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

Send the dozer on over

If you have some dirt that needs moving, some land that needs flattening, or just some noisy activity to upset the neighbors, then look no further than this awesome Dressta TD-25M series-1. Bricksley is so good at building that it doesn’t even look like LEGO. They tell us that this 1:18 scale model is fully motorized with four PU L motors (drive, pneumatic system), two LED lights, and sounds (backup alarm & horn) controlled by an Xbox One X pad via Mindstorms Robot Inventor Hub.

Care to see the whole shebang in action? You betcha! Check out the video then.

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Can you smell what Dwayne “The Croc” Johnson is cooking?

There is an app that, if you were inclined to download it, enables you to start your day with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. No matter what time zone he happens to be in, the app will alert you that he has arisen with his own soothing recorded voice. I’m certain your day will then diverge greatly after that. But I’m sure in some alternate universe there is such an app for Dwayne “The Croc” Johnson as seen here built in LEGO by Axelford2. You can wake up to The Croc’s soothing bellowing as he jockeys for the perfect mate. You, on the other hand, may have to employ other methods to find yours. Because crocodiles aren’t scary enough, this one is bipedal and completely jacked with muscles. There really is no chance for mating at the crocodile watering hole when this big brute is around.

The car that is business up front, party in the back

I wish the car-truck still existed in the US. These were the El Caminos and Rancheros from the fifties to the eighties. They, like the mullet, are a timeless classic that could only be operated if the radio was tuned to classic rock and the driver wore either no shirt or one without sleeves. A six-pack of Schlitz was sometimes included. Australia, as it turns out, kept that beautiful dream alive right up until 2017 with the Holden Ute. Here we see a stunning LEGO example built by Chris Elliott. It’s the 1971 Turbo Coupe Utility, making it precisely as old as I am. Frankly, I’m not sure if my paint job and luster have held up as well as this beautiful machine. While my chrome is also not as shiny, my ability to air-guitar to Iron Maiden is still legendary, so that’s something.

Not to make this all about me but if you really want to go back in time, check out an old offering of the 1971 Ute from yours, truly. Chris tells us his version received the “Staff Favorite” award at Brickfair Virginia 2022. Bravo! Here it is posed next to it’s major award.

This Star Wars Yavin IV Rebel Base renders us speechless!

Most people would just buy the UCS Y-Wing set and call it a day. But clearly, legolux1973 is not like most people. Not only has he scratch-built the Y-Wing but he has created an entire section of the Yavin IV Rebel Base. Plantlife, scattered scrap parts as well as droids, and people busily working add tons of life to this amazing diorama. I particularly love the stepped sides and complex angles of the ziggurat-looking structure. He cites inspiration from Abe Fortier whose stellar Yavin IV creation was featured exactly on this date last year. Abe, himself cites inspiration from Jarek Książczyk and legolux also cites Josh Fowler. It’s certainly neat when one builder inspires another and the world is a better place for it. To be clear, this is a render but the model could be built in real life- or IRL if you’re super hip with the modern lingo.

Because it is so well deserved, here is a separate photo giving some love to that amazing Y-Wing.The details are spectacular! That’s deets for those who are hip.

A double duty mashup swiped from the jaws of defeat

Not to be outdone by his friend and competitor, Caleb Shilling has a few tricks up own sleeve and has used the dark azure LEGO saddle piece eighteen times in this captivating little scenario. The reason? Well, Iron Builder is currently heating up like a used Toyota on a cross-country trip. If you’re observant you’d note that was an entirely different metaphor from the one I used earlier today so clearly, I’m a literary genius. While I await a lucrative book deal from Simon and Schuster, check out the predicament these intrepid divers are in. This was also entered in Vignweek 2022 where they are mashing up styles. In this case, we have Aquanauts divers of yore executing the Chewbacca maneuver from Star Wars in which they brace the trash compactor, call for help, and escape from peril, then it’s Miller Time. So is that pulling triple duty then?

Saddle up with The Iron Sentinel

LEGO builder Kit Nugent has been on fire lately!. Well not literally (I hope). I mean that his Flickr stream has been heating up like the radiator of an old Buick and may catch on fire if he doesn’t cool it off. Wow, that was way more awkward than I had hoped! Anyway, check out this Iron Sentinel. It uses ten dark azure saddle pieces and was built for the Iron Builder competition which itself is heating up like the cam shafts of the same aforementioned old Buick. This humanoid is so flexable he can get himself into all kinds of cool Spider-Man poses. This won’t be the first nor last hot Iron Builder entry from Kit. Check out our smoking hot archives to see what I mean.

