Posts by Daniel

Micro monastery is mighty on charm

Building a great vignette on a small base is an art form, a balancing act between choosing the right parts and colors to achieve detail, without being too visually heavy. Isaac Snyder is a master of the craft, as you can see from this monastery built on a 12×12 base. Not only is the landscape nice, featuring simple rockwork under a fall leaves strewn hillside, but the gate is also very well built, with some gray plates for a weathered look, along with just a few gold details below the roof. But the great details continue below the model to the sculpted base, which reminds me of a Bonsai pot.

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This little light of mine... is locking on target

I’ve been following Goth Bricks 2000 for some time, and the LEGO mechs they create are nothing short of stunning, both in size and in posture. Recently they started to add lights into their mech models, and the effect is fantastic, adding the perfect touch of menace to take these mechanical monsters to the next level. This latest pair look like they could put the hurt on just about any foe.

Every dinosaur is awesome!

Ever since the new Everyone is Awesome LEGO set celebrating Pride was revealed, there have been a number of LEGO creations hitting the internet inspired by this very colorful set. As a fan of BrickHeadz and the Jurassic World set featuring the aptly named “blue”, I had to jump on this rainbow of velociraptors by Kristel, a wonderful line-up that celebrates dinosaurs everywhere in all their colors.

LEGO Monkie Kid 80028 The Bone Demon [Review]

The latest wave of Monkie Kid sets from LEGO includes three sets of various sizes, which for the most part, are similar to previous sets that include wacky overpowered vehicles and an array of villains and their bumbling minions. But this newest villain LEGO 80028 The Bone Demon is certainly one of the biggest, most uncanny creations so far. The set comes with several smaller structures and critters, from spiders to a scorpion that combines together in a nightmare Voltron-inspired monstrosity. And as if that wasn’t cool enough, there are several glow-in-the-dark elements that appear in this set for the first time that add a wow factor to an already impressive set. 80028 The Bone Demon includes 1,373 pieces and will be available on July 1 for US $119.99 | CAN $159.99 | 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.

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TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for June 12, 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 second week of June 2021.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS This past week checked out a new amusement park ride, learned about the new LEGO Ideas typewriter, and embraced our inner Slytherin with the new Harry Potter set, and got the details on the first official LEGO convention. On a sadder note, we said goodbye to a very talented LEGO builder who passed away suddenly last week.

Fun at the fair with Creator 3-in-1 31119 Ferris Wheel – Be sure to catch our review of the newest Creator 3-in-1 sets, a kid brother to the 2015 version
LEGO Ideas reveals 21327 Typewriter as a 2,000-piece life-size model with moving keys – Take a trip back in time, before texting and tweets, to get the scoop on the LEGO Ideas vintage typewriter.
Wes Talbott and James May talk about how they designed the LEGO Ideas 21327 Typewriter – Find out details about the new typewriter set from the folks who designed it.
Mourning the passing of David Frank – This week we mourn the passing of a very talented builder, David Frank.
LEGO Harry Potter 76389 Hogwarts Chamber of Secrets – We’re going back inside the dreaded Chamber of Secrets to face the Basilisk. Hopefully Fawkes will find us worthy.
LEGO unveils life-size Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 built with over 400,000 pieces – Talk about “Build it big”, LEGO revealed a life-sized Lamborghini Sián made from more lime green parts than you ever thought existed.
LEGO soft launches Fan Moments featuring fan made photographs of LEGO built sets – The LEGO shopping site introduced photos of sets submitted by fans, taking inspiration from many other online retailers.
First ever LEGO online fan event LEGO CON to go live on June 26 with reveal of new LEGO Star Wars set – We learned more about the first official LEGO convention happening later this month.

Click through to read more LEGO news from around the world

This AT-Hauler is carrying a light load

The Y-45 hauler first introduced in Solo: a Star Wars Story may have been referred to as a heavy hauler, but this microscale model by Tim Goddard is carrying a much lighter microscale AT-ST. The lift arms are finished with a variety of tiles and modified plates of various size and shape, rather than larger more uniform tiles, which provide a wonderful texture.

