About Lino

Lino is an artist, humorist, and occasional responsible adult. He is the co-founder of a challenge-based LEGO car club called LUGNuts which boasts over 1100 members worldwide. He proposed automotive building challenges every month for ten years (120 challenges!) which he and the other members built accordingly. LUGNuts has retired its challenges on its 10th anniversary but still remains a cornerstone for LEGO automotive builders. Between his artistic work and LEGO builds, Lino has been published in several books, including Beautiful LEGO, Beautiful LEGO: Dark, and Beautiful LEGO: Wild. He lives in Washington with his girlfriend and dogs.

Posts by Lino

Raging Raijin rises with thunderous applause

With a strike of lightning and an impressive thunder clap, Sakiya Watanabe (N.A.B.E_mocs) takes on Raijin, the Japanese God of Thunder in LEGO. With windblown hair and a dynamic pose, this creation has motion, even when sitting still; like I can almost see this beast-god blowing across the stormy sky as he beats the taiko drums that surround him.

Where would Raijin be without his windy counterpart Fujin? Well, thankfully Sakiya has already thought of that. You may recognize Fujin as we featured him back in August. Here they are posed together in all their Mongolian-fleet-destroying mythic demon glory. As fearsome and destructive as these two are when paired together, they also bring much needed rain and prosperity.

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Award-winning Canadian LEGO artist breaks the ice with a stunning 152,000 piece polar icebreaker [Feature]

Canadian LEGO artist Paul Hetherington probably needs no introduction. But in case you’ve been buried under the ice since the Truman administration like Captain America, Paul has just launched his largest commission yet; a 152,000 piece Seaspan Canadian Polar Icebreaker complete with a fully detailed interior. Designed with the help of LEGO Certified Professional Robin Sather of Brickville DesignWorks, this ship measures 11 feet long and 2 feet wide. Paul tells us the real Seaspan hasn’t been launched yet so this model will do more than help to visualize the real polar icebreaker currently under construction— it will help inspire future shipbuilders.

Not only has Paul built the ship, but he has included detailed landscaping, including the ice and ocean floor. Here is an aft view of the ship and its surrounding ice. The helodeck and helicopter are all very nice touches. This shot makes it clear that the interior is lit up as well.

Dive deeper into this record-breaking, icebreaking build

A hot-rodding blast from the past builds a heavy duty blast from the past

When a well-known builder becomes a LEGO designer, we can usually expect a decrease in their personal output. This can be because designing LEGO sets for a living can scratch that creative urge, or they may be contractually obligated to keep a low profile. Whatever the reason, it’s a real thrill to see designer Adam Grabowski bring back his hot-rodding retro persona, Misterzumbi, even if just briefly. This time, he tackles the hard-working and reliable Ford C-Series of trucks. I presume the red stake truck is the C-900, while its stubbier white counterpart is the C-600, which, in my opinion, is like a bulldog; so ugly it’s cute. He tells us that the newish round corner brick was the inspiration to give the C-series a go. Having the C-600 on my own to-do list for a while, it was the round corner shape, or lack thereof, that factored into my not building the vehicle just yet. Now that it’s here, thanks, Adam, for showing us the way!

“Misterzumbi” was one of the very first builders to be featured on The Brothers Brick. Here’s our first post from Adam from over 20 years ago!

The 1:15 scale Octan Peterbilt 389 en route to Brick World, Netherlands

Few LEGO builders can master big rig trucks the way Dennis Glaasker can. No, seriously, I’ve tried to go down this road before and when you see one of Dennis’ gleaming creations in your rearview you just pull over and let the big man through, good buddy! Then salute the master as it passes by. He tells us it’s been about a year since he last posted anything but he clearly has not missed the mark, even after a break. Octan is a fictional super corporation first introduced by LEGO in 1992. As it turns out, it is one of the most ubiquitous fake brands in the world with an instantly recognizable color scheme and logo. Once again invited to the prestigious LEGO World event in the Netherlands, Dennis wanted to bring along something with LEGO recognizability. He modernized the typical Octan color scheme; white stayed white, green shifted to lime green and red became chrome. A custom Octan sticker adorns the tanker nicely.

Bottoms up, we’re getting brickfaced!

I’m pretty sure I’ll be inviting TBB’s own Visual Assets Specialist, Kimberly Giffen to my next siorée. Not only can she edit photos like a dream but she has proven to be one creative mixologist that has shaken things up with a LEGO twist. A rainy weekend, which tracks here in the Pacific Northwest, has inspired her to build a colorful tropical drink. Is it a Blue Lagoon or a Blue Hawaiian? It doesn’t matter as both tastes like plastic and will likely chip your teeth. But it will still look great in your hand while you pontificate with party guests over whether Martin Denny or Les Baxter is the better Exotica Lounge musician. Bottoms up, sailor!

A roundup of the most frightening LEGO Lovecraftian horrors on the internet [Feature]

If you are not into Lovecraftian horrors beyond description, then congratulations, you are likely a fine, well-adjusted, upstanding individual. Here’s a puppy for you! Seriously, you’re probably better off for it. But, if you’re like me (and you know who you are), you are attuned to an entirely different wavelength. One that resides in the shadows. So, for you, with it being spooky season and all, I took it upon myself to bring the mood down and showcase some of the creepiest LEGO Lovecraftian horrors we’ve had the displeasure of summoning. So dim the lights, pour yourself a Moscow Ghoul, and settle in for some existential dread and unspeakable terrors.

