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

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?

The Soviet Kirov cruiser is ready for battle!

You don’t have to be in the Soviet navy to appreciate this LEGO Kirov battlecruiser built by Kirill Simerzin. I mean, just look at how those spanner plates resemble round portals along the hull. The red star at the bow is also a nice touch. The builder doesn’t say much about this creation other than it comes from 1941. Wikipedia states that this craft takes its namesake from the Bolshevik revolutionary Sergei Kirov and was laid down in 1935 and finally decommissioned in 1974. An array of guns and two seaplanes makes this a formidable Soviet ship indeed. In my opinion; it’s удивительный!

If you’ve got the time, be sure to take a deep dive into history to see more military stuff from World War II in LEGO.

Mos Vespa: slow service, would not recommend.

In about a month or two when I regain Disney+ to watch The Book of Boba Fett I’ll get a chuckle over whatever hilarious point Iain Heath is making. The rest of youse can start laughing now because The Brothers Brick alumn is clearly up to his usual antics with a faux LEGO set this time depicting a Vespa-like speeder apparently seen in episode 3. Word on the street is there was a bunch of them. They were slow. They were shiny. Also colorful and appeared to belong to a gang sort of like the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I can relate because I was in a biker gang when I was nine. No bike. No other gang members. Just me in an orange “biker vest” my mom and I handmade from an old sweatshirt. I sure wish I had friends for my little gang and a badass agenda. Anyway, check out why Iain is consistently one of the most hilarious builders around.

The Moby Dick of honey bees

I wonder if there is a beekeeper equivalent to Captain Ahab, forever obsessing over one special white honeybee. Whoever that beekeeping Ahab is, they should look no further than this LEGO creation by Christian Lintan. My hunch says once discovered, this monochrome mech will put up a good fight. It might even make Beekeeper Ahab wish they would have pursued something less dangerous, like stamp collecting. I’m loving those Bionicle transparent wings though. If you enjoy LEGO builds with a monochrome palette, be sure to click the little blue link to see what others have done, including at least one entry by Christian.

So it begins...a new year and a new Iron Forge

LEGO builder Francis Wiemelt has aptly named this piece So it begins. This is apt because it is a new year and this is Francis’ first entry into the first Iron Forge competition of 2022. That’s a lot of firsts! He goes on to tell us that the seed part is a lever (base or antennae), used here twenty-three times in the Uruk-hai army, and eight times in the fortress itself. Iron Forge competitions mean frantic building and stress for a chosen few intrepid builders, constant entertainment for you, and job security for us. Kinda like The Hunger Games. Good luck, Francis Wiemelt and may the odds be ever in our favor…or something.

Radon-86 gets glowing reviews

Part of the thrill in buying LEGO’s Collectable Minifigures is what builders do with them after they’ve unpackaged them. Yuri Badiner has taken the yellow robot from Series 22 and has given it a job involving radiation that the rest of us wouldn’t want to do. This is nicely built however, the real star here (besides the happy little bot) is Yuri’s exemplary photography. The tilt of the horizon is a neat trick they teach us in art school that can denote tension and danger. Clearly, this is a dangerous environment but this bot seems happy to do it. The way the composition is lit here also gets glowing reviews from us. Yuri is no stranger to good photography and getting his minifigures into hairy situations. Click the link to see what I mean.