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

The Bugatti Centodieci is a nod to its own legacy

Do you like the LEGO automotive work of Firas Abu-Jaber? Do you enjoy everything Bugatti has to offer? Do you have $8.9 million burning a hole in your pocket? Well, two out of three isn’t bad. Only ten of youse with deep pockets would have already placed your order for the 2020 Bugatti Centodieci, the rest of us average schlubs will just have to settle for drooling over Firas’ stunning LEGO rendition. I’m particularly fond of the turntable plates that comprises sort of a “cheese grater” vent at the B-pillar, which is an obvious nod to the Bugatti EB110SS supercar of the 90’s but the larger iconic horseshoe grille is reminiscent of the more modern Veyron and Chiron. Complex and subtle curves is what gives all of Firas’s work his signature style.

The 2020 Centodieci is so new and so rare that Firas had to guess how the doors and engine lid opened as there are no photographs online yet showing how it all works. He made an educated guess that it would go something like this.

No matter how the doors open in real life, the 2020 Bugatti Centodieci is a nod to its own legacy and is one of many, many reasons our hearts go pitter-patter whenever we see Firas’ work.

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“If ye like the nut, crack it!” Also hockey sticks.

My plan for this article; no matter what the title shall be, I’d add “also hockey sticks” beside it. This build had me searching the interwebs for a snappy Scottish proverb and I found “if ye like the nut, crack it”, which roughly translates to; if you like the reward then you must accept the effort involved to achieve it. A fitting proverb for any LEGO builder, although I see now that a choice of words involving cracking nuts and hockey sticks can be a rather tender subject juxtaposed with a guy in a kilt. But my own inner coding states that if hilarity ensues, even unintentionally, then go with it. That may or may not have been the motivation for Eero Okkonen when he built this charming Highland Shepherd.

Everything from the bottom of his brògan to the top of his tam o’shanter is all Scottish Highlander. That epic beard consists of the aforementioned hockey sticks, which is not a Scottish invention but can crack some nuts if given the effort. Consider yourselves rewarded.

Catch the Pokemon Magnemite before your TV goes on the fritz [Instructions]

Is your radio going all static-y? Are your lights flickering? Do you feel a slight tingling in your dental fillings? Are your pets acting all weird, I mean weirder than usual? Paranormal enthusiasts will say that you have ghosts, astrologers will tell you that we’re going into Mercury Retrograde but Pokemon Go players may cite that a disturbance in the electro-magnetic flux just might be the presence of a Magnemite, and you’d better catch it quick before it wreaks havoc on your fridge magnets. Builder Poke Bricks is totally into Pokemon (no, seriously, it’s true!) and we just might see a lot more brick-built Pokemon creatures in their photostream soon.

Want a Magnemite of your own? Then follow this step-by-step video to make it happen.

The Cybertruck and the collective gasp heard around the world

When Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk unveiled the Cybertruck recently the world let out a collective sigh of…what the hell were you thinking? Elon himself even uttered an unpublishable expletive when a shatter-proof test didn’t go as well as planned. While the electric pickup indeed boasts some rather impressive stats, (like winning a tug-of-war with a Ford F-150, ranging 250-500 miles without charging and doing 0-60 mph in 2.9 seconds) the overall angular design resembles something out of a bad 80’s movie. Quickly the jokes and memes flourished with a common theme being a kid could have drawn it. I’m pretty sure ten year old me made quite a few concept drawings that were similar to it. No stranger to dreaming up concept automotive designs both in childhood and adulthood is Ford engineer and prolific LEGO car builder Peter Blackert. While he is also aware of the jokes, Peter is an opportunistic builder who sees the positive in a lot of things, even this Cybertruck.

As odd as it may be, Peter captures the shape very nicely as evidenced by this particular digital render.

Just for fun, Peter has also rendered a Classic Space version!

Admittedly, the Cybertruck is like nothing else Tesla has to offer. Elon and his companies specialize in shaping the future and, according to him anyway, the shape of the future is a throwback from the 80’s. After getting over the initial shock, some, including Peter, have warmed up to the design. Should we trust his instincts and follow suit? As an automotive engineer and a passionate, prolific LEGO car builder Peter surely knows a thing or two about automotive design and what the future may hold.

It’s right on the tip of my tongue, too!

When I first saw this post-apocalyptic build by SweStar one little word came to mind but, wouldn’t you know, I plum forgot it just as I was about to mention it. It’s a little one syllable nonsense word. Gosh darn it, the ol’ noggin isn’t what it used to be! Let’s see, there is a rather leggy mech, a black cat, a garbage can on fire and a mysterious figure with a papoose but none of that is helpful, really. I swear, I’d forget the nose on my face if it wasn’t right in front of me! Sometimes I walk into a room and forget why I did it. Has that ever happened to you? What the heck was the little word I was thinking of? Oh, well. With my luck, It’ll probably come to me just as I’m falling asleep. I hate it when that happens!

A happy crew on board the IEV Sunshine

Females make up half of the world’s population and many of all ages tell us they love building with LEGO. Yet why is it so rare that they are featured on The Brothers Brick? It’s not like we’re putting blinders on to their work, we purposefully seek out anyone building cool things with LEGO and yet the lady builder is somewhat of a rarity, even among our own staff. Rarer still is the lady builder who has designed spaceships. We see plenty of guys build spaceships, a casual perusal through our articles will confirm that, and some build with a single-minded devotion, like this dude here. Usually a spaceship builder’s write-up highlights payload capacity, armament, weaponry, and thrust and we follow suit with our articles; they build them, we write about them, the world spins and life goes on. But when someone like Malin Kylinger builds a spaceship we sit up and take notice. The reasons go far beyond the usual nice parts usage and visually pleasing aesthetics.

