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 in the white dragoons!

An experiment occurred when Christian Lintan accidentally discovered some cool connections with another project which, in turn, led to this. What you’re looking at is a transforming LEGO Gundam-type mech who can become sort of like Mechagodzilla. He tells us he’s beyond thrilled with the result and we agree. Working in monochrome can be difficult at times but the end result is just about always visually striking. You ought to take some time to check out other LEGO artists who have worked in a monochrome palette.

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 man walked into a saloon

It’s been a fantasy of mine to walk into a saloon, and my very presence causes everything to halt to a silence. I’ve entered a few bars in my adult life, and apparently, despite all my squinting and scowling, I just don’t cut a badass imposing figure. This guy, on the other hand, looks like he means some serious business. KitKat1414 presents this scene in LEGO and you can just hear the gasps and the honky-tonk piano whimper off while mid-tune. I like the window, the crooked painting on the wall, and the overall lived-in feel of this saloon. If bars ever open up again, I’ll be sure to practice my best Clint Eastwood squint, and in a gruff, low grunt, I’ll announce to the barkeep that I’ll have “the hair of the dog that bit me.” Then I’ll just hope they don’t hand me a Zinfandel.

I’ll take “Things We’ll Miss” for $200 please, Alex.

Alex Trebek was a TV staple and gameshow icon until his passing in November of 2020. We were all saddened by this and that is why it is such a treat to see this touching LEGO tribute built by Douglas Hughes. He tells us he and his wife would watch Jeopardy daily and so Alex Trebek was an important part of their lives. The clean, swooping set design, the figures and the sticker work are all quite impressive in their own right. Douglas, however, wins the bonus round with the inclusion of lights, Power Functions and Mindstorm EV3 components.

Check out this impressive video to see and hear Alex and these legendary contestants in action.

Douglas is a diversely talented LEGO builder who has been featured several times here on The Brothers Brick before.

Yvan drops a powerful Deuce

It is moments like this that make me love this whole Brothers Brick gig. We find something cool while surfing the interwebs such as this custom LEGO Deuce Roadster by Yvan Bourdeau. We share this cool discovery with you. You, in turn, shower us with likes and comments and then maybe you are inspired to build something yourself. Shampoo, rinse, repeat. This custom roadster looks to be dropped, channeled and lowered, giving it a low and aggressive stance. Burnt orange and a light blue makes for a neat flashy color scheme and the exposed exhaust pipes are not without their charms. Throw in a cleanly built base and retro gas pump and you have yourself the makings of a day made just a little sweeter. If you’re like me, vehicles in general would make your heart go pitter-patter so enjoy clicking through the archives.

Bowl your arms off!

While I am known for having a dark sense of humor, I can assure you this title was provided by the builder himself. PaulvilleMOCs graces us with this fabulously retro LEGO bowling sign. The colors, the fonts and the shapes are all indicative of signs seen outside of bowling alleys across America. When you’re a bit out of shape a round of bowling can feel like you’ve bowled your arms off. However, this double entendre refers to the arm-less minifig torsos used throughout. There are two in the bowling pin, one in the exclamation point and a third comprising the back end of the red arrow. Clever parts usage like that makes us wonder what other tricks Paul may have up his non-existent sleeve. Non-existent because; no arms. OK, you got it then? Good! Seriously, these jokes just write themselves. I don’t even have to try anymore.

This Apache helicopter is built from rare and ornery bricks

2004 was a pivotal moment for some adult fans of LEGO. This was the year that defined the distinction between what we call “old gray” and “new gray”. LEGO made a change to two shades of gray and brown that year that made the colors brighter and a bit more palatable to kids. Some grumpy old fans resistant to change declared they would leave the hobby forever while others embraced the newer colors. Lennart Cort dates back to before 2004, or at least some of his LEGO collection does. He tells us this stunning AH-64D Apache Longbow model was built in 1/38 scale and built using “old dark gray” as its primary color. Speaking from experience here this can be a difficult feat as the old gray parts are becoming increasingly rare and ornery. Kinda like older adult fans of LEGO; rare and ornery.

