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

Cat with a big dumper

When LEGO came out with these massive tires a few years back vehicle builders rejoiced, but sometimes you need something more for building large tractors, monster trucks, post-apocalyptic mono-wheels, or other things needing outrageous tires. A builder who goes by the name of Sariel found some amazing non-LEGO tires that fit LEGO hubs perfectly, and used them on this legendary Caterpillar 797F Dump Truck. The real thing is 25 feet (7.7m) high to the canopy, 49 ft 6 in (15.1 m) long and weighs in at a staggering 624 tons when empty. This model is considerably smaller but no less impressive and, as LEGO vehicles go, it is a force to be reckoned with.

With its rugged stance and attention to detail, I would have been impressed enough if this were a stagnant model. However, as this image illustrates, it is jam-packed with Power Functions and a robotic Mindstorms EV3 unit to give it that extra push of awesomeness. I can see myself playing with this big Cat for hours all the while making truck noises like a six-year-old. It doesn’t take much for me to revert back to a six-year-old but, given this post’s title, you would have guessed that already.

In fact, you can even see it in action in Sariel’s video!

[Update: an earlier version of this article mistakenly identified the tires as LEGO elements. We regret this error.]

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“Great ambition is the passion of a great character”

When a statue is erected of someone riding a horse, they usually follow certain rules. If the rider died in battle the horse would be rearing on two legs. If the horse has one leg up, the rider died of an injury and if the horse is standing on all four legs, then the rider died of natural causes. With this in mind Filbrick has built a statue of Napoleon Bonaparte on a horse standing on all fours. I particularly like the textured “greebling” effect on the horse using wheels, gears, Bionicle parts, radar dishes and other bits usually employed in building spaceships.

Some statues of Napoleon on horseback have been erected in all three leg configurations, because the cause of his death can be a topic of hot debate. Did he die bravely in battle defending the French army? Was he poisoned by enemies while in exile on St. Helena as so many history books suggest or was it just the unkind fate of the winds? Autopsies reveal that the cause of death was stomach cancer which may have been brought on by excessive levels of arsenic. (A-ha!) However, later studies, not available during his time, stated that Napoleon (and so many others of his day) were being exposed to arsenic throughout his entire lifetime from glues and dyes and not by purposeful murderous intent. It would seem that Filbrick’s depiction of a serene horse on all four legs may be the correct configuration all along.

Fortnite Mecha Team Leader, heck yeah!

Tackle the Fortnite article? Sure, I can do that! (clears throat) You were delighted when we featured the Loot Llama. You went completely ape-poopy when we showcased the Fortnite Battle Bus. Now prepare to totally lose your collective cookies at the sight of this Mecha Team Leader built by Kelvin Low. Fortnite is a series of three video games that has kept 125 million players up for more than a fortnight at a time with its awesome game play and graphics. It is a pop culture phenomenon that I am definitely savvy to, so don’t go getting it into your heads otherwise. I was totally thrilled when I finally saved the…um…Fortnite princess from the…uh…Fortnite monsters. And I like how the mech looks sort of like Voltron except with silly faces which, as you and I both know, is completely integral to the plot.

Kelvin’s model is accurate to the source material–and I am speaking from personal gameplay experience and definitely not research I did two minutes ago. Care to build one of your own? Follow Kelvin’s step-by-step instructional Youtube video if you’re into that kind of thing, which you probably are.

Ich bin ein käfer

Alright, I’ll keep this short and punchy. Speaking of short and punchy, Lino Martins (hey, that’s me!) has built a car. When I ran the LUGNuts group I had built at least one car every month for ten years so I was a bit of a kingpin in the LEGO automotive world. After retiring the monthly challenges, it is understandable that I wanted to take a break from car building do some art, gaming, and blog all about your creations instead. After nearly two years, I return to car building with this Volkswagen Käfer Racer based on a Hot Wheels design.

The requisite round corner bricks are currently not available in yellow so instead of replicating the Moon Eyes design, I went with a primarily red color scheme and used stickers from the 8041 Technic Racing Truck

The shell can be removed to reveal the seats and massive V-8 engine within.

You’ve got mail!

Fabuland…pfffft, that was sooo 1980’s! If you want to get with the times you need to get with Neo-Fabuland. But before we do, let’s explain what Fabuland was about. It was a line of LEGO sets first introduced in 1979 that was aimed to fill a gap between DUPLO and “regular” LEGO and featured anthropomorphic animals with names like Roger Raccoon and Freddy Fox. Fabuland sets had a primary color scheme, were simple to construct, and often topped out at under a hundred pieces. Now along comes Dale Harris with this Neo-Fabuland idea called “Boris’ Post Office”.

The most impressive aspect I think is Dale’s ability to replicate the look of big clunky plastic pieces by using lots of not-so-clunky little pieces. What looks like a large one-piece roof assembly are actually lots of these elements in red. These round corner tiles help replicate the signature Fabuland whimsical look over the attic windows. He also incorporated all the pieces from the original Boris Bulldog and mailbox set. It turns out this isn’t Dale’s first go with this Neo-Fabuland idea. Be on the lookout for more as he intends this to be just a small part of a much larger layout. Incidentally, the official Fabuland line ended in 1989, the same year this post’s title became synonymous with early internet users.