Click here to learn more.

In your eyes I am complete

Our readers over the age of thirty may already know the secret to winning over the hearts of that special someone. For the rest, this is what to do. Be sure to don a khaki trench coat with the sleeves pushed up to the elbow. Hop into your late 70’s model Chevy Malibu and head over to their place. Once there, hold a boombox similar to this one built by Chungpo Cheng high over your head and with the volume turned up all the way, stand outside their bedroom window and play some Peter Gabriel, but preferably not this one.

The end result should either have the person you most desire running longingly into your waiting arms or it may land you one hell of a restraining order. There really is no “in between” scenario with this stunt. But either way it would be totally worth it.

As above, so below

In 73 B.C., the overlords of Capua conduct a slave trade in the town center but below, among the rats and stench, escaped slaves plan their counterattack. That is the scene depicted here by Hunter Erickson. This build was influenced by the TV show Spartacus, particularly the beginning of season 3, Hunter tells us. He goes on to say that the show itself isn’t entirely accurate so further research as to what life may have been like in Capua was needed in order reign in some realistic details. The rough stucco feel of the walls are an excellent touch as well as the terracotta roofs and small arched windows, all reflect the specific feel of an ancient Roman city. Call me weird, but my favorite feature has to be the river of green sludge flowing through the sewer. Let’s just hope that one guy washes his hands before eating that giant baguette.

My eyes are up here!

Builder Fedde Barendrecht is hellbent on building complete weirdness and I am hellbent on cracking jokes about it. It’s what the nature shows call a symbiotic relationship between two diverse species who are mutually benefiting one another. Like many of us on Friday nights, this creature is a “Beligerant Beholder”. What is he/she belligerently beholding, you may ask? Well, I’m glad you did. Has this ever happened to you? After a third snap of the fingers you’re suddenly embarrassed to finally hear “hey, my eyes are up here, honey!” I am guilty as charged but who could help it? With eight legs, two dangly arms, a couple of tusks, two centralized protuberances of unknown purpose and what might be an epaulet comb-over there is just so much to stare at. Couple this with the fact that this creature’s eyes are atop four stalks and you have all the makings of an awkward conversation indeed.

A Technic gunmetal Ford GT is cocked and loaded

Builder Lachlan Cameron has replicated the 2019 Ford GT quite nicely with Technic bits in an understated gunmetal gray. Much of its complex shaping is achieved through considerable build skill and liberal use of flex tubing cased in Technic pin connectors along the roofline and hood details, while the same treatment is achieved with 1×3 liftarms along the front fenders. I’m a fan of sports cars with an understated primary color scheme but a flashy secondary color (in this case tertiary color in red)…Well, it’s just enough flash to let us know it means serious business.

The real thing is loaded with six cylinders in the chamber, seemingly a underwhelming number for such an aggressive beast. With this in mind, you may be tempted to race this car in your Monte Carlo but doing so would be akin to bringing a knife to a gunfight, which so many action spy movies attest is a bad idea. It can crank 647 horsepower out of those six bullets with a top speed of 216 mph. Lock, stock and barrel, this is one fast projectile indeed!

A fortress to keep your harvest safe

How’s your harvest season going? And by “harvest season” I mean your ability to procure pumpkin spice lattes at your local cafe; assuming not many of us know how to harvest pumpkin spice lattes from the Earth anymore. However, if you are among the rototiller and combine harvester set, then you may take interest in this Fortress of the Harvest in order to keep that pumpkin spice goodness protected. In just six hours, Jaap Bijl completed this neat little vignette with more finesse than some of us are capable of all week.

The rough textures, rustic windows and gold elements along the roof and spire are all particularly inspired. The butterscotch colored masonry bricks and the parts comprising the ground add warm autumn hues to this piece, but the purple elements, in this case 1×2 tiles and leaves, are seemingly becoming Jaap’s signature color choice. (You might remember his purple mushroom house we featured back in September.)

Ezekiel saw a wheel

A few years back I was taking measurements for a custom rug that was going to adorn my living room. It wasn’t a perfect rectangle as it needed an angled corner cut out to accommodate the fireplace. It occurred to me then, as I was trying to recall forgotten formulas, that I was using geometry and algebra outside of high school. They warned us to pay attention as we might need this someday. Unlike me, it seems Nathan Proudlove has a firm grasp on all the algebra and geometry the world has to offer as evidenced by this awe-inspiring space station. The inner rim of the hub boasts glass-enclosed habitat modules and green spaces. The spin of the wheel in space would create gravity, keeping the inhabitants within safe and comfortable.

Zooming in and taking a gander at some of the individual modules is the only way to really appreciate what a massive undertaking this must have been. Here is a particularly interesting shot that showcases the complex geometry that helped create the large round structure. Minifig legs in orange offers a clever bit of greebling.

A shot of the central hub shows two smaller craft exiting the space station. Another wheel stacked behind this one would have made a near perfect replica of the space station from 2001: A Space Odyssey. I can just hear Hal’s pompous not-quite-human voice now; “I’m sorry, Lino. Your grasp of geometry and algebra is insufficient. You’ll never figure that rug out.” Can it, Hal!