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

Please be kind, rewind

Those of us of a certain age remember going to Blockbuster on a Friday night to pick out movies to watch over the weekend. LEGO legend Nathan Proudlove is clearly of that age. I know this because he’s my buddy and we have some history, he and I. It’s good to see that while he may be getting older, (aren’t we all?) he’s still finding clever ways to wow us with bricks. This time he hits us in the nostalgic feels with the iconic video cassette case from the now-defunct Blockbuster Video. I’m loving the blocky yellow font against the bright blue field. Even the little round semi-circular notch brings back fond memories of a bygone era.

Care to see what’s inside the case? It’s not exactly what you’d think!

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Jabba ruled with fear. I intend to rule with respect.

This LEGO creation by Omar R Ovalle is not the first we’ve seen from The Book of Boba Fett lately. Not by a long shot. Unless you’ve been slowly digesting in a Sarlacс pit these past couple of months you’d know the pivotal series on Disney+ is one of the most talked about streaming shows currently. (You were hot, Bridgerton, but not Boba Fett hot!) Anyway, the point I was trying to make is we’ve seen plenty of Fett stuff but rarely do we see anything in this scale. Omar has taken the official Boba Fett Buildable Figure set but customized it to fit the series in which Boba combines his old armor with garb given to him by Tusken Raiders. Beside him is a very convincing Fennec Shand whom I think (but don’t quote me) is a repurposed Rey figure. The throne in which they sit and the arch behind them is nothing short of brilliant.

Cruising the Star Wars galaxy with my homie, Grogu

If you haven’t seen the season finale of The Book of Boba Fett then give this LEGO ship by Alex Jones a like or a heart and move on without reading ahead. But be sure to catch it when you can. If you have seen it then oh boy! A couple of episodes back when Peli revealed the refurbished N-1 Starfighter she was working on for Mando we got just a little taste of foreshadowing. Seeing the pre-Empire ship was cool enough in itself. It was admittedly not the replacement for the Razorcrest Mando had hoped for at first but with it being souped-up and off-the-grid like a refurbished one-of-a-kind classic hot rod, he warmed up to it. However, the bubble dome in place of where an Astromech would go… clued us in that someday Grogu would sit there. Fast forward to the last scene of the final episode and we were served a heaping albeit adorable helping of fan service!

If you’ve seen the show, then join in on all the excitement to see what other builders have done in The Book of Boba Fett archives.

This Martian Botanical Unit is like, far-out, man!

We’ve seen plenty of LEGO space rovers lately but Isaac Wilder clearly has a good sense of humor about his. With its 3D-printed custom rims, it’s more of a psychedelic VW T2 campervan than a Mars rover. However, should we ever explore Mars, there is some good reasoning for having a mobile botanical unit to either analyze and collect the plant life that may be discovered there or to seed our own once we terraform the Red Planet. Along with it, you would certainly need a gentle, laidback botanical enthusiast with a knack for making plants grow. Do we know anyone like that? This dude definitely doesn’t harsh my mellow! If you’re hip to it, why not discover other reasons why we think Isaac Wilder is, like, one with the universe. While you’re at it, don’t bogart the love. Be sure to check out these space rovers built by others, brah.

The rover with no blind spots...on the sides

The LEGO builder who is apparently a cat, Koosya the Cat has rendered a space rover that ranks A+ for having no blind spots. At least when you look out from the sides. Results may vary if looking out the front or rear. But who needs driver safety when exploring another planet? The probability of a Toyota Carolla cutting you off is pretty minimal out there in space so I’d say go nuts with whatever wild and crazy rover design you want. If it turns out other planets are full of pedestrians, at least you can see them down below once you run them over. Which could happen for that one astronaut who apparently has to hoof it all the way back to the base. I guess he lost that Rochambeau. Better luck next time, buddy!

A genius Medieval Modular Street. Or is it ingenious?

