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

This Adidas Originals AT-AT was pretty much a shoo-in feature

You may have heard that The LEGO Group came out with the official Adidas Originals Superstar set. Well, it was only a matter of time before someone built their own creations inspired by the iconic sneaker. Henry Gouw answered the call of duty and is a comfy fit for the kind of stuff we like around here. Here we see the Adidas Superstar is a perfect shoo-in for the body of the AT-AT Walker from Star Wars: Return of the Jedi. This is certainly keeping in step with the icons represented in both franchises. So why would we pass up a feature in which the puns just write themselves? We don’t! You’re welcome.

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.

At the jungle temple of Coatepec, we witness the rise of Huitzilopochtli

Oh, man! I read about Mesoamerican mythology in college and I love the subject. So you can imagine how thrilled I was to see Luis Saladrigas present this stunning LEGO scene depicting the birth of the warrior-god Huitzilopochtli. He tells us that in a place called Coatepec (Serpent Hill) the goddess Coatlicue took a small number of white feathers and placed them in her bosom, from which she conceived Huitzilopochtli. Outraged by the nature of her mother’s pregnancy, Coyolxauhqui led four hundred of her brothers in an attack on Coatlicue. In the midst of this attack, Huitzilopochtli emerged from his mother’s womb in full battle armor and armed with his spear, Xiuhcoatl, destroyed his brothers and sisters, and rose to take his place as the Aztec God of War.

There’s plenty of amazing details to see here.

Click here to discover more.

The US Navy Dauntless Patrol Boat protects our shores

Sometimes we get commissioned to do what we love. That is exactly what happened with Jake Sadovich and his amazing LEGO Dauntless 34′ Patrol Boat. Whoever commissioned Jake must be mighty pleased with the level of detail he has achieved here. The complex curve of the bow, the guardrails, the armament, the electronic gear on the mast, even the handsome stand makes this a stunning model to behold.

Click here to climb aboard and discover more!

All hail the shiny slammed pickup

Here at The Brothers Brick, we’re a lot like raccoons in the sense that we love shiny things. (And also eat from garbage cans on occasion.) That’s why when 1saac W. built this sweet slammed LEGO Chevy pickup with shiny chrome rims and engine we were all foaming at the mouth for reasons definitely not having to do with rabies. At least I was anyway. The rest of TBB staff looked pretty normal, come to think of it. Throw in a rare color and that has rendered this particular writer and custom car nerd extra-foamy, kinda like an ill-poured beer. I declare this LEGO creation the best in the history of the world ever for all eternity or until a few hours from now when we see something else that strikes our fancy, whichever comes first. If you like vehicles as much as I do, then click the blue link to see what 1saac and other builders have come up with.

The Tachyomatic Combine combines complex angles and interstellar build techniques

Well, I’m pretty sure Nick Trotta is from outer space or he’s been sent from the future to kill us all. How else could you explain LEGO build techniques of this caliber? This Tachyomatic Combine combines (how do you explain word association that good?) complex angles, futuristic aerodynamics, and interesting colors and textures. The end result is so cohesive you’d be convinced Nick visited the future. Actually, he’s taken inspiration from artist Weiyi Qin whom I’m pretty sure is also from outer space.

Care to see other angles and the inner workings of this mind-blowing model? I’m pretty much going to speak for you here and say that you do. Go on, click the link! You know you want to!

No seriously, click it. You won’t be disappointed!

LEGO Gift with Purchase 40486 Mini Adidas Originals Superstar [Review]

You may have seen our 10282 Adidas Originals Superstar set review a short time ago. We’ve also had the chance to review its mini counterpart, 40486 Adidas Originals Superstar, which will be available July 1 and is free with qualifying purchases of US $85 | CAN $85 | UK £85 in LEGO stores and on the LEGO website. Let’s take a look and see if this set measures up to its bigger counterpart or if it falls a bit flat…footed?

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.

click here to read the full review!

