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

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.

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“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.

Lino rounds up the classic vehicles that put him on the LEGO automotive map [Feature]

Hey there, Lino Martins,The Brothers Brick’s own writer, editor and occasional public nuisance here. I’m about to do the most self-serving thing anyone on any LEGO platform can do; show off a bunch of my own stuff. And that’s coming from someone who has given away three different versions of Adult Fan of Lino brick badges! In my defense, and if it will please the court Your Honor, it wasn’t even my idea. One of my higher-ups proposed the idea to me, and if there’s one thing I know, it’s me, so I said sure thing. Without further ado, let’s check out some of the classic vehicles that made me a mover and shaker in the LEGO automotive world. I may even include some insider info not published anywhere else.

Let’s start with the Popcorn Wagon. This over-the-top show rod, originally designed by Carl Casper, is a prime example of what you’re about to see.

The Show Rod is an automotive phenomenon that occurred in the 60s and 70s that pushed the limits of what a vehicle can be by melding art and engineering. Car legends such as George Barris, Tom Daniel and Ed “Big Daddy” Roth were on the forefront of the scene. Building these wild rides took innovation, imagination- and maybe some degree of controlled substances. One such controlled substance acted as inspiration for Tom Daniel’s famous Beer Wagon that kids in the 60’s and 70’s got to build as a Monogram model kit. I’m not to only one to have LEGO-ized the Beer Wagon. Check out this entry by my friend Andrea Lattanzio who even got to interview Tom Daniel.

Put the pedal to the metal and let the good times with Lino roll after the jump

Frogust: the bridge between Summer Joust and SHIPtember [Feature]

The LEGO Gods, the powers that be has declared this time to be Frogust. The Grand Frog, Simon Liu has been doing frog-related stuff for years now and it has definitely been noticed. It’s now a thing officially that falls conveniently between Summer Joust and SHIPtember and they invite you to join in on all the fun. You may have noticed this regal entry lately as well as this one. Even the local frogs in my neighborhood seem to be into it. Now that we’re at the dog days of summer- or should I say frog days of summer- let’s check out what others have done. Trevor Pearson-Jones starts out strong with, not quite a frog but it’s warty cousin Chief Toad Gambunta. There might be a little something extra in that pipe he’s smoking. Just sayin’.

Not to be outdone by his first entry, Trevor comes back with a tree frog that takes its name literally. This demonstrates Trevor’s ability to to not only develop great character in LEGO bricks, but also demonstrates a mastery of of building natural elements.

Hop along to see the other frogtastic entries

Kid’s birthday party delight or nightmare fuel?

I was just minding my own business when LEGO builder Phillippe Moisan begged the question; is your inner clown light or dark? Then I was like- wait, I have an inner clown? I mean, I know I like to crack jokes and I even have a dark and brooding persona but now I’m worried I might have one of these creepy buggers inside me messing with my spleen or something. For some of us, Coulrophobia was a thing long before Stephen King penned It. Don’t get me started about John Wayne Gacy! Here’s the “light” version of this new creation seemingly inviting us to come and play.

Then once the lights are out it’s- Holy sweet jeebus! With the help of some glow-in-the-dark parts and maybe some blacklight trickery the clown reveals its true dark intentions.

Phillippe, if you haven’t already, you should reach out to The Clown Motel in Tonopah, Nevada to see if they’d commission your piece. The place, located beside a historic graveyard, is reputed to be haunted and even reputed to have had a murder in room 107. They really play up that creepy persona! You’d love it.

A trio of blue automotive delights [Feature]

LEGO car guru Tim Inman is on fire lately and no amount of stop, drop and rolling can squelch this blue streak to stardom. First we were wowed by this 1933 Willys Gasser. The term gasser denotes a particular style of retro drag racer known for their heightened stance and exaggerated exhaust pipes that reside usually behind the front tires. It is not named for what happens when you eat refried beans but, truth be told, it sort of sounds like that when it rips down the dragstrip. This particular model is a study in lovely teal blue.

