Posts by Kyle Keller (TBB Managing Editor)

Some scary-good geometry in LEGO

Over on Instagram, Zachary Steinman has a reputation for creating some phenomenal geometric forms out of LEGO. So much so that LEGO House in Billund, Denmark has even noticed his art and put it on display in their LEGO House Masterpiece Gallery. This skull-shaped cube ditches his usual symmetrical design and instead depicts a bony grimace through some wild texturing. It’s a build that combines an onslaught of 1×2 curved slopes and rounded 1×1 tiles with a stark color difference to make something that feels very Jack Skellington-meets-Minecraft.

Yo ho ho and a LEGO bottle of rocket fuel

Seeking their fortunes across the stars, this renegade band of LEGO rapscallions aren’t just smugglers. They’re full-on space pirates, at least according to builder Librarian-Bot. Inspired by the 1993 set 6268 Renegade Runner, this creation was inspired by the “Space Pirates – Back to the Caribbean Galaxy” competition happening over at Eurobricks. The ship’s sail has been transformed into a large beveled wing, still striped in black and white. A large rocket engine has been added to the schooner’s aft section, and the large cannon mounted below the ship looks devastating!

Renegade Voidrunner

Check out the engines and figs!

The real treasure is the LEGO we found along the way

While I’m used to working with something that has a few more teeth, I always appreciate a great LEGO container. And Larsvader definitely provides with this excellent treasure chest. The black wrought iron hardware is well-made, with 1×1 round tiles dotting the creation all over to replicate the case’s many rivets. And the use of black flame decorations to form the keyhole is a brilliant bit of part usage. It’s almost as impressive as the great mass of LEGO coins that Lars has accumulated to fill up this trunk. It makes quite the treasure for LEGO Pirates fans from the 90’s.

Treasure chest

Having a ball in LEGO with the fourth phase of matter

From his class on LEGO functions each year at BrickCon to his day job educating children on STEM principles by way of the brick, Brandon Jones has a reputation not only for the creations he concocts, but also for the builders he inspires. And I’m certainly inspired by his latest creation, a replica of a plasma ball lamp, complete with moving lines of “electricity” powered via a Mindstorms motor. The central hub spits out bolts of transparent light blue and pink bricks, dancing in a seemingly random manner thanks to the programmed motor hidden in the base.

Plasma Ball- 1

But why talk about it when I can show you the build in action? Make sure to watch until the room’s lights are shut off, showcasing the interior lighting in the globe that illuminates those electric lines of blue and pink. It’s hard to imagine a closer replica made out of LEGO at this scale.

LEGO House 40505 LEGO Building Systems – A historical triple threat of bricks [Review]

Today in Billund, Denmark, the LEGO House has announced the next set in their exclusive limited series, available for purchase only at the LEGO store on-site. LEGO House 40505 LEGO Building Systems is 1,211 pieces celebrating the LEGO system of play with representations of its three pillars: Duplo, System, and Technic. And while we could go on with our usual statistical analysis of the new set, as we have done for past sets in this series, The Brothers Brick was provided a copy of the set for review and an opportunity to talk with one of the set’s designers: LEGO House Master Builder Stuart Harris. So instead, we’ll get to talk more about this set announcement as we build it below. And for those headed to the LEGO House in search of this set, it’ll be available in their exclusive LEGO store only starting March 1st for a price of 699 DKK (around $100 USD | $140 CAD | £80 GBP | €94 EUR) and a limit of 3 per household.

Read up on this LEGO House exclusive below!

The other LEGO build known as “Spike Prime”

While it may not be driven by a LEGO computer brain, The Hedgehog by Andrea Lattanzio still means business. This tank definitely gives Raiders of the Lost Ark vibes, with side turrets and a villainous-looking driver. Building in a single color like dark gray can be a risky move, but with plenty of dynamic textures, shadows and exposed studs help to break up the monotone. Instead, the build is alive with textures…and spiky treads.