I am once again asking you to click the “like” button

Joe Biden was inaugurated as the US’s 46th president this week and while that was a pivotal moment, it wasn’t all about “Uncle Joe”. Bernie Sanders was in attendance and, regardless of where you stand politically, you can’t help but chuckle at the flood of memes that came out in quick succession. All of them feature Bernie Sanders in this specific pose with his loafers, coat and mittens, photoshopped sitting everywhere from the moon to the set of Game of Thrones to among the cast of The Breakfast Club. Our Brothers Brick alumni Iain Heath has his finger on the pulse of what is hot at the moment and quickly bangs out this LEGO tribute to the Vermont senator. Despite your valued and insightful opinions on the matter, Iain isn’t afraid to go there. And if it’ll get a few laughs and likes, neither are we.

This is where I hid the bodies

Other than having a dark sense of humor, why would I title an article about this LEGO gas station in such a way? The service station has a well-worn feel. There’s a couple of motorcycles and the patrons there seem friendly enough. But when you take a close look at this creation by Dan the Fan you begin to see several minifig torsos used in creative ways. There are two in gray holding up the shell sign and four in dark gray acting as the base for the water tower. Several more upside-down torsos comprise the trim design of the building while another two in red make up part of the gas pump. My favorite use of the minifig torso however is in the road sign, partially comprising the shape of Texas. Can you spot other uses for the minifig torso? (Other than the ones obviously used as minifig torsos.)

The Ambassador of Grnx brings some odd parts usage

LEGO revealed their DOTS line and some folks reasoned it would be great for their little sisters but not for the likes of them. Vince Toulouse illustrates the error of their ways with this Ambassador of Grnx wearing a DOTS band as a sash. His staff makes use of Clickits connectors, another line some of youse thought was only appropriate for little sis. As if that wasn’t enough, Vince brings in another limited appeal line with the use of flame bits from the short-lived Ben 10 sets. It just goes to show that on the surface, some sets have limited appeal but in the hands of a builder like Vince, there is no limit to what can be used.

From the Star Wars expanded universe comes the Outrider

We all love the Millennium Falcon and other ships from the Star Wars franchise but it’s neat when someone pays attention to the ships that were later inserted into the background in one special edition or another. My case in point, this LEGO YT-2400 Outrider built by Aido Kessler. It resembles the Millennium Falcon a bit in the sense that it’s saucer-shaped, has circular exhaust ports and pushes the whole asymmetrical cockpit motif to the Nth degree. From there this odd ship exudes its own personality. I love the complex curves along the leading edge as well as the turret cannon. Aido tells us this model comprises of more than four-thousand pieces and weighs eleven pounds (5kg). In some instances this heavy creation was pushed to a breaking point; a literal breaking point and needed to be restructured several times.

The end result is breathtaking and we’re glad he was up for the difficult task. This rear view showcases some added light functions that makes this model truly a sight to behold.

That’s odd, usually the blood gets off at the second floor.

If you’re feeling a bit unsettled but don’t know why, there’s a reason for it. If you’re totally feeling the heebie-jeebies and you do know why, then you, dear readers, are keen to the fact that this is a scene from The Shining. Alex Eylar recreates the pivotal scene in LEGO but got the idea and permission from Reddit user /u/thatbenguy23. (If that’s your real name!) It kind of makes you want to take the family out for a winter retreat at the Overlook Hotel, doesn’t it? Let’s take the elevator up. What can go wrong? While we’re waiting for that elevator, check out this melancholy scene by Alex we posted last May.

Life in the pink

Well now, what is this all about? Bart De Dobbelaer presents us with this striking LEGO scene and, through a mission log, humorously illustrates that space travel can be at times exciting but also mind-numbingly dull. I’m smitten by the overall composition, the greebly space-cube, the pink alien vegetation, even the shadowed planet in the distance. The light from within is a spectacular touch! Bart calls this scene La Vie en Rose.

If you are to do some space travel anytime soon, I advise bringing a soundtrack. Might I suggest Édith Piaf or Lady Gaga? I suppose even this breathtaking image can seem dull if that is all you had to look at for months or even years on end. It might be best that you scroll on and peruse some other stuff before the space-madness settles in. But before you do, check out these articles to make your space journey a bit more interesting.