Then we were floored shortly after when Tim dropped this Bill Thomas Cheetah prototype. As the name implies, the Cheetah was designed by, well, Bill Thomas for Chevrolet in order to dominate the Ford-sponsored Shelby Cobra. Things looked promising for the mid-engined prototype until a fire at the factory halted the project. Do I sniff a hint of competitive sabotage, maybe?

Click to see more of the Cheetah and the stunning conclusion of this blue trio

Wake the kids and the neighbors, it’s the Red Screaming Face Bug!

LEGO phenom Daniel Olvera tells us that he and his fiancé enjoy wild and creepy taxidermied bugs in shadow boxes. Having a small taxedermied bug collection myself, my antennae perked up when I saw this Lohita Grandis. It is also known as the Red Screaming Face Bug due to its, well, red screaming face pattern. Insects and other animals with a large false face do this sort of thing to scare off predators and, while I fancy myself as top of the food chain, I’m pretty sure my face would be screaming if I saw this out in the wild. It’s one of those things that’s best viewed within the protective confines of a shadow box rather than crawling in your tent at night.

Did you know it is currently Frogust?

Maestro of LEGO whimsy Maxx Davidson has declared that it’s Frogust and furthermore has stated that he and Grand Poobah co-frog-conspirator Simon Liu will increase their frog-related output. They also encourage you to join their little frog cult should the desire for doing so arise. But was it on purpose that they timed their LEGO frog uprising at the same time our amphibious friends emerge from their summer slumber? This can be confirmed with the uptick of smooshed frogs on my road and the symphony of frog calls that occur nightly. It’s certainly froggy out there! With cool build techniques such as using a LEGO watchband for the prehensile tongue, I’m beginning to see the appeal of Frogust. Plus I long to join in on the croaking symphony and flies are suddenly looking scrumptious. Should I be concerned?

This farmer and carabao exceeds our grain expectations

Summer Joust is heating up and this time the category is Farms and Fields. LEGO builder Byldan tackles the challenge in a big way in an exotic locale; The Philippines. Here we see an upscaled shirtless farmer and his trusty carabao ( Filipino water buffalo) plowing a rice paddy field. While our farmer isn’t without his charm, I’m rather smitten by the build techniques comprising the expression of the carabao’s face; and those horns are curved just right. No wonder this hard-working beast of burden is the national animal of the Philippines!

Teddy Town is the talk of the town

At a quick glance, this colorful LEGO Teddy Town built by Anne Mette Vestergård is a feast for the senses. Upon closer inspection, though, the town is broken up into quadrants divided by a river and joined in the center by a covered bridge. Maple, from the popular Animal Crossing sets revealed last year, lends a head to all the residents of this sweet little town.

Join us for a tour of Teddy Town after the jump

A 21-inch UCS-scale Geonosian Starfighter is nothing anyone asked for

In a LEGO UCS (Ultimate Collectors Series) world of X-Wings and Millenium Falcons, Lino Martins (Hey, that’s me!) builds something no one wanted or asked for. It’s a Nantex-class Geonosian Starfighter from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, also known as a beak fighter. It boasts an opening canopy and working landing gear. That is all. Oh, and it’s 21 inches long; more than 53 centimeters to the rest of the world. This marks the first time I’ve built my own LEGO creation in a couple of years, so that should suffice as chest beating and a display of dominance right up until 15 minutes from now when something bigger and better comes along.

Here it is resting on its aforementioned landing gear.

And finally, a shot showcasing the strange cockpit.

Check out official LEGO sets as well as what others have done in a formidable UCS style in our archives.

LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31167 Haunted Mansion: Ghosts, graveyards, and ghoulish monsters [Review]

With its sand green coloring, assortment of ghosts and ghouls and boarded-up windows, LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31167 Haunted Mansion immediately evokes the spirit of the 10228 Monster Fighters Haunted House from 2012 – a fondly-remembered set from a much-loved theme. But does it measure up? Is it truly its spiritual successor? (See what I did there?) Read on to learn what we think. This new scary house has 736 pieces and will retail for US $89.99 | CAN $119.99 | UK £79.99 when it releases this August 1st.

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.

Let’s haunt this old dive and see what spirits we can dig up!