The custom Brickhead models just keep coming! I am glad to see that the latest LEGO building trend to make custom versions of the popular Brickheadz line is not limited to pop-culture like Star Wars and Marvel. This Roman centurion by Koen demonstrates some very nice parts usage. From the mini-fig spear and shield to an assortment of recently released curved and angled tile elements. And don’t miss the gold printed Wonder Woman tile! The curved fan on the helmet really completes the look.
Along with the Hogwarts Great Hall set from Harry Potter revealed at the New York Toy Fair, today LEGO announced another new set from the upcoming movie Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. The set will be called 75951 Grindelwald’s Escape and features a Thestral-pulled carriage, two minifigures of Gellert Grindelwald and Seraphina Picquery, and several new pieces.
Motion graphic via LEGO Twitter, composite image by TyresOFlaherty.
The set will have 132 pieces and will sell for $19.99 US, beginning August 1st. Several more sets from both Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts will be revealed over the next few months, so stay tuned to The Brothers Brick for all your LEGO Wizarding World news.
Click to see more photos and for the complete set description
This microscale scene by Nicolas Kolbeck is instantly recognizable to any Harry Potter fan as the eclectic wizard village found on the other side of a brick wall behind the Leaky Cauldron in London. Even more impressive than the many details that stand out, like the angled windows of Olivander’s shop and the leaning pillars of Gringot’s Bank, is how recognizable the various miniature characters are. Notice the fez part used as a skirt for Hermione, and see if you can name the rest.
Ever since Star Wars: Return of the Jedi hit theaters, hovering speeder bikes have been a very popular subject with LEGO builders captivated by that high-speed chase through the forest of Endor. There’s something enchanting about slapping a big engine on a spindly, thoroughly greebled contraption and crafting the perfect mini-fig character. You can almost feel the whining vibrations in your spine. The Flickr group LSB Lego Speeder Bikes has been running a contest for the month of February called the Battle for District 18.
During the contest, builders competed in 4 categories:
We here at TBB have already featured a few of these models over the last month, but now that we have reached the end of this popular competition I wanted to feature a round-up of some of my personal favorites.
Featured entries after the jump
This stylish mech by Marco De Bon is giving off a serious anime vibe, from the massive, multi-angled feet to the rounded shoulders, not to mention the dual mounted guns on the back. The pilot’s rig is surprisingly simple but very well designed. I also love the mech sized pistols.
Bonus: this mech actually features 2 cockpits, allowing the gunner to ride in the back panel.
LEGO dropships are a favorite subject for many sci-fi fans of both movies and video games. While this particular model by Oscar Cederwall is original, it does seem to take some inspiration from the dropship featured in Aliens, which also includes a deployable vehicle.
The craft features some heavy-duty thrusters, along with great color accents like the orange stripes. A mini-drone, cargo, and a vehicle with some nice details like steering, round out the scene. Some Modulex pieces make great stand-ins for cargo pods.
Rebuilding Creator modular buildings in microscale presents LEGO builders with many challenges, from recreating key architectural details using completely different parts to matching colors that may not exist for the needed elements. Simon NH has created a stunning replica of one of my personal favorite modular building sets, 10243 Parisian Restaurant making good use of some new parts, including the 4×4 quarter circle tiles.
A while back we featured this delightful vintage Bugatti discovered in a dilapidated roadside barn. It looks like its new owners have gotten the old gal up and running. Creator Norton74 has built another scene, this time featuring the Bugatti at a filling station.
In addition, you can now build your very own vintage racecar thanks to instructions from the builder, following the jump.
See step-by-step LEGO Bugatti instructions
When the first Star Wars movie not part of the epic series, Rogue One, was released, people had a mixed reaction. Personally, I loved it, and a lot of great characters were introduced. LEGO creator Nobu_tary has been building some amazing creations of a few of them using key parts from the official buildable figure sets, but making a number of delightfully unique design choices to give them personality. Take this shoretrooper, for example.
More LEGO Star Wars characters from Nobu_tary
With Lunar New Year upon us, what better way to celebrate than to feature the three stars of Happiness, Prosperity, and Longevity in Cubedude and Brickheadz form? Whichever style you prefer, these three figures by tankm are here to wish you all the best in the year of the dog.
Personally, I really appreciate the detailed mustache and beards featured on the Brickheadz versions
Detailed comparison of these two styles of LEGO characters after the jump
Galaxy Squad was one of my favorite space themes since the original space theme I grew up playing and building with. This pair of microfighters, created by Leonid An and Vlad Lisin , would look right at home with some of the official pairs of microfighters from the Star Wars theme. It is no simple task to re-create larger vehicles with such great detail and still built to fit a minifigure.
I hope these two microfighters spark more re-creations at this scale.
Building the lunar lander module from the Apollo 11 mission presents a unique challenge: to create the base of the lander in gold, which traditionally has not been a very common color for LEGO elements. However, with the help of some newer pearl gold elements, tankm has accomplished this very nicely. The model almost feels like minifig scale, considering just how cramped the lander was. Some flower parts in light gray make perfect thruster nozzles (just like on the official LEGO Saturn V moon rocket), and I love the use of black roller skates as ladder rungs. Maybe we will get a rover to go with it?