The Hedgehog

An awkward LEGO robot with soccer roots

Here at The Brothers Brick, we talk a lot about exceptional LEGO part usage. But this usually exists at a fairly small scale, about a specific detail in a larger build. On the rare occasion, though, a builder will take the most awkward piece and manage to fit it expertly into their creation. And Djokson has done just that with several large turf pieces from the soccer subtheme of LEGO Town that existed back in the early aughts. They make up the torso and arms of this mono-green mech, even leveraging the sliding mechanism built into the goalie’s 8×16 chunk of pitch for a front-facing weapon. This robot isn’t all over the field, so much as the field is all over it!

Pillbox

Lounging around with LEGO

We here at TBB are already very familiar with the LEGO interior design work of Victor van den Berg. His latest lounge continues his streak with even more clever parts usage and exceptional use of color and light. I especially enjoy the marble reliefs coming out from either side of the room, as well as the ornate frame found in the window along the back wall. But the best bit has got to be the pair of wall sconces made from minifig energy fists (a part of this weapon pack), properly lit up from behind to look like torches.

The castle lounge

LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31154 Forest Animals: Red Fox – What does the fox say?

Now, I know what you’re thinking. You love the new LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31150 Wild Safari Animals released back in January, and as well you should because it’s a great set. But you were hoping for something with a color scheme that’s more LEGO Icons 10325 Alpine Lodge. Well, does next month have the set release for you! Clocking in at 667 pieces, LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31154 Forest Animals: Red Fox adds to the creatures currently available in the Creator line, seemingly targeting kids and adults at the same time. But how does this new set stack up? What surprises does it offer? And what is the noise that a fox makes? You’ll have to read on to find out. LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31154 Forest Animals: Red Fox is available from LEGO’s website starting on March 1st, and retails for US $49.99 | CAN $64.99 | UK £44.99.

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

Read more on this foxy-looking set below.

LEGO Disney 43242 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Cottage set revealed [News]

After it’s debut 87 years ago, an iconic structure found in an early Disney movie will finally be making its way to LEGO store shelves next month. Featuring 10 minifigures in total, LEGO Disney 43242 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Cottage depicts the straw-roofed structure, addition to a wishing well and glass casket. All 7 dwarfs make an appearance, as well as the titular Disney princess, the Prince, and the evil Queen wielding a poison apple. The set is also strewn with a wealth of woodland critters, including a bunny, squirrel, butterfly, and plenty of birds. This slice of 1930’s animation will be available from the LEGO website beginning on March 1st for Insiders, but those not in the rewards program will have to wait three more days to get a crack at the new set. Whenever you’re able to get your hands on this 2,228-piece model, it will retail for US $219.99 | CAN $289.99 | UK £189.99.

Mirror, mirror on the wall. Click for more pictures of it all

The LEGO mousetronauts and their moon cheese

The key to a great LEGO Feb-Rovery construction is picking a concept and going at it hard. Some choose to base their rover around a single part. Others take inspiration from long-lost LEGO Space factions. And yet another group may just want to work in a specific color palette. But then there are those like Maxx Davidson who take this theme month as an opportunity to answer a question that no one asked. In this case, it’s “What if mice went to the moon in search of cheese?” Following in the footsteps of Wallace and Gromit, here’s hoping these galactic gastronomes make it back to Earth with all the moon-muenster they can manage.

The Moustronauts are here to determine, once and for all, that the moon IS made of cheese!  Built for Febrovery 2024

And if you’re looking for more vehicles of the vast outer reaches from February’s gone by, check out our Feb-Rovery archives.

Bow before this expert LEGO bowmaster

Robin Hood, eat your heart out! You wish you were as cool as this LEGO figure made by Justus M., but clearly, you’ve missed the mark. This creation offers a wealth of terrific techniques, but I’m especially fond of the prolific use of minifigure accessories. The pistol drawstrings around the archer’s collar, the slingshots used as boot laces, and the arrow fletching made of red megaphones are but a taste of the brick-built craftsmanship at work.

The Forestman

And if you want more characters celebrating medieval times, make sure to check out the other brick-built figures on Justus’s Flick page.