostly follows Ninjago, one of LEGO’s longest-running original themes — a twist that brings a new twist to the world of ninja, dragons, snakes, and the elements… crystals! This new look reminds me of the stop-motion classic, The Dark Crystal, with a purple hue and lots of jagged edges. We also got a more detailed look at the latest CMF collection, series 23. And if that isn’t thrilling enough, we reviewed the spectacular new theme park set, The loop-dee-loop rollercoaster known as… The Loop.

[REVIEW] LEGO Ninjago 71772: The Crystal King — We reviewed this monster of a mech, sporting 4… I bet you thought I was going to say arms, right? This crystalized villain mech has 4 legs.
[REVIEW] LEGO Ninjago 71773: Kai’s Golden Dragon Raider — Check out our review of this unusual vehicle… part car and part I don’t know what.
[REVIEW] LEGO Ninjago 71759: Ninja Dragon Temple — We reviewed this 4+ set, which includes a dragon, a vehicle, and two small structures.
[NEWS] A closer look at the LEGO CMF Collectible Minifigure Series 23 — The theme of this series is costumes, which should make for a pretty interesting feel guide.
[REVIEW] LEGO Icons Fairgrounds Collection 10303 Loop Coaster — Theme-park fans have been waiting years for a rollercoaster with a loop… well, the wait is over. Check out our review.

OTHER NEWS In other news, LEGO plans to open a new US factory, Sims players will soon be able to enjoy LEGO along with their real-world players, and a new theme returns after being recalled… city postcards.

The LEGO Group to build US$1 billion, carbon-neutral run factory in Virginia, USA – [Lego.com] — LEGO announced plans to build a new factory planned to open in 2024.
LEGO DOTS Joins Forces With The Sims FreePlay – [Brickfanz.com] — Sims characters can now express themselves with in-game LEGO.
Beijing postcard remade without the Five-star Red Flag – [Brickset.com] — This new sub-theme of the Architecure series features brick-built postcards from famous cities around the world.

This lightning-themed mech is electrifying

What’s that yellow thing weaving through the tall grass? Well, it’s no Pikachu, that’s for sure. This electric-type LEGO mech by Peter Zieske is from the turn-based combat game Into the Breach. But considering the 8-bit isometric style of the game graphics, this version is a considerably higher definition upgrade. Striding through the grass dual-wielding a pair of whips that could give Iron Man’s nemesis Whiplash a run for his money.

But this mech isn’t just pretty on the outside. The front flips up to reveal a pilot.