Herding goats by the Sha’jara tree

Famed LEGO builder Andreas Lenander tells us that a new parts order just came in and so he decided to build this neat little scene. But the question is did he order tree parts or goat parts? While the tree is certainly not without its charms, goats are a pretty penny on the interwebs. They are also the formula for success here at The Brothers Brick. Here’s the proof. Still, that tree though. It’s almost tempting enough to maybe modify my all-hail goats stance. What do you all think? While you’re mulling that over check out why we think Andreas Lenander really floats our goat.

All that it’s corked up to be

For a minute there we thought builder Peter Zieske had switched hobbies. But no, That is all LEGO. He’s replicated the look of traditional style Chinese cork art with this amazing diorama. I like how the black elements mimic the look and feel of polished wood while the studs-out approach to the landscape nicely takes on the rough texture of cork. This would assuredly look handsome on any shelf, even in an upscale office. I hope you can forgive me for not putting a cork in my enthusiasm for this piece.

Rickard Söderberg hits all the right notes

A very talented LEGO builder by the name of Rickard Stensby finds inspiration in his own name. Well at least his first name, anyway. Meet Rickard Söderberg. Truth be told, I had to Wiki this one but he’s a famous Swedish opera singer and LGBTQ activist. Rickard (the LEGO builder) captures complex facial expressions quite well. I mean, just look at the tilt of Rickard’s (the opera singer) head and that mouth agape. I can almost hear him belting out notes the rest of us can only dream of. He looks ultra-fabulous with his great hair, earings and makeup. I just love those false lashes! Check out why we think Rickard (the LEGO builder) is one of the most expressive builders we know. This might be the best thing I’ve seen all day and I’ve seen a skater kid brag about how awesome he is, then go on to credit-card his gooch anyway.

An ogre breaks wind (mill)

LEGO builder Peter Revan tells us don’t piss of the ogre. Upon mulling that over I filed that under good sage advice. Upsetting an ogre can result in your teeth suddenly being where your feet should be and vice versa. Hopefully, this particular ogre is made sweeter and more sedated by compliments because I genuinely like his shaping and clever build techniques. I’m also rather fond of the horse, cart, windmill, and scared little minifigure occupants that help establish the scale of this massive creature. If you feel like you’ve seen the ogre, horse, and cart around the neighborhood before, that is because you have.

Why rehash a previously featured LEGO creation, you may ask? Is this the result of lazy writing? Well, perhaps. But I genuinely believe the addition of the windmill and diorama offers an excellent setting that better illustrates the world this ogre lives in. Plus once you’ve squeezed out a title that fiendishly clever, there’s really no putting a cork in it once you’ve let loose that bout of genius flatulence humor into the world. Can you find it in your hearts to forgive me?

The Gnome Feast delivers whimsy, honey

Sometimes a LEGO creation comes along and immediately you’re like; I totally want to live here! That’s how I felt when I saw this new piece built by Bard Jaskier. Who wouldn’t want to live in a flower-treehouse among a world inhabited by this much whimsy? I love the sparkling flower, the toadstools, the ladybug, and all the blue tulips. (Or are they Forget-Me-Nots?) As sweet as those blue forget-me-jiggers are, the star of the show has got to be the purple bug delivering honey to the inhabitants to feast on in what could be called…a honey bucket. Heh, honey bucket. Get it? OK, I’ll just let myself out. While I make my shameful exit, why not check into why we think Bard Jaskier is as sweet as honey.

A flaming sword is scarier than a regular sword

This new LEGO creation by Geneva Durand begs the question; what is scarier than a regular sword? A flaming sword, of course. No, it’s true; it’s like science-fact written in the annuls of science-y stuff. The same can be said for flaming arrows, a flaming axe, and Flaming Hot Funyuns. I mean, have you seen those things? How are they even considered suitable for human consumption? Anyway, the builder tells us this 1:1 scale weapon is not quite swooshable but you can swing it around a bit if you’re careful. And it is super fun!

Geneva borrowed an epic cape from her brother and while we’re not quite sure if this is a real human in the photo, here’s a shot of a human-like figure standing with the sword to show off its imposing scale. It’s an image suitably bitchin’ enough to be airbrushed on the side of a 70s-era van or a Molly Hatchet album cover.