The airport rescue squad is here for that one passenger in seat 4C

This is likely not the kind of thing you want to see as you’re finally taxiing down the airport tarmac, but it is cool nonetheless. Steven Asbury has built this two-person crew LEGO Airport Fire Department Fast Response Squad. Custom stickers and chrome bits along with its lime green livery makes this rescue truck truly a sight to behold. The plane in the background and the bit of runway offers just enough detail to convey a busy airport. Seeing one of these bad boys most often means someone in First Class doesn’t agree with pre-flight safety directions (its always First Class!) or someone tampered with the smoke alarm in the bathroom. They mean serious business when they say not to mess with it. Once one of these arrives at the scene it is probably best to calmly get into the brace for crash position and remain that way all the way to Denver.

It is quite clear that Steven loves fire and rescue trucks. Here we previously featured a scene that likely has to do with rescuing a cat from a tree.

Keep on truckin’, Ingmar

Earlier this month we had featured a remembrance for Ingmar Spijkhoven, a LEGO truck builder who recently succumbed to ALS. The LEGO world, and particularly a small group of close-knit Dutch scale modelers, lost a good friend and a passionate builder. Dennis Glaasker built a fitting tribute to Ingmar in a way he would have loved. He took Igmar’s own “TR11” chemical tank trailer design and decked it out in shiny custom chrome bricks and then fitted it with a Peterbilt 389 tractor. The tractor is equipped with two Power functions XL engines for drive, and one servo for steering. It is controlled by an SBrick and powered by a 9.6 Volt battery pack which is located in the sleeper unit. The truck (and trailer) have custom stickers, and a fully modeled engine bay and interior.

This wasn’t so much an achievement for Dennis alone, but rather a culmination of the group of friends who wanted to pay tribute to Ingmar. Ingmar saw some work in progress photos and was honored and delighted by the idea but had unfortunately passed a week before completion of this model. A rear shot features the photographer reflected in the gleaming chrome tank trailer but also a clear view of the special custom license plate that adorns both the front and rear of the model. I think Ingmar would approve.

I am not in danger, Skyler. I am the danger!

A builder who goes by the dubious name of SuckMyBrick has built a stunning LEGO portrait of Walter White, the mild-mannered chemistry teacher turned badass meth dealer because…desperate times. I hope I didn’t spoil too much for you, but as Breaking Bad has been cited as one of the best TV shows of all time, it is strongly recommended that you watch it to see Bryan Cranston in the most pivotal role of his career, even if just to sputter off memorable quotes such as this article’s title. SuckMyBrick is exceptionally good at building characters and portraits. Here is a recent time we featured his Fred Flintstone, as well as a whole string of internet influencers and the Commander in Peach.

An icebreaker, but not the desert-island-album question kind

I have an icebreaker for you. No, I don’t mean one of those icebreaker questions like “what is in the trunk of your car right now?” (Eldritch Horror game, reusable shopping bags) or “what childish thing do you still do as an adult?” (Well, duh!). I’m talking about a roughly 2,000 piece LEGO Antarctic icebreaker built by Luis Peña. This is the new icebreaker of the Chilean Navy, currently under construction in Asmar, Talcahuano, and should be set to sail by 2022. Equipped with two SH32 Cougar helicopters, it will be the most modern icebreaker in South America, and the largest and most complex ship ever built in Asmar. The ship itself still has no name, but the project is called Antarctica 1. Perhaps they will let the internet decide a catchy name for this vessel. I mean, what can go wrong?

Oh, I thought of an icebreaker question that I can’t see backfiring in any way: Which Brothers Brick contributor annoys you the most? What can go wrong, indeed?

I’m a rhinoceros hornbill. How-do-you-do!

It never fails, someone builds an animal or another and it always makes me smile. What I like is beginning to become predictable. I hope you can be as enthralled by Marco Gan’s rhinoceros hornbill as I am. The rhinoceros hornbill (Buceros rhinoceros) is the state bird of the Malaysia state of Sarawak as well as the country’s National Bird. This particular cutey is a charming female as her eye is white with red rims made from a small wheel and tire assembly and a radar dish (males would have red with black rims). My favorite part is the tongue made from a snowboard. The hanging spider acts as a reminder that in the jungle, there is always something alive needing to eat. It is clear that Marco cares deeply about the animals of Southeast Asia, as this isn’t the first time he’s delighted us with jungle creatures. Check out these tapirs of his we featured previously.

I’m a frog-mech. What are you?

If life was like the Frogger game, this frog-mech would likely run over you. Without a reference of scale, it is hard to tell if Mitsuru Nikaido intended for this to be a delicate little mech, or a kaiju behemoth capable of toppling over the mightiest of city towers. Just to be safe, I’m going to err on the side of assuming any encounter on the road would lead to a car being totaled. What is clear, however, is this mech is fully posable and the shaping is just perfect. The spool for an eye is an excellent touch.

It would seem that white animal mechs with gray, black and yellow accents are totally Mitsuru’s thing as there are several more like it in his photostream. Here are previous times we featured a crocodile, a dragonfly, a lemur and a crane and locust creature double-feature, along with another picture of the frog mech, just for good measure.

The Gigahorse is a thing of automotive nightmares

Having seen Mad Max: Fury Road several times, I can state that the stars of the show are not so much the actors, the scenery, nor the plot but rather the cars. Vehicles seen in the movie were actual working pieces of over-the-top post-apocalyptic automotive mayhem. One such example is the Gigahorse built by Kale Frost. Driven by inefficient water wasting baddy Immortan Joe, Gigahorse was constructed by stacking two 1959 Cadillac Coupe de Villes, along with two beefy V16 engines and a menacing plow up front. Massive tires complete the look and the end result is a thing of automotive nightmares.

The vehicles of Mad Max: Fury Road have captured the imaginations of many a builder. Here is a previously featured Gigahorse as well as the Plymouth Rock and the Doof Wagon. Safety and practicality mean nothing in the Mad Max world!