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

Socks and sandals on the beach? Ridiculous!

Somehow I find the concept of socks and sandals on the beach more unsettling than an anthropomorphic airplane on vacation. That’s the conundrum that Nathan Hake presents with this new LEGO creation titled Arby the A320. I mean, have you tried to rinse sand out of socks? Nathan tells us the build started life as sort of a flying mechanism but this particular plane was way too heavy for the task. With its wings folded over, the aircraft looked to the builder like it was very tired and was having a little rest. So he gave it legs and declared it to be on vacation because everyone needs some time off, even planes. Despite the footwear fashion faux pas, I’m really on board with this. I like the little hat; practicality at its finest! Check out our archives to discover why Nathan Hake is sometimes silly, sometimes fun, but always interesting.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

A picture-perfect LEGO chocolate dessert

Full disclosure: When I started to write this article, I reached for a chocolate stocking-stuffer holiday treat. That’s how good these LEGO desserts by Mikael Montelius looked to me. The execution is simple, yet elegant. Minifig hairpieces make for excellent truffles and the use of brown and tan makes it all seem like delicious chocolate and nougat. The brown ingots giving the appearance of a breakable, sharable chocolate bar is just; chef’s kiss! It’s almost too tempting to break off a piece for real. As it turns out, brown LEGO — especially older brown pieces — are known to be quite brittle. As mouth-watering as this appears to be, I wouldn’t recommend eating LEGO, though — it’s not as satisfying as you’d think. However, what is satisfying is a delicious romp through our LEGO food archives but I recommend grabbing a snack first.

In the Realms of Unreality, your wish is my trophy

Even if this wasn’t for a contest we’d feature this LEGO Genie anyway because: 1) it was built by Markus Rollbüller and whatever that guy does turns to gold and 2) see reason 1. I mean, do you really need another reason? He was named The Brothers Brick Builder of the Year in 2021 so you know he’s got to be good. But if you need another reason to love this Genie, it is a trophy that can be had over at Brickscalibur if you enter and win in the Realms of Unreality Category. Be sure to refine those rendering skills as this is a digital-only category. Despite this fact, this trophy is not merely smoke and mirrors but actual LEGO bricks that you can presumably rub in the privacy of your own home. While you’re mulling over those possibilities, check out why, as TBB writers, Markus Rollbüller makes our wishes come true.

We still have Christmas cheer so long as the eggnog is good

Before you give us gruff that Christmas has passed, you don’t take down your holiday tree right at midnight on the start of the 26th, do you? No, of course not! We keep Christmas in our hearts at least until the holiday food expires. In the case of fruitcake, you could be reluctantly sampling it right up through July. The calendar you bought for Christmas is now 50% off but that doesn’t stop us from featuring this LEGO Christmas stork built by Pascal Hetzel. I don’t want to be the one to explain the birds and the bees to you but almost everyone knows that babies are delivered by storks. The same holds true for Christmas presents for instances when the usual fat man can’t be bothered to stuff himself down your chimney. I love the snow, the roof tiles, and the Wolverine claws used to texture the nest. Frankly, I don’t care who delivers my Christmas gifts, so long as the eggnog is tasty. Is mentioning eggnog around a stork considered insensitive?

When I have too much holiday eggnog I get Krampus

Sure I love Christmas as much as anyone else. But sometimes you want a more traditional holiday and show up with a birch rod, scare the bejesus out of misbehaving kids, and stuff them in a wicker basket. Who’s with me on this? Am I right? Anyone? No? Anyway, I’m sure renowned LEGO builder Corvus Auriac knows what I mean as evidenced by this creepy Krampus figure of Alpine folklore. I like the crazed eyes, the snow globe in his hand, and the serpent peeking from beneath his robe. What’s in the bag, Krampus? It’s probably best not to ask too many questions but the teddy bear and the red stains tell me someone won’t be getting that Peppa Pig toy train they wanted. The builder says that this is a render but can be achieved using real LEGO bricks. If your sentiments veer on the dark side, (you know who you are) then check out our Corvus Auriac archives.

Two friends do justice to one of Star Wars’ most iconic spaceships

Yes, I know Boba Fett’s version of the Slave 1 is a more iconic Star Wars ship but hear me out. We love it when a LEGO collaboration comes together with such amazing success and Kevin J. Walter and Hannes Tscharner team up once again to do justice for Jango Fett’s Slave 1. Technically this isn’t their first ride on the Slave 1 as they have teamed up before to build the more famous version. While the difficult groundwork was already done with their last one, aside from a recolor, this newer version features laser guns along the side panels and a remodeled interior to accommodate Jango Fett and his young son Boba.