As it turns out, I’m a genius. Do you know how I know? I took one of those online quizzes that said, “only geniuses can solve this puzzle.” I solved it in no time, and fifty clicks later, after giving them my date of birth and credit card info, they told me I was a genius, so in your face, jerks! Once you recover from that sick burn, you might take a look at this new LEGO Midievel Modular Street built by Peeters Kevin who is clearly an absolute genius and not just because the internet says so. This is chock full of thoughtful details, from the archways to the ramshackle roofline. Even the little birdhouse is genius. Or is it ingenious?

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This Ferrari F40 goes from zero to heart’s desire in two seconds flat

I thought I loved everything I could love, but this LEGO Ferrari F40 by László Torma just might prove me wrong. I mean, look at those curves, look at that sleek styling! The real thing was built from 1987 to 1992, with the LM and GTE race car versions continuing production until 1994 and 1996 respectively. This LEGO model, however, dates back to late last month. It’s still a classic though. If there wasn’t a minifigue in the photo, I’d think this was the real deal. It’s as breathtaking as all those Ferrari posters we used to have in high school that featured beautiful supermodels lounging languidly over the hood. Much to my chagrin, these posters did nothing to attract actual supermodels to my wood-paneled clubhouse in my parents’ basement. Although a guy did come by one time to look at the water heater so that’s something, I guess.

Just your typical day surfing the hydrothermal acid pool

“Hydrothermal”, “acid”, and “pool” are three words that give me the willies. I don’t love them singularly but when combined it invokes a unique feeling of “oh, hell no”! For not the first time, The Brothers Brick alumn and world-renowned LEGO builder Nannan Zhang has me in awe and just a bit unsettled with this new creation. He doesn’t tell us much other than “Running errands on My’laar pays well if you don’t fall in a hydrothermal acid pool”. Nope, too much risk for me! I’d rather be an armchair adventurer with menial pay, thank you very much! Still, though, the bubbling marsh and that unnatural color are admittedly quite striking. I can only imagine the molecular makeup of any plant life that can exist there without withering away. Check out why Nannan Zhang is among the most interesting LEGO builders on this planet or otherwise.

The Soviet ZIL-E167 can handle any terrain you throw at it

It’s a little cold in my LEGO room so I turned up the heat and put on a sweater. That leads me to believe that I probably don’t have what it takes to handle the real cold like what they have in Siberia and Urals. There’s a reason there are so many jokes about vodka drinking you in Russia or whatever. Tough terrain means tough people and tough vehicles. Thankfully, SarielLego has what it takes to handle any terrain as evidenced by this remote-controlled ZIL-E167. I’m loving the beefy tires, the orange color, the overall rugged shape, even the little moose decal is rather charming.

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Probably not what LEGO had in mind when they released DUPLO

Did you know you can mix a toddler’s DUPLO pieces in with your “regular” LEGO? Well, you can! LEGO even said it’s a great thing to do. But now, they might be reneging on that idea because of the unsettled mind of Andy Baumgart. Meet Sugarfoot and his parasitic twin Gutpunch. They’re sort of…um…your welcoming committee into a hellish radioactive post-apocalyptic nightmare. They serve as a reminder of what the world can be like if society as a whole makes an awful lot of bad life choices all to an Aphex Twin soundtrack on a continuous loop. Everything you see is all LEGO products except for the badass custom decals. I’m sure LEGO is kicking themselves now! But hey, if you enjoy badassery and terrible life choices as much as I do, then be sure to check out more unsettling post-apocalyptic offerings from other builders as well.

The Abyssal Daemon is here to brighten your day...or something

Can you believe this Abyssal Daemon is a belated Christmas present from one builder to another? I can, actually. The LEGO builders we feature here at The Brothers Brick are nothing if not fun and creative. Anthony Wilson has created this dastardly demon for Aiden Rexroad in honor of his style and now we’re all feeling warm and fuzzy. Or is that my head separating from my spine? It’s hard to tell the difference at times. I don’t think I’ve met these two gents in person but if I received such a gift I’d be pretty thrilled. Call me weird but I just love the skeletal batwings and the crescent moon-shaped head. But then again I’ve always been into odd things. How about you? What do you think?

About Lino

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