The underside is full of great greebly details in dark red, including several Minifig hands, and a set of thin black arms tohold the model up, without distracting from the overall look.

Crushing it in cross-species cross-fit training

Restrictions on many of our usual weekend activities are finally starting to lift as more and more people around the world get their vaccination shots. But what do you do if cross-fit gyms just don’t come in your size? Improvise! Bart De Dobbelaer demonstrates the importance of using a spotter when lifting weights, or in this case, an exceedingly large caterpillar. It might be hard to tell, with so many black parts, but all three of the ants are quite expressive, including the poor fellow trapped beneath his living dumbbell.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for May 29, 2021

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 final week of May 2021.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS We learn more about the largest LEGO set ever released, hear from designer Matthew Ashton on the Everyone is Awesome set, and interview Daniel Konstanski, the author of the The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks book to be released in 2022.

LEGO Art 31203: World Map – We found out how the largest LEGO set ever stacks up with an in-depth review.
LEGO Art reveals 31203 World Map mosaic as biggest LEGO set of all time with 11,695 pieces – We answered the question of what is the largest LEGO set by parts count… the massive map of the world art set.
Everyone IS Awesome LEGO set designer Matthew Ashton talks about the importance of inclusivity and the LEGO 40516 Everyone is Awesome set.
LEGO deals on Amazon US with 20% discounts We covered some great LEGO deals on Amazon US for City, Technic, Star Wars, Jurrasic Park, and more.
LEGO bricks crushed under hydraulic press to create a donut Here’s a perfect treat for LEGO Homer Simpson, a massive (at Minifig scale) doughnut made from colorful bricks.
Writing The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks with Daniel Konstanski – Read our exclusive interview and learn more about the author behind the upcoming book.

Click through for more LEGO news from around the world

It was a lovely day in paradise, but it was about to go horribly wrong

If you live in the oasis city of Kaligem, safe behind the sturdy walls, nestled among white towers and golden spires you might count yourself fortunate. But your good fortune is coming to a swift end in this scene by Andreas Lenander which depicts the final moments of a city that has brought down the wrath of the gods in the form of a giant wall of sand that would give the Coriolis storms of Arrakis a run for its money.

Egad! Egyptian stuff that’s historically colored, and not just tan

It is a common misconception that ancient Egyptian architecture was as blandly colored as the surrounding desert. Historians, and, it seems, LEGO builder Mihai Marius Mihu, believe otherwise. And if you ever played Assassin’s Creed: Origins (which was heavily inspired by historic research) you might have climbed up a temple much like this one, dedicated to Anubis, the jackal-headed god of the afterlife. There are so many wonderful splashes of color, from the tiny row of green, gold, red, and blue tiles along the roof-line, to the elaborately detailed carvings atop the rows of pillars on each side.

This temple of the rising sun is shining bright

There’s something mysterious about ruined temples weathered by years, and the forces of nature, like this sun temple by Mountain Hobbit, while the steps and the path have fallen apart and the broken pillars no longer hold up whatever it was they help up, the symbol of the sun is completely undamaged. The patchwork arrangement of plates and bricks at 90-degree angles gives a very man-made touch to the wall, and while the sun may be the focal point of the model, I think the real star of the show are those rocks, constructed with multiple separate assemblies with studs pointed in all directions, intertwined with brown vines.

I’m looking for my son Nemo... oh, nevermind, he’s right here.

If you suffer from coulrophobia, you have nothing to worry about, cuz this clown…fish by Joffre Bricks is not that kind of clown. Known for their bright orange bodies with white stripes, the clownfish, which also has a fancy Latin name (Amphiprioninae), is such a happy little fish that wouldn’t scare anybody. The gently swaying tendrils of the anemone may be deadly to other fish passing by; the clownfish has nothing to worry about.