A whale of a Jeep Rubicon

The ever-popular Iron Builder competition is heating up like Georgia asphalt in July and we’re pretty thrilled. Our friend and recent The Brothers Brick alumni Benjamin Stenlund is climbing the summit with this delightful little Jeep Rubicon. The seed part was used four times here along the fenders. But to me, that isn’t even the most exciting part. Did you wonder how I came up with the title? Well, it turns out Benjamin used two Duplo whales, a big one and a little one, as part of the rock formations. That’s some brilliant parts usage right there! Good parts usage is the reason Benjamin has been featured a lot lately. Rooting for the other guy? He’s no slouch either. Then check out how Grant Davis is measuring up.

Do you want tentacle babies? Because that’s how you get tentacle babies!

There was a time when LEGO builder Grant Davis was a regular here at The Brothers Brick but lately he’s been as rare as truck nuts on a Prius. That’s because he’s been away at the university. But that’s all about to change because he is competing in the ever-popular Iron Builder competition against our friend and recent TBB alumni Benjamin Stenlund. Grant calls this one “The Experiment” and, like many sci-fi movies and Florida Man stories, it features toxic goo, tentacles, and a situation that’s about to get calamitous. This is only his first entry in this competition so we can expect to see plenty more from Grant and even Benjamin soon. Iron Builder always means job security for us. Speaking of job security for us, check out the other times we were totally gaga for Grant’s stuff.

This anti-gravity Wipeout Racer has a checkered history

You may have heard the humorous adage that if you paint racing stripes on your vehicle it’ll automatically go faster. In the case of this LEGO anti-gravity Wipeout Racer by David Roberts that might actually be true. He tells us that this ship was first in its class partly due to its powerful engine pack and partly due to its color scheme distracting other pilots and causing them to crash. He goes on to explain that this led to a rule change where the team had to paint their ship in a more sober pattern and thus the success of the race sadly and predictably waned. The lesson learned here is that racing fans like crazy stuff and now we can’t have nice things. Speaking of nice things, this would not be David’s first lap with brightly-colored ships and other awesome stuff. Check out our archives to see what I mean.

Headdresses and cocktail dresses

With his new LEGO creation, Eero Okkonen begs the question; Ancient headdresses and cocktail dresses are a nice combo, right? Wait, let me think about this. Yes. Yes, they are. Margibi Imber pulls the ensemble off nicely with her Ancient Egyptian-inspired headdress complete with a scarab ornament. She pairs that with a festive strapless cocktail dress for a surprisingly coherent outfit. Accessorize with leg-length boots and a matching handbag and you have yourselves the makings of a fabulous night on the town. (Your results may vary.) My favorite detail is the LEGO netting used for hair. While Eero is certainly capable of building other things, find out why he’s among our favorite character builders in our archives.

Go anywhere in the rugged Toyota FJ40

LEGO automotive enthusiasts lost our collective cookies when they came out with the 10271 Fiat 500 set in bright lemony yellow. (I think I peed a little!) It was a previously difficult color to come by but as Jonathan Elliott pointed out, even with the Fiat, there are only 352 parts available in that shade, a large chunk dedicated to minifig hairstyles. This means building your own creations in that tasty color is still somewhat difficult. Boy, don’t I know it! That didn’t stop Jonathan from building a totally awesome Toyota FJ40 though. This model is so accurate it almost feels like you can actually go off-roading in it. While he is no slouch with building LEGO cars, his automotive chops really shined with this one. Check out the archives to see what I mean.

Take the Minnie Winnie on a maxi road trip

With vaccines rolling out and COVID numbers dropping in most countries, many folks are looking to travel again. However, some areas are unfortunately spiking, so airplane travel with strangers can still feel a bit icky. That is why a road trip is a compelling option for many people right now. If you still love the folks you’ve been locked up with for the last several months to a year-and-a-half, then look no further than this neat little LEGO 1977 Minnie Winnie built by 1saac W. This builder has been on a hot streak here at The Brothers Brick lately, and it’s clever build techniques like this are the reason why. I’m loving the iconic “W” for Winnebago. Or maybe it’s an homage to the builder’s last name? Oooh, maybe his last name is Winnebago! How perfect would that be? While you’re mulling that over, check out some other cool vehicles built by 1saac and many others.