We’ll let Shannon Sproule set the mood here with a rather atmospheric piece he calls Meeting by the statue, slurp, slurp, slurp. Already we have more questions than answers and we’ve just gotten started. Esoteric cultists, weird monsters and cosmic horror is going to be a recurring theme here. Shannon surely embodies all of the above with this creation.

Lovecraftian mythos is chock full of hideous malevolent deities called Outer Gods; later renamed as The Great Old Ones by August Derleth and other literary scholars after Lovecraft’s death in 1937. They are generally located in deep space outside of our solar system or even from beyond our known dimensions. Some are specific to the Cthulhu Mythos but others, such as this offering by one of our favorite monster builders Nathan Don sort of fits the description for what an Outer God should be. With four arms, four eyes not necessarily on the face and the ubiquitous tentacles, you have yourselves the makings of true Outer God nightmare fuel.

You know I’ve saved the biggest and scariest for last so be sure to click if you dare!

Creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky- and that’s just their butler!

Right on the tail end of delighting us with this LEGO Zombie-fied dinosaur and Mothman, lightning strikes again as Trevor Pearson-Jones builds Lurch from The Addams Family. At 6′ 9″, the stoic, emotionless giant strikes an imposing figure, but is a gentle soul and protector of the Addams Family, particularly the children. He is often tasked with doing the family’s menial chores, like dumping hot oil on Christmas carolers, but does it with an air of professionalism and formality. The big fellah doesn’t say much, as it turns out, but how can you not love that misshapen face?

Don’t just wing it, this tiny Star Wars Y-Wing is a force to be reckoned with.

“Why not build a micro Y-Wing on Yavin IV?” -is likely the question LEGO phenom Pascal asked himself just before starting. As he was tinkering with the Y-Wing, he then went on to build a tiny Yavin IV hangar for it too. But don’t let its size fool you – this Y-Wing packs a punch, proving that even the tiniest of rebels can take on the Empire. So long as the Empire is also micro-scaled. All kidding aside, the proportions and shaping are spot on and on par with great Minifig scale and even UCS Y-Wings we’ve seen, proving that you don’t need a hangar full of LEGO bricks to impress us. The Force is definitely strong with Pascal.

LEGO and dinosaurs: Good. LEGO and zombie-fied dinosaurs: Great!

The twelve-year-old me loved dinosaurs. Who am I kidding? The version of me that’s more than a half a century old with an aching back also loves dinosaurs. Zombie-fy said dinosaurs and build it in LEGO and you pretty much have reached nirvana. That’s what is going on with moptoptrev’s new creation called Primal Plague of Madness inspired by the Primal animated series.

The builder is on a spooky streak of late. Get a load of this Mothman by the same builder. I think we have a budding friendship here.

Xethral, Legacy of the Vanished, where ancient secrets slumber

In the heart of the jungle, an uncanny group of structures pierces the canopy like jagged teeth. Bart De Dobbelaer’s Xethral, Legacy of the Vanished is a haunting LEGO creation that embodies what used to be a shimmering power source of a lost civilization. He states that legends tell that Xethral’s scholars learned to channel this energy to sustain their cities, illuminate the night, and power machines far beyond modern understanding. However, when the stars aligned against them, a great silence fell, an entire culture was swallowed by vines and mist. Now, only their depleted power sources and crumbling crystal towers remain, silent witnesses to a brilliance long erased from history. It’s just the kind of esoteric lore Bart is known for. As with most of what he does, it garners more questions than answers. But at perhaps great risk to our personal well-being, we come back to ask more questions.

Formula for success: rise early, work hard, strike oil

Italian Certified LEGO professional Riccardo Zangelmi is living the dream and has built a detailed oil rig for VALLAND SPA. They don’t make hot tubs as I initially thought but rather oil and gas valves. An oil platform makes perfect sense, then. Riccardo tells us that most oil platforms are gray (can confirm) but he took some artistic license and made it a bright white and a happy yellow. With the happy colors on there, this seems like a fun place to work- or at least a super fun playset. Get the boat and fishing gear! Is that not what they do on oil rigs? Even if it’s all serious business, I imagine a hard day working on an oil rig would warrant a trip to the spa to be pampered like a god. But not VALLAND SPA, as we’ve already established, they make oil and gas valves.

“You will always be my greatest adventure”

I don’t know who needs to see this today, but if you need your spirits lifted, Xiheng Xu, a new LEGO builder on Instagram, has turned the lovable Children’s Teddy Bear set into the equally lovable Grandpa from UP. Carl Fredricksen is his name and he’s responsible for probably the most emotional movie intro since Saving Private Ryan. You’d think I wouldn’t correlate the two movies together but yet here we are.

You can’t help but loving Carl, and by extension the work of Xiheng. Modding official sets seems to totally be his jam. Hare’s an example from earlier last month featuring Baobaolong, a creature who hates carrots built from a creature that positively loves carrots.