Posts by Daniel

A sweet upgrade for a lovely off-roader

They say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and sometimes one LEGO creation inspires another, like this neat fleet of cargo transports inspired by the Baserunner by Alvaro Gunawan. While the original was a simple flatbed, this new version by BetaNotus adds a new paint job, a covered cargo area with removable cargo, and a folding radio antenna. The additional section flows very nicely with three front sections. I just hope that container isn’t too dangerous. The pilot doesn’t look too concerned.

For comparison, here is the original inspiration, with a very smooth-looking transmission to help navigate rough terrain to deliver your cargo on time.

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A robot built with robot parts, how fitting

When you are looking for the perfect part for your next LEGO robot, look no further than these parts from the LEGO Mindstorms NXT theme. Motors and sensors make the perfect robotic details in this somewhat creepy bot by alex_ mocs that would give the Terminator a run for its money. The spines on its back also remind me of something from the game Horizon Zero Dawn. But if I had to choose my favorite part use, it would be the long bendy neck made from radar dishes

A lovely scene at the seashore

When you are feeling stressed out, where do you go to unwind and re-connect with nature? Maybe someplace like this tropical beach by Brickleas, built for an Iron Builder contest using the white radar dish piece, used quite skillfully as steps, a sign, and shades to block the sun on the roof. And in case you missed it, the seagulls as well. One of my favorite features, aside from the shack, is the sand and surf, using slopes and bricks in shades of tan, including dark tan for the sand at the water’s edge.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for October 23, 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 October 2021.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS This week was all about big sets… not as big as the Titanic we reviewed a few weeks ago, but still pretty big.

[NEWS] 4,000-piece 21330 Home Alone House unveiled — The latest LEGO Ideas set is the biggest one yet, at it is packed with references to the holiday classic.
[REVIEWS] LEGO Ideas 21330 Home Alone House — If you get stuck home alone this holiday season, you can keep busy building this set, iron not included
[REVIEWS] LEGO Technic 42131 Cat D11 Bulldozer — We dig into the latest giant bulldozer set from the LEGO Technic theme… (see what I did there?)

OTHER NEWS Pre-order your favorite Bricklink Designer Program sets, check out the latest in integrated tech to add to your LEGO Technic creations, get excited about the newest Harry Potter gift with purchase, and get ready to wear LEGO clothes from Target, that won’t kill your feet when you step on them in the night.

Second round of crowdfunding for the BrickLink Designer Program opens November 9th featuring these nine LEGO® IDEAS 10k Club Projects! – [Bricklink.com] — These fan creations sell out fast, so check out this announcement from Bricklink and pre-order yours while supplies last.
Meet the Raspberry Pi Build HAT: create with Raspberry Pi and LEGO® Education – [RasberryPi.com] — Bring your LEGO creations to life with the lates Rasbery Pi kits.
Hogwarts™ Gryffindor™ Dorms – [Lego.com] — The Gryffindor common room is the perfect place to display your collectible wizard tiles, 10pts to Gryffindor!
Target to release limited-edition Lego collection with clothes, accessories, home goods and more – [USAtoday.com] — The new clothing line from Target and LEGO looks as bright as the plastic bricks.

A LEGO Titanic that won’t break the bank, or your display shelf [Instructions]

When LEGO introduces a big, expensive, and beautiful set like the new Titanic or the Typewriter, it isn’t long before someone in the fan community takes a crack at building a microscale version. The moment I saw this instructions video by A Brick Dreamer I wanted to give it a try since there was no way I was going to be able to buy the official set.

It turned out great. The instructions even include tiny stands. You too can follow along and build the perfect miniature model of the infamous ship that will fit very nicely on your desk, or bookshelf. Check out the video instructions below:

Hit Netflix series Squid Game staff get the BrickHeadz treatment

The Netflix show Squid Game, is insanely popular at the moment. In case you haven’t seen it, the show is a strange mix of Hunger Games and playground games, with a pinch of The Prisoner thrown in. The guards are all hidden behind masks bearing geometrical shapes also found on many video game controllers. moco zone has created BrickHeadz style models of these mysterious and somewhat inhuman seeming guards. Similar to the Squid Game players who all wear green tracksuits, the guards all wear pink hooded coveralls, and also like the players, are known only by their numbers, and their rank, as determined by the shape on their masks.

