Posts by Daniel

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for November 27, 2021 [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 third week of November 2021.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS

This week was the week of Monkie Kid, with the announcement of another wave of sets from the theme, and a review of a set from a few waves back that is worth a look. We also got a look at a new VIP reward with purchase that is a nod to early LEGO branding

[NEWS] LEGO Monkie Kid 2022 sets revealed online — LEGO revealed 7 new Monkie Kid sets coming out in Jan 2022
[REVIEWS] LEGO 5007016 VIP 1950’s Retro Tin — We reviewed a neat bit of art inspired by early marketing graphics printed on a tin sheet
[REVIEWS] LEGO Monkie Kid 80024: The Legendary Flower Fruit Mountain — We looked back at a standout set from the Monkie Kid theme that tells the story behind the legend

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LEGO Monkie Kid 80024: The Legendary Flower Fruit Mountain tells the story behind the legend [Review]

When you think of Monkie Kid sets, bright-colored vehicles, colorful characters, and goofy villains come to mind. But since the theme is inspired by the traditional stories of Journey to the West, there are a lot of things you might not know about the legend behind the theme. With more Monkie Kid sets for 2022 on the way, we wanted to catch up on this set from earlier this year. LEGO 80024 The Legendary Flower Fruit Mountain tells the story of the Monkey King through 6 connected scenes set on a mountain top high among the clouds. The set includes 1,949 pieces and is available now for US $169.99 | CAN $249.99 | UK £159.99

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 of this legendary Monkie id set

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for November 20, 2021 [News]

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS We took a look at some new Star Wars sets, both set on Hoth, which are in good company with the recently announced UCS AT-AT. In addition to sets from a galaxy far, far away, we also got a first look at another wave of Marvel mechs, and a buildable Iron Man. We also reviewed this holiday theme gift with purchase, a reindeer and elf.

[NEWS] New LEGO Star Wars 2022 sets featuring Hoth revealed online — Two new LEGO Star Wars sets revealed. It’s beginning looking to be a Hoth-like Christmas.
[NEWS] New LEGO Super Heroes Marvel sets revealed including a 380-piece buildable Iron Man action figure — Iron Man Tony Stark joins the ranks of constraction figures, along with more hero mechs
[REVIEWS] LEGO Holiday Black Friday 2021 Gift with Purchase 40484 Santa’s Front Yard — This gift with purchase is the perfect companion to the holiday set Santa’s Visit

OTHER NEWS

Meet The LEGO Space Team – [Education.lego.com] — Build To Launch: A STEAM Exploration Series
Luke’s Lightsaber revealed – [Brickset.com] — Luk’s icon lightsaber set revealed, hand not included.
2022 LEGO CHINESE NEW YEAR SETS OFFICIALLY REVEALED! – [Jaysbrickblog.com] — The Year of the Tiger will have two new festival sets, and there is a Monkie Kid rocket as well.

Excuse me sir, but there is a croissant in your mustache

Scratch that, the croissant is the mustache! This stout warrior by Dan Ko makes great use of a few specialty parts like the French pastry, as well as spider webs used for a tangled web of hair that also reminds me of The Witcher‘s main character. There are also several of the new angled pipes with stud elements used for hands, and to hold the helmet’s horns… well, horn. Finally, a folded net draped across the shoulders is a nice touch.

A peaceful floating temple in miniature

Floating islands are a popular inspiration for many LEGO builders, and it is easy to see why. They are mysterious and fantastical, and they can provide a great challenge to build them in a way that both supports the model and hides that support to enhance the magical appearance of the finished scene. Nathan Hake does a masterful job of using falling water to provide the support for this microscale floating island with a temple nestled between the trees.

Keep reading to see more

This LEGO Ornithopter from Dune 2021 has me all a-flutter

The brilliant (in my opinion) 2021 adaptation of Dune is finally out in theaters, and one of the most distinctive vehicles introduced in the Sci-fi epic is the flying ship known as the Ornithopter. ZiO Chao captures the details of this small craft perfectly. The book describes an insect-like multi-winged vessel that flies using a mechanical flapping motion but is also capable of jet-powered flight. Director Denis Villeneuve combined this inspiration with an Apache helicopter, so it is only fitting that ZiO used helicopter rotors for the wings.