The technical specs for this one include 5001 pieces, with a weight of 2447 grams or nearly 5.40 pounds. They tell us this won’t be their last collaboration and when a joint effort goes this well, we’re quite happy with that prospect.

From the arena of Iron Builder comes Iron City

The competition is heating up over at Iron Builder and we’re all pretty thrilled about it. That means job security for us and entertainment for you bloodthirsty readers. This time esteemed builder LEGO Monkey has constructed Iron City where I presume the competition is held and all important Iron Builder decisions are made. I love the overall lofty city-in-the-clouds feel and the Monkey makes excellent use of the seed part 41 times in this particular build. For those who may not know, Iron Builder has two renowned builders duke it out for a month or so building some amazing LEGO creations all while using a specified seed part. It’s kinda like Bumfights except without all the controversy and litigation. Speaking of jokes that peaked in 2008, I went a couple of bouts in the Iron Builder arena way back when I had other haircut choices but I won’t link the results here because I’m still recovering from the mental trauma. Instead, check out how other Iron Builder competitors have fared lately.

Now you can go while on the go

There was a time before I was born and into my early childhood in which Show Rods were a thing. This is where automotive customizers with lots of imagination pushed the limits of what a hot rod can be. Anything from a bed, to a wine barrel, was fair game, and esteemed LEGO builder Andrea Lattanzio captured one such Show Rod nicely here. It is the “Outhouse” originally dreamed up by Bob Reisner in 1969, probably while sitting on the throne where frankly most good ideas come from. I mean, as outlandish as this seems to be, it has practical applications when you consider that you can do your business while still making good time to your destination. Just wash your hands, which I presume you’d have to do at your sink-themed Show Rod sold separately. This is Andrea’s fourth trip to the Show Rod loo; the previous being a Fire Truck, Beer Wagon, and Paddy Wagon. While you’re already sitting in the place where you do your best scrolling anyway, why not check out these hot rods from Andrea and other like-minded friends who can’t be bothered with building a boring Toyota Corolla.

Mitsuru Nikaido’s creature mechs are as numerous as...well, rabbits!

I’m certain there’s a great joke in here somewhere about the abundance of Mitsuru Nikaido’s LEGO creature mechs and the mating habits of rabbits but damned if I can figure it out. While I may be tapped for jokes tonight, it makes me no less of a fan of this builder’s, by now, iconic color scheme and his amazing creatures both familiar and bizarre. Anyway, enjoy this cute bunny mech and check out our Mitsuru Nikaido archives to see what else this builder has miraculously sprouted. And if you have a better joke than what I’ve already stated then please let us know in the comments.

Two friends and some past gas

Life changes quickly and there could come a time when even a modern gas pump may become a thing of the past. But thankfully Eloi Parizeau and his friend Martin Chauvette teamed up to preserve a blast from the past in LEGO.They’ve built this very retro gas pump in striking red and yellow. The replica stands twenty six inches high and is constructed from over 4000 pieces. I particularly like the golden shell with wings emblem and the Captain America shield as a centralized emblem on the light face up top. Eloi tells us this isn’t a theme he would normally build for but as a car enthusiast and a lover of all things retro, I’m pretty glad they did.

The magic of Willow can be yours

If you missed the epic Lucas/Howard film in 1988 as I did, then you can redeem yourself in a couple of different ways. You may catch the new series streaming on Disney Plus starting today. Apparently, Warwick Davis will be reprising his titular role as the diminutive Willow Ufgood. Secondly, you may gaze upon this amazing LEGO playset built by Tobias Roloff. I can’t name these characters nor recall the scenes depicted here but, despite missing out on the cinematic action long ago, I know a fun playset when I see one. I mean, just look at those great textures and plant life and suspended bridges! You, on the other hand, may be better versed in the action sequences depicted here and you may be losing your collective cookies at the total awesomeness illustrated here.

Thirdly, (Did I mention there was a third option?) Tobias isn’t shy about notifying you that you can vote for this on LEGO Ideas to make this Willow playset a reality. If seeing this as a real set and getting it into your hot little hands is a thrill to you, then be sure to check out his Flickr stream where he conveniently provides the link for you to support this idea.

Like a phoenix rising from the ashes of Classic Space

No, this isn’t Twitter’s new logo. Not that we know of anyway. Actually, we’re not really sure what’s going on with that. What we are sure of is this is a neat LEGO robot bird built by Filbrick. First glance may say blue jay, further inspection may say robotic blue jay but one detail, the black and yellow stripe along the wings, plucks the old nostalgia strings and harkens back to the Classic Space sets of yore. If you missed out on the Classic Space heyday of the 70s and 80s then check out our Galaxy Explorer set review from a few months back.