Praying Mantis-inspired mech that won’t bite your head off... or will it?

When the apocalypse finally happens, and a new intelligent species rises from the ashes to rebuild the world, this mantis mech load lifter will be an essential part of the re-construction. Built using the HOME DEPOT brand palette by G rammaticul, at least you won’t have any trouble seeing it rolling through the jungle to drop a heavy crate on your foot. Or your head. The legs look super-sturdy using a double ball joint at the abdomen, and that leather seat made from brown ingot pieces looks like it might even cushion your bum, except I don’t think the driver of this mech would need to worry about that.

This spaceship is cool as shaved ice

Sometimes the motivation to build a SHIP (Seriously Huge Investment in Parts) comes from a really cool part, like a Minifig boat, or a tooth-shaped shield. Other times, the inspiration comes from a pile of bright-colored parts. This ice-cream wrapper-looking SHIP by Don Wilson uses a whole bunch of azure and yellow parts that make it really stand out against the inky blackness of space. Like any decent SHIP, there is no shortage of greebly details along the sides of the main body, and the asymmetrical disk thingy (I’m not at all sure as to its purpose) attached to the starboard side has some mind-blowing LEGO geometry at work. One of my favorite parts, though, is the dark gray plate at the front top, which stands out in a ship with very few visible studs.

Microscale temple is a miniature masterpiece

When building microscale, you need to look at parts a little differently, as evidenced by the very creative collection of curved and angled parts Nannan Zhang used on this Japanese castle. Front fenders, rear spoilers, and other small black parts usually found on cars create a tiered roof that reminds me of Nagoya Castle. A trio of cheerleader pom-poms make perfect cherry blossom trees, while a hot dog is used for a small arch. Almost as interesting as the castle is the green and gray landscape it sits on.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for October 9, 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 full week of October 2021.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS This was a big week for reviews, and by that I mean we reviewed one of the biggest LEGO sets ever as we took a look at the new titanic set: the Titanic. But that wasn’t the only big set we reviewed. We also reviewed the latest version of the iconic Batmobile: the Tumbler. I guess Star Wars isn’t the only theme to revisit older sets over and over. But there was more Batman news, with the reveal of a new wave of sets based on the latest chapter in the Batman franchise.

[NEWS] Upcoming The Batman movie LEGO sets revealed — We covered the reveal of a new wave of Batman sets from the new chapter staring Robert Pattinson, trading in his vampire teeth for bat wings.
[REVIEWS] LEGO Batman 76240 Batmobile Tumbler — Check out our hands-on review of the newest version of the trench-jumping prototype from Wayne Enterprises.
[REVIEWS] Hands on with LEGO Creator Expert 10294 Titanic — The newest Adult collectible LEGO set is a marvel of engineering, or at least it is a massive model of one.
[NEWS] LEGO reveals 9,000-piece 10294 Titanic ship model as second-largest LEGO set ever — LEGO announced the new Titanic set, one on the largest LEGO sets ever.

OTHER NEWS

The LEGO Group steps up strategic investments while delivering strong first half 2021 performance – [Lego.com] — LEGO revealed some financial highlights from 2021 so far.
LEGO Star Wars ‘affordable scale’ – [Brickset.com] — Brickset published an article about the new trend in LEGO Star Wars, a more affordable scale of ship that doesn’t skimp on details

I have your word, now... not a scratch

When Lando promised to bring the Millenium Falcon back from the battle of Endor without a scratch, he pretty much guaranteed something would get knocked off. And sure enough, this minimalist model by Miscellanabuilds shows the Falcon barely escaping the destruction of the second death star in one piece, let alone scratchless. The model captures the details of the much larger exhaust port perfectly, while the microscale Falcon looks great, even without her signature deflector dish. The only thing missing is the enormous burst of flames that nearly cooked Lando’s goose.

Excuse me, sir, your television is leaking

When you look at as many LEGO creations every day as we do here at The Brothers Brick, you see a lot of similar models. But sometimes, something comes along that just makes you smile, like this wonderful model by Kale Frost. Not only is this retro TV well-crafted, but the test pattern adds a bit of whimsy. I’m old enough to remember when there were only 4-5 channels to choose from, and you had to walk over to the set and jiggle the antenna a bit now and then to fix the picture. and that first time you turned on the new color set and saw that technicolor pattern, you knew you were in for a treat.