Other details like the retractable ramp for boarding, and the landing gear that continue the insect vibe as they extend downward for landings. With photographic effects to add motion blur, you can almost hear the low whining thrum of the wing beats.

LEGO 40488 Coffee Cart Gift with Purchase – A better deal than the coffee [Review]

If you live in a city, you likely also have at least one coffee cart somewhere, and now with the release of LEGO 40488 Coffee Cart, you can include a cute coffee stand in your LEGO city. The cute little 2-wheeled cart includes a bicycle, 2 Minifigs, and a little table with an umbrella. 40488 Coffee Cart comes with 149 pieces and is free with a qualifying purchase of US $65 | CAN $65 | UK £65 from LEGO, available now through Nov. 14.

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with a copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Get yourself a cup-a-joe and read the review

I never get tired of a good octopus

I can think of no creature on this earth more mysterious and otherworldly than the Octopus, with its lack of any bones, three hearts, and 8 seemingly autonomous arms, and a magical grace in the water. I’m not the only one who is a fan of the octopi (one of few creatures with multiple plural forms to go with their other multiple parts) Jens Ohrndorf has put together a simple but interesting model of an octopus seeking a crab lunch. While the use of tires is great at the base of the arms, I am most impressed with the clever use of a space rock to form the large body.

LEGO BrickHeadz 40492: La Catrina [Review]

Halloween may be over, but the candy-filled spooky holiday is not the only festivities around this time of year. There is also the Day of the Dead, which usually follows Halloween, and lasts a bit longer over two days. This holiday is also joining many other traditions from throughout the year to be commemorated in BrickHeadz style. LEGO BrickHeadz 40492: La Catrina, perfectly captures the event in an adorable skeleton woman in a very colorful dress and flower-covered hat. LEGO BrickHeadz 40492 comes with 141 pieces, and is available now for US $9.99 | CAN $12.99 | UK £9.99

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with a copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Click to read the full, hands-on review

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for November 6, 2021 [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 first week of November 2021.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS We got our first look at a colorful few sets inspired by Encanto, a new animated movie from Disney, and we talked with a LEGO fan who landed his dream job as a LEGO Designer.

[NEWS] LEGO reveals first sets from Disney’s Encanto movie — LEGO revealed the first few sets from the upcoming Disney movie Encanto.
[NEWS] LEGO reveals two new Chinese Festival sets — LEGO gave a sneak peak at the Lunar New Year Festival sets for 2021, plus a Monkie Kid set for 2022.
[INTERVIEW] How Aaron Newman went from being a LEGO fan to a LEGO set designer — We sat down (virtually) with LEGO fan turned LEGO Designer Aaron Newman – Here’s hoping we get some official sets based on his very cool castle reboot.

OTHER NEWS

LEGO Ideas Fender® Stratocaster™ | Designer Video – [Youtube.com] — Take a behind-the-scenes look with the design team behind the LEGO Ideas Stratocaster guitar and amp.
Bricklink Designer Program update – [Twitter.com] — Bricklink announced a switch in the round 2 offerings out of respect for the victims of the tragedy on the movie set of Rust.

These LEGO Animaniacs are zany to the max

Warner Brothers’ quirky animated series the Animaniacs may be one of the most popular cartoons that is loved by more adults than kids, especially since many of the jokes are a bit, shall we say, unconventional. Whatever the reason, this irreverent cartoon is in the middle of a revival, starting the second re-booted season on Hulu. To celebrate the new season, PaulvilleMOCs has built these loveable characters in LEGO form. I love their long and scraggly ears, which are a perfect match with their on-screen inspirations, and of course, those big clown noses.

Check out more pics of these colorful characters

Some of the best bots are built for hard work

When you design a mechanical marvel to do your heavy lifting, you might as well make it modular, so you can re-configure it to manage the heavy loads in whatever form they take. The Configurable Utility Bot Ecosystem, or CUBE, by Simon Liu is one of a squad of cube-shaped bots that have fully interchangeable legs, arms, and utility tools. The crane looks like it could handle almost any load.

In case you are hungry for more, here’s the mech from all sides. And if you look closely, you’ll see the pilot is not a mere human, but an adorable three-eyed alien. Who better to operate the claw?

Don’t miss the other CUBE bots